people arrested in europe on charges of terrorism has risen to twenty six investigators in belgium say they're part of an international terror network that was preparing a bloody christmas campaign in europe they're also said to be hiring people and seeking funds to finance terrorists in russia's republic of chechnya r.t. during a bushel joins us live from brussels with the latest developments giving to you daniel what are the authorities saying tonight. police here in brussels the. islamic terrorist cell tied to russia's republic of chechnya which is planning attacks route three throughout europe and this evening or thor it is fifteen people suspect of recruiting jihad is to fight in iraq and afghanistan it comes just hours after or storage is launched pre-dawn raid on homes of another eleven suspects who were tied to a cicily are linked network the belgian prosecutor's office said quote there were an international terrorist group using extremist internet sites and saw al

mujahideen to plan an attack it comes as part of massive coordinated raids across europe in countries like the villains denmark and germany where thirty one year old russian of chechen origin was arrested suspected of training jihadists to fight in terrorist campaigns those arrested or belgian dutch moroccan and russian origin are these arrests being seen as yet more proof the chechen terrorists are just part of a wider structure. you know this is seen as among the first top level links that police have found between russia's chechen. rebel organizations and the worldwide al qaeda network thought to say those arrested or suspected of gathering recruits the money to finance a chechen terrorist organization called the caucasus emirate in effect to found a separate islamic state based on

a surreal law in the south of russia and it comes in the wake of horrific attacks in russia from those moscow metro bombings that we saw earlier this year two increasingly but bloody suicide blasts in russia southern republics of dagestan and chechnya of the one of those attacks russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov said that those church and linked groups were based and was standing very much in line with al qaida but after that the united states but chechen rebel leader dog or more on the most wanted list of terrorists but it's really taken this set of events in the past twenty four hours to show that russia's chechen rebel network separatists are standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the world's most dangerous terrorists don't push people you're a correspondent on the line from brussels tonight thanks for bringing us the latest that you know of course me watching this story very closely as well bring you more comment as well as we talk to security analyst in the u.k.

a little bit later in the program to get his take on the events. now the impact of the wars the u.s. is fighting in iraq and afghanistan is being felt on home soil greater than ever it seems recent figures showing a record high number of young veterans committing suicide every month artie's going to church you can investigates what pushes so many u.s. soldiers to take their own lives when they return home from frontline danger. each day eighteen american veterans commit suicide in the last few years more u.s. military personnel have taken their own lives than have been killed in either iraq or afghanistan the numbers raise a question where is the battle really happening in the field or at home. he was only home parade months before. he was even took him over to my home is going to mentally return.

and a year and a half and so when i post torture. i told him he was number twenty six. when. these parents share a similar tragedy one of losing their children who had gone to war in iraq strong and healthy man and came back deeply traumatized and haunted by nightmares. thousands of american troops returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder but many refused to seek help from the government in fear it's going to show on their records and they won't be hired anywhere but even those who do seek help are often neglected i want to apply for a job. i applied for unemployment benefits i went to the veterans administration for treatment a year after i was discharged because i was feeling suicidal and i was discharged i

was refused treatment actually brian laid a lot served in iraq came to this charity event for homeless veterans because he too was homeless he and dozens of other young man and women here online you. guys are not only do many come back from war traumatized but are often left without a roof over their head according to the u.s. national coalition on homelessness forty percent of homeless man are veterans and the staggering number of those who see no other option but to kill themselves pushed the country's veterans affairs department to start a suicide prevention hotline they claim they've talked to more than ten thousand veterans out of killing themselves iraq and afghan veterans feel the epidemic and i share your yours. you know. especially so often hear from callers they see no meaning behind the many killings they witnessed any war can be traumatizing for soldiers but the susana agreed among

vets in the u.s. is now the highest since the vietnam war there was no similar surge after world war two civilians questioning the motive of the war is now reflected among many young american dance whose only down drives them even closer to the brink looking at the plight of veterans in the us one can't help asking what is the cost of war is it the one point eight trillion dollars the u.s. spent in iraq and afghanistan last year or is it the shattered lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who come back home to find out their battle for survival has just begun going to check on our take clinton maryland still ahead through this program. metal monsters like this fishing vessel sit here abandoned waiting for the sea water to return to the deserts of kazakstan with international rehabilitation after taking a factory elsie proves it may once again return i'm one of the france to join me in

central asia to explore what used to be one of the world's largest landlocked bodies of water. just ahead no more now though on our top story returning back to the arrest in europe of twenty six suspected terrorists with links to church should militants spring to conversation peter power he's a security analyst from the u.k. mr thanks for being with us. while europe and the u.s. in general of long been neutral to chechen terrorists calling them rebels do you think this could be a wake up call to the fact that russia and europe are fighting a common enemy. well as long been the objective of many in russia to be honest with you and because we go back ten years alexander litvinenko who then in the course he was allegedly murdered in london was saying some of the saber rattling in russia was actually a false flag you remember the sort of bombings that took place in the numerous hotels are many people died so what we what we've seen in the last few hours is.

it's a tremendous increase in european cooperation and the most crucially an increase in not just intelligence gathering but intelligence sharing. i've never quite seen it like this before but you know something really bizarre about this i went on to the b.b.c. website a few moments ago i found it impossible to find this story and it's been overtaken by the events in north and south korea but also by the pope talking about condoms the royal wedding coming up in the u.k. strangely enough it's called off the front page a bit quickly in the u.k. where i and many people see this is very significant yes why do you think it's gone off the front page in some ways and what you said there what russia's been saying all along about these people russia's been vindicated yes is that your line. well not likely be indicated because there's still a lot many things that we don't actually know we are talking about as we're talking about a minute ago this sort of caucuses emirates which of course we know is

a political state governed by a muslim arab emirates so we are seeing something happening here which we haven't detected before but let's not fool ourselves al qaida is somehow great regiments of uniformed soldiers marching over the horizon it is in fact much more of a franchise yes there's a strong power base in the foothills between afghanistan and pakistan and it's clearly as strong cobol now operating in yemen but we're now seeing this creeping out under this broad term of al-qaeda but it doesn't necessarily mean it's got the official stamp on it but we are now seeing a commonality that we haven't seen before whether it vindicates totally all that russia has been saying for many years that terrorists are terrorists you could be if you killed by the ira or chechen terrorists all al qaeda you're just as dead i'd like the truth of it is i would like when you say focus what i like to keep the focus school be short a time on the chechen connection there i mean recently so-called chechen congress

was held in europe one of russia's most wanted men are even interpol's wanted list was able to attend that you think will now be a rethink about a people like him are treated after these arrests. isn't this strange but you have to remember three things when we talk about why is it people that you or i and many other people would like to see behind bars where the europe the european convention will be human rights which is a very very powerful piece of legislation you've also got the presumption of innocence and you've also got to begin to extradite anybody it has to be a crime in a country where that person is as where they wanted to go back to but it isn't quite as easy as that is very very difficult not least of which terrorism freedom fighters soldier criminal it depends where you are so even the united nations cannot actually truly define what terrorism. it is you do prohibit it but now we've seen in the last few hours something which does link chechnyan efforts russia

europe america and quite frankly just about all non muslim states taking a step but what can we read into these sobering events today do you think now that our countries face a single threat and if so how can russia and the rest of europe join forces to tackle it. well i mentioned if you are a moment ago we we are now seeing something which i've never seen before i'm president of cooperation between european states in the events happened yesterday and intelligence sharing and intelligence gathering of course but it's always been a little bit of reticence if you're quite frank about sharing this on an even wider basis yes the cold war is a thing of the past but some machinery in many countries is still pretty much linked to fighting the cold war which frankly doesn't exist now we're more concerned with for example cyber warfare and let's not forget that terrorism doesn't rely on the bang it relies on the fear of the bank now that's one issue but i mentioned just now cyber terrorism we just put five hundred million pounds extra

on the u.k. spend to try and prevent people like the chinese. trying to steal all our secrets commercial and military so this story will go on and on terrorism has been around since the russian sorry within the french revolution we could be sitting here in twenty years having a similar conversation and if they're in it for the long game sad but are more julie as you said reasonable steps yes you're saying sad but unfortunately it is the way of life isn't it paid a power u.k. based security analyst thanks for joining us on the line from southampton i much appreciate. south korea's admitted it fired artillery shells that triggered an early morning clash with north korea today however it says it was part of a military drill and denied it was directed at the north earlier so blame the north for what it called an unprovoked shelling of its island pyongyang claimed the south had violated its maritime border doing the military drills solar since threatened its neighbor with what it called quote enormous retaliation end quote russia's

foreign ministry said the clashes were unacceptable and called on both sides to show restraint. oppositional wrestles with us what happened deserves condemnation if we insist that both sides must take measures to pacify the situation and prevent similar action in the future unfortunately. this is already the third incident of the kind this year but this time there's a colossal danger of the situation descending into military conflict this must be avoided russia has repeatedly warned of the growing tension in the region and is now counting on both sides to arrive at a suitable conclusion. while holding military drills in the disputed areas little short of provocation says going forward he's a former army pay and author who's an expert in the region he also believes it will be a mistake if the u.s. intervene the northern limit line which is the disputed border is only recognized by south korea it's not even recognized in full by the united states so clearly

conducting military exercises in a disputed military and military area where there have been incidents this year with the sinking of the. over the last decade it is clearly not wise to put it mildly i mean i think both sides can take some blame in this matter but certainly the general perception that it's all the fault of the north koreans is not one i agree with the u.s. was preparing preemptive attacks against the north's nuclear facilities we've clearly would be or would be provoking something closer to gulf war three than world war three nevertheless even that would cause a ments damage to the global economy and to global security let's look at what's coming up a little over an hour here on r.t. tonight we look at one of the bloodiest marine battles in the pacific in world war two and now the u.s. government's indifferent to those who fought in it sixty five years ago. seventy six hours of intense fighting. six thousand desert

of beach front battlefields several kilometers long. and now there is only one person who cares. you see we are surrounded by garbage everywhere but also there are. on this beach which of course is where most appropriate sig signification a symbol of everything that's wrong with our goddamn government allowing not only garbage but to a chair we were where so many guys died. a new battle is going on. will the history be protected. return to terra what julian cooper story on our t.v. . when wiki leaks made its last revelations about prisoner abuse in iraq attention was focused on the us but the files also claim the danish troops are involved sending shock waves through the military top brass in the nordic country and is out he's

a really good listener reports next after being denied further information from nato in the us the authorities have now turned to the whistleblower itself to try to find out the truth. danish defense officials seem to be on the quest for the truth of the week after the whistleblower web site released thousands of iraq war logs showing prisoner abuse in iraq denmark launched its own investigation to find out whether danish soldiers were involved if anything had happened in a wrong way of course we should be open about that but first they turned to nato and the united states for help with no luck to get the documents from the americans because the americans. then mark and these documents are american after being refused access to information by nato and their american counterparts. to turn to wiki leaks ironically we got to see those documents before they did because the very same logs that the ministry of defense are after are in position of

a danish newspaper which got them not from weekly leaks but from a whistleblower of their own and yes danish defense officials asked the editors for help to we're not going to give them to the defense forces because this is the sort of protection thing called newspaper with a paper keen to protect informants identities the danish military had one last resort we q. makes for a gravel a former military intelligence officer finds the situation absurd he was arrested and jailed for leaking information on weapons of mass destruction in iraq six years ago and now the officials themselves are turning to leaked documents for truth something gravel himself was jailed for so we don't have. anything on them. regarding freedom of speech. so of if it's embarrassing and. they want to do whatever their counterpart missionary or

messenger if military top brass don't like what they discovered this time it might be that once again it's a web site telling the danish people what their soldiers were really doing in iraq in. copenhagen denmark. sysadmin is part of a night moscow time to see what's online for you tonight on our home page r t dot com well a lot of credit seeing through only a little more security the stories cropped up again the controversy over how u.s. airports are now casting their eyes over more than just to pass but what you feel about these body scanners good or bad that is snow here the comment section all stories you see on our home page. pretty pictures coming up pulled from the jaws of extinction tiger is getting a helping paul from big friends that's get your nip there. r t dot com for that and much more tonight.

if. we continue no our a series from central asia this week they are all see once the world's fourth largest lake that almost disappeared off a century ago because of something i would cultural mismanagement the receding waters at the time robbed the region of its economic lifeline but it didn't deprive people of the hope that maybe just maybe one day the sea would return and lindsey france reports next there are signs too that one of the world's worst manmade environmental disasters may be reversing. but there are people living at this harbor who have never seen the water which once lapped at its walls the former port city of a raskin kazakstan was once a bustling hub of business and human activity but beginning in the one nine hundred sixty s. rivers feeding massive cotton fields for the soviet union diverted water away from the rivers that fed the erroll sea. when i came to see was close to the city

my husband and i have and would swim to the islands for picnics on the weekend we swam and lay in the sun nation the sea started moving away the waters became shallow and then just joined up my children so i don't in the pictures until the waters were so aggressively diverted the air all sea was the size of ireland the disappearing sea took with it fishing jobs commerce and an entire way of life just a few decades ago where i'm standing now as far as the eye could see was bright blue water ships just like this bobbing up and down bringing in the day's catch now when you drive across the former seabed all you see is abandoned villages abandoned ships and camels now people here call it errol coom or errol desert or circle of the promoters soviet planned economy is largely to blame for the dying of the aral sea all decisions were made in moscow which took no account of the

ecological balance of that region the consequences of that could be felt as early as in the one nine hundred sixty s. the r.e.c. region the fines the terms pre-crisis crisis and disaster. it was after the collapse of the soviet union that people were faced with the seriousness of the disaster the sea had split in two in two thousand and five experts harnessed what little water still flowed into the lesser erroll see from this river by building a coke. and eighty seven million dollar project funded in part by the world bank the smaller body of water had become the great hope of the future. we had over two hundred people here from russia stand in his back a step the work was very hard and many of us lived here on site for two or three years but now we're happy to say the time has come to pack up the structure is working perfectly welcome to news after years of failed them projects and wasted

water in just a few short years these small downs have turned parts of the cows like desert back into a seascape dotting it would be. the hope is that as the project progresses the dams will be built even higher keeping more water and extending the boundaries and the bounty of the air all back to the city. when the sea left us my husband did not want to leave this place he used to say children would grow to see with their own eyes even before he died he believed that the sea would come back. now as the excess water flows through the sluices it disappears out into the nearly and greater peril see no grand scheme for saving that exists yet for the one million people living in kazakstan poorest region measurable improvement will only come when these shores once again fill with folks lindsey france r.t. kazakstan. amazing stories knows the latest in

a series report some of the world's worst ecological disasters we got more as well from lindsey france and the errol c. tomorrow here on r.t. will disrupt few now we bring up to date on what news headlines cambodia has declared thursday a national day of mourning after the deaths of three hundred seventy eight people in a stampede at a night of festival almost eight hundred were also injured in the panic tragedy struck when thousands surged across a narrow river bridge to an island where festivities are mark an end of the rainy season most of the victims were crushed while i was dry for the north from the bridge. rescues in new zealand have managed to repair a robot that broke down while looking for twenty nine missing miners trapped after a colossal explosion of a coal mine that robots now travelled one kilometer into the mine tonight while a second more advanced machines currently on route from australia toxic gases and underground fires that prevented a rescue team from entering the mine while a camera lowered down

a newly drilled ventilation whole showed sandy only destruction for days now since the blast hopes of finding those men alive fading fast. economic crisis spilling over into politics the coalition's government's been torn apart of only nineteen billion euro rescue package from the e.u. and the i.m.f. the opposition wants an immediate general election and protesters have stormed government offices demanding it resigns but the problem is is announced he will not leave before he passes an emergency budget to go see it's the bailout deal. a major drives on the way in some papers but to save one of the world's most spectacular animals from extinction the tiger forums been convened by prime minister putin bringing together conservationists and government officials from thirteen countries there a mr double the wild tiger population by twenty twenty two others dennis blair reports next russia was leading by example. the used to be one of the most dangerous species on earth that is until humans nearly destroyed their population

currently there are just over three thousand tigers slept in the wild saving them is a tough task to support a park in southern russia is home to eleven tigers and contrary to popular belief they breed very well here since this place is not really is it started out as an animal shelter. tigers first appeared here just a few years ago they were taken away by a court order from st photographers who often mistreat at the animals or would you know after we nursed them they gave birth to the first litter the two male cubs and one year later cassandra and cleopatra were born you can see them here they feel very well now. here in the given park the animals are provided with medical treatment fresh food and lots of living space the place is also home to a tiger celebrity marcia was given to put in as a birthday present in two thousand and eight and he later gave her up for adoption

according to the world wildlife fund russia has developed a simple yet effective strategy of saving this endangered species besides setting aside protected areas it includes a ban on hunting and anti-poaching activities that allowed us to. ration the russian far east from about. as low as fifty animals in the middle of the last century about three hundred by the eighty's now for the last twenty years more or less they will population the level of four to five hundred animals in many countries these animals are on the brink of extinction the current summit on the issue and saying peter's group is looking at turning old it round the world thirteen tiger range nations are hoping to double the population of the species by twenty twenty two that would be a boon not just for tigers themselves but for the millions around the world who love them. does our t. cross in the region. well the top stories from

a kevin owen here not see this out i'll be back with an update of the main headlines in just a very short while after that much college tonight as his bit to punish greedy bankers.

sweet and clean. and fair use for. radioactive and dangerous. and even dead and desolate. feel keep their unique secrets their bottoms unique lakes on our to. the the from

. you're watching our report syria in just a minute or two before that let me update you if you will top stories tonight twenty six people suspected of plotting a christmas campaign of terror in europe are reported to be linked to militants in the north caucasus investigators say they are members of an international terror network that is financing gangs in chechnya and. suicide rates among young us war veterans saw to record levels with eighteen people taking their lives daily according to the latest figures unemployment homelessness and neglect by the authorities are believed to be among the reasons for going landing increase. sounds great confirms that it opened artillery fire before north korea shelled excitement but insists it was part of military drills directed west not north as many countries rush to accuse the north pole provocation russia has called for restraint from both sides to a verb.