Are broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow recapping the weeks top stories with our Weekly Program this is our team international. Now the New York Times is facing widespread criticism after it published an article saying russia offered bounties in afghanistan to kill u. S. Troops and also claimed donald trump was briefed on the matter however the director of National Intelligence denies that either the president or Vice President were ever briefed on this and themself while he labeled the piece fake news. The freak news New York Times must reveal its anonymous source but they can do it this person probably does not even exist the article hasnt been slammed by the Russian Foreign ministry which called the piece deliberate dissin from ation saturday also saw the taliban denying the New York Times article arties it was done of takes a closer look now at the piece in question and asks who might benefit from its publication. Its time to blow off the dust that circled around any smear tactics guidebook since the last us election but as democrats are looking to wash away the humiliation of 2016 by trying to bring down trump this time they are resorting to the same all narrative that failed them in the 1st place russia gate american intelligence officials have concluded that the Russian MilitaryIntelligence Unit secretly offered bounties to taliban linked militants for killing Coalition Forces in afghanistan the peace rests on the familiar pillars of pulitzer winning journalism Anonymous Sources that believed concluded and assessed the claims are said to be based on interrogations of captured afghan militants at least in part the article says well because less than in part well would be nothing at all really the alleged culprits is the same russian Intelligence Unit that is accused of this elsberry poisoning western intelligence official say the unit which has operated for more than a decade has been charged by the kremlin with kerry knows a complaint to destabilize the west through subversion and the source nation. The west by bribing the taliban into something they are doing anyway comic book villains have more logic and motivation than russia in this article but as evil and sleazy as russia may be portrayed in this story its still just Collateral Damage and not the actual target president trying to get briefed in march that russia is paying bounty money for dead american soldiers right now. And his response to that is nothing his entire presidency has been a gift. But this is beyond the pale its betrayal of most sacred duty we bear as a nation to protect and equip our troops and restrain them in the harms way. If trump refuses to hold putin accountable for funding terrorism against u. S. Troops in afghanistan then Congress Must again step up i expect the trumpet ministration to take such allegations seriously and inform congress immediately as to the reliability of these news reports the stories taking jabs at trump amid reports hes about to take another step towards ending the catastrophic 2 decades long invasion russias Foreign Ministry has dismissed the allegations as fake pointing out that more school has all along been trying to mediate the conflict and have the United States and the taliban in fact sign a peace deal the simple this information clearly illustrates the low intellectual abilities propagandists among american intelligence who have to come up with such nonsense instead of inventing something more reliable however what else can we expect from intelligence which miserably failed in the 20 year war in afghanistan its russia collusion 2. 0 as if that has ever been worth anything more but a house impeachment that left trump unfazed by hey maybe at least Robert Mueller will have a 2nd shot around 2021. We heard from max abrams a fellow at the Quincy Institute for responsible state craft in the us who says anonymous Intelligence Data is always questionable. When i 1st read this story in the new york tired so point to go on twitter that it was weakly sourced and a number of people replied and they said yeah but were you know its been corroborated by you know the wall street journal what section on c. N. N. And so the more Mainstream Media piles up on a story like this the more it takes on the impression of being true but again we cant really know that well without knowing more about this intel how is the intel general who is providing this into home and is it pure or is it largely a partisan trick the intel engine sees how very largely trouble and so its not hard for Mainstream Media to get in touch with sort of know it were not going to tell the person to verify the veracity of these stories even if theyre not necessarily true where even if were hearing you know a partial truth about it its certainly trying to be spun in the way in a way that implicates trot in the worst manner to push by going across the finish line. After being delayed by the Global Pandemic of moscow finally held its huge military parade on wednesday marking the 75th anniversary of victory over nazi germany red square echoed to the sound of thousands of marching feet from those tasked with protecting the motherland and hot on their heels quite literally was a procession of military vehicles and equipment before the whole thing was capped off by a spectacular fly by. Liz. P p. C b. Our very own correspondent. Was on the red square and summed up the emotions of the day for us. To me actually the most moving part of the day is all to the present spoken and they say in unison. And thats because i hear history in that sound there are echoes of those people 75 years ago on red square victory was celebrated but more importantly so with the people who have fought tooth and nail to bring it up out my grandmother for chachi for india 1000000 plautus independent womens battalion and it was an all female unit that was part of the fust polish army and that was part of the soviet full says and actually they fought a pottle in london which is that of russia and they actually managed to break through to jump into france says take back and hold top the strategic area of the bridge that proved to be crucial and not the battle later on i could go up to any Single Person on the street also what did you write the tips to join the war each would keep me 80 tell family story someone who fought and died starving cried someone who survived the blockade of leningrad so many fought with the partisans on so much who on the 24th of june 1945 walked on to that very scrap right behind me traditionally the event was held on may 9th but the coronavirus prevented it this year so wednesday was chosen for the jubilee instead and it was not just a random date back in 145 the very 1st ever victory parade was held on june 24th when many soviet soldiers made it back from the front lines and could share in the celebrations with the entire country. In commemoration of victory over germany and the great patrick wall for june 24th 1905 fine scheduling a parade of the active army the navy and moscow garrison the victory parade in moscows red square. It was a long anticipated and unfit get civil date some people strongly believed it would come. We were looking at the pile of wet cloths and thinking that the long expected victory had come and we the war is that how people to free the motherland bring back face as my contribution. Going to go round and reaching the troops i can see brain trickling from their camps but they spirits were too high to even notice it was a gloomy sunday red squares cobblestones away the bunches of flowers that we got after the parade were away but years on my heart doesnt believe in those memories the 24th of june 1945 has become a part of my life it was the most cheerful and sunny day. After months of a Lockdown People around the world have been enjoying their 1st taste of freedom in recent weeks following the easing of many coronavirus restrictions but for those thinking that the fight against the virus has been won the World Health Organization they have a warning for you its only just begun. Will be the time that. It took more than 3 months for the 3rd swine median cases to be reported the last 1000000. 00 cases were reported even just. Among those who have already felt the 2nd wave is china a recent outbreak was traced to a local wholesale food market which supplies more than 80 percent of Agricultural Products to the Capital Beijing the government acted quickly shutting it down and firing up its Testing Program it was planned to test an entire area in just 3 days thats more than 60000. 00 people we asked locals how the process went. I thought it would be fast to take such a test but in fact i spent 3 hours queuing up for the test but when i saw the doctors my heart sank because they protective googles were all folks and their sweat was running down their faces. Meanwhile in germany new cases of the coronavirus have continued popping up in various regions leading local authorities to impose countermeasures which have differed from city to city after outbreaks at Meat Processing plants and the german food and agricultural minister has called for price increases to help create a safer Work Environment parties pure oliver reports. Dealing with coronavirus here in germany has moved away from sweeping national mischas with restrictions being lifted or imposed based on Regional Fact is. Authorities have lifted restrictions that had limited get togethers to a maximum of 5 people from 2 different households the same move it being made in the states of brandenburg today. Its a very different picture in north rhinewestphalia an outbreak scented around a meat packing plant in the city of. The scene over 1500. 00 people test positive and a Strict Lockdown until the end of the month has been imposed on the area. Undoes we will order a lockdown for the whole district of killer slow the purpose is to calm the situation to expand testing to establish whether or not the virus has spread beyond the employees of tonis we will get a better picture of the situation there intensive testing and can then see more clearly within 7 days what the situation is we want to bring about this lockdown which will stay in place until june 30th and bring us more clarity for. Long periods have formed as tests of being made available to everyone in the affected regions the military being drafted in to help with the large scale testing Operation Health professionals suggest that a large number of symptomless covert carriers a behind this spike the largest localized outbreak in germany. That is already the idea of these tests because we know that there are symptoms people who dont have a high fever who carry the virus and then unfortunately spread it today weve counted around 400 to 600 people waiting and we would also be setting up a hotline in the next few days to help with the registration. Locals queuing to test science at all happy with the slaughterhouse at the center of this spike all the state authorities they say should have done more. Than 40 but i want to be careful and take a test i dont have symptoms and what should i say im a bit angry with the slaughterhouse that they didnt react sooner and now our region is headed into another log down we have to go through it. Off hed find definitely the politicians in their thirtys should have reacted to it and then completely convinced that the 1st kind of those infected were faked and then not taking any responsibility. Away from north rhinewestphalia theres also a localized lockdown in the city of magdeburg workers and is being seen bringing water and supplies to some of the 800 also families who are being taught. To quarantine. Around 700 people remain in an apartment complex and get again a forced quarantine which turned violent last weekend. And remember i said restrictions were being lifted in berlin well not for old berlin as in the friedrich china area of the german capital almost 40 households of being put on lockdown those living nearby a concerned about the risk posed a not too happy with those who fall into the social distancing policy in the some a son. I have a feeling the fear can you explain why because i belong to the risk group and i have medical preconditions. We are doing this for weeks and months we dont do visits anymore mostly we sit on the balcony apart from Grocery Shopping or a walk pharmacy or the doctor thats it. If we dont understand why some have boxes in the box and in the compounds we dont understand this. Off the back of those regional covert 19 spikes authorities here in berlin have said that they will be enforcing fines against those law wearing face coverings on public transport or in shops as we try to get back to his normal a life as possible while still remembering that corona virus is infectious today as it was a few months ago feature all over all see it. Illegal voting is underway in russia on amendments to the countrys constitution well have details on that after a short break this is the weekly right here on our 2 international. You cant be both with yeah you want. A minimum wage doesnt guarantee you a job. But if you get a job and be paid that wage precisely that that means youre less likely to get the job and so i would predict probably over a 1000000 people would lose their jobs if the minimum wage were doubled to 50 now they want to phase it in so maybe 800. 00. Would be differentially in communities. Mississippi lower wage states. And welcome back to the weekly right here on R T International now the voting process to reform the russian constitution began on thursday polls are open nationwide until the 1st of july the vote had been originally planned for april 22nd but was delayed by the pandemic and to do to alleviate concerns about crowds polling stations are open for an entire week instead of just a single day there are about 200 proposed amendments to the constitution one of the changes would allow him to run for president for another 2 terms critics have argued over all or nothing approach to the vote where people have to say yes or no to the entire package. And cant just pick and choose which amendments they want to put in support of the changes in a speech in the state duma back in early march. It was january when president putin stunned russia by proposing changes to the countrys foundational law the constitution within hours the entire government had resigned the current constitution dates back to 993. 00 to western backed president Boris Yeltsin built from the debut of the communist soviet era yeltsins constitution created what would be criticized as a hyper president ial system the president called all the shots and it was forged in bloodshed as a hostile communist control parliament trying to impeach yeltsin he resorted to the military to keep in power. 187 people were killed that autumn. One of the most important proposals today is to end that hyper president ial system while keeping the fundamentals of the constitution intact so what powers does the president currently have only he alone can nominate the Prime Minister and other cabinet Members Parliament just gives a formal green light to the candidates the proposal would flip that giving parliament the final say on who serves in government and the president would not be able to reject the m. P. s choices powers would be redistributed between various branches of government intended to lock in more checks and balances into russias government system another big change would limit the president s tenure to only 2 terms in total as opposed to no more than 2 terms in a row as it is now that means future leaders wont be able to serve for as long as putin has. But its not a member which has got western media excited putins perceived trick to stay in power forever the existing rules say putin must stand aside in 4 years time after his 2nd consecutive term albeit his 4th mandate in total m. P. s are pushing a proposal to 0 out his term count a reset button for an updated constitution i propose to add to the new constitution that the current president like any other citizen would have the right to be elected to the post of head of the state that would mean putin could run again in 2024 and in 2030 if he wants to rewind back to january and why putin said he wanted to change the constitution he says its to develop a welfare state. The reason for these amendments is to ensure the further development of russia as a state governed by the rule of law is to increase the efficiency of institutions in our country with that in mind the room more than 140. 00 amendments one guarantees that the minimum wage will not be lower than the cost of living another secures an annual adjustment to improve the real value of pensions and allowances that would also be tougher requirements for Civil Servants such as banning key officials from having foreign citizenship all Foreign Bank Accounts the would also be a ban on giving away any russian territory and priority to domestic law over international there are some controversial proposals to marriage would be classified solely as a union between a man and a woman and god gets mentioned all the constitution will still say russia is officially a secular state its an all or nothing vote russians wont be able to pick and choose which of the amendments they want to say its simply a yes or no to the whole package and the changes will only be enacted if the russian people give it an unequivocal mandate. If people do not vote for the amendments they will not be added to the constitution online voting isnt being held for the 1st time in russia to regions are holding their votes electronically its another measure to help. Fears the Online Platform being used promises data encryption and privacy guarantees and registration for online voting closed last week now while the reforms are proving controversial some commentators claim they are necessary for Russian Society but i think its very important to note that the present constitution came out of violence came out of the time of deep uncertainty a time of very small just events after the collapse of the soviet system here we are 2027 years later and this document is a centralized power dramatically who feels it needs to be changed opinion polls suggest a majority russians feel it should be changed while the western media is focusing on the putin term limits thing which by the way does mean yes to go initially one day anyway putin says he will respect me technically by the way he didnt have to have this National Vote at all i mean he was passed by every russian region all 85 federal something passed in the state parliament the duma hostage the National Parliament he didnt have to have this vote hes chosen to do it because he wants the public democratic genesee in fairness i think if there had been that many ballot papers were going to have a lot more confusion than a single bout of paper saying yes or no. Many a tally and businesses are facing the heartbreaking decision of whether to cut their losses and close their doors for good the 3 month coronavirus lockdown has cast a devastating blow to small and Medium Enterprises in the country and in particular the hospitality sector italy has been one of the hardest hit by a covert 19 and this years financial losses could amount to 170000000000 euros many thousands of companies are at risk and considering closure it is estimated this could all leave about a 1000000 people out of work. On the days of closure killed us cause us more than 150000 euros of damage and today due to go with 19 we will find those open in only 2 of the 3 stores who have. The Current Situation is sad this restaurant began in 1910 things to my father i have been managing it for 58 years and i can tell you that i have never really seen such a desperate moment. It is unthinkable that human beings can experience all this i believe that it is basically a punishment from heaven perhaps we have always thought of being masters of the earth but instead we are nothing but grains of sand we. Look down the current of our is sand the consequent lockdown has created many problems for us weve lost 3 months of revenue and if we remain closed around the summer we would lose even more money unfortunately the choice is inevitable i spoke to my brother and after 59 years weve decided to close the Family Restaurant in response to the Italian Government has offered lifelines to businesses although there are complaints these measures have had little effect while many say that theyve received no financial help whatsoever Companies Continue to suffer losses as they are still expected to uphold their social obligations to employees and pay taxes all while being forced to remain closed. That there certainly something more could be done the state made our schools and did not understand that we needed immediate help of the companies that have requested money from the state have received absolutely nothing or. Many reservations have been cancelled im thinking of Closing Everything because i have many employees in if i dont i risk getting into a lot of debt if things go wrong for 2 months you risk failing so its a very bad situation as as an audio out there as an ideological move the bills came in anyway they didnt stop them my employees have applied for subsidies but i dont know if theyve received them yet we too have not received anything for 3 months this was our only job for 3 months weve been continuing with the money we had but i cannot continue because we would risk going into more debt. In just under 32 minutes ill be back with another look at your weekly this is Art International stay with us. Join me every thursday on the alex salmond show and ill be speaking to guest of the world of politics sports business im show business ill see you then. We go to work so you straight home. Is youll be via reflection of reality. In a world transformed. What will make you feel safe. Isolation community. Are you going the right way or are you being led somewhere. Direct. What is true what is faith. In the world corrupted you need to descend. To join us in the depths. Or a maybe in the shallows. Chain reaction process in the reactor be a tremendous heat which scientists have learned out of control. Here is really a patriotic scene to harness the yeah i was excited about Nuclear Engineering because i thought it would solve the Worlds Energy crisis is exciting science to realize youve got the power of the sun inside that reactor and theyre so all inspiring when everything works