staying with the energy sector and russian british venture to n.k.p. piggy is interested in acquiring b.p.'s assets in those areas as according to co owner of a company mikhail freedman b.p. has several projects in the country including the seals in solar and us producing around eighteen billion cubic meters of gas a year or a third of algeria's gas exports the assets which t.i.n.k. v.p. a said to be interested in could be worth roughly three billion dollars earlier b.p. announced it could sell its fate in these assets to take a b.p. and these states are valued at nine hundred seventy billion dollars. update for this hour but you can always find more stories on our website r.t. dot com slash business.

if you move. from phones to pressure. needs for instance on t.v. don't come. back here is a reminder of the top stories here in our t.v. nine years since u.s. led forces and again a stand public support for the war is that on an all time low and some u.s. soldiers have only been making matters worse after the opponent videos of the question of what we need to. rush clashes have brought here is dan just days had a parliamentary election on wednesday and bob stormed waters of a meeting political party after

a protest staged by relatives of those killed in april's rides turned violent. and the hand of the us overseas broadcasting seeking to broaden its reach slamming the competition he said america must combat the rise of so-called autocratic t.v. stations the list of which includes our team. now it may be the ninth anniversary of the war in afghanistan but the long and bloody years of conflict have come with little reward while the u.s. might claim it's not only fighting against the taliban but also fighting for democracy and freedom afghans have seen little signs of success in any of those author and journalist and jones shared her thoughts on the decade old war. r.t. is sitting down with journalist and author ann jones her most recent book is called war is not over when it's over and thank you very much for sitting down to speak

with art it's my pleasure i'd like to be in by asking you about your time on a u.s. military base in afghanistan and to tell me what you saw and experienced well i was at a forward operating base on the border with pakistan and. it was a strange experience for me but i think the the foremost thing i learned there was from the base commander when i talked to him about the counterinsurgency strategy in afghanistan and he said i'm not fighting counterinsurgency here i'm fighting conventional war since his battalion had taken over this base only a few weeks before he'd lost a lot of man. he was right there on the border of pakistan and there was a lot of activity and of course all the news that was being reported here was about

the build up to the great assault in khandahar and all the journalists who were in the south and i apparently was the first american journalist to go to that base and they were really fighting for their lives at at the same time it was very bizarre because the base itself is very cushy it's very much like home you can go to the child hall and have lobster tails not not very well cooked but they are loves details. so on the one hand there's this great effort to separate the troops from the war to make things seem as much like her. home as possible and on the other hand every time they go outside the wire they were they were in danger of losing people and they had lost a lot so there's this disconnect between the base and what's out

there. and they go out in their enormous armored vehicles and patrol and get ambushed or run into bombs while the afghans and the taliban are out there running around in their little cotton he's fighting the war their style. and when these american troops are fighting in an area that is particularly destitute and when they go outside the wire they have to see that the civilians surrounding them are terribly poor and struggling people i don't i couldn't figure out how the soldiers computed what they were being asked to do and why they were doing it and how the commander was officially fighting one kind of war but actually fighting quite desperately another

kind of war and and why he was the folks in the in the eastern part of the country were just kind of on their own wall all attention was concentrated in the south in the east they didn't even have enough military helicopters to evacuate the wounded you mention the taliban and i want to also ask you about something you recently wrote an article about afghan women being abandoned you said the taliban do terrible things that the problem with demonizing them is that it diverts attention away from other equally unpleasant and threatening facts let's not make the common mistake of thinking that the devil we see is the only want. as i continued reading your article i made the assumption that. another devil you were referring to as also those that are in charge and the government that is backed and supported by the united states thanks actually the us the devil in afghanistan well

the us is yeah i think you could say that in a way because we are supporting an administration that is not only corrupt but of course as fundamentalist in many ways as the taliban. not just the executive branch and the cabinet but the parliament as well they're all controlled by former mujahideen. islamic extremists that the u.s. the bush administration put in power and so we're on the one hand talking about spreading democracy and equal rights for women and all of those nice things and on the other hand in many ways there's not a dime's worth of difference between the government we're supporting and the taliban were fighting against and now of course where we keep talking about having

negotiations cars i want wanted to negotiate for years in the us opposed it but now seems to be supporting it as a way out but you can be sure that if these negotiations go forward with the taliban and the karzai government. it's afghan women and minorities who are going to suffer in the long run based on what you saw when you were in afghanistan what does the u.s. fundamentally want with afghanistan at this point in the position there and what is victory or what is stabilization what is spreading democracy and what does the u.s. lot i have no idea i can't answer that question. and and many of the soldiers i talked to couldn't answer that question many officers couldn't answer that question certainly there are a lot of people in our political system who couldn't answer that question i think they're struggling with that in the white house as well. of

a friend of mine just contacted me from kabul this morning complaining that last night. in kabul general petraeus was on the news broadcast on the one hand saying that negotiations with the taliban were going forward very well and on the other hand saying that the united states was gathering all its forces to fight the taliban to the death and she said in a very desperate way. what does this mean please make up your mind we afghans are suffering who benefits from hundreds of thousands of americans being there i mean the soldiers many of them it's been reported in some of come out on the record saying they don't want to be there clearly the afghans never asked for america to invade and occupy their country who benefits from all this well that's happening more contractors a lot of money is being made off the war. the armament suppliers the

contractors who are supposedly providing the security. for the people who supposedly are developing the country. there are many reports of the u.s. paying the taliban so that the taliban shoot at their convoys so that they can supply their troops so that they can go out and battle against the taliban. if you're on the ground there you see all kinds of catch twenty two like that doesn't make any sense but people are making money off it and some of. those people are afghans and some of those people are americans and and others but the generality of afghan people are suffering enormously you know we've been we've been at this since we went in the late

seventy's to try to lure the the soviets to come in we've been meddling in those affairs and we've consistently backed the wrong people who have blown back to haunt us and i think that the this whole that we've made for ourselves in afghanistan now is is so entangled so complex. i don't know how the united states could extricate itself with some sort of honor and consideration for the afghan people you know when you look back in history when it comes to war and conflict uprising we've seen a soviet union fail we've seen britain falle we've seen those like china is caught on alexander the great succeed but they had to exterminate majority of people any

chance the u.s. would use that type of measure go to that extent i really have no idea there's a possibility i think that today so much of the planning and even so much of what's being carried out in afghanistan is secret from us just as our operations there against the soviets in that proxy war were kept secret from the american public so i think there's too much that we don't know that we have no way of knowing to make any kind of educated guess about that the thing that's troubling. is that obama has said consistently that he wants to begin withdrawing troops he doesn't really want to be there but at the same time the generals are offering him. no range of options at all they're just

wanting to remain wanting to increase the number of troops and this raises i think a very troubling constitutional crisis because the president is the commander in chief and as we see his generals boxing him into a corner what does that say about who's running the government in this country when it comes to our military affairs and foreign policy it's very problematic and with respect to the people of this country to americans do you think a day will calm where this war will follow us home and americans chip you know the public will be suffering the backlash the blowback of all the years that the u.s. has spent in afghanistan and all the death squads well we've already suffered that that's what nine eleven was it was a blowback for our interference in that part of the world and now it

comes back to us in many other ways. obama himself said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of another similar terrorist attack that would be blowback for our continuing involvement there but also it comes back in what's happening to our own country in. as our soldiers come home in a terrible condition with. appalling physical and mental injuries and casualties and of course in what it costs this country to fight the. illegal unnecessary wars and what it's costing us at home now in the deterioration of our own structures and our our own constitutional structures and jones thank you very much for your time thank

you. imagine your life a big city. crystal clear water. organic still. living in harmony with nature. sounds impossible. some people have already chosen. a place under the sun on our feet. every month we give you the future we hope you understand how old you are and what tomorrow brings the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world join your knowledge on a. little.

league. nine years since the u.s. led forces eight hundred of ghana stand public support for the war is at an all time low and some u.s. soldiers have only been making matters worse after they uploaded videos of they are questionable behavior to. fresh clashes have brought here as stand just days ahead of the parliamentary election a wednesday a mob stormed the half waters of a leading political party after protests staged by relatives of those killed april's riots turned violent. and ahead of us overseas broadcasting is seeking to broaden its reach while slamming the competition he said america must combat the rise of so-called autocratic t.v. stations the list of which includes r.t.

. we have eyes here in our back at the top of the hour in the meantime andrew will tell us what's happening in the world of sports. hello there thanks for watching the sport and that is what is coming up plus all of the league's phoenix downed in amerigo in the latest clash between the n.h.l. and k h l. plus is this the new world number one carolyn was near a ski could top the women's rankings today with victory in beijing. and drawing back the years how russia is renewing links for britain in the sport to produce world class talent once again. the final game in the battle of the two best ice hockey league's in the world came to an end last night n.h.l. side the phoenix coyotes beating the k.h. els dinara get three one in latvia followed scarse and defeat of carolina earlier

in the week and has revived over our old rivalries between east and west of roman koester it expects. following a successful premier of a cage and a shelf a cell for the russians latvia takes up the baton to claim its place in the history books. of the phoenix coyotes in what's seen as a revival of a tradition that ended roughly twenty years ago elevated interest for such a game would be an understatement as bands stormed the ticket offices long before the start of the match as much as i saw the last game with hurricane it was very good so i hope it will be the same here and that's what everyone wants to see a good game the boards of the standoff between the n.h.l. and k shows clubs there is greatly on either side of the two continents well that's a games held in russia and latvia are considered a historical milestone in those countries the united states and canada are still cautious once all king about the significance of such exhibition matches for their

teams the phoenix this is a intriguing experience you know you've got a massive time zone difference and it's also the start of the season right now it's football season basketball camp start of the playoffs now of the rival major league baseball so there's all kinds of competition for the entertainment dollar and for everyone's attention so right now it's a little bit of a climate so it's going up the escalator of the top where you guys are yeah but i would imagine if this were a little bit later on getting geared up towards the playoffs beautiful story rica and the hall had some of the most dedicated and noises bats in the kontinental hockey game it's no wonder since the local outfits anomalous personally the base of the country's national team and those the packers alone were considered strong enough to trample the visiting n.h.l. side phoenix coyotes however the first period resembled nothing of that sort most of the enthusiasm appeared to be in the stands as the city's played with caution at

best scored suit of their goals in the dying moments of period one and soon adding another one in the third tsunami. does mark cards again even the score in the seconds that was all the last inside could do despise a multitude of opportunities all in all the game lacked the intensity of the first exhibit in st petersburg but both sides were evidently satisfied with the outcome always a little bit quicker you know that every time we had a turnover they took advantage and. these are goalie kept ball film and it was a lot of fun out there so it was fun i think for both teams. played all right. before the regular season starts so different situation for us were playing two hours and. playing on a rank that's much bigger than. good experience for our players. for boston so.

there i was i was glad to see our team when we came to win but i thought it was a very good game so the latest episode of the n.h.l. case leaves us at a drool three to the home side in st petersburg and three once at the visitors in latvia it's impossible to state that those results resemble the state of hockey on either continent but it's safe to say that the russians and lesbians are happy to witness the revival of a tradition and they hope it will not be a one off affair. artsy riga latvia. stuff. on penalties to pick up their fourth straight win. from behind with alexander goal of in time the game is just too many but the forward went from fair to zero in the she attacked as he failed to school me. fine. williams will miss the rest of the season with knee problems that means the

former world number one will not feature in the fed cup final or chair. chip's the thirty year old hasn't played since losing the semifinals of the u.s. open and is still receiving treatment for her me i was hoping to fight the fed cup final against is the next month and have a good chance of qualifying for the season ending championship. meanwhile denmark's caroline wozniacki could become the winner's new number one today if she beats patrick of it over in the quarter the china sure place brings the sister serena at the top of the rankings the current number one has not played since foot surgery in july. in other news a new problem has beset the commonwealth games in delhi it's thought contaminated water in the main pool could be responsible for a stomach virus that is affecting swimmers the england team say twenty percent of its women have come down games federation president mike fennell says the matter

will be looked into action late meanwhile the aussies don't seem to be suffering so much they won six of them on goal. thinking thing speak two hundred meter breast stroke. while on the track the first gold went to moses keep pseudo from began the edge that you could choke in the five fast meet. but i just came in the n.b.a.'s pre-season tour of europe so minnesota get the better of the new york knicks in paris the arena the venue it was the knicks though who were ahead in the second anthony randolph three point play putting them fit into twenty two in front then came the timberwolves comeback kevin love scene here martell webster both getting seventeen points and they were seventy one sixty three on top by the time webster hate these three points christ. minnesota

lead at the end of the third but the next giant russian also cut that eighty eight eighty four young age. but that symbols managed to hang on to this one hundred six to one hundred sixty. finally the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of russia's first rowing club has been held in simpang it was built by the british and as our correspondent with you from paul three found that relations between the two countries in the sporting field a still going strong. europe has played a crucial role in the cultural development of some petersburg over the last three hundred years italians took care of the architecture french was we are soccer sees language of choice but dutch gave the city's distinctive canals while the united kingdom helped set up the country's first ever rowing club one hundred fifty years ago but which unfortunately over time has fallen into a state of disrepair original one existed. and

a couple hundred metres from this place. during the sea go for a second goal we're. building. much of. this here and the. one hundred people in the russian only sport decided to initiate their requests structure not the school for yulia any killer the director of a russian imus or rowing association this place has a special meaning she learned how to row here during his student days and personally wanted to restore the club to its former glory to help a new generation of to learn the sport. this idea came to us a long time ago because a lot of us used to train here and it was sad to see just how little the standard of rowing in russia had fallen to we all got together to see how we could try and restore the place and keep the tradition going as simply as burke has always had a number of places where people have pro. links in the field of rowing between

russia and the u.k. still remain strong one hundred fifty years on five time a limbic champions as steve redgrave has visited besides of a clubhouse has a distinctly british field so it's a technical and coaching expertise the u.k. is able to watch it's likely to see a month improvement in the standard of a sports not just around some petersburg but across the country as a whole who would like to or suborder. team roman eight zero for centers and averse to. all the other things to help them to. and the royal regard to the year and a struggle for the challenge cup special. training . is mainly in regard to. the also probably would like to use the experience of britain coach is one of the main aims of a promise to help develop you can interest in a city especially among students the oxford and cambridge boat race is famous world

over and university rowing is popular in the u.s. but the same can be said of russia and this idea has the backing of one of the world's greatest ever rowers junior rowing is that every two years is a completely new people coming into it. in the seniors you have last leaps that will go on for five ten some even longer. and he's still fickle to break in. if people at the top the what happens is you slowly get your everybody's level goes up by then the older people retire and the next level of their this is imperative given the current state of russian rowing the country is just one one gold of the last prelim big games and the prospects are looking good for london in less than two years time is a far cry from fifty years ago but the roman lympics proved to be one of the greatest moments in rowing not just for russia but also for some petersburg or

leningrad as it was known then twenty six people from just one. group came to their team and half of them were back with the medals so. probably hundreds of thousands of people went to rome in the period of time learning different of the cities of rochelle soviet union nowadays the station has become. proper again when we help the helper to the world with an abundance of water one would think that some petersburg will be a mecca for rowing lovers from around the country however sports fall upon hard times of the last couple of decades but due to a long standing partnership with the united kingdom there are hopes rowing can return to its former glory in russia which a bump or played r.t. some petersburg. and that brings us to the end of the sport or at.