our. president receives a russian made vaccine against covert 19 the kremlin says he's in good spirits and ready to get back to work. in germany imposes yet another covert lockdown after a surge in infections while the health minister is caught up in a scandal over a new face mask supply deal. frustrations boil over in france britain over relentless pandemic restrictions with many saying enough is enough. we no longer stand on a little lost the soul of the. district's life so much we are here in castle today because all the measures that are being taken here in germany no longer serve the people. on the russian foreign minister says moscow's no longer able to

maintain meaningful relations with the e.u. as an organization after a series of snubs from brussels. global views live from moscow the international scholar brought welcome to world news this hour 1st the kremlin has announced that the russian president. has been vaccinated against. such has more on how it's part of a push to get the country. he said he'd do it and he's done it on tuesday evening we did get was now we foster that a job was on the cards on monday journeys video conference between the president and national front scene when you factor as it was then that he finds them all involved in fights in development for the enormous contribution that they've made not just here in russia but of course globally in the fight against corona virus

but it was undoubtedly his very casual most in passing mention it seems obvious getting the shot that really grabbed headlines now whilst we do have confirmation that it did go ahead as planned it was not recorded at least not publicly so while some leaders such as joe expired in america for prime minister boris johnson actively invited cameras into that vaccinations president putin clearly didn't want this to be a p.r. stunt he treated it as a private medical issue and this wasn't probably not surprising given that he had previously mentioned that he wasn't really big into this sort of making a big political show of leaders being faxon ate it we do know that he is feeling very well and apparently the kremlin says that he will be watching a full day on wednesday one question though does remain which job did he get vaccinated with global of course sputniks he is probably the most talked about and it's registered in dozens of foreign countries but here in russia it's actually

only one of 3 available we will probably not find out which one was the chosen one with the kremlin reasoning the president didn't want to seem to favor any of them since all 3 are as safe and effective as each other. group we are deliberately not revealing which facts you know the president is taking there by stressing the new 3 russian vaccines are absolutely safe and effective we have no need to try to boost the popularity of speech especially through artificial means to monitor the vaccine is such that our manufacturing capacity can't meet international requests as it needs which. it's why we are struggling in production in foreign countries must know of course saying once president being vaccinated can only be positive encouragement for citizens i'm sure the kremlin is hoping that this will trade or boost uptake domestically not being certain russia's vaccination rollout is fairly steady the latest official figures released on monday with that 4300000 people are

totally vaccinated of the 6300000 a hof way that they've received the 1st doses and this is actually something that we talked to the deputy prime minister about specifically about one possibly herd immunity will fall here in russia so finally we can get rid of those mosques or as you mentioned well gratia has extensive experience a nationwide vaccination we have got used to voluntary nature i think trying to pressure foolish people to get a chip or stay home because they haven't been inoculated that's wrong because everyone is different some people have a medical reason to not get the short and for the sake of common understanding we've established the number of people who need to be vaccinated to reach collective immunity is almost 69000000 people we are pursuing this goal rapidly and estimated at the current rate we can reach it by august but we hope the pace will increase so voluntary vaccines for here in russia on tuesday president clinton being the latest to take advantage of that certainly

a step towards allaying any potential vaccine hesitancy but perhaps more significantly really a sign of op salutes faith and pride and russian science and its latest medical breakthrough. german chancellor angela merkel has that i was yes another round of tough nationwide covert restrictions through to mid april describing the situation is very serious the new measures include a ban on gatherings of the closure of shops made in effect of shutdown of public activity over easter. if we are in a situation which is very serious the number of cases is rising exponentially and intensive care beds are filling up again. and it comes after a german research institute confirmed the country's entered a 3rd wave of infections last week saw the highest number of daily coronavirus cases in 2 months to a massive corruption scandal over facemasks has now reached the top with the health minister facing questions our europe correspondent has the latest. the federal

government here in berlin has extended covert 19 restrictions across the whole country but that is amid a mask crisis which is ensnared a new face the german health minister a report over the weekend in the online version of news magazine dish claimed again spawned authorize the purchase of more than half a 1000000 masks from a company called bird bird as berlin boss mr spawn's husband himself down your food and care the company insists mr frewen care had nothing to do with this transaction that no commission was paid and denies any wrongdoing whatsoever 1st on to what order media the board of hooper birds of media over the health ministry to assist with mask procurement when the german government wants an urgent need for this this is your proof of the minister directing that kind of act and the minister of defense but that means that the board a representative in berlin mr frum was not informed about the mask business neither

by his company nor his husband who had been the direct contact person that contradicts common sense. i can only repeat that according to bird there mr spawn's husband was not informed or involved in the transaction at any time and earlier version of the article had claimed the bird it was owned by the health ministers husband that was later corrected to reflect mr frewen his role as an employee but that hasn't stopped lawmakers from seeking cover. cations from the health minister this salami tactic with the bit by bit information from the ministry of health about the procurement of masks undermines the trust in the institutions of our democracy it has to stop we now need an end dependent transparency officer to shed light on what is going on the health minister himself is biased mr spawn's allies have dismissed the article as thin soup but opus ition polities

a circling and can smell blood the bird that publishing house owns papers like been 10 bird houses deals nasco half a 1000000 went to spawn's health ministry bird has been a representative in spawn's husband birth like to attend bird parties because somehow the villain has to be paid one does one extra they have to do in the merkel kevin and to be dismissed. of course procurement had to be done quickly during the crisis but the wording of $4600000000.00 euro suave out a call for tenders is under considerable suspicion in view of the corruption scandals to ruling coalition politicians of already fall in jus to personal business dealings in masks for profit scandals but what started out as a probe into a pandemic profiteering now morphed into a wider investigation into what money german politicians have been making aside from their ministerial salaries the scandal is caused real damage to the ruling

conservative union's reputation they suffered for huge historic losses in recent local elections with the green party taking up the slack in one of those areas and nationally when it comes to polling they were merged as a real potential challenger in this september's bundestag elections in what's being called the super election year here in germany that couldn't be a worse time to have the whiff of corruption surrounding you peter all over r.t. berlin and we discussed the situation in germany with a member of the ruling party which is embroiled in the mosques scandal he told us the country is more divided than ever to make things worse people are fed up with contradictory lockdown rules. germany has never been as polarized as this and in post-war history we have a gap between rich and rich and poor country and city young and old left and right nationalist and patriotic people are fed up or see

a lockdowns i've just heard reports from from a different source from russia that pretty much life is back to normal it's it's tough it's one of the toughest countries in germany some of the european countries germany politicians are basically toppling over each other to raise the bar to make it even more difficult for people plus the vaccination council germans if they used to one thing are used to an orderly state orderly administrative procedures and we don't see any of this and we see contradictory. administered orders we see contradictory and failing state policies so germans are fed up but they don't or all of the requisite and appropriate conclusions in the right numbers that this government has failed. and it's not only germany saying tempers flare after more than a year of tough restrictions our correspondent in paris has been gauging the mood across europe after a weekend of widespread protests. i. sat. on

the streets of europe these are all the scenes that have been playing out this country is what's again are announcing a fresh wave of restrictions as the 3rd wave hits rallies protesting against what they branded health dictatorships were held from austria to sweden serbia to switzerland from poland to france demonstrators say they simply have enough we don't know we are fed up we no longer know which flew to stand on a little lost the soul of blur we have the impression of being muzzled we're not free. we no longer have a social life this restrictions are totally useless i don't feel like i'm

a log we can go out like you want as long as we have our sophistication so should we change the restrictions maybe. in germany more than 20000 troops to the streets in the city of care so one must protest is to cry to recent reversal on the easing the destruction was a threat to freedoms. we are here in castle today because all the measures that are being taken here in germany no longer serve the people but i consider corona virus to be a serious disease just like the flu which can also be very serious but to make a pandemic out of it as we are experiencing now with many restrictions on our basic rights i don't think that is justified. we want to cannons and pepper spray we used to disperse protest is the tactic was also used in the netherlands protesters were left wet but they were made. undeterred across in the u.k.

in the capital of london protesters to fight a current baron on public demonstrations days demanded the rules change the pool echoed by more than 60 who's they've recruited or who are said to truly say formalizing people for protesting. in must see different turku is taken in different ways 8 to help you they should house to stop the streets for you to play callable a part yes it is shut down play officials as it descended into destruction. nothing justifies destroying collective halfords to contain the virus nothing

justifies desecrating the side of the root of bind building collapse nothing justifies attacking children's games and public facilities while the e.u. is trying to tackle vaccine shortages it's admitted to making mistakes during the pandemic but have lessons been learned and i think this is a still being made on the go ahead no very thought for. i think they know doing a very good job at it even if it's working but by luck not really by design i think that. extends is a lamb to a very sick of it but i think that. is the most important thing is that 0 is a new consent to say europe and a little i think we have learned some and we took action. the thing is you call them districts life so much easier citizens are once again feeling the pain of tightening. actions but after more than

a year of living by the rules it seems now that more and more people believe that they are if they do damned if they don't. ski auti paris. if oh things ended in israel's 4th parliamentary election in 2 years prime minister benjamin netanyahu is hoping for reelection despite standing trial on corruption charges the 1st exit polls have been released has taken out of the land now let's go live to jerusalem our correspondent for the slayer either here we are again how's it looking this time paula. well essentially does has emerged an election of a way that would not need 10 yahoo sit stay in office and the initial exit poll suggests that it might just be doing that we are hearing and this was the prediction prior culls that netanyahu is it could pontius come in with some steam now they need 61 to secure a majority coalition and is netanyahu who owns alliances with other right wing

parties he could get 50 people he's still short of the next $61.00 but there is a further right wing plot and headed up by enough to be bennett and it's been a joint been you wouldn't have the time yahoo's majority coalition with 61 see it very very slim majority there you do have the opposition which comes from the sentinel it's coming in with some $59.00 seats so at this stage it's still too soon to colds whether or not this means that we are going to have another government and in its own yahoo way that they will need to be in that at the next and remember that this is the most election in 2 years it's also the post in action that israel has been holding i'm going to coronavirus night 6 o'clock this evening it was a turnout of some 51 claim i have to say which is actually quite you know when you compare it to previous elections so questions being asked why have you swayed he's not come forward is it becomes a problem if i was in a concerned is it because of so to put all on the other reasons at play be voting

which i visited today have been well equipped to deal with a coronavirus they were people ensuring that those who come and votes have been lost they say it's distancing it's all kind of liquids gels and of course now we're waiting to hear want to do is going to use what is going to be finalised in the week chumming culls it is a point in mentioning that the only thing this state seem to have done in national debt and what's predicts it will be just annual state interest party and of course he does on amazon for actually give us an indication as to whether or not. many dog will not be relaxed and the way to be knocked on yahoo is once again prime minister so. a clearer picture emerging in the coming hours to get some reaction on my behalf another poll of interest which i can relate to thanks for now though joining us live is mark schulman it is history central dot com and right of for the times of israel. they had him again we've got mr netanyahu is numbers

edging ahead we've been here before diminishing returns in the turnout numbers as well feels like less and less of a mandate with each passing election but does he have the numbers to do it. it's very close will be too hard to say we just have the 1st. results but have to see the actual results as they come in over the night to see whether the initial polling was correct or not is really getting it's one vote c.m.e. theoretically a sticky one with no naftali bennett they'll be 2 stories i think the 3 stories of this election one will be able to make it we will not know that for a while number 2 the fact that if he does make it a will because the arab israelis came out much lower numbers that was one of the things that happened this election in the last election the joint arab israeli list received a joint with the abolition excuse me received 15 feet this time they have a seat and a breakaway party may not make it as of right now we're talking about 61 to 15

onwards assuming the breakaway party has not made it although this we will know that for sure so is a true magic drop in the power of the arab israelis in the parliament that's because they have their. participation has clearly gone down now some of that went to the left wing. regular israeli zionist parties the big one of the 3rd story of this election is going to be the fact that 2 parties that have been written off instead both the merits which the far left body and the i've adopted in the labor party both have gotten 7 each and they were questioning whether they'd even make it into the parliament the other story is of course many guns were also the question whether he would make it in and of course initial polls actually got a mandate so a lot of a lot of changes from the polls that took him out before the election. also the party you don't saw was the breakaway from the 10 yahoo also a liquid nick right wing he got at that moment i think 5 seats which was an amazing

drop from initially when he 1st came out there talking about 20 seats it was going to be the savior of the likud over the right wing but he wouldn't go with netanyahu so natanya who successfully man. it's to bring back most of his right wing voters and he also has the extreme right religious zionist party which is very very right wing and they've also gotten in this time he managed to create a marriage between them and slightly less. right wing parties but quite right wing and they've gotten 5 seats so managed to bring all of the right to be voting for him or a good percentage of it the breakaways of back but it may not be enough we will not know we will not know maybe in the middle of night we probably won't know until what's called the double envelopes those of the soldiers of the people who are in in prisons and also in this case all the people who are in quarantine they all voted specially what's called the envelopes and they don't get counted until the

very end and that won't take place probably until thursday so it will be of nailbiter because we are really talking about the question of if he does not get 61 he will not it will not be prime minister again the bowl prime minister again the ball will go to another election i mean israel loves having elections it looks like we've got the most elections of any democracy in the west and i'm sure you don't to be here again in a few months time doing the same thing if he does get that magic number then mr shulman how might this just looking down the line here because he's got that corruption trial due to start again in april the theory being that he might use legal machinations in order to prevent a serving prime minister from facing legal action do you think he would make those moves if he does get those magic number. if he can he will there's a lot of questions with that because the trial actually begins in a couple of weeks right after the passage of a holiday he will not have a government by then so he can't do anything until he has a government there's also some question that no one really knows the answer to where the president really will give him the 1st chance to create

a government even if he has the most recommendations and that's the way it goes up the president's judgment but it is the president's judgment this is the last time president obama will be doing this he retires in 2 months and he might come around say listen i really can't give us the someone who's on trial for corruption so a lot of open question who's on trial for corruption so a lot of open questions here. we don't know how this will will play out. you know it's a night of big surprises and with a lot of uncertainty and an uncertainty has been the story is really politics now or for a number of years basically since the trials or the indictment of prime minister netanyahu the investigations and his insistence on remaining in office to root out who it all so a lot of uncertainty coming out i'm sure by tomorrow morning we'll know a little bit more but probably one of the final results until thursday at the earliest given that mr netanyahu is israel's longest serving prime minister but

there have also been 38 weeks of protests against him it's a divided country all this how many of his opponents are going to pull as opposed to feel about the possibility of mr netanyahu securing yet another turn. great deal disappointment the big great deal of anger amongst a lot of people is a question of you know how is it even possible that he decided to keep on running up and he was the one who when i heard olmert was being investigated not even indicted when he was being investigated he said he could not remain prime minister for someone who's being investigated cannot be prime minister because we will never know whether these decisions are being made because of his investigations or because of the good of the country that's what i've been a 10 yo when he was out of office in the opposition that's what he said about it all more so a lot of people saying you said that then and now what about that oh so and this be a lot of disappointment of course there's a you know the anger is strong amongst the opposition the feeling that. enough i

mean keep in mind the fact he was the longest serving prime minister you know a lot of people in this country young people don't even know any other prime minister as far as 2nd time promise and you know it is the prime minister so to speak there is nothing nothing else they haven't lived through anything else and so . there's going to be no this country is really divided on this issue almost more so than divided on religion and state than on the palestinian issue they really divided on whether that they now should remain prime minister keeping in mind the fact that. the parties that at least said they didn't want to be prime minister of the you mean a party of bennett whether he goes into this coalition or not basically said that. basically said that. they don't want to be in the coalition and that he came in the only question today they don't want bennett to be prime i'm sorry about that they do not want and if they're not wanted now to meet prime minister that's what bennett was saying all along so if he does go into the election the coalition is

doing that against what he what he said during the during the election and against what most of his voters want most voters want gone. well full time blockade maybe for the knesset may be able to for working government this time around if not the world's hardest working an election stuff in israel ok that's for sure keep on going back and having you another election or this one in the middle of corona or whatever else happens we need to thank those people all the work they've done and how to do it very quickly also the shortest period of time between a decision to go for an election and the actual running the election yeah very very difficult time so you go out to the more i'm actually thanks very much for joining us live from tel aviv thanks for that. my pleasure thank you. just so. a diversion for you while europeans batten down the hatches the picture elsewhere is very different in terms of lockdowns our t's got

a covert 19 freedom index for you it ranks the restriction levels by country and territory there are a few surprises among the data as well on there if you want to check that out head to r.t. dot com. russia's foreign minister said that relations with the e.u. as an institution of the century ground to a halt speaking at a news conference with his chinese counterpart sergey lavrov said the brussels has killed off all cooperation. with us so use of good we don't have any relations with the european union as an organization the infrastructure of further relations was destroyed by unilateral decisions from brussels well it certainly isn't business as usual business as usual has been dead since 2044 minutes. specified because that's when all these meetings annual consultations summits between senior our profile russian officials and european commissioners and leaders

that is when they ended ever since then it's been a steep it wasn't a gradual it's been a steep decline but it is important to draw the distinction he said that really relations between the european union as a as a huge bureaucratic machine soulless bureaucratic machine those are dead the relations between various european states and russia there are a lot of it in some cases very healthy but sergey lavrov did say there are there is hope because if the european union changes its outlook changes its approach decides that it wants to improve mend relations russia russia will be there but that. has to happen as equals on equal footing to mutual benefit so russia isn't about to bend over backwards to do something that europe wants especially not after not after everything that has happened in china shares much the same opinion. as me

here china and russia but they know it's the invented pretense is an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of china russia a long gone result to uphold international justice remains undiminished ok no 'd rob was in beijing making a statement as he was talking to his chinese counterpart let's talk for a minute then about russia chinese relations was that going to becoming closer and closer and they being driven closer and closer because look at the european union's policy towards russia for the better half of a decade the united states to it was sanctioned everything that they feasibly could it was to try and contain russia to coerce it into doing into behaving in a way that europe wants that suits european or american interest and hours of work nothing's changed i mean they're the 1st to admit it that it hasn't worked so far but they believe it will work for some reason in the future and that is the approach they're increasingly taking towards china because we've heard multiple

times in recent years that from european from american officials that it's china not russia that's the potential big threat of the future china's g.d.p. its economy its military spending its population all in cleats that of russia and lately the biggest scandal was that the european union has now put into effect sanctions against china for its treatment of the we good people who are violating apparently their rights the chinese have protested this they have summoned the european ambassador told him in writing in word but nevertheless there is little hope that europe will change its attitude. in the immediate future and you know of commenting on russian sino russian relations he says there's a whole lot more chance and opportunity in the east than there is in the west.

the european union destroyed all mechanisms to re have been trying to build over many years we have us partners individual european countries guided by their national interests and that objectively leads to the fact that our relations with china are developing faster than what is left of relations with european countries both countries of course insist on loosening getting rid of this sanctions regime that has blew up in europe in the united states over the last decade or so but they also said that you know looking looking into the future when in the future some european commission drafts yet another report about potential threats in the future and says it's incredibly worried about russia and china growing very close politically militarily that it should look back to this moment to this moment when it sanctioned both countries and drew them together.