pantheon of the great tenors certainly he's one for the ages of ten or for the jews starts december twenty second on t w. this is t w news coming to you live from berlin a safe landing for the crew of the international space station the astronauts were able to take a breath of fresh air in remote kazakhstan after more than six months in orbit we'll find out from the german commander about his life and work on board the i.o.c. it's also coming up president trump declares he's defeated so-called islamic state

and orders american troops out of syria but senior republicans condemned the pullout as a costly mistake we'll have analysis of trump's surprise move. russian politician tries to get by for a month on a typical pension and sets in motion an angry debate across the country. also in the book mostly go by meaning put more pressure on the door at the top of the table it wasn't pretty was to rid cards but why and fought their way to a tightly contested one millbrook free over like say. hello i'm terry martin good to have you with us three astronauts from the international space station have safely returned to earth after spending more than half a year in orbit breathing fresh air for the first time in months they landed in a snowy field in remote. in the soyuz capsule work commander alexander gast from

germany american flight engineer serina chancellor and the captain of the soyuz sergei. guest was the first german commander of the s.s. but this was not commanded guests first mission in space in two thousand and fourteen he made a trip to the international space station as well he says this time around though the return journey was smoother. today things were much better they were easier it really is wonderful to be here again to smell the smell of snow in the it's an incredible feeling after having not had it for half a year. so alec says he's now is glad to be back on terra firma the german astronaut gave us some insights and his life and work on the space station. from here alexander guest has enjoyed an unparalleled feel of the. first six months he shared his impressions

with millions of fans his photos have documented a planet under stress the end usually dry summer in europe and the devastating wildfires in california. it's crystal clear here that everything is fine. in a black space and there is no plan b. . this is the second long term mission for the german astronauts and vulcanologist in the laboratories onboard guest has taken part in about forty scientific experiments in some he himself has been the subject of medical tests this device analyzed his breath to search for inflammation of the lungs. the results could result in a fast track test. in the fluid science laboratory

studied how granular it's hold themselves together the results could help improve the precision of ingredients in medicines. simon wake up he took part in the world premiere of the artificial intelligence robot named simon . is accusing me of not being. as well as watching his man as simon helps alex undertake his experiments i hereby relinquish command of the international space station to you alex of the european space agency after four months in space became the first german to take command of the i.s.a.'s and there were a few disappointments i guess should have made two spice cancelled due to technical problems he had to stay inside while two cosmonaut colleagues repaired a hole in the capsule that would carry him back to earth alexander it's been two

hundred unforgettable days in space. now to syria president surprise decision to withdraw american forces from syria has been met with criticism from both sides of the aisle in congress leading republicans are calling it a premature and costly mistake one that would benefit iran and russia others question whether fact been defeated french foreign ministry said had only been weakened in syria and the battle to clear them out should go on. if president gets his way the american troops currently in syria will start leaving the country as soon as possible. trump posted a video on twitter explaining his move i've been president for almost two years and we've really stepped it up and we have won against isis we've beaten them and we've beaten him badly we've taken back the land and now it's time for our troops to come

back home i get very saddened when i have to write letters or call parents or wives or husbands of soldiers who have been killed fighting for our country it's a great honor we cherish them but it's heartbreaking is no question about it it's heartbreaking now we've won it's time to come back they're getting ready you're going to see him soon these are great american heroes about two thousand american soldiers are currently stationed in syria officially as instructors and advisors to rebel forces that includes kurdish troops with the sitting democratic forces the s.d.f. who have led the fight against the so-called islamic state the move to sponsor a prize and outrage from republican lawmakers who called transactions and rash and dangerous. it's a terrible thing for our nation and it's a terrible thing for the. for the allies that we've been working with this terrible

thing for the s.t.'s and it's just. it's hard to imagine that any president would wake up and make this kind of decision with this little communication with this little preparation i mean my understanding is we're like beginning to move out right now. yes. entirely. the withdrawal of u.s. troops is also called the allied nations involved in the anti i asked coalition offguard britain for its part said it continued to view i asked as a threat. well for more on the story i'm joined here in the studio by journalist and syria analyst christian heaven back welcome to the show kristen trump says the so-called islamic state has been defeated in syria at least can merican troops now pull out of syria and really say job done not really i mean isis all the so-called islamic state is core not in syria and iraq he border regions there are almost two

thousand fighters maybe left so this is the military the military strategic behind us that has been fulfilled that's true that the majority of the leaders of isis has been killed that's true but ideologically it's not defeated it lives on in the heads of hundreds of thousands of young men who are not participating politically who are being oppressed who don't see any perspectives for themselves so the u.s. what they have done is just they have been bombing isis out of syria without even being ready to rebuild for example the so-called capital of isis so people are living there in the rubbles with mines and they have not taking responsibility even over the regions that they control and this is the conditions that extremists need to rebuild a new extremist groups it's just a question of time i think to see a second isis ok so the u.s. is not there in syria alone of course fighting so we're just starting to get. some reactions in from european allies the french defense minister flints. partly had this to say islamic state are weaker than ever they have gone into

hiding and are fighting as insurgents islamic state have lost more than ninety percent of their territory they don't have the logistics they once had a while she continues islamic state have not been obliterated nor have their roots we must defeat the last pockets of this terrorist organization with military force that suggests that donald trump is alone least when it comes to its alliance with france in fighting i asked there what will happen when u.s. troops if and when u.s. troops pull out of syria will that create a security vacuum well this that he'll will be filled by took in the north will be filled by iran in the east of syria iran is very happy to complete its that call the door for weapons transportation from iran through iraq and syria to live until his to its ally hizbullah and it will be filled by obviously this leaving vision of

assad to install the kind of graveyard peaceful people you know you penned surrender to his rule but this is not to be mistaken for us ability so no vacuum because everybody else to step in and right you know the vacuum will certainly be filled there are enough interests there people battling there in two thousand and three george w. bush in in the u.s. he declared major combat operations to be finished in iraq in two thousand and eleven president obama announced that withdrawal of troops from afghanistan both were criticized for doing so prematurely do you see parallels to trump's announcement concerning syria i see one big peril it's is that the u.s. always tends to step out of its engagement without really making sure what comes afterwards that there's a big big difference because in syria it's not about the. power struggle inside the country it's not about regime change the u.s. went to afghanistan they went to iraq to change the ruling regime there this is not

the case in syria the us went to syria to fight and now to contain iran so this is a regional strategic purposes not regime change in damascus it's a complex proxy war there in syria as we know the u.s. has relied heavily on kurdish forces to fight islamic state that's always been a thorn in turkey's side which regards the kurds as terrorists is the news from washington a green light for turkey to no move against the kurds i think so and this is the big catastrophe for the kurdish forces for the s d f because for them the us military presence was the only guarantee that president out of one would not start his major offensive that is underway on the on the border already and i mean we are talking about one third of the syrian territory that is quite stable it's not a democratic rule off this kurdish party there but it has won it has made sure that this region was not majorly destroyed by russian air force by the syrian air force

so it was a good deal for the last few he has now if the took this offensive starts is this really risk a major destabilization of this whole northeastern area of syria and the could they feed the trait again historically this is something that tends to repeat itself by the west so we've made them you know our partners in fighting isis for the west and now we're letting them down don't again in this very critical moment christine thank you so much journalist and syria christian helbeck thank you. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world today flights from london's gatwick airport are suspended after two drones were spotted flying above the airfield late on wednesday numerous incoming flights have been diverted to other airports authorities say their investigation is still underway flying a drone within one kilometer of an airport is illegal in britain anyone convicted of the offense could spend five years in jail. the un general assembly has agreed

a long debated migration pact the non-binding deal aims to ensure the safe passage of migrants around the world and to promote cooperation among nations five countries voted against it including the us and israel austria and australia were among the twelve nations who abstained citing concerns about sovereignty. and british artist banksy has confirmed that a new graffiti piece in the welsh town of port talbot is his call season's greeting the image appears on two sides of a grosh locals have now put up a fence to protect this latest work by the paper's artist whose real identity remains for some at least a secret. now to china where campaigners are hoping to secure the release of a photographer famed for his work covering issues that china's government controlled

press prefers to avoid luke had been missing for more than a month but chinese authorities have now confirmed that he was arrested in the shin jungle region where there's been a massive crackdown on the weaker muslim population. these photos show the tragic face of china images that tell the recent history of the most populated country on earth and the high price it has paid for its rapid industrialization decades long environmental damage and the careless poisoning of its own people. is the man who captured these pictures is. coming to us with the shit when they make a mistake i have to report on it. they tried to prevent me from filming with their president and often being caught taking photos phone will i would use various tactics to get away. but in november luck ran out he

was traveling the she was young province where a vast number of muslims and other minorities are being held in reeducation camps an area where press are not allowed here he was arrested. been not just for the state the lure is flexible and tree like inserting jang today where a million people have been detained oh who's crying is now one of them that's very troubling. the photographer has won numerous prizes has documented chinese infected with hiv through blood transfusions drug addicts condemned by the state villages suffering from cancer and pollution since the early one nine hundred ninety s. has been highlighting their misery. the space for criticism in china is getting ever smaller and most of the people i know who have dared to criticize are in

prison the rest of fled in the living in exile like me or they don't dare to speak out anymore. as you see. luke once photographs are uncomfortable viewing for the chinese state too close to reality to clear in their depiction of failure and injustice in his homeland. his wife and human rights organizations are campaigning for his release so far without success. some sports now and in the bonus league when but munich headed into their match with leipsic they knew they could cut the guy at the top of the league to six points leaders dortmund slipped up on tuesday and gave by on the champs. both coaches knew this was a chance for their teams to pull back some ground at the top of the table by and enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges and they were

a whisker away from going in front of grace in the first half of it live in just before a free by session gnabry it's a night by the post takes you to lash in a light see goal with an all important touch. up the other end right sick had their own encounter with the woodwork macondo headed against the crossbar to beat mats hummels to the ball but unfortunately for the visitors without rewards . a tight first half and not much for the fans to discuss during the break you actually is finger tips helping to keep things level and he was busy again in the second half thomas miller played the ball and he's eventually found its way to us through a kimmage i last she see her reflexes catch a mouse. the hosts were ramping up the pressure as any so my. she rashly could stop when he's out walking her nazi sanchez but not from pretoria i call it touches by the french ringer once

controlled once you take it pasta is mine and once i finish with seven minutes to go joy i'm confined to munich. much engage in ugly scenes stefano franco was given a straight right for the south. time she has also given his marching orders for his role in the ensuing mad i i just finished one male advice all three points for bryan. and hear all the results of the bonus league is midweek games by i grabbed a late winner against leipzig as we saw. well they were cruising at an all important win in shock and we're hoping to see some some results for you on the screen too but i'll tell you about them in the day's other matches braman drew home to hoffenheim freiburg had over also share the spoils the darby and all square after four first goals in mind on tuesday with arguably the shock of the season

against dolphin gladbach before i'm back most are exhausted gaunt and berlin drew with. well it's just business news now perhaps with some pictures here without a good closer look well at the russian economy what does the russian economy look like under putin well according to the president who has just given a press conference really good to tary. just been holding his fourteen's healy press conference he faced the president's time when his approval ratings are at an in-store reka low after an unpopular pension reform social justice is an increasingly soft spot for many in russia bad blood in the putin insisted the russian economy is doing well and incomes are rising let's just listen to what he had to say. registering. yes. try and go to work. and some of the girls is going to

be around and i'm going to fry are you help of this trend is going in the purser's because the real wages. over there. was seven point four percent it's going to be around seven percent by the end of the. soul though the russian president says real incomes are rising across russia the standard of living has been dropping consistently one politician decided to try and live off of the money many retired people receive his self experiments sparked off a national debate but will this campaign really help russians living in poverty correspondent when went to the city offsetof to find out. the state. is on a political diet for a whole month now the parliamentarian from south of has based his food budget on a local pensioners living wage spending just three thousand five hundred roubles or

around forty six euros to eat. the communist party politician only buys the bare basics and says he's been hungry all month your issue but i want to prove that living on three thousand five hundred roubles a month is impossible without a negative effect on your health and should. some accuse the politician of populism others here at south of market thank him and that includes pushing to double the living wage in russia his campaign has gotten a huge amount of media attention along with us a russian federal t.v. crew is also filming him preparing his rations but above that ankle this is more than just p.r. and bigger than his health. i don't think that a month on this diet is enough to seriously damage a normal person's health in the long run of course i have worried about my health but what i see across the country scares me much more.

documented the experiment on his video blog and also shows the debate that kicked it all off the top of slavery minister and. insisted the living wage is enough to guarantee a balanced diet she was fired over the remarks because argument has grown into a national debate even on state television. but the government including psychotics new interim minister for labor says the living wage will stay the same for now you can see living wages to substantiate is based on statistical calculations and on the law of course we are striving to improve our approach in order to work out new more effective methods for calculating the living wage that work has begun and should be finished in two thousand and twenty. experiment has struck a chord beyond south of across russia the standard of living has been dropping consistently the government has made having poverty a goal for the next six years currently every eighth person lives under the poverty

line which means they are in less than the living wage but abducted prices are going up prices for bread and milk are going up to the existence minimum is still tiny. i can hardly survive. only by the cheap products on three thousand five hundred you can exist on them or not live. at his office at the dew money. phone has hardly stopped ringing the communist politician is convinced his words about the living wage will be heard on a national level the only thing the government can control is the solidarity that unites us that the government would rather lose a finger than a whole hand. on that nko is now preparing to take a draft bill to the russian duma. he wants his voice to be heard beyond the hallways of the local parliament. global stock markets heading south today following the federal reserve latest interest rate hike the nikkei in tokyo shed almost three percent china and hong kong stocks are also down by around one

percent as is germany's dax the fed hiked its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point and it largely maintained its outlook for more hikes next year despite signs pointing to lower growth next year the u.s. economy remains strong and is expected to post three percent growth this year that combined with low unemployment paved the way for the latest rate hike two thousand and eighteen has been the strongest year. since the recovery since the since the financial crisis and during that period we've got low unemployment and strong growth and inflation has still remained just a touch below two percent so i do think that gives the committee the ability to be patient in moving forward. wednesday's rate hike was the fourth this year and the ninth since fed policy makers began tightening credit three years ago meanwhile the european central bank has left rates unchanged at zero since early two thousand and

seventeen the federal reserve made the move despite vocal opposition from president donald trump you know political considerations have play no role whatsoever in our discussions or decisions about monetary policy we're always going to be focused on the mission that congress has given us we have the tools to carry it about we have the independence which we think is essential to be able to do more jobs get it nonpolitical way and you know we are we have the fed or absolutely committed to that mission and nothing will deter us from doing what we think is is the right thing to do the fed's updated forecast projects just to benchmark increases next year amid concerns about the trade dispute with china signs of a slowing global economy and financial market instability the latest increase will make it more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow money. all right for more let's cross over now to our financial markets correspondent who is

standing by for us in frankfurt really now the rates hike was widely expected so the big question is really why such a dramatic reaction in global stock markets. yeah that was even the first reaction of people here in the market i talked to a trader this morning he said you know when this decision came out and he saw that the market was going down so dramatically he was puzzled he couldn't explain that but then of course paul kept on talking and today many people agree that the fed chairman sounded a lot more upbeat on the economy than people had expected and expected according to his words and earlier statements before this meeting before this press conference and so it now seems likely according to many people who are looking at the situation analysts for example that the fed will indeed move towards more interest rate hikes next year. fed chairman powell said that they will decide based on the

situation and they won't let themselves be heard from that by comments from the white house he made that very clear as well and this readiness to move is in contrast to expectations before the press conference by paul that the fed because of the economy might not move at all or only one so that explains everybody agrees now this dramatic fall and it's ok it's in front of it thank you so much. and here's a quick reminder of the top stories we're following for you. three astronauts including german commando have returned to us after more than six months on the international space station they landed in the remote stock. you're watching news live from berlin well coming up at the top of the hour thanks focusing.

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starting whistle is about to celebrate the premier event of asian football. kickoff has had a look see and identify the favorites from home shots coaches players fans from up close personal touch. but twenty nineteen patients come the big kickoff series starts december twenty seventh w. . hello and welcome to another edition of your own max coming to you film so let's see what's making the headlines in today so. let there be light.