i'm sure i'll see you then. headlining this hour u.s. regulators force astra zeneca to a job less effective than previously claimed inconsistences in trials. a drag queen web site in a book called racist baby the washington post is ridiculed for offering parents learning material but we put it up for debate. we have to. be naive. producing books. talking about. babies it's just. nonsense. and in a special report we travel to one of the world's 1st places to scrap. that it's officially free of restrictions russian republic of chechnya.

and here in moscow welcome to world news for marty international. us medical regulators have forced astra zeneca to admit. less effective than it claimed the authorities revealed the. outdated information in vaccine trials. reports. well astra zeneca is hardly out of the headlines these days and now it's in them because its drug is said to be less effective than originally thought the data and safety monitoring board expressed concern that astra zeneca may have included outdated information from the trial which may have provided an incomplete of the efficacy date us regulators questioned the efficacy of the astra zeneca job forcing

the company to publish additional data to show what happened in its trials as a result of that we now know that the astra zeneca jab is 3 percent less effective at dealing with symptomatic cases of covert 19 however it is still 100 percent effective at dealing with severe cases including those that require hospitalization this is what astra zeneca has had to say the primary endpoint maxon efficacy at preventing symptomatic of its 19 well 76 percent occurring 15 days or more after receiving 2 doses given 4 weeks apart well astra zeneca has had a pretty bumpy ride in the e.u. after they were all humans about whether it was filling its contract and delivering the required number 2 says he was also accused of the right thing to seize from the e.u. to go to the u.k. which has caused a huge storm between the u.k. and the e.u. then of course we had jobs of astra zeneca being suspended last week after swathes of european countries were concerned that they were possible links to blood clots

that led to the european medicines agency this is the d.m.a. having to really reveal all of the data and they came to completion again last week that it believes that astra zeneca is a safe vaccine sheaves the benefits of the vaccine in combating the still widespread throughout of kovi 19 continue to outweigh the risk of side effects the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of blood clots and those who receive it however the. may said it would now be adding warnings to the medicine to let people know that one of the possible side effects could be blood clotting a warning that's already in place in countries such as canada but despite those reassurances from the e m a there hasn't been fully convincing the european countries some european countries like france finland iceland have decided that they will start giving astra zeneca again in fact some of them already have however they will only give it to

populations of old age groups and that's because when the evidence will move things they said in their press conference last week was that the case is that they had seen a blood clotting that could possibly be linked to astra zeneca. in the younger age groups now trusting seneca has completely gone off the edge of a cliff across the european union a recent survey by hugo found that the majority of people just didn't think that this vaccine was safe so this new information about the fact that it's quite as effective as we previously would lead to believe may seem like a very small thing but it really could erode trust even further. british dr bob girl who's also the producer of the 29000 documentary the great n.h.s. high stock to go welcome back to r.t. this isn't good news for astra zeneca or is it how hard is its reputation going to

be hit by this do you think. well of of had a few more patients you know asking about the concerns that have been reason regarding the clotting and also if this is so the way astra zeneca has handled this seems very unfortunate i think dr felt she said this was a run for sarah releasing data through press release when they actually had their health fire and released more comprehensive data i think they would have avoided this and. how do you think it came to ask them why do you think this happened it managed to overstated its efficacy is it just in the general speed of trying to get medicines out there during this pandemic i think you know it's not quite clear who's in charge of the communications for the big companies because. the motive behind releasing it does it have something to do with share price is it to satisfy commercial concerns because the it wasn't that great had they had fire and had the

the statistics been fully known and been less lecturing but it still would have met the standards for licensing i don't think anybody would have batted an eyelid so i think this is a come a breakdown in communication and totally avoided in terms of the effects on it the use of it roll out do you think european states could again suspend the use of astronomical they've done it before. i think on the back of previous controversies initial concerns about efficacy over the age of 65 and then last week we had the concerns around the block blocks this doesn't help and it may just cause politicians to pause once again but in the u.k. because the estrogenic backs it was developed in knots that it has a bit more of a reputational protection so i think this is less hesitancy in this country we must all of us try and maintain public trust and confidence in the backs of nation program but that's the difficult thing isn't it because even if the regulators are

being well if not wary but cautious and you've got governments who are wary when it comes down to patient level the unqualified people it doesn't take a lot to jar their confidence does it yeah i think you know where possible these sort of disagreements need need to be avoided having waited for the regulator and the supervisory committee to give the all clear would have been a far better position state for by the drug companies so so this is a avoidable mistake and you know public trust is being dented but hopefully not to the degree that will make a significant difference so he makes a difficult job for astra zeneca now that is now i suppose ok dr bob dylan london thanks for joining us on r.t. thank you. nice to nice a schoolteacher new yorker in northern england been suspended after showing pupils a cartoon of the prophet mohammed during a lesson protesters gathered outside the school calling for the teacher to be sacked as early reports next. a religious studies teacher at

a school in west yorkshire in the north of england has been suspended after showing his pupils a picture of the prophet mohammed during a class now of course when it comes to the islamic religion any depictions of the prophet mohammed is considered to be. due to a backlash by a number of muslim parents of some children in that class the school took action and the head teacher gary kimball releasing a statement apologizing to the local community for any offense caused the school unequivocally apologizes for using a totally inappropriate resource in a recent lesson the member of staff has also given their most sincere apologies we have immediately withdrawn teaching on this 4th of the course and we are reviewing how we go forward with the support of all the communities represented in our school . letter didn't deter least 100 protesters from turning up at the school

when it was due to open in the morning now those protesters stood outside the school they called for an investigation in to the teachers some of them calling for him to be sacked but they were also addressed by a local a man who said that he was in contact with the school and dialogue with them and calling for an investigation to be carried out what happened here we are disgusted with has happened is totally unacceptable and we have made sure they are aware the teacher has been suspended they can't just sack him they need to do their due process we've asked for an investigation and investigation to be independent we are going to work with the school to make sure things like these don't happen of course those protests by those parents peaceful but of course disruptive but in the past we have seen the issue of the cartoons of the prophet mohammed sparking wide debate particularly in the wake of the charlie hebdo attack and so incidents lie. these

will only serve to continue to spark that debates whether one does have free speech to draw pictures of anyone offensive as they may be or whether there is a line that can't be crossed when it comes to not offending people not just in terms of religion but also the wider sense of safe spaces and other issues to do with free speech that we've seen rising up not just in the u.k. but also across europe and the west. apparently you're never too young to be progressive in an article in the washington post and experts go to parents to books websites and companies offering woke material for young children the feature titled social justice for toddlers talks about the importance of equality racial and gender education for kids the article highlights materials like a drag queen website books like anti-racist baby and woke baby and the firm selling toys and learning materials to dismantle buyers however many are found the advice divisive and even harmful can we just teach children to walk talk or play before we

start hoisting our deal to neurosis on them indoctrination is wrong washington post this conversation is one that divides us universal identity is what should be centered not race not gender this generation of kids is going to need decades of therapy after going through this critical race theory one half of them will just crumble under the white guilt pushed into them and turned into fragile ghosts barely resembling human beings the other half will just get radicalized we got a reaction to the washington post piece from talk radio host john gaunt and wayman bennett of unite against fascism. can i just check the calendar is a prove the 1st this is a complete and utter joke listen when kids are through for they want to play with each other and they should be encouraged how we as modern parents or grandparents should not be reinforcing prejudice our prejudices if we have them on

to the children of course it's important to show kids by example that you're not racist or homophobic or sexist i would agree with all of that but produce him pox for 3 year olds talking about arm awoke baby age just absolute nonsense the whole of america has laughed at the washington post 3 year olds don't buy books john parents buy books because what we're trying to do is to try and develop human beings to respect each other it's not automatic i will with the work the washington post are trying to do is have a discussion about how we develop people and that included parents so parents can be parenting they don't fear alone they label it start to try and bring up a better generation the previous generation that we have to do something. instead of being naive lout that happens as moses tried to instill and key races where

equality treatment or nonsexist behavior whatever it's not society is going to be very very difficult job we have to start somewhere you don't started 3 years old with a drag queen or have a huge new termes read in them bedtime stories at 3 years old the washington post have been ridiculed this is the wont sector the one sector trying to push their agenda on to 3 year olds well i'm sorry it's not needed it's not necessary if you conference racism if if you come across and sexism and if there's a problem in schools let's address that but please for goodness sake let. heartless be told let's see trying to teach our children to illegally quality. it's never too early yet. this is our human beings behave and that's important. to generation doesn't carry the previous sins of the previous other generations

since it's been so true this whole idea that i should feel guilty for the sins of previous generations well no i'm not going to pass that guilt on so the next generation i'm sorry i disagree completely. if you haven't received a parcel from abroad yet don't rush to blame the delivery guy your goods might be among those stuck in a jam right now in the world's busiest shipping route in the suez canal in egypt a giant container ships run aground and caused a major backup on that route the vessel which is 400 meters long that's around 4 football fields is currently wedged across the waterway trapping more than $200.00 other ships 12 percent of global trade passes through the suez canal and the blockage is halted almost $10000000000.00 worth of daily marine traffic egypt had to reopen the canals all the parallel channels to let some of the vessels through until the grounded ship is refloated that's not going to be a quick job either shipping experts think that there's lodging it could take days

or even weeks. so fine i'm going to leave you with this cove it's inflicted difficult times on all of us everywhere around the world it's also been uncharted territory that every country's quickly had to learn how best to get a handle on this massive new health threat some have it seems fared much better than others in their efforts so as humankind starts to work out what lessons can be learned and how to move forward we've got a special report for you next from chechnya often criticized from abroad for its humanitarian record and strict regime has it found a way through the pandemic could be a template our correspondent went there to see firsthand you decide. yeah they try to cheer me up a bit personally i condemn these methods but it seems they've proven to be quite effective and i think. they took me to the police station a couple of times what for for being outside but seriously let's start over europe

has a tough lie down to why hasn't it worked out for them one has a source in chechnya to do to do it if you will so that the banks who says hello 95 percent. wear a mask we're not alone on this trip were ever we go they are constantly with us. when you think of chechnya your mind will kind of some negative associations chechnya was one of the most frightening places and islamic extremism in chechnya to the horror of it i've never witnessed the authoritarian leader of the russian republic of chechnya. has a bad reputation in the west violations a crackdown on the eligibility community the lack of democracy the list goes on yet at the same time during the pandemic people here it's surprising is it might sound are in many ways freer than people in moscow new york london paris you name it. i

am in church now and that means i can legally without breaking any rules or regulations get rid of this you see chechnya has become one of the 1st regions in russia to lift a mandatory mask wearing make and effectively one of the few places in the world without coronavirus restrictions because as the local authority claimed they conquered the virus how common is formidable chechnya i know it's a democratic iraq that's enjoying the freedom of worship freedom of movement and that pretty basic right to live your life as you used to was it a chechen medical miracle or extremely oppressive measures. taken by the local government. i want to show you something we're not alone on this trip you know we have people from the local t.v. station here you are sort of trying to i were ever we go they are i'm constantly

with us you see those are my to my camera man and he was then the other guy is the one i'm talking about if you want to get access to certain places i'm certain areas you have to ride by the local maids free of information 1st and then they give you a chaperone so to speak so those are really nice guys and they're really hospitable . so it's not like they interfere in what we do but at the same time i thought i should mention this for the sake of this reporting was the 1st time i realized we were really need a chaperone was when we 1st walked out of the hotel and started filming a huge mosque in the city center were stabbed by some security guy here and i want to check you are and what are we doing here security still tight around here in the 1990 s. the region was controlled by slimy radicals who waged bloody wars against russian

troops the surge is to was crushed but you can still hear about isis linked militants attacking police officers in chechnya but if the war in terror is still ongoing here it looks as if the wording coronavirus at least has already been won and rosin is largest place of gathering the central moscow a new social distancing is required and masks are nowhere to be seen. more. of the. 10. 17. 95 percent older wear masks. first but a local a mom a recently recovered from coven there were is no thanking challenge and the region's leadership for allowing the people of chechnya to finally bridge this social

distance and come together for prayer. * * * that isn't exactly this book which is you know the number of new infections is going down with a lot of people good sense and it's all recovered from koza so what you're seeing now is to come possible because we followed old this so thanks to all the smoke we can stand together and pray this was. brought to me the region's cabbage you can walk into any cafe you traveled back in time to the pre-code era it is still weird that i have to wear a mask staff they don't wear masks at all so i think it looks strange after a year of that and that makes people around us seem to enjoy this newfound sense of freedom there is this one question we ask them that many appear reluctant to answer

but i heard that they had a very tough like down here in chechnya. well yes it is nobody can leave your house that it was very strict so. yes but our child they were sick and so i didn't get i don't know any way the money is here all right now yes he signed the girl was clearly i'm comfortable talking about the lockdown later the same day i had another intriguing conversation with locals that followed showed us how do you feel about the quarantine and the lock down and said truck it is i know what they took me to the police station a couple of times what for for being outside. without wearing a mask is that we weren't allowed to go outside at all. but seriously let's start over. there as that's how it all right let's start over. was the lockdown difficult for you there's a lot that it wasn't that difficult everything is good here in chechnya. to what

exactly did they help people yes they help people in need there is something about the chechen lockdown that makes people here very cautious about talking there were reports of force used against those who didn't comply with anti coronavirus rules actually several people were even beaten for sure wind up in public without a mask. and i mean you know in chechnya they used a special message to combat the spread of coronavirus right in and kind of my view to something like yeah you know the part of the north caucasus in general has seen anything like it seems to me out of what i personally i condemn these methods will fall not florida but it seems they've proven to be quite effective in modern more now when they feel that the war in shali which is a smaller town in chechnya and it came into the spotlight after this video came out . around a dozen of people in police uniform patrolling the area holding white plastic pipes

allegedly there was war local law enforcement and the pipes were meant as an intimidating tool for those who do not comply with quarantine we cannot verify the video although it raise concerns that an orthodox measures were taken in chechnya to pose an extremely tough lockdown at the local administration which is located inside this stunning skyscraper built in the town of 10000 people we were told that the video is just another fake before the debate over the internet what are going to our law enforcement offices always would within the limits of the laws in my own i could not in a civil. court in front we have a community that everyone knows each other you know there are so measures like food and would be quote unquote. so you heard the official viewpoint. here out what people on the streets have to say you know these are ok i've seen a video showing police officers in challis patrolling the city with plastic knives allegedly they have. true true now true and. the minute they

hear about this story with. about they wide pipes they. shy away. have you seen police men carrying white pipes nothing of the sort if it was a video i've been living in shaadi for 53 years and i haven't seen anything like it . we couldn't find anyone who would confirm that people were beaten in chechnya for not complying with the quarantine many locals who heard the rumor and literally everyone we met said they strictly followed all the rules introduced by the local government. to the shows i misspoke that i've just noticed dreams i'm could there was quote up there and it won't come but coronavirus you afford to come but. yeah it's like a cool tums as deputy minister of health and medicine at

a children's hospital that was turned into a center for example which is a chanst because i was vaccinated they even allowed me into the red zone to. go up so these are the patients right. yes these are the patients usually if a child gets sick he stays here with his mother. always worry quiet and spotless most of the units were empty and medical staff looked fresh and full of energy and the facility didn't look like it had a particularly hard time during deployment demick the region bragg's one of the lowest numbers of registered cases of daily new infections of covert related deaths i mean it really looks impressive which may janya to us that saddam got us in early and i don't trust the official numbers. erhard not only those provided by chechen officials but these fishel data for the north caucasus region in your mouth we've seen a lot of evidence showing that the numbers are under it's also time you know so imagine my surprise when not just an opposition journalist but also one of change now stop

health officials told me to do not take the fischel datta at face value. it is estimated there is a 50 percent of all population have probably already had to wait so you're saying that over 50 percent have to already had it but according to the officials and i specifically checked that the number of registered cases is that there are teams thousands and to make it clear. is the number of patients confirmed to the many people did not show any symptoms this one person in the family gets sick and the others are infected but now you symptoms and here we have families at least 7 people. but in other words not all who had it in church now were tested and therefore not all who got sicker it counted plus as a result of 2 devastating wars the region has the youngest population in russia according to the local health officials that explains the low death toll and the fact that chad has bounced back from the buyers that many other nations in this

grozny restaurant we interviewed the senior manager 21 year old team on. it how did you get through the pandemic was it hard to know it wasn't hard to have any of the local businesses shut down for good and you know nobody has shut down is fine so everyone has just reopened yes one how to stay afloat singapore why. is that a place i don't know i don't know how don so this. people here they have a safe in that which is their family's large family so when the pandemic came along when the lockdown came along here in chechnya a lot of people who. weren't paid they could go back to their families who live. in remote mountain regions you know any remote villages and they can get food support cloves this is something that a lot of people who live in big cities these days can rely on piers there's

a mom branom on has supported her mother her biting mozzies and actually employed by the restaurant. this is just the government you for your people have gone crazy they're fed up with all the lockdowns and quarantine do you have a feeling that people in chechnya have got tired too and are ready to revolt. i don't think so because of this e.c. help was provided for those nice i saw with my own trucks loaded with the tedious bread will help just provide it no thought in mind i'm on to say they had. neither went to hospital and both seem in full house now. that was quite a journey of people in church now their clients and their hospitable and they're always willing to help on the one hand but on the other they are cautious and they seem to always keep something for themselves especially when they talk with an

outsider they always mindful of what they're saying to you i guess this is part of the cultural code chechen society which went through 2 bloody wars is the tough it is closed and close knit at the same time. and their experience of getting through this pandemic might be different from what people have in europe the united states the rest of russia but it's hard to tell that it didn't work out at the end of the day so this is it were a flight out of back to moscow and what that means well for one that means that i have to put my mask back on.

when we watch movies that are about ai i think they typically make us worry about the wrong thing they make us worry about robots turning evil you know but the real threat of the last artificial intelligence is not that it turns evil but just that it turns very competent but has goals that are not aligned with our goals. are. welcome to alex salmond who from scotland we're going to turn our focus funds more to the dominating issue of the day now professor human comrie of university college london appeared on our show a few weeks when.