Election and the hacking of u. S. Government agencies russias foreign ministry has condemned the sanctions saying a response is quote inevitable. Germanys Coronavirus Vaccination Program is picking up pace Thursday Thursday saw a Record Number of daily vaccinations with nearly 740000 people receiving a 1st or 2nd dose but the country is also seeing the biggest rise in new infections since January Health officials are warning of a dramatic situation in hospitals as intensive Care Ward fill up. This is the news from berlin you can find more headlines on our Web Site Thats W Dot com and also on our social media channels. The u. S. Expelled 10 russian Diplomats Today and slapped some of the harshest sanctions yet on dozens of companies and individuals the list includes people close to President Putin and a businessman with times 2 the Trump Campaign Washington is blaming the russian secret service for Election Medley and for the solar winds hack a cyber Security Breach inside the u. S. Government Tonight President biden taking a hard line with russia doing what a former president refused to even talk about birds off in berlin this is the day. I took this aggressive behavior will be firmly resisted. For our objective here is not to escalate the response of the sanctions is inevitable yes thank you our objective here is to impose costs. Something to me is to understand that there will be a price to pay for degrading bilateral relations we cant predict what the impact will be but we still believe that when there is unacceptable behavior we should put consequences in place. Also coming up the last week the Corona Virus infected a 160 people every minute here in Europe Vaccination numbers were predicted to be much higher by now and that was before scientific fears remove some key vaccines from the equation or no. Suffering blood clots is much higher for someone who is over 19 and for someone who has thinking the opposite of. To be milled out of the us doesnt evoke seem effective in reducing over 1000. 00 hospitalization and preventing deaths. But to our viewers on p. B. S. In the United States and to all of you around the World Welcome we begin the day with Washingtons Carrot and Stick Approach to moscow this week began with u. S. President biden calling russian President Putin and suggesting the 2 leaders meet in a summit to talk about where they can work together that was Monday Today the white house told russian diplomats suspected of being spies to leave the country and its left new sanctions on companies as well as people inside the inner orbit of whether Mir Putin the u. S. Says the russian secret service was behind interference in november is national election and it is blaming the kremlin for a cyber Security Breach inside the u. S. Government known as the solar winds hack heres how the white House Press Secretary summed it up earlier today our objective here is not to escalate our objective here is to impose costs for what we feel are. Unacceptable actions by the russian government some of these are done in Court Nation with our European Partners and allies in the past and our view is that when there are actions that are taken that are unacceptable that are not aligned with our interests that we feel. Go beyond what should be acceptable from any country you have a partner of relationship with then there should be consequences we cant predict what the impact will be but we still believe that when there is unacceptable behavior we should put consequences in place the administration still is back to have the summit with. The invitation remains open and we believe it would be a good step forward and continuing to move forward on a stable that the development of a stable and predictable relationship. Where as we just heard the by the administration says todays sweeping measures are meant to punish russia and to hold it accountable the russian government wasted no time in responding today telling the u. S. Ambassador that a russian response will soon follow. The scene there but this aggressive behavior will be firmly resistant or at Congress Monster of the sanctions is inevitable. Wasnt washington needs to understand that there will be a price to pay for degrading bilateral relations like you think im your responsibility not fully with the United States. I mean. Well the European Union and nato both issued Statements Today in solidarity with washington sanctions against russia but the transatlantic united front it may have some holes in it the bind administrations tough stance with russia could possibly hurt u. S. Times with germany the white house and the u. S. Congress claim that a new natural Gas Pipeline connecting russia with germany known as nord stream to poses a Security Threat to europe the us wants the project killed germany and russia do not today noticeably absent among the countries targeted by the new sanctions was nord stream to this was the response when a reporter asked did german Chancellor Merkel seek to keep North Stream 2 off of the same sions list. I dont have any more detail on that i understand the question i would just convey that obviously if theres additional actions taken we certainly preserve the option of putting additional actions in place and it doesnt mean that we dont have more but i dont have any more detail to to project to you about any considerations about what sanctions were not were not finalized for more im joined now from washington by our correspondent there Alina Cho more good evening to you carlino when Donald Trump was president he refused to even criticize russia or President Putin is President Biden is he making a point with his tough stance on russia in other Words Trump let the kremlin get away with lots but i didnt is holding the Kremlin Accountable for everything that it has done. Well brant lets not forget that russia alleged interference in the 2020 election was in support of Donald Trump so there has been obviously a personal interest from former president trying to keep good relations with russia the u. S. Is now taken as expected a much more aggressive stance towards russia for its Election Interference Biden said these sanctions are in response to russia attempting to undermine the democratic process in the United States but the sanctions are also for the cyber attacks on solar winds which gave it the ability to spy on more than 1600 computer systems worldwide according to the white house and you know brant in washington there is always a political Division Everyone is divided but this is a Policy Move that most lawmakers are in favor of even during the Term But Ministration republicans and democrats criticize Donald Trump for his russian policies so beyond a few this will probably be met with with praise. Yeah and this this this Carrot And Stick approach that were seeing on President Biden he spoke with President Putin of russia just a few days ago proposed summit talks and now weve got washington punishing russian companies and individuals close to putin i mean can we say is there a single Body Administration white House Stance towards moscow. The national Security Advisor Mr sullivan said today that President Biden is aiming to strike a balance and provide a significant and credible response to rush of bad not escalate the situation so according to the white House Biden does want to get the ability in the u. S. Russia relationship and they believe that if President Putin is prepared to do that as well there could be a way that would not lead to a cycle of confrontation this is why biden apparently proposed a summit between the United States and russia in that Phone Call you mentioned and at the same time these sanctions are going after the russian economy and there are sanctions against 6 russian technical companies that support the russian intelligence services their sanctions against 32. 00 entities and individuals for carrying out russian Government Directed Attempts to influence the election last year there are also sanctions against another 8 individuals and entities that are being sanctioned for russias own going Occupation And Repression in crimea and of course the 10 russian diplomats who are being expelled and who are based in washington d. C. And New York and will have only 30 days to leave the country so this is a very fine line that President Biden seems to be drawing between keeping a dialogue a diplomatic dialogue with russia and at the same time pushing with these sanctions and moscow as we already heard has already announced that their reaction will follow soon yeah exactly must go does not like the stick but maybe the cure early to morrow in Washington Tonight is always go alina thank you. We told you about last night u. S. President joe bidens historic decision to wind down the u. S. Troop presence in afghanistan after 2 Decades Today his secretary of State And Surprise visit to the afghan Capital Kabul with many worried about the countrys future security after international forces leave. Sure afghans that washington is not abandoning them the u. S. Secretary of state pledged washington would continue to offer strong support to afghanistan after years of saying that we would leave militarily at some point that time has come but even when our troops come home. Our partnership with afghanistan will continue there is no military solution to the conflict that remains here. The only path forward to a durable lasting and just end of the conflict is through negotiation we are doing everything we can now to advance diplomacy to bring in regional and international partners. So that everyone is using their influence and their leverage to advance a peaceful end to the conflict. France today became the latest country to surpass 100000 deaths from covert 90 here in germany 30000 new infections reported in just the last 24 hours the highest daily rise that weve seen in 3 months a more contagious variant is fuelling the 3rd wave of infections here tomorrow german chancellor Angela Merkel is due to get her 1st Vaccination Shot with the Astra Zeneca Jab and the Astra Zeneca Vaccine as well as the Johnson And Johnson vaccine have been halted or restricted in a number of countries due to concerns about rare blood Clots Denmark has stopped using the Astra Zeneca Vaccine all together and this way what to do with its Vaccine Supply the disruptions of national vaccination plans threatens to further set back europes slow roll well prompting a warning from the World Health Organization last week the senate passed 1000000 confirm over 1000 deaths in the devotedly to be region the situation in the region is serious it would be no doubt of all these. Seen its effective in reducing over 1000 hospitalization and preventing deaths. To commence to all and each of the adults who gain protection from the sun do letters as quickly as possible. Ari for more lets go now to the United States Dr William Schaffner joins me from Nashville Tennessee Dr Schaffner is a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of medicine Dr Schaffner its good to see you again when you look at the situation here in europe what do you see happening i mean we are were now in a 3rd wave and we do not have to keep vaccines that we hope to have in our arsenal any more well im obviously very concerned for my friends in europe and indeed my son who lives in perlin because this virus is spreading and it seems not to be at all in did it or hampered by the current Interventions Mess where he social distancing of voiding groups there are a lot of people who are still not doing that and the virus is spreading we need to vaccinate more people not only in the United States but in europe and the Astra Zeneca Vaccine the one thats available is certainly an effective vaccine for the populations for which its indicated youve heard the news that denmark has taken the Astra Zeneca Vaccine out of its arsenal completely is that a wise thing to do at this point. Well they will have their wisdom in making their decisions but the way i look at it is the risk from code that is very high the risk from the vaccine is very low were in the middle of a pandemic and were all adults we know that theres no free lunch there every drug every got seen as certain severe Effects Side effects associated with it in a crisis you have to use the n. Unishe and you have a veil and the vaccine we have available now is the esters anika vaccine i would use it because the risk from coated is so high. You know we know that the german chancellor shes going to get the Vaccine Tomorrow her 1st shot thats the picture here in europe now lets compare that with how Dr Fallon she sees the situation at the moment where you are in the u. S. Take a listen we are in a race between vaccinating as many people as quickly and as expeditiously as we possibly can and the threat of the resurgence of viruses in our country because as we know were at a precarious situation with many states having increases in the daily number of cases and that does have a we can hear the worry in his voice and yet at the same time the United States is vaccinating what is it around 3000000 people every day so what is the situation well as tony says it is indeed a race a race between how quickly we can vaccinate and how quickly this virus can spread at the moment the virus is ed and here in the United States throughout most of the country you know the beepers the people who were early except theres this come into the vaccinated were now running into Vaccine Hesitancy and even concern that people wont get the vaccine at all so were going to have to work harder and harder to bring more people in comfortable and reassured that vaccination is important and their families and their communities but in the United States youre still a long way from being close to what would be considered herd immunity in my right. Thats absolutely correct herd immunity will require about 80 percent of the population to be vaccinated thats what the calculations indicate and were nowhere near that yet thats why the Mess Querent social distancing overloading groups is so important but at the same time so many people are starting to behave carelessly and ignoring those very important interventions that are 7 before we run out of time and i want to ask you tonight about brazil its being called a humanitarian catastrophe made worse by political mismanagement does brazil because i mean it does have so many cases now its the virus is spreading like wildfire does it pose a Health Threat now to the entire world of course it can this fires can spread locally but as people visit brazil or as brazilians go outside in the Media Neighbor Neighborhood in south america but even beyond these viruses can spread further and really inoculate other parts of the world setting up new outbreaks so where ever the virus is it threatens us and everybody else at home yeah its definitely not a good situation in brazil we certainly wish the folks there all the best Dr William Schaffner in Nashville Tennessee as always our to sheffer good talking with you we appreciate your Insights Tonight thank you thank you duncan. Finding affordable housing is a problem familiar to big city dwellers around the world germanys capital used to be known for its relatively low and cheap rents but in recent years as the city attracted people from all over the world those rents here in berlin they have so worth last year a lot went into foreigners that aimed to deal with this problem it kept rents at a low level for most apartments in berlin and it even forced landlords to reduce returns in many cases but today that wall was overturned by the german constitutional court which found that the Citys Government did not have the power to introduce it the judges said only the federal government could bring in such legislation the ruling sparked a Protest March by angry demonstrators in central berlin. Which days really here in germany has even attracted attention from the united Nations Balakrishna Vijay gopal is the uns special rocketeer on the right to hells ing and joins us from near washington its good to have you on the program you tweeted today that the german government has international obligations on housing rights explain for our viewers what those obligations are. Thanks for having me. First of all let me say that. The german constitutional court ruling. Is. Very important and they go in constitutional court of course is known for many progressive rulings and Thats Way comes as a concern that the impact of this ruling even though the ruling so it was actually based on observation grounds in back of the room in could be quite severe on us in bowdon and elsewhere now we dont have the international obligations of Germany Germany has of course become a party to many international agreements among them is the international covenant on economic social and cultural rights as well as the the convention on that eye to that side and these impose obligations and among those obligations obligations by thinking only when it comes to housing is the obligation to make housing and keep it affordable and that is my main concern as bad this particular ruling about fake the ability of the budding government as well as if i dont government to ensure that housing amazing affordable what was it about the berlin writ Cap Struggle what was it that attracted your attention to the cape. Well as i said the german constitutional court has been a very progressive court in many ways and germany and its. Influence to deal with the mental crisis has for less i mean other social issues as attracted the attention of many for good reasons because often it has done quite well in kind to address some of these issues and so you could say that that is generally interested in trying to understand how economy does on this front and the influence that germanys record without on other countries that are also facing similar crisis of one of the lady in other life global cities like but live not on the world how we love think they had ability to control the problem all one ability they have actually dealing with it and finally i would say that the german government of course has been. Robust and constructive. Sort of. Partner. Gauging with Human Rights issues at the u. N. Human Rights Council so of course you know. Its always important to follow the. Track record of many of these countries who are strong supporters on grades in your you when you talk about Human Rights that is in stark contrast to what we hear here that this has been an issue basically of capitalism and of property owners versus renters what message do you think that the german Court Decision since to politicians in other cities who are trying to find ways to ensure affordable housing. Well i think 1st of all the german constants of Course Ruling as i understand might be based on a basically an issue of german constitutional law that it has to do with the division of powers between the lander in burma and the federal government what i want to legal grounds might be sense unfortunately the message. That has been witnessing increasing problem of portability i think in living the last 10 years or so and this is been well documented in the critter on linen and on policy discussions of large quantity that. The influence by the Voting Government have been discouraged by and shinedown by this isnt the Point Today and that sends a negative message around the world unfortunately and that is why im quite kind of sun ok un special Rapporteur Balakrishnan Roger gopal we appreciate your time in your Insights Tonight im sure there will be a reason to talk about this again in the near future thank you thank you very much. A giant cloud of sand is darkening the skies over the chinese Capital Beijing and showering residents with mud the rain the city suffers from several dust storms each year but this one is being called the worst in a decade flights are being canceled and people urged to stay indoors take a look. Sick and opaque pollution clouds the atmosphere and shrouds beijing skyscrapers and dust and sand. But it was bright earlier this afternoon but after a little while it suddenly went dark and then there was stunned and rain with muddy raindrops. I dont feel good weve had several dust storms this year the Air Quality is much worse than in previous years and. The air is so dirty in the chinese capital that people cannot only see it but feel it to this finance workers forced to wiped out his motorcycle before heading to the office. Told us its climate change theres nothing we can do about it meteorologist say the particles drifted from mongolia and the chinese region of enter mongolia high winds are expected to propel more polluted air to central and eastern parts of the country by friday. Finally 2 years ago today one of europes most famous landmarks the Notre Dame Cathedral in paris partially in flames. The citys residents along with the rest of the world watched in horror as the iconic spire gave way Firefighters Fault with their lives risking their lives and prevented the complete collapse of the building 2 years on and the work to restore the cathedral is well underway french president emanuel visited the site this week to mark the anniversary and he thinks everyone whos involved in the effort to open begin to worshippers by the year 2024. Well the days always done but the conversation continues online youll find us on twitter either at u. W. News or you can follow me at went t. V. And remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day will see the never for. The fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Has the rate of infection been developing what does the latest research say. Information and contacts the Coronavirus Update coming 19 special. On T W. Going to the Conflict Zone to sebastian. Despite 1st diplomatic troops the 6 Year War young shows little sign of ending my guest this week from the yemeni Capital Sanaa is who shall be shut up foreign minister of the so styled. His forces strong accused of committing shocking crimes and killing indiscriminately by will face conflicts of the 5060 minutes fantino. Oh the morning. I cannot sleep because you know war isnt love. In those wars small or. In. The mills. Theres no use in the love of a horrible wicked. Gaza. Workers. Cant. Sleep. On her own sweat. Vaccines are turning the tide but theyre not without risks especially for women theyve been re cases of Blood Clotting even fatal ones leading some governments to slow down vaccinations we have now today chosen to continue all Vaccines Rollout without astra zeneca