there's. some. in the day's headlines san marino becomes the latest european country to start vaccinating its citizens with russia's nick shot after supplying the latest of the e.u. approved jobs the country's labor minister explained why they look to moscow for help. independent states even within the territory of the european union we have the right to make independent decisions. also this hour the french government's facing the flak over its coded an occupation programme after it's revealed hundreds of millions of euros were handed to controversial foreign consultants. and the b.b.c. reveals plans to reverse the dominance of american cartoons setting and strongly ambitious targets to get children watching more british based culture.

welcome to the program not a happy saturday to you all this is our to international bring your live news update this hour. some merino has begun vaccinating its population with russia sputnik job after deliveries of approved alternatives failed to arrive the microstate surrounded by italy isn't a member so it was excluded from the blocks deals with pharmaceutical giants however it negotiated getting a tiny part of each delivery to italy but there's been delays to the it was the medical director at summer in a state hospital said there have been no concerns about using the russian vaccine. 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 'd 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 so marino hopes to use the russian vaccine on around 15 percent of its population labor minister explained why they turn to moscow for help. independent even within the territory of italy and the european union we have the right to make independent decisions and have excellent relations both with members and countries outside borders at the moment you are showing an increased interest in the sputnik v.x. 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 for a part we have complete confidence in the russian vaccine we can see that technical

of initiative and bureaucratic decisions taken with regard to the production and distribution of certain products significantly slow down the approval process in different countries so we think these processes should be accelerated due to the critical circumstances in the e.u. we simply did not have a vaccine and we had to make a choice. so marino's move comes as certain states also step up talks to get the sputnik job aster and chancellor sebastian kurz has spoken with latimer about getting supplies as soon as the european medicines agency approves the vaccine we spoke to one astronaut viral just about how the scientific community as approaching us of the russian jap. job is good 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 putting the has 2 different safe viruses it makes the back seem more effective our. friends has suffered its worst week in the pandemic since november reporting more than 25000 new cases on friday and pays want to know why foreign consultants with deep ties to present micron are pocketing huge contracts for a back seat roll up plagued by delays and failures. 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 worth millions and millions of euros the lion's share went to american food and making easy the lucrative contracts signed with mckinsey and not initially disclosed to the public was supposed to help ensure vaccine duces 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 at astronomical cost why such contempt for civil servants what an admission of an effectiveness and helplessness and a whole state apparatus what is it for absolutely amazing what is mckinsey doing there we have a ministry of health a ministry of the interior and

a 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 boosting the 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 but it can mean nothing but in another country it's a scandal what can we do here in front of no government wiring 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 perils of big business to be there for around 10 percent of their overall profits so how do people feel about. this person who says there was a call for tenders all of that was it for the french firms to the north because i don't understand why would it be a group that would benefit from that's a bad 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. on getting business. we could use the move wisely the courage to do more fronts 1st you don't for example he doesn't give enough to give the impression that micron is no longer president he does not the 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 implement big projects require or logistical support and advice from what really got people angry is just how close the consultancy firms like mckinsey are to president with toys going back many years and with such sums lining the pockets of a private american consultancy firm at the same time when the economy here has been laid low by the pandemic many are now asking questions so much even ati.

a german doctor has reportedly refused to treat a female politician because of her political views for the alternative for germany party spoke of her shock when our family doctor said he was taking a moral stand. due to chronic illness had to visit my family doctor i had been seen for the past 2 years the conversation went relatively well and then my doctor told me that he would like to terminate the health care contract i was horrified and asked him why he replied that he had learned from the media that i was a member of the a.v. party and that i had been elected to the bundestag from the electoral district so for moral reasons he could no longer continue my treatment then i asked if i fainted now what would you do he replied that then he would have to help me as a medical emergency case and then i said that if he was alone in the room he could just close the door and you're in there sussed ation press only every 10 seconds.

the doctor's clinic has not yet responded to our request for comment over the insurance company involved in the case says it expects patients to get the best possible treatment regardless of their beliefs and the legal ramifications should be looked into it's far from the nation case against safety members and 2019 and a half the m.p. was beaten unconscious on the street and a year later the party leaders car was torched a study found alternative for germany suffers the most attacks of any national party including physical and verbal pay who was refused treatment claims the media has been ignoring her case. i think. it was you know i represent the position of the air of d. and i do not adhere to right wing radical views in the a of d. i feel a liberal conservative need so there was no reason to attack me personally or to deny further medical attention i consider this to be absolutely average 3 and

cannot understand my case was covered by the media unfortunately not local but only alternative media were covering the story i actually sent a statement to the police with my lawyer who filled a complaint with the physicians chambre and i sent a copy to aoki budden rutenberg because this doctor works on the contract with that insurance company according to their rules such actions are prohibited says he's providing services on the health insurance policy so i decided to fight it and my fight continues. when it comes to cartoons the b.b.c. wants children and the u.k. to go for home grown creations rather than american imports as outlined ambitious plans to reverse the dominance of shows like the simpsons sharia rinsed ashley has more. let's face it cartoon soap all of our childhood the simpsons tom and jerry progress the looney tunes you name it with full respect far too many hours glued to the t.v.

. 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 what i think we can do to 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 as a servant. 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 you can't just write about london but they can step outside they think we can still chat that they need to be understand which coach your resume and have

that research from a young age sometimes kids like to hear something that's for me or to watch them at school we waste time listening to somebody theory makes any difference it's good to keep the children to the cultures but i don't think it necessary to put up with that it comes around again which it never happens and it's a pretty fair american dream and 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 cartoons imagine if we could have a version of the seem since for children and families in the u.k. it would be amazing. but it's not even possible how it's come up with new things i think i'm kind of the age of remakes disney have done a lot and i've had enough so i quite like new stuff and there's new stories to tower and i think we've been through enough this year to nader's new stories that could probably come up but i would say that yeah i 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 that seems to be pretty well maybe the b.b.c. is on to something here off to rule there 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 all the 1st time the foreign cartoons have come under fire a few years ago critics lashed out at a russian cartoon musher in the birth accusing of having a more sinister side being wait for it a propaganda tool dealing with the kinds of. decisions. what did i miss something here the cartoons are really used to indoctrinate children's minds and promote interest buddy you start the better i guess. still haven't the program in a show of anger

a mass opposition rally is held in armenia we're showing you live pictures of that now that's in a bid to force the under-fire prime minister to quit but more on that story after the short break. 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 faith. in the world corrupted you need to descend. to join us

in the depths. or a maybe in the shallowness. join me every thursday on the alex simon show and i'll be speaking to us of the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. welcome back armenia's president is refusing to approve a controversial order to sack the country's armed forces chief and has sent the document back to the under-fire prime minister comes as huge opposition rallies are underway with crowds calling for the pm to quit we cannot cross live to our to his cousin risk of who is following this protest for us constantine what does this move mean for armenia. well this is

a this is a big news and you know this is the biggest news of the last few minutes and it was greeted with actually a loud round of applause from the crowned and from the crowd and right now as you can see there not so many people. at this area they went to a march down the city standard to make around and then come back to carry on this demonstration now this means a lot actually for the ongoing standoff between the incumbent prime minister he called washington and the army top army generals let me remind you that nichole question and wants to boot out they had of the general staff. of the armenian armed forces after he and several other top army generals called for the rest of nature of the prime minister and accused him basically of being incompetent and the cold machine and then in turn accused them of staging a coup against them and you know it was announced from the stage by one of the

opposition leaders that by not signing off in that order the president of the armenian has taken the sides of the army now a prime minister can still sign another order and still tried to fire the head of the general staff but in 5 days. now as i told you people are we're expecting people to come back here in front of the national parliament and right now they have gotten a big boost to their spirit and i think they are ready to carry on the protest and . they're pretty adamant to stay here until their main demand will be met. needs to stand down. artie's conference in staying across all of the political unrest in the armenian capital for us thank you. dozens of us democrats have signed a letter asking president joe biden to give up his sole authority for nuclear launches fallen quarter examines why 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 they shoot 3 self-evident. i know i'm a creative go you know this you know thing no man has a right to raise a hand tool and. other than self defense and that's really a good curse and so we have to just change the culture period and keep the punching out of punching out of clinton and schuster valerie and i'm. sure 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 efforts 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 there'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 $740000000000.00. today the house and the strong bipartisan message should the american people are service members and the 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 don't have his finger on the nuclear button it could be because mutually assured destruction isn't fun for anyone but when the killing is going on far away anything goes. now we turn to some world news in brief starting in greece.

as you can see the protesters have again clashed with riot police in greece at rallies backing and jailed a far left terror group member of hunger strike tear gas and water cannon were used against the demonstrators convicted man is serving 11 life sentences for murder i was reportedly in a critical condition for months without food. we can show you live pictures from a central moscow where crowds have gathered in tribute to opposition politician boris numsa off on the 6th anniversary of his murder as you can see many of them are laying flowers at the site ambassadors of the u.s. germany and the u.k. have all been among those attending them software shop on the bridge right outside the kremlin sparking international outrage as killers were later caught and jailed

. defying a government curfew on large public gatherings hundreds in israel came together for the jewish holiday of. disperse the crowds but dozens were turned to continue the celebrations after officers left. and a huge iceberg nearly double the size of new york city has broken free from end arctica falls the 3rd major crack in a decade which happened last year across the brunt ice shelf however scientists say it's a natural occurrence and there's no evidence it's linked to climate change. that's been your breakdown of today's top headlines for now but if you're looking for more you can always had our website our 2 dot com thanks for tuning in this hour.

since that other boy days of them. along with me if they pay for them is going to the both of us the him i'm going to let those who do so. on. a one off crock if you're not and i put it on the types to use a pen unusual prototype to be in the next his tongue's arms mom i'm going to. lose been. few ties and few get in though it is a. little through a large room which though it would be again it was on those on the left. seemed wrong. roads just don't hold. me to get to shape out these days become educated and in detroit equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground.

we're more politicized than ever or more polarized than ever the 21st century when speed is measured in megabytes per 2nd. of course he's in him electronic mail electronic money electronic media infinite possibilities for exchanging information i mean when. freedom of speech and social media bends censorship and double standards who should judge what can be said online. the internet audience know totals almost 4500000000 almost all of them are effective social network users put one wrong move on their pages deleted digital annihilation don't exist anymore. not who runs the show on the web

how can anyone stand up to the tech giants if even the heads of state face the threat of being banned is there any lives to hold that virtual. nudist but i will have reasonable way. during the vietnam war us forces are also bombs in neighboring laos it was a secret war. and for years the american people did not know. until our found my son is a mouth guard rebound country per capita. human history millions of unexploded bombs still in danger lives in this small agricultural country jordyn we don't think it's happening there even today kids in laos full victims of bombs dropped decades ago is the us making amends for the tragedy in laos what help do the people

need in that little land of mines. kind of financial survival job today with the money laundering 1st to visit this cash in the 3 different. oh good this is a good start well we have our 3 banks all set up here maybe something in europe something in america something overseas in the cayman islands it will pull these banks are complicit in the kleptocracy who decide to give much gold and say ok i'm ready to do some serious money laundering ok let's see how we did while we've got a nice luxury watch for max and for stacy oh beautiful jewelry and how about. luxury automobile again for max you know what money laundering is highly illegal. much keyser of course.

business boom bust the one business show you can't afford to miss i'm rachel love

and then washington coming out 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 will discuss what china is calling on president biden to lift trade restrictions put in place by the us the ministration but the deal as have 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 come for the economic growth 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 coben 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 remain high oil.