o israel becomes the 1st country to close its borders to all foreign nationals due to a new co with strain yamaha. and the variance is already spreading globally with australia and italy among the latest to detect cases also ahead. my son is down there and get mine as his mother. i feel bad. he's alive among the stories that shaped the weak seeds of heartbreak as families more in the loss of 51 people in the siberian coal mine explosion. several managers and officials have been arrested over 30 days disaster and 2 protesters are killed and more than a dozen injured by the french military in new jersey, according to local authorities. after an army convoy on the way to molly. confronted by writers,

ah, protecting lime direct from a studio the mafia. this is art international. i'm john thomas. certainly glad to have you with us as we recap the week some stories the weekly program. for now, israel is closing its borders to all foreign nationals for 2 weeks. as global panic spreads over a new covet variant, dozens of countries have halted flights from south southern africa where the amok constrain was 1st detected in johannesburg. the restrictions have left ere passenger scrambling to get out for many of them. it's already too late. the last plains to europe in north america have already departed ahead of travel deadlines imposed by governments while flight to major connection hubs such as doha, goodbye, and singapore. have all been suspended falsely earlier spoke with travelers at south africa's biggest airport straight didn't because nothing, nothing i can do coming as

a poll. i'm not getting anything dad saying, i don't know that when, when i can, i can fly to we've checked on the air, france and the flight was in consult. i think you can you hear? i'm see, i tend to be quite the way up with you but everything. so we're going to buy a new ticket. so it's chaos and zion and confusion. following the discovery of a new coven variant called me crohn. at his turn, the world upside down. people are rushing to the a port in a pace for the attempt to get on any remaining flight. and in fact, the queue of people are lining up in front of a close the ticket sales counter. they're hoping it will open and there might be a few things that they can still get on. many of them a person, because the united kingdom was the 1st to read list 6 southern african countries and insist that any travellers coming from them would have to go into quarantine for 10 days at a government facility. since then, the united states, canada,

and the european union and other major destinations have followed prices for flights and rapid pcl tastes. skyrocketing kim kirk, who is the founder and need volunteer of community circle home south africa. as for the last year, been hoping, traveling in an south africa, navigate the regulation. she's been inundated with calls apart from people running out of money. funds that they had that they had thought that was going to cost them to be here. medical aids usually only cover you for a certain amount of time abroad. travel, medical cover only covers you a certain amount of time that's going to run out. people have to get back to jobs. schools are going to open soon and the people trying to get the children home. the sense of loss is going to be felt because people are feeling like they are really trapped. and they're becoming more and more frustrated and see more and more tis what. hoping that governments can put measures in place that not just citizens,

but family of citizens. if you can show just show proof of some ty to that country, that those people will be allowed entry. even if it means extra p c r testing, or it means a little bit of quarantine with retesting in that country. but people have to understand that these are human beings. these are people who have got a need to travel, not a one. it is not clear where the army con, very 1st emerged. scientists from south africa with the 1st to alert the world health organization. the south african government has criticized international community for rushing to ban travel before the variance is properly assessed. and is concerned about the damage, the bad will do to both travel and business. for now, the faith of people stranded f. s. a port is unclear as a bold struggle to build with a new 300 foot south africa. with so many questions, mounting around the new across variance,

we spoke to helen reese from one of the largest research institutes in south africa to find out her 1st hand experience of the strain. the concern about this variant is that it has a large number of mutations many more than we've seen before. some of these mutations we've already seen on other variance, and we know that they can be associated with increased trance, this ability and possibly increase what we call them. you an escape. what that means is that they're more resistant to the protection that you get from vaccines. we've also seen that mostly initially in young people, that's probably because young people are like they are all around the world getting fed up with all of the restrictions that and what they are describing of the same sort of symptoms that we've seen with other covered infections so fever, headache, muscle, lakes, fatigue, cough and i haven't yet heard anyone talk about the lack of smell and taste with

this variance. we also have noted, and this is the true if you seeing the reports that we're getting from other countries as well, where they're also now identifying cases that people have been vaccinated in some cases fully vaccinated. so what we don't know is whether, what this variant is, is managing to do is to overcome vaccination completely. the antibodies that you get from vaccines completely, probably not. we're still hopeful that the faxes will protect against severe disease. and with the other variance that have emerged we've, although we've seen a reduced or reduced response to, to the vaccines. we have still seen protection against severe disease and death. we also spoke to the head of the russian director investment fund, which is over seeing the global distribution of the sputnik vaccine. he says,

a range of different jobs is key to fighting the pandemic and new strength. i think it's very important to investigate as in your very out a so far as to think has shown to be incredibly effective against all of the different mutations. and we will share some good data, hopefully a little bit later on agreed to efficacy against delta, very and so. so numerical force has to be started and we need to see how efficient as exists in like seeing side games in your area. but also we can really quickly about vaccine when you variant, if needed. and we believe that different counties have portfolio, different like seats, we see as a monopoly off and we're in a vacuum in europe failed to protect europe. so it shouldn't be about em, are they monopoly it should be about or to fully or different extent acknowledges, including the russian magazines, chinese vaccines, other vaccines from britain astrazeneca is very good and all this report folio different vaccines in countries protect themselves. meanwhile, here's

a weird one for you. how do you appropriately turn up to work with cove it? this is the question that the plague the checks president as he prepared to emerge from his sick bed to swear in the country's new prime minister. he turned up with health workers in hazmat suits and rolled in to a glass cage in his wheel chair for the ceremony. in addition to being covered positive, he had also previously spent 6 weeks with an unrelated illness out of work. the new p. m will take power and prague after being elected back in october, saying with covered though, as fears mount over the new variant, i'm a chron and countries tightening restriction san francisco mer, london breed was spotted flouting her own mask mandate by hitting the dance floor in a night club without a face covering, ah, san francisco may, a london breed is seen at a party in san francisco, not wearing

a mask in dose, violating her own into a mosque mandate. meanwhile, children across san francisco have to wear a mask while letting through the week part in like it's 1999 without mask. while your cd has fallen apart. london breed already got caught once before violating her own rules and had plenty of excuses. and here she is again, and she is not the only one. the american president himself, a spotted mask, was in a shop in massachusetts, despite repeatedly telling americans to wear them indoors. joe biden announced a covert action plan aimed at tackling the pandemic earlier this year. it includes mask wearing and social distancing, and the restrictions will be kept in place until sometime next year. we spoke to radio host and political analyst day perkins, who thinks that politicians should set a better example. they are lying to the american people when they attempt to force americans to wear

a mask. and the proof is quite clearly their under tv screen that the elite themselves don't bother with the masts. we've seen time and time again where groups of the leads in meetings are told by a camera man. we're going live in 30 seconds and they all scrambled to get their master. before the camera goes on, the lights come on. and then when the camera is finished doing its work, the masks come right off again. they never wear them in private, they never wear them inside closed rooms where they don't expect to be seen. they only wear them for show. it's quite clear the elite in america do not think master are necessary or don't think that they do anything or both. but they're still happy to thrust that restraint on the public and to punish them when the public does not meet the requirements of the law. gigantic, visible hypocrisy. alright, a renewed pandemic lamp down across much of western europe has sparked widespread st unrest and clashes with police. however, european union is distancing itself from the tough security response,

saying that it is purely a matter for national governments. mm with that since the european commission was not present at the scene of the riots and is not a police organization, it is not in the best position to comment on the actions of the police of the e you states, the maintenance of public order is strictly within the scope of the national authorities of the you states, under supervised by the national courts and the european commission is not in the best position to make specific comments. earlier this month at an anti lockdown protest in the dutch city of rotterdam. 51 arrests were made and 3 people hospitalized after police fired warning shots, similar scenes as well in the hague,

where 7 arrests were made. and over and austria, demonstrators were met with heavy handed police response. after the announcement of mandatory covered shots. there have also been large scale marches across france and belgium. and while the e u is refusing to condemn tough crowd control tactics in its own member states when it comes to certain other countries, it takes a very different view. the detention of over a 1000 demonstrators and violence used against them by the russian authorities across the country to day threatened the fundamental freedoms of expression association and assembly in the russian federation. fish to the people in hong kong, the support of european union toys now autonomy and from the mental freedom. we will continue to stand by the people are hung barouche and stitching to the streets . we smash protests and towards the violence against this peaceful protest. us was shirking and unacceptable. we turned then,

this brutality and expect a full and transparent investigation. yet, oh, but i said, i would like to read to write to the right of the cuban people to express their opinions in a peaceful manner. and i want to ask the government to allow these peaceful demonstrations and to listen to the discontent of the protest is heritage. but he think former newspaper editor, look, we're very thanks brussels views on human rights, are riddled with contradictions. europe, the european union in commission is all the land. they think. we think somehow all europeans that we are gods gifted that we know what is good for the people in the world. we think that on human rights, our position is always the right one. so sanctioned people we sanctioned be a mar if you're just done an african countries, asian countries, china and russia. of course, the arch villain is the whole standard because i was astonished as he got

a pin citizen to see that in the netherlands. one of the most, the more state of our countries in western europe, the police had to shoot with a real bullet in the crowd. the price was very silent about this. it was in a breast, but they did not insist while to me, it's something incredible. it's the 1st time since the last world war that we have to police in west of your shooting directly and people walk. there were some problems just after the war, but, but not that much. so. okay, good, good reasons that work black blocks, you know, extremists were there in the groups demonstrating but still in western europe, shooting with real bullets and the crowd. and then we have lessons to give to other countries. greg, that there is a problem that obviously misses on the land should say something, even if it's not aimed at the dutch government for it should be and that all government's asking for restrained. that's a minimum that she should say. search teams are working to recover

bodies from a siberian coal mine where an explosion on thursday led to the deaths of 51. people, including 5 rescuers emergency crews have had to stop work several times due to high methane concentrations and fears for their blast. the bodies of 5 miners have been found at various stages since saturday afternoon, 300 meters under the ground. there had been a moment of genuine hope. earlier when a rescuer who had been presumed dead managed to get out. his survival was described as a miracle. here's, he is now in a stable condition in the hospital and described what happened. i feel better now that i'm getting older, necessary treatment inside the mine i was lucky to find a place where the fresh air was flowing in. so that gave me time to lie down and get my strength back. i had all the life saving equipment with me. later i stood up and got out following the stream of fresh air. and finally my the local rescuers

team for which i'm thankful. now efforts to stabilize the mine of the going round, the clock in nitrogen has been used to clear out the dangerous method that is built up inside the mind and poses a risk of explosion. now at this point, there are literally no chances that anybody has survived was trapped inside. however, the distraught family members are still hoping that there could be some miracle and that their loved ones could still be alive. yeah, but yet my son is down there in the mine. as his mother, i felt that he is alive without some hope. when one man was found alive, he see if that man spent a day down there and survived. it means it's possible to survive. but we are tall, people die in 2 or 3 hours due to lack of air minus are onto their ramble. they are already counted his dad, just like that man has survived. now it's hard breaking to watch those scenes. there are still many family members who haven't lost hope, and their hope was only bolstered by the miraculous recovery of

a rescue worker who was presumed dead on friday. and having spent almost an entire day trapped inside the mind, the 51 year old alexander's accommodation somehow managed to get out of that mine. his condition right now is stable. it's expected that he will make a full recovery and make it back to his wife. and son, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the others who are trapped inside the mind. 51 people ultimately died and people are now wondering how this happened and what led up to this. a criminal investigation has been launched, and 5 people have been detained and arrested. the director of the coal mine, his deputy, and a person in charge of the exact mine have all been detained and also 2 safety inspectors who are accused of faking a safety inspection just a week before this tragic explosion. now all these people have denied their guilt, but nevertheless they have been arrested for 2 months, pending further investigation. but one thing that has become clear is that this mind has been plagued by safety issues. apparently,

most of the miners knew about these issues and reported them to the higher ups from the one little scogel. honestly, i remember my brother in law telling me about a methane program in the mine. they even had to resort to various methods to decrease the level indicators in order to get work done. he occasionally let his former head know about the situation. he wondered how he could work in such circumstances. the minds management was aware of what was going on with my husband came home and every time he was saying these won't and well, all the sensors were beeping down there. he sat, that's the conditions our minus half to working at the moment. now, all of these reports will be taken into account by the investigation, which is trying to get the to the bottom of what happened, how it happened, what led up to it, what were the underlying causes? and ultimately, how to prevent such things from happening again. but while that investigation goes on and rescue services continue working on securing the mind and recovering the bodies. relatives are still distraught and demanding more answers. dmitri powell,

arts, he camera among the survivors of thursday's explosion. dozens are injured in the list of their names is on display at the entrance to the mine medic. save that. they are making a strong recovery and are all in a stable condition. now let's rewind a little and take a look back at how the tragedy unfolded. 6 over 50 dead out. they horrific mon explosion inside barium. 8 30 am november the 25th. the mind with 285 people inside filled with smoke. after a methane explosion. show her for, for more than up with 9 am november the 25th actuation and rescue work starts reports of 1st casualties authorities and now there is no contact with at least 37 people. and 5 pm,

november the 25th rescue operations suspended in mid fears. if possible, explosion with over 30 mine is still missing. rescue a se, there's not much hope left because it's minus have only 4 hours of oxygen supply. 10 pm, november, the 25th group of rescue workers fails to come up after the threat of explosion. latent 3 of them were found dead. oh, good luck. on 5 year term, with 3 15 pm, november the 26th, a presumed dead rescue work came out on his own raising hope among desperate families of mine as it is not the 1st deadly accident. then this mine with another means said explosion, claiming 13 lives in 2004. i,

i know it, yes. did he a list you thought was move on? you was a we got reaction from disaster investigator arnold dick's. he explained some of the difficulties facing search chris. it's not like on hollywood. you can't send emergency services in so day, so far with technology, even today's technology to get in there safely. the area has to be made safe, typically in a mining accident when something like this happens very, there is no simple solution. this is the, the worst nightmare of, of anybody who's involved with mining. they usually aren't other options when the ventilation systems being compromised, when you've had the explosions, when the systems are destroyed or severely damaged. at the,

the options are very limited. a recovery operation in circumstances like this is extremely dangerous. it's extremely dangerous because in the 1st instance, the fact that the disasters occurred at all suggests that there's been a failure in the emergency and in fact normal ventilation systems. and then there having been an explosion, it means that many of the safety systems are likely now to be in operable. and i suspect, certainly it's been, it's my experience. but that's the sort of difficulty that these rescue as a now facing on the one hand. and there's the possibility that people may be trapped in areas with air which is still tenable. but on the other hand, the very real risk that rescuers themselves may be injured or worse in their attempts to find them. to protesters have been killed and close to 20 injured by the french army in asia. this is according to local

officials. this occurred after a military convoy en route to another african nation. molly was stopped by a large scale demonstration the convoy of the french ball. kane force, escorted by the national gent armory, was blocked by very violent protesters in sarah, in the talbert region. where at spend the night in its attempt to break free use force, leading to the death of 2 people and 18 wounded club. we have it from official accounts authorities in nyja, which say that after the french convoy had passed from burkina faso into niger about 30 kilometers in a huge crowd about a 1000 demonstrators tried to stop the convoy this, this fringe convoy friendship presents in the area has been unpopular with many people with some ethnicities. they believe all manner of stories about french troops and their relations with various rebel groups in the area. but they tried to

stop this. convoy and french troops reportedly began firing what they describe as warning shots, as well as tier gas. it is unclear how wounding shots could have injured 18 people killed 2, but apparently french troops as well as an is jerry and troops began firing a warning shots. again, as they say at these crowds details the still somewhat scarce. we expect to find out more, but the convoy has moved on off to this incident again, a very ill fated convoy because it landed in the ivory coast to support the french opperation in the area. it is seen, snaked its way up towards the north, towards molly and on the way it has said capital matter of incidence and book in a fashion that will multiple attempts, but by crowds in the thousands to stop these convert voss convoy made up of more

than a 1000 vehicles and then also they had the. busy flood warning shots as well as t, a gas in an effort to disperse the crowds. also number of people injured. as we've heard. busy but again, this convoy is now on its way through niger, intimately where fred shared bases and french troops, odd station, thousands of them. in the decade long flight, the bronze was waged against terrorists. it cools them as well as religious extremists in the region. we reached out to the french defense ministry for comment . the reply we received was that nigerian police and french officers had to fire warning shots after being subjected to a violent attack and stone throwing. they added that 7 french soldiers and employees were injured as a result of the assault doesn't for me, i will be back about 34 minutes with another lecture weekly. this is hard to international credited with

a join me every thursday on the alex simon shows and i'll be speaking to guess in the world of politics, support business. i'm show business. i'll see you then o

service delivers a 155000000000 pieces of mail every year. approximately 40 percent of the world's mail right now. the us postal service is in the fight of its life history. that is reduction bad, financial shape. now facing default, the postal service is a cash cow, and there was a way to pull money out of the postal service to put in the federal budget. there was a mandate that you're bringing a $100000.00, new revenue every month. the nature of privatization in the us postal service is very much hidden from public view. it's privatization from the inside out. why that's a big business in money. it's not about the public and given them a service that the design is not about quality trade workers. it's about

with me hello and welcome to oils and parts. and all kind of gary an adage says that you can put everything under one had meaning that the same rules can be applied to everyone or everything. and again, this is exactly what buddha has sign out to want to join the european union in 2004, quickly becoming europe's favorites. prodigal son accused over the years of all possible sins against democracy. how does the orb and government feel about its

place and future in the european family? well, to discuss that, i'm now joined by a hungry minister of foreign affairs and trade various here. i don't mean to say it's great to see you again. thank you very much. for your time now you've heard me referring to that folk wisdom about not putting everything under one had. but i know that there is another saying and be hanging language. is kind of an advice about stretching only as far as your blanket goes. i think the hungarian blanket to say goes pretty far these days. here are for some guests in russia. you have a solid relationship with china and many other countries where it says that in the european union, your home, your family, your country is still treated a little bit like on foreign terrible. why do you think that is a little bit? you know, there's a big debate in the european union now how the you should look like in the future. and i think that the find that, that this debate is out there should be considered as natural because the european

union has been confronted with many challenges, basically single tenuously. so obviously under current circumstances, it's natural to debate to have a debate which way to go forward. and there are 2 basic approaches in this regard. one approach would like to create something like a united states of europe. so a pretty federal istic type of approach. there and the representatives which would like to basically overcome the national identity, christian heritage. and the more the most possible competence should be both to brussels that does their position. then there is another approach. the representatives are which are now in minority. i have to admit which is kind of a sewer and stick type approach type of approach, which says that, yes, we do want a strong hero up in the union. but we do believe that a strong european union can only be based on strong members saying, you know, in preparation of this interview, it was interesting to me towards some of your earlier interviews from 2015, 2016,

dealing with the migration crisis and many of the west.