trump. even just gone 7 o'clock here in moscow you watching the international german m.p.c. standing down over claims they made hundreds of thousands of euros from brokering deals for face masks with more on the scandal here's our europe correspondent. make no bones about it this is a big scandal here in germany pandemic profiteering isn't a look any party wants to be tarnished with in this is part of the ruling coalition here including angela merkel's christian democratic union party the representative of that party nicolas lobel has said he's going to step down at the next election this is after his company allegedly made around a quarter of a 1000000 euro from being the middleman in deals when it came to pee pee and masks during this pandemic that may not be good enough for some sort of said he needs to go right now and not wait until the election in the autumn however he said he is sorry for what he's done so far but he isn't the only one that's been involved in this scandal we've also heard. from the very insistent party the c s u is facing a corruption probe after he's understood to have taken away a 6 figure sum for being the middle man again in deals involving masks he's already said he's not going to run in september he has stood down from his position as the deputy leader of the union parliamentary group but he's denied any wrongdoing what they say is prompted is well senior figures including members of angular merkel's cabinet coming out and saying there's no way this can be tolerated in condemning those 2 politicians to collect a commission that it's again to earn money through mediation in emergency situations is not possible that destroys trust in our democracy those who fill their own pockets with essential goods such as masks do not represent the people but the lowest interests it's understandable why the center right block is circling the wagons there's obviously a bundestag election coming up in september but before that just next sunday there's 2. regional elections as well and they want the candidates involved not to be as distant from this particular scandal as possible there's also a want to know more fuel to a fire of frustration that is seen people demonstrate against the way the government has handled the pandemic here in germany it's not just a german issue we've also seen those protests taking place across europe. to. a level of hope it will surely only be added to when it starts coming out that m.p.'s that politicians were enriching themselves personally during this pandemic journalist and author thomas fassbender told us the public anger over the issue will damage the ruling party. i think that definitely the christian democrats as a party at the forthcoming forthcoming elections will take a hit there's no question there is anger about this the interesting thing here is that mr lube it just last year was the subject of 'd a completely unrelated corruption or misbehavior commercial misbehavior case within his own party the man has been known for a sort of potentially shady behavior as there where allegations and nevertheless the party sort of shut their eyes and that is of course the dangerous thing it's not just a matter of the law as such of the letter of the law but also. 'd about the way it is applied. remark and street is being criticized for spending millions of pounds and a 3rd bushman's to hold white house style media briefings and in another echo to even across the pond britain's prime minister boris johnson is setting up a charity so don't use can fund renovations of official residence but for many in u.k. all this money would be better spent on health care staff working on the caving front line. should bourses interest sure sure sure is about this i mean trick could be a poll for us to still be a poll looking after all nurses and doctors and everybody that works in austria people saving lives after the probably did. you answer peter spoke about us probably pretty. pretty full health workers through this so you can often be free terrible. i'm not sure we do to be free will of course it's really hard to do a lot of other things right remove all the local issues of making sure the whole population is properly covered but what can you do if they say this is going to ask us a of course but you know when you when i'm going to hospital table i think the nurse is an essay for me then you know that's what would be necessary for me to make sure you can have your pay and they've got enough motivation to work on lies are important decoration. while the u.k. government doesn't sister difficult economic circumstances to mean that it can only afford a one percent pay hike for national health service staff but with inflation predicted to reach $1.00 and a half percent this year that would likely result in a real pay cut the nurses unions are stating that they deserve more and preparing for strikes if commentator anthony weber says that the government's priorities are completely wrong. but the media companies don't actually need these. facilities one those are sure to cheer a fine or our will is a shortage of finance money should go in and sue. you know more sensible directions logical directions like. giving a nation a start but it does. rather a pool message that the government's proposed to spend money on promoting its only interests were not prepared to spend money on people who'd been looking after people who are building a hospital in uncertain or people who like the n.h.s. with respect even nurses and so on said the government has extended its fertile a scheme until september they pay 80 percent of people's wages for as they come work during the pandemic and they do predicting that the cash will help get the economy back on track but in the latest episode of arties going underground the british economic historian robert skidelsky questions the numbers. they think there's a lot of pent up demand that there are a lot of savings that people haven't been able to spend and that as the shops and entertainment places reopened people will flock to these places with their extra spending power and that'll make the whole thing revived but if you look at it realistically i'm very skeptical about this because national income has fall or it's fallen by 10 percent cent in 2020 that means savings of all their own you know some people will have extra savings but what about all those whose incomes have fall they're not going to have extra spending power we're talking about people who are being made unemployed because small businesses are closing going bankrupt and or cutting down on their start and rather than keeping that population on 1st. i would try and provide work for them and especially young people. now is a central region of last year he wants to make the russians but at the vaccine and has asked the government to consider its proposal that he also plans thing to buy a 1000000 doses of the shot and the country's health minister says he's in favor of the russian chap in my opinion if the vaccine works in the safe i do not recant about the nationality of the scientists who developed it therefore i am open to sputnik v. as well as to other vaccines should the european medicines agency in the italian medicines agency give their approval we are ready to cooperate with russia even very soon. spurning they has already been approved until you e.u. countries hungary and slovakia it does come as the block is criticized for the slow pace of coronavirus inoculation in member states that's the region's health chief told us about the approval process for sputnik there. was no more. it's necessary to produce vaccines in the house in order to be self-reliant and avoid the problems we've recently faced including the difficulties with job supplies and on time deliveries autonomy will benefit everyone in this case we've always treated the sputnik vaccine with great respect paying particular attention to the scientific evidence behind it therefore we had no reservations about it off we saw the in the explanations of its validity in the medical journal the lancet and by the laws there are small and zani national institute for infectious diseases in row we've always said that the efficacy and safety of vaccines are the main thing whereas the origin doesn't matter to us. unfortunately we can't say decisions absolutely independently and always have to wait for the approval by regulators will so hope for a fast track process so that it doesn't get bogged down in excessive red tape because we're in emergency and in great need of doses in italy we don't expect to see any disputes around the sputnik vaccine because we believe it will contribute to the common good and protect the health of our citizens. joe biden's covert relief bill has finally passed through the senate after last minute negotiations but while $1.00 trillion dollars does sound like a lot of money people may actually get less than they did under donald trump asked taylor explains why. ungar in america especially for children has soared to historic levels unexpected medical bills have created a surge of families desperate for in america the richest country in all the world we have incredible hunger what how this is possible as the u.s. continues its brutal battle with one invisible enemy an old one house of ram poverty but for those one in 10 americans who lost that job and same never recovered all those 3 in 10 low income families who worry what their next meal is coming from good news joe biden promised you a helping hand no one should work 40 hours a week you live in poverty and it wasn't just higher wages no buy dimmable so going to rip open the governments want it and hand out those support checks the american rescue plan is going to keep the commitment of $2000.60 already gone out for $200.00 checks to people who need it. this is money directly in people's pockets and with control of the house of representatives the senate and the white house the only trinity nothing could stop the democrats puffing that kind of bill no out of touch hot little greedy republicans not even trump no it was a done deal right but we obviously are now alternately sending. money to less people in the administration this is not the promise that we need. conservative democrats have thoughtful divide in the admin sense fewer and less generous relief checks than the transfer admin did so not a done deal biden promised one thing with has $1.00 trillion dollar aid package the house then took a stab at it and the senate's now taken a not the stab at it in its wounded form almost $12000000.00 fewer adults will get the relief biden pledged unemployment benefits are finishing a month earlier than planned and as for raising minimum wage to $15.00 well courtesy of some democrat senators who vetoed debt that won't be happening and if you're wondering what an elected official offering in the face of the people they saw it looks like well hey you go. to cinema cinema. no i'm sure go it's a big thumbs up from have for $174000.00 annual salary but if you thought biden himself was brain child this bill was as devastated by this well think again he is comfortable with where the negotiations stand he is controversial and knows there will be tweaks at the margin so if these tweaks mean that americans struggling to stay afloat amid the biggest recession in the u.s. in decades aren't getting the money who is what national democrats particularly nancy pelosi and chuck schumer have chosen to do is crimes through a 1.9 trillion package that includes things like funding on the national endowment for the arts and national endowment of humanities and the subway in silicon valley to help nancy pelosi constituents and while the washington elite did eventually realize that splashing $100000000.00 on a subway in the richest town in america wouldn't sit well with those people standing in line to food banks when will it realize that it works for we the people and not me myself and i. well the mainstream media were delighted by the bill with the washington post initially branding it a defining these by biden but it was then forced to change his headline after a backlash online show waste money on americans could washington post exaggerate by density of mints in the market desk way probably not shameful well who make it rain with a check that still doesn't cover a whole month's rent soak up all of the money show us my fellow paws the amounts are being paid or just a drop in the in the bucket the payments are proof that their faith and they buy the ministries was well founded and the reality is of course that much more of the covert relief bill is going to other causes another interest group in the us you know we have a constitution and the government has grown by leaps and bounds beyond what the original intentions were at this point the number in the duties of the american federal government have. the number of tourists arguments over laughable you know the last coded stimulus package had billions and billions being sent to foreign countries this one has everything from money for amtrak which is a perennial loser of money. 3000000000 in aid to aircraft manufacturers almost 300000000 for the national guard for the arts and all while people are suffering and i would add that while there are clear signs that the global appetite for u.s. treasuries which is the us debt seems to be waning this is a heck of a time to be incurring a lot more debt. president has called on people to stop whining about brazil's catastrophe despite the country registering its highest death rate last week and has the 2nd highest death toll in the world with more than 260000 victims. sugar due for this quarter do you mean enough with the pretentiousness enough with the whining how long are people going to carry on crying for you we have to confront the problems obviously we need to respect the elderly those with conditions but where is brazil heading to if we live in fear. meanwhile health authorities do say just over $7000000.00 have so far received at least one vaccine that is brazilian hospitals are struggling to find room for the sick and the health system is overloaded to highlight the point this is a container that has been placed outside a clinic in the north of the country to hold victims of the disease residents gave us their reaction. but that does i think people are panicking and this container shouldn't be out in the open this doesn't help. that it has a huge impact i think it makes you more careful and more inclined to protect yourself it's only when you actually see it that it has any impact when you realize that our people in their lost loved ones were all to blame the people but also the government because they should set the example yet a brazilian you cite told us that the president must take the blame for the worsening situation. i think it will lead to get distracted she also made use all the. trying to prove to brazilian book relation he has this situation oh the control over food the situation is completely out of control i don't feel the resume is going to have that the situation before may or june because we are very. do lay in all the nation we don't have any more. to protect people. to pay for the next $30.00. days i going to be even wars the situation we are living through at this moment. in other news tonight crowds have rallied in the lebanese capital beirut for a 7th consecutive day desperation and anger sparked by a knock economic downturn pushes more people to the brink protesters barricaded 3 main roads leading into the capital last week the country's currency hit a new becoming the last straw for many who have seen prices of consumer goods nearly triple since the crisis erupted in 2019 striven nearly half the population of 6000000 into poverty wiped out jobs and savings reporting from the capital there his local journalist linda to me. downtown they return to spears have blocked the roads they blocked them with burning tires trash trash bins they set trash bins on fire basically everybody is angry at the further collapse of the lebanese to the dollar and the lebanese pound reached $10800.00 lebanese the rest to a dollar which is very much under president that the protesters are very angry at the government for being so inefficient for not being able to form a cabinet that would unlock the $1000000000.00 promised by the i.m.f. should the reforms be finally implemented it's been close to 7 months now that lebanon has been without a proper functioning government situations that is very very. very law. we closed this road because this is our land our country and we have become poor we have endured so much that's why we are closing the roads again and won't let anyone pass. on we are starving we are here at martyr square setting tires on fire because the price of a loaf of bread has risen to $3000.00 lebanese pounds and that's a kilogram of rice to $7000.00 all while the dollar keeps rising there seems to be no end in sight a lot of people a lot of lebanese people are thrown deeper into poverty and a lot of people are desperate they're fleeing the country they're now jobless they're left with absolutely no hope and this is why they're expressing their anger and frustration out on the streets of beirut. the story of the inspiration and determination because not a documentary has been following a russian paralympic athlete and member of the national sailing he lost his leg in an accident while serving in the army but despite that to me tree stays active in the gym poll and filming his video blog in 2019 he became the 1st russian paralympian to cross the bosphorus strait between. europe and asia and he's also won the national sailing cup for differently abled athletes you can see his documentary here on r.t. throughout the day but here's a taste of what it's about. there i've got an idea but i. wonder if your idea. of when i was at the hospital i asked my dad to bring the weights on this builder's expanders and one i was training i've watched the olympic games and i was like i want to be like them. and i'd like to see the perception of people with disabilities change well i want all this to see our personality not just our disability pain or suffering if we ask anyone here to name 5 famous people but no one will remember a disabled person or. if we narrow it down in essence a name paralympic athletes for example no one will remember any specific names even though we're supposed to be proud of them the championship is in 2 days and we're getting ready to go i mean upper arm. chair for us but if you notice way we see in the ground. that are sure a lot of pictures but we have the another pair of shoes of go up to them and they're huge but in this neighborhood everyone knows us in summer when i go outside with my priest at it lake to walk the dog all the children go nuts when they see me sometimes i feel a bit awkward when i walk by myself without my dog lawson and some kid runs along with his mom or dad the kid says hello calling me by name they know me as that's a guy without a leg he walks around with a funny looking pooch seen here on this page it says military service exemption surgical floor number so and so and that's it they brought me to some military hospital took me upstairs on a stretcher this typical surgeon guy came in he laughed about something gave me the shots and i was out when i woke up my leg was gone. public i mean you know if people with disabilities want to be viewed differently they need to stop. feeling sorry for themselves. yes but the thing is i am an athlete and i don't like just to lift weights gym it doesn't excite me it's boring staring you in the ground so i do. a lot with the idea why do i do other plans i'm going to play at least it's been able to boil cannot go on. well i get that i want to list that as a. go through with i want to go around the world on the boats. and i want. i want to live on a boat. along i think you may have a. fight you would be on a limb could you walk. in there i sometimes feel like i'm living in a reality show and that's all this is not happening to me really it's i'm just having a dream when i wake up i'll just get up and go to work on 2 legs to some factor in the. best of luck to you watching out internationally is coming to 7 in moscow will have the headlines and more news at the top of the. some control for a middle class the homeless of a night muslim are very hardworking people who want to get ahead that have either have some some health issues or have some of how district about luck a full time job won't always pay for a place to live and missing just a month's rent can get she was a victim to gunpoint if anything bad happens to any thing that just throws your budget off slightly. you better catch up real quick or you're going to have a judgment a possession against you and get addicted i anyone that's homeless is treated like garbage people look at you like a monster or someone bad or you chose to be there most of the time it's not the case see how it is to be paul in the world's richest country. this is true. so they need to actually physically hold it out of the ground you would have well well. there's a lot of money with the oil and with that comes. a lot of a lot of people from all over the country. if you don't make a $100000.00 a year. as i'm. pretty sure. you're a newbie and. they were told $60.00 a day it's hard work well work it's not easy work and so they want to relieve their stress of how do they relieve their stress these men that outweigh that comfort many. people have been murdered up here people been raped there are massive drug issues up here you have a boom you have everything else that comes along with money. imaginary tangent you're watching another lockdown edition i'm going underground on the other verse 3 of the release of david bowie's album the next day in part 2 will be talking to his photographer mick rock refers to a country portrayed in the bowie starring film merry christmas mr laurence meehan maher has seen scores killed up of the arrests of hanks and sujit the daughter of its communist independence leader around san who fought british colonialism in the region joining me now from washington d.c. is the un special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in myanmar tormenters . welcome to going underground what do you understand is the situation in myanmar right now. it's bad it's getting worse. the generals are systematically very methodically targeting peaceful protestors they're being shot and killed and injured and alarming rates on the streets of meanwhile are. there people are terrified but they are relentless despite the fear they continue to protest they continue to engage in their civil disobedience movement it is absolutely. our aspiring to this to to watch and to see. what's happening in the and more right now you see. the very best and the very worst of our humanity unfolding as we speak now you know the generals will be quick to say here that suits he was arrested popped off means protest. she was guilty of already said he accused of violating the border strictures on walkie talkies and that also was a charge against our president when meant you don't believe these charges are true as for operator of the united nations they're completely absurd and i think it is the evidence that the generals are completely out of touch is the fact that they would actually think that we would believe that there is any credibility to these charges or to that or to the justice system it is an injustice system there's no question at all in my mind about what's going on in india and more and the protests were not sparked in my view by the arrest of long san suu kyi and the president they were start by the fact that this democracy has been overturned that a country on its way making its way to respect for democracy respect for human rights. on the road which completely interrupt how is it possibly on the road when the u.n. is saying in testimony at least in the in december of the worst programs of the century. i mean i mean the i.c.j. said it wasn't genocide against the ring your butt and the i.c.j. have given for months but how was it.