the main stories this hour profiting from the pandemic 2 senior german politicians are quitting in a major scandal for allegedly earning hundreds of thousands of euros after brokering deals for face masks meanwhile the u.k. government faces claims of pointer mismanagement during the pandemic after offering frontline health workers a pay rise of just one percent then spends millions on a new media briefing room and the president biden on the way to cope relief bill passes the senate people facing getting actually less than they did under donald trump.

hello that's 3 pm here in moscow you're watching r.t. international german m pays a standing down over claims they made hundreds of thousands of euro for brokering deals for face masks with more on the scandal here's our europe correspondent. make no bones about it this is a big scandal here in germany pandemic profiteering isn't a look any party wants to be tarnished with in this is part of the ruling coalition here including angela merkel's christian democratic union party the representative of that party nicolas lobel has said he's going to step down at the next election this is after his company allegedly made around a quarter of a 1000000 euro from being the middleman in deals when it came to pee pee and masks during this pandemic that may not be good enough for some some of said he needs to go right now and not wait until the election in the autumn however he said he is

sorry for what he's done so far but he isn't the only one that's been involved in this scandal we've also heard that. from the very insistent party the c s u is facing a corruption probe after he's understood to have taken away a 6 figure sum for being the middle man again in deals involving masks he's already said he's not going to run in september he has stood down from his position as the deputy leader of the union parliamentary group but he's denied any wrongdoing what they say is prompted is well senior figures including members of angela merkel's cabinet coming out and saying there's no way this can be tolerated and condemning those 2 politicians to collect a commission that it's a game to earn money through mediation in emergency situations is not possible that destroys trust in our democracy those who fill their own pockets with essential

goods such as masks do not represent the people but the lowest interests it's understandable why the center right block is circling the wagons there's obviously a bundestag election coming up in september but before that just next sunday there's 2. and regional elections as well and they want the candidates involved not to be as distant from this particular scandal as possible there's also a want to know more fuel to a fire of frustration that is seen people demonstrate against the way the government has handled the pandemic here in germany it's not just a german issue we've also seen those protests taking place across europe. with. a level of

hopes it will surely only be added to when it starts coming out that m.p.'s that politicians were enriching themselves personally during this pandemic peter all of which journalist and author thomas fassbender did say that public anger over the issue will damage the remaining party. i think that definitely the christian democrats as a party at the forthcoming for coming elections will take a hit there's 'd no question there is anger about this the interesting thing here is that mr lube it just last year was the subject of a completely unrelated corruption or misbehavior commercial misbehavior case within his own party the man has been known for a sort of potentially shady behavior is there where allegations and nevertheless the party sort of shut their eyes and that is of course 'd the dangerous thing it's

not just a matter of the law as such of the letter of the law but also. 'd about the way it is applied. fanning street is being criticized for spending millions of pounds on a white house star media briefing room it does come as the country's former standards are called prime minister boris johnson's alleged use of a charity for a 6 figure renovation of his official property and abuse of his position and some pointed out to it all stands in stark contrast to the pay rise offered to health workers on the frontline of the fight. millions spent on a media briefing room 3 and a half pounds a week for nurses make no mistake this is a political choice by the tories it sums up boris johnson's warped priorities that he can find millions for vanity projects while picking the pockets of n.h.s. staff our n.h.s. heroes deserve a fair pay rise after all they have done for us the conservatives are wasting

$2600000.00 pounds on a vanity media sense of boris johnson while denying n.h.s. workers a fair pay rise the conservatives for ots are not the british people's priorities well the u.k. government doesn't says that difficult economic circumstances mean it can only afford a one percent pay hike the n.h.s. staff but with inflation predicted to reach one and a half percent the share that would likely result in a real term pay cut this is union does say that they do deserve more and is preparing for strikes political commentator anthony weber says the government's priorities are completely wrong. but the media companies don't actually need these. facilities one those are sure to generate a fine or. witnesses shortage of finance money should go in the sewer. the rare move for such schools are options logical directions like.

giving a nation a start but it doesn't go out. rather a pool message that the government's prepared to spend money on promoting its own interests but not prepared to spend money on people who have been looking after people who. are building a hospital in uncertain or people who like the n.h.s. converts or even nurses and stone or that said the government has extended to september his so called for skein which pays 80 percent of people's wages for hours they can't work during the pandemic it predicts the cash injection will get the economy back on track but in the light stepaside about is going on the ground british economic historian robert skidelsky does question the numbers. they think there's a lot of pent up demand that there are a lot of savings that people haven't been able to spend and that as the shops and

entertainment places reopened people will flock to these places with a straw spending power and that'll make the whole thing revived but if you look at it realistically i'm very skeptical about this because national income has fall or it's fallen by 10 percent cent in 2020 that means savings of all there as you know some people will have extra savings but what about all those whose incomes have fall they're not going to have extra spending power we're talking about people who are being made on employed because small businesses are closing going bankrupt and or cutting down on their start and rather than keeping that population on firm earlier than i would try and provide work for them and especially young people. it's least central region

of last year wants to make the russian sputnik the vaccine and has asked the government to consider its proposal last year also plans to buy a 1000000 doses of the shot and the country's health minister does say that he supports russia's jap. in my opinion if the vaccine works and is safe i do not really care about the nationality of the scientists who developed it therefore i am open to sputnik v. as well as to other vaccines should the european medicines agency in the attorney and medicines agency give their approval we are ready to cooperate with russia even very soon or sputnik they has already been approved until countries hungary and slovakia's comes as the block is criticized for the slow pace of coronavirus inoculation in member states the health chief of italy central last year in june told us about the approval process for sputnik. it's necessary to produce vaccines in house in order to be self-reliant and avoid

the problems we've recently faced including the difficulties with job supplies and on time deliveries autonomy will benefit everyone in this case we've always treated the sputnik vaccine with great respect paying particular attention to the scientific evidence behind it therefore we had no reservations about it after we saw the in that explanations of its validity in the medical journal the lancet and by the laws there are small and zani national institute for infectious diseases in row we've always said that the efficacy and safety of vaccines are the main thing whereas the origin doesn't matter to us. unfortunately we can't say decisions absolutely independently and always have to wait for the approval by regulators will so hope for a fast track process so that it doesn't get bogged down in excessive red tape because we're in emergency and in great need of doses in italy we don't expect to see any disputes around the sputnik vaccine because we believe it will contribute

to the common good and protect the health of our citizens are sputnik the awaits approval then by your opinion regulators we also heard from portugal's envoy to moscow on the russian jap. sometimes i say we do not have any job politics and vaccines we want to have the bigger number of big scenes of course and in europe we have this process of. invalidation and the big asian story to go for b.m. i know that there's good like the good nicotine is also now in the all over of user with very hopeful that the good will also be bought off of the vaccines that will get them to the markets to the exit or union but i'm very glad that russia is also providing these vaccines walled off most of the. citizens also because the country has a big tradition on the scenes so i think this is a very important of the. global fight for giving the public

well in case you're wondering where he was speaking there the envoy was speaking at an ice hockey match on the world's deepest like by cow a sports stars and an international crowd turned out to highlight the importance of environmental issues. joe biden's covert relief bill has finally passed the senate after amendment votes in last minute negotiations but while $1.00 trillion dollars of aid may seem like a lot of people may end up getting even less than under donald trump. explains why . ungar in america especially for children has soared to historic levels unexpected medical bills have created a serb just families desperate for in america the richest country in all the world we have incredible hunger what ours is possible as the u.s.

continues its brutal battle with one invisible enemy an old one house of ram poverty but for those one in 10 americans who lost that job and same never recovered all those 3 in 10 low income families who worry whether the next meal is coming from good news joe biden promised you a helping hand no one should work 40 hours a week you live in poverty and it wasn't just higher wages no biden was also going to rip open the government's wallet and hand out those support checks the american rescue plan is going to keep the commitment of $2000.60 already gone out $1400.00 checks to people who need it. this is money directly in people's pockets and with control of the house of representatives the senate and the white house the only trinity nothing could stop the democrats puffing that kind of bill no out of touch hot little greedy republicans not even trump no it was

a done deal right but we obviously are now alternately sending. money to less people in the administration this is not the promise that we need. conservative democrats have fossil divides in the admin sense fewer and less generous relief checks than the triumph has been good so not a done deal biden promised one thing with has $1.00 trillion dollar aid package the house then took a stab at it and the senate's now taken a not the stab at it in its wounded form almost $12000000.00 fewer adults will get the relief biden pledged unemployment benefits are finishing a month earlier than planned and as for raising minimum wage to $15.00 well courtesy of some democrat senators who vetoed it that won't be happening and if you're wondering what an elected official laughing in the face of the people they

saw it looks like well hey you go. to cinema cinema no i'm sure go it's a big thumbs up from have for $174.00 fountain dollar annual salary but if you thought biden himself was brain child this bill was as devastated by this well think again he is comfortable with where the negotiations stand he is controversial and knows there will be tweaks at the margin so if these tweaks mean that american struggling to stay afloat amid the biggest recession in the u.s. in decades on getting the money who is what national democrats particularly nancy pelosi and chuck schumer have chosen to do is crimes through a 1.9 trillion package that includes things like funding on the national endowment for the arts and national endowment of humanities and the subway in silicon valley to help nancy pelosi constituents and while the washington elite did eventually

realize that splashing $100000000.00 on a subway in the richest town in america wouldn't sit well with those people standing in line to food banks when will it realize that it works for we the people and not me myself and i. well the mainstream media were delighted by the bill and the washington post initially branded it a defining names by biden however it was forced to change its headline after a backlash online shall waste money on americans could washington post exaggerate by density of months in the market desk way probably not shameful lou make it rain with a check that still doesn't cover a whole month's rent soak up all of the money show us my fellow paws the amounts are being paid or just a drop in the end of the bucket the payments are proof that their faith and the bite administration was well founded and the reality is of course that much more of

their covert relief bill is going to other causes another interest groups in the us you know we have a constitution and the government has grown by leaps and bounds beyond what the original intentions were at this point the number in the duties of the american federal government have. the number of tourists arguments over laughable you know the last coded stimulus package had billions and billions being sent to foreign countries this one has everything from money for amtrak which is a perennial loser of money. 3000000000 in aid to aircraft manufacturers almost 300000000 for the national guard for the arts and all while people are suffering and i would add while there are clear signs that the global appetite for u.s. treasuries which is the us debt seems to be waning this is a heck of a time to be incurring a lot more debt. still ahead today as brazil reports disturbing new coded records president also tells the country to stop whining about the disease we'll

have a look at that plus other stories just after the break. is your media a reflection of reality. in a world transformed. what will make you feel safe from. tyson nation community. are you going the right way or are you being led. what is true what is faith. in the world corrupted you need to descend. to join us in the depths. for

a mate in the shallows. join me every thursday on the alex simon show and i'll be speaking to guest of the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. president also has called on people to stop whining about brazil's covert catastrophe despite the country registering its highest daily death right last week it has the 2nd highest death toll in the world with more than 260000 victims. sure going to for this quarter do you mean enough with the pretentiousness enough with the wind how long are people going to carry on crying for us if we have to confront the problems obviously we need to respect the elderly those with

conditions but where is brazil heading to if we live in fear. meanwhile health authorities say just over 7000000 have so far received at least one vaccine that is brazilian hospitals are struggling to find ring for the sick and the health system is overloaded to highlight the point this is a container that has been placed outside a clinic in the north of the country to hold victims of the disease presence gave us a reaction. but i think people are panicking and this container shouldn't be out in the open this doesn't help. that it has a huge impact i think it makes you more careful and more inclined to protect yourself it's only when you actually see it that it has any impact when you realize that our people in their lost loved ones were all to blame the people but also the government because they should set the example. the editor of a brazilian news site told us that the president must take the blame for the worsening situation. i think it's political strategy both so that it

is all the time trying to prove to brazilian book relations that he has this situation under control over the situation is completely out of control i don't feel that brazil is going to have back the situation before may or june because we are very. a. nation we don't have any more income to protect people. to stay at home 'd i think the next 30. days i going to be even wars the situation we levy through at this moment. meanwhile there is desperation and anger in lebanon as the country's economic downturn pushes more people to the brink last week the lebanese currency hits and

feeling nationwide protests reporting from the capital his local journalist in the tummy. and out on the return to spears have blocked the roads they blocked them with burning tires trash and trash bins they set trash bins unfired basically everybody is angry at the further collapse of the lebanese lira to the dollar the lebanese pound reached $10800.00 lebanese the rest to a dollar which is very much unprecedented the protesters are very angry at the government for being so inefficient for not being able to form a cabinet that would unlock the $1000000000.00 promised by the i.m.f. should the reforms be finally implemented it's been close to 7 months now that lebanon has been without a proper functioning government because situations that is very very. very low. we close this road because this is our land our country and we have become

poor we have endured so much that's why we are closing the roads again and won't let anyone pass. on we are starving we are here at martyr square setting tires on fire because the price of a loaf of bread has risen to $3000.00 lebanese pounds and that of a kilogram of rice to $7000.00 all while the dollar keeps rising there seems to be no end in sight a lot of people a lot of lebanese people are thrown deeper into poverty and a lot of people are desperate they're fleeing the country they're now jobless they're left with absolutely no hope and this is why they're expressing their anger and frustration out on the streets of beirut. now we'll end with a story of inspiration and terminations because an arty documentary has been following a russian paralympic athlete and member of the national sailing team he lost his leg in an accident while serving in the army despite that dmitri stays active in

the gym pool and filming crews video blog back in 2019 he became the 1st russian paralympian to cross the bosphorus strait. between europe and asia and he's also won the national sailing cup for differently abled athletes you can meet him and understand his story in full the day and at various times here and out. of it being ritually a good idea but i. wonder if your idea that. those of when i was at the hospital i asked my dad to bring me weights on this builder's expanders and when i was training i've watched the olympic games and i was like i want to be like them. and i'd like to see the perception of people with disabilities change i want others to see our personality not just our disability pain or suffering if we ask anyone here to name 5 famous people but no one will remember a disabled person. if we narrow it down in essence

a name paralympic athletes for example no one will remember any specific names even though we're supposed to be proud of them the championship is in 2 days and we're getting ready to go on the upper arm. chair for us but if you notice way with grandma. and are sure a lot of pictures but we have learned by pressures of go up a hill and there are huge in this neighborhood everyone knows us in summer when i go outside with my prosthetic leg to walk the dog all the children go nuts when they see me sometimes i feel a bit awkward when i walk by myself without my dog lawson and some kid runs along with his mom or dad the kid says hello calling me by name they know me as that's a guy without a leg he walks around with a funny looking pooch see here on this page it says military service exemption surgical floor number so and so and that's it they brought me to some military hospital took me upstairs on a stretcher this typical surgeon guy came in he laughed about something gave me

a shots and i was out when i woke up my leg was gone. but i mean if people with disabilities want to be viewed differently they need to stop feeling sorry for themselves. yes but the thing is i am an athlete and i don't like just to lift weights at the gym it doesn't excite me it's boring staring you in the console idea and. a lot more so idea why do i do other plans i'm going to plant leach and it's been able to boycott now gone. now i get that i want to. go with i want to go around the world on the boats. and i want. to i want to live on a boat. along. with the other one. and i sometimes feel like i'm living in a reality show and that's all this is not happening to me really it's i'm just

having a dream when i wake up i'll just gets up and go to work on 2 legs to some factory. and then to look out for you can see that documentary in the back throughout the day here and that brings you up to date that's how the news is looking to you we're back again at the top of. some control for a middle class to homeless most of our very hard working people who want to get ahead that either have some some health issues or have some of it out of strict about luck a full time job won't always pay for a place to live and missing just a month's rent can get you a victim to gunpoint if anything bad happens to any thing that just throws your budget off slightly. you better catch up real quick or you're going to have

a judgment of possession against you and get addicted by anyone that's homeless is treated like garbage people look at you like a monster or someone bad or you chose to be there most of the time it's not the case see how it is to be pole in the world's richest country. max kaiser one for my guide to financial survival this is. a device used by professional scallywags to earn money. that's right these has fallen. you're simply not accountable and were just. totally destabilize the global economy you need to protect yourself and get in for god's guys or for.

ah. you were a police. detective talking about her because you're going to ensure. you leave that up. i just sat there watching minutes. you're not going home tonight i can guarantee they. won't come back to wrongful conviction with your use of the law today we're going to be doing a deep dive into an issue that is fascinating incidents. which is the phenomenon of false confessions and i guess today is going to be jane fisher already also was currently working on more cases involving false confessions and each is fascinating its own way said jane while some confession and jane is an attorney who is an

expert on false confessions and so jane how did you get into this work i was a public defender in manhattan here in new york city for about 3 years and we saw a lot of police misconduct you know we were doing arraignments up until 1 am in the morning and you see people beat up or you know people whose cases get dismissed who get no compensation so my husband and i left the legal aid society with the hopes of doing civil rights work. my name sold the distinguished professor of psychology at john jay college of criminal justice once a false confession was taken the case was closed nobody really can tell the difference between a good confession and one that is a problem with all of this is that your tactics that can be used to get innocent people and i don't just mean vulnerable innocent people i mean people who are sitting around in this room to confess.