channel r t deutsche sues a top german newspaper over espionage claims regarding the russian opposition figure. wherever you are whoever you are whatever you are it's time for the weekly here on our team international i'm your host donald quarter welcome. the e.u. commission vice president has admitted the block's covert vaccination policy is struggling on top of that a number of european countries have also suspended the use of the astra zeneca shot over fears about its side effects as daniel hawking's reports. what could be more boring than covert surely not the very thing meant to protect you from the virus yet some are worried countries more than just one or 2 of choosing to put vaccinations with astra zeneca as job on hold concerned about potential serious side effects are officially no link has been found denmark was the 1st with norway and iceland following suit the effects snowballed with another half a dozen nations suspending at least one particular batch of $1000000.00 doses the european medicines agency is urging calm giving it a jab at the benefit of the doubt until further notice the position of the european mats and siege and sea safety committee is that the vaccines benefits continue to risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of jesus and from one balik advance isn't going. the world health organization is also remaining optimistic after all there's not enough doses to go around with the oxford jab if the brakes are put on this vaccine that he used targets of 70 percent of vaccinated by summer would look even more distant than today so blood clots are not for now it must remain a part of the plan even if some experts question in the risks people suffering diseases all the time and you need to be sure that what any of beds that you see any effects that you see of the vaccine are not simply because your bucks 1000 a large group of individuals who have other health conditions and so you have to look at it very very carefully and that's why you need to take a bit of a breather and investigate the possibility that the vaccine is it associated with these effects as if this new curveball with concerns over side effects wasn't enough the e.u. remains divided over its vaccine supply system with at least 5 member states submitting a complaint to top e.u. officials that all countries seem to be equal but some more equal than others you have to hear and from the book i have together with other heads of government showed the information and compared our own statistics on that distribution among e.u. member states and when you do that you notice that there mounts delivered do not correspond to the respective population numbers. but the bizarre word is still can't drugs but when a member states and pharmaceutical companies are set to have existed according to austria malta for instance would receive 3 times as many of those as per capita as ball garia and all allegedly because of backroom deals struck between some governments and big pharma the e.u. says it's up to member states that aside on their own vaccine deals unless of course they get the russian vaccine but more on that later the starting point of the commission is to distribute doses based on population that member states can ask for less all more of a particular vaccine in this context and following talks between member states it's possible that a new distribution plan is agreed with the company. the vaccine shortage is increasingly looking like a drought out of around $100000000.00 astra zeneca doses supposed to be delivered just $10000000.00 have been received and the e.u. is really losing patience with being labeled the bad guy we see esther's any case delivering below 10 percent of what had been contracted for the 1st quarter we are tired of being the scapegoat it's not surprising some states are looking elsewhere to solve vaccine supply problems slovakia for one recently recording the highest death rate per 1000000 in the world as requested suppliers of russia's sport mcvie what is surprising is the reaction this decision caused with the country's health minister forming on his own sword to stop a complete collapse of the government we are an integral part of the year to congress use the chance to save our people because the vaccine is made in russia and not to kill him across the border in the czech republic with the world's 2nd highest number of cobra deaths per 1000000 we could see another minister leave his post this time for opposing the use of the sputnik job with the country's president insisting he won't wait for the e.u.'s approval while lives are lost i would like to say that the 2 biggest obstacles to delivering sputnik the to the czech republic are the minister of health and also the director of the state institute for drug control the 2 i spoke of are to blame for the fact that our people will continue to die unnecessarily the only solution i see is the retirement of both hungary slovakia the czech republic were all convinced by the publication and peer review of data on sport mcvie in the world's top medical journals many weeks ago the e.u. has discouraged any countries from making their own decisions on the vaccines use calling it a russian roulette yet only began their own medical agency's review days ago a process which could take months they say there protein is safety critics say it's politics whatever the truth and. effective mass vaccination program still seems a distant prospect. money down the drain that's how the u.k.'s temporary covered hospitals have been described after it was revealed most are now being closed down having treated only a handful of patients it's led to questions over the government's approach to the pandemic as kate partridge now reports 4 of england's nightingale hospitals are being closed down they being built at a cost of $500000000.00 pounds to preempt to surge in the pandemic but the east london venue treated only 54 patients in the 1st wave while others so not all n.h.s. officials say they served as the nation's safety net since the very early days of the been there make the nightingale hospitals have been on hand as the ultimate insurance policy in case existing hospital capacity was overwhelmed but many permanent hospitals were already short staffed and unable to release frontline workers to the nightingales the government felt the need to show some. centerpiece that they could share what they look how rapidly we have created one thing it was rules and. another which i know managed to create a hospital and once we even even more so i mean there's an element of basically showing of those who are trying to reassure them that they were doing things and when when the government starts to do things your way is injury you're going to get waste money because no one asked the question well do we need to really do we need to as it turned out. as it was a term that we endeavor to start them because the main issue was basically stopping not the actual number of plates that were available so the whole thing was just. to go as i can see why that new year medics in covert hotspots were days away from having to choose. to be treated and who wouldn't as record coronavirus admissions forced ambulances to wait outside a indie and amid the surge n.h.s. workers had to resort to wearing bin bags due to a lack of personal protective equipment some doctors even received p.p.a. which had gone beyond its expiry date over 2 years the u.k. government has also set aside cash for its much criticized code 19 track and trace system 37 1000000000 pounds of taxpayers' money prompting a scathing report from a westminster spending watchdog despite the unimaginable resources throwing at this project testing trace cannot point to a measurable difference to the progress of the pandemic british experience cannot be treated by the government like an a.t.m. machine we need to see a clear plan and costs better controlled in his budget chancellor really soon i said the government had spent over 280000000000 pounds during the pandemic over 700000 jobs have been lost and the economy has suffered its biggest drop in 300 years but tough questions are now being asked about how chunks of that 280000000000 pounds have been spent and the impact that they've had. the hospital closures come as the government says it cannot afford more than a one percent pay rise for n.h.s. workers nurses have launched a petition calling for that to be bumped up to 15 percent which has so far gathered more than 600000 signatures one nurse explained to us what a one percent increase really means. to be honest when dissent is quite frankly an insult to us to the profession and to the n.h.s. it's a home for most nurses that equates to around 3 counts if you're weak and in many hostile sites across the it costs more than that to pocket cost to go to a compact a cop we are acutely aware of its financial strain that's the put on u.k. by the pandemic. we're not saying that we can save any more than anyone else we're just saying that we are also deserving of save face what we do and i think what we talk about money and what. we've just seems to be $7000000000.00 on it in its extra system that we pay for an n.h.s. to how 50 percent pay rise and it would still be money left in the pot after that we see nearly qualified misses and student nurses already thinking gosh you know if i come into the right korea here we have over 400000 nurses vacancies in the way i'm not really causes patient safety issues across all that. are than 50 performers and employees have become squatters so occupied in 3 of frances 4 national theatres and a cry for help they warn that the industry can no longer survive the pandemic shut down of venues and have pressured the culture minister to speak with them reporting from paris here charlotte have been speaking. i don't know why. the chorus of calls demanding the reopening of cultural venue's is growing allow day in france but with no clear end date in sight to the closure of theaters concert hall cinema museums so more taking more drastic measures over the last week 3 of france's 4 national theatres including this one behind me have been occupied by protesters it is true that every day several times a day we take another place a new theatre a new national stage is occupied in this way with multiply in the case of resistance to make our claims hood so we've all hit by the o.t. now for a week and for that it serves as a place of residence the odeon is a symbolic place it was occupied in the $968.00 process there are already struggles that have been expressed in this place in fact it was the base to signal the alarm of the cultural catastrophe which is taking place protesters who set up shop here i think though didn't get to say they won't leave until their demands are met them up no need that now we're determined to hold on until we're satisfied we do not claim the reopening at all costs it is not part of our main slogan contrary to what some media mean we want things to be reopened with social rights for all and massive plan for culture and above all the total reform of the unemployment insurance and the right to unemployment benefits guaranteed for all the issue has even reached the government with the cultural minister paying a visit to the squatters i went to the occupied theater audio on i understand the concerns and particularly of all the aftermath of the whites here they know it why objective is to continue to protect artistic employment as much as nest. we will continue our discussions days later though and nothing has changed if the sector already hit badly by the 1st wave of the qubit pandemic with performers taking to the streets to make their plight. you. c 6 6 there is an anger too that while small private galleries have been allowed to stay open larger places such as this of how to remain shut protesters say that it is possible to open up cultural venues and ensure the people remain socially distanced. the louvre museum the also a museum the big museums in paris these are vos places where social distancing would be respected but they are closed these are the decisions which are purely political through this there is a very clear choice of society that emerges what is essential to the market and what is not essential concerns culture it concerns all the things that nourish hope nourish reflection this is what power has in its sights through its political choices fronts he is considered to have one of the most generous support systems in the world but that system has been strained as a result of kofi 19 and many claim that they have fall and through the cracks those his say that this protest is just the start as more and more regions in france will see similar action shallot even ski r.t. paris. in the netherlands thousands of anti lock down protesters clashed on sunday with riot police in the center of the hague. some arrests have been reported and police on horseback and dog units were deployed to break up the rally paid police tweeted that the crowds had defied repeated warnings to go home over the past few months the country has seen large scale protests against restrictions put in place to curb the pandemic though sunday's demonstration also takes place on the eve of national elections. although weeks headline news on the way italy is looking to become the 1st nation to produce russia's sputnik feedback see just one of our stories still to come in about 90 seconds. join me every thursday on the alex i'm unsure when i'll be speaking to guest of the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. welcome back to the program now we go to germany where our sister channel has filed a lawsuit against the newspaper builds that's over claims by the berlin based tabloid that r.t. made its reporter spy for the kremlin here's. on the face of it a sin sation old story it's got all the words 7 to draw or read to read spawn i public enemy number one russia but a closer look at not sensation apart basically daniel lined up an r.t. to each employee claims he was essentially used as a spy for the channel and then all the information he was gathering on kremlin critic alex anan found me when he was recuperating in a bill and clinic for legit poisoning was being put straight into the hands of russian president vladimir putin since ational right well not quite because the evidence seems more taken from a manual called journalism one o one than spying want to one as proof screenshots of a chat with editors i'll tell you these chats a common practice that the easiest way for reporters producers cameraman tech guys to coordinate and also tell you that pretty boring filled with the logistical stuff and despite claims his chart was pretty boring too yes he was asked to go inside the shower take clinic one found he was cooled investigative journalism it's called trying to get ahead of other outlets so that you get the scoop in fact build was one of the most active moles inside the hospital as the head of our to do each reminds us to accuse us of spying and at the same time to post images of the every little step develop he makes including pictures of his garden to host a word if russian intelligence wanted to get any additional information they would buy a subscription to build plants and of course we want to remind our colleagues of german that that for now at least protect the media and lowering it to collect information and metis that are considered to be of public interest so bill does that it's rule john as it's trying to get the latest on a top developing story our team does that it's going to tinge of hypocrisy that claim that this working group. was filled with nefarious spying requests is also undermined by the fact that when he questions whether getting a hidden camera recording of what's inside toward one value is remote to be which is on german military and is appropriate his boss writes clearly no i don't think so not exactly the most ruthless of spying attempts than evidence number 2 is the video agency ruptly 247 outside the shower take clinic yes that's true in fact for a long time it was live streamed on you tube talk about money to cover in the same way our tireless ruptly cameramen come to day outside the ecuadorian embassy in london to counter the truly sensational moment the jury and a son was dragged out we were the only ones to get these pictures and every outlet in the world was behind them they appreciate to drop his journalism back then but not now and the final damning allegation the anti employee in charge of line goes assignment was photographed with the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov at a public christmas party the horror never mind that this was one of hundreds of photos taken all that that were hundreds including foreign journalists apparently this one photo is incontrovertibly proof that r t 2 each on the russian government are in cahoots you also have to ask yourself do you believe in coincidence not long ago on t.v. it's opening a channel in germany shortly after problems started headlined some dob a smear campaign appeared then ruptly were told that the bank accounts in germany would be shot within months fast forward and now are being labeled a kremlin spies like i said coincidence you decide for that part our colleagues in germany convinced. him to see. this is an attempt that is being constrained to me that i was going to was staring and in the media at every turn against me and fool's allegations and suppressing our journalistic freedoms and make an impossible task this is what it means to be an alternative voices in germany it's also walk mentioning that doesn't exactly have the best track record between 20152028 was hit with 72 reprimands from the job and media regulator that's almost a 3rd of the total in that time frame something to bear in mind when you jump head 1st into this latest offering from the top lawyer and offering that promise is spiced sensation a bombshell and a juicy spy story but actually delivers well a day in the life of any journalist anywhere in the world. neil clark thinks or to george was just following standard journalistic practice by keeping track of all. seems the looks the the the the great crime but our 2 daughters are actually doing journalism proper journalism of course this was a story they had to cover about not only in a german medical facility that would mean doing investigations that would mean going to places that's what journalism is about and to and to sort of a quite by i think it's quite ludicrous because build we're following this story extremely closely putting up photographs of you about only in hospital you know really making this a major news story and their life seems to be well we can do this but we're operating lawfully in germany better allowed to follow the story than loutre to try and find out what's going on i mean egypt the hypocrisy really is off the scale here i think. now italy is set to become the 1st nation to begin producing russian sputnik the coronavirus shart both countries signed a deal on tuesday to set up production starting from july and italy's health minister says it's irrelevant where the drugs developed as long as it's affective in my opinion if the vaccine works and is safe i do not really care about the nationality of the scientists who developed it therefore i am open to sputnik the 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. sputnik vi has already been approved in 2 e.u. countries hungry in slovakia it comes as the block is criticized for the slow pace of coronavirus inoculation and in its member states regional health chief in italy told us about the approval process for sport. it's necessary to produce vaccines in house in order to be self