this is a curiosity of water all afghanistan will be in local hands next year as a british and american leaders confirm the countdown at their meeting in washington . the syrian troops advance to several flashpoint cities year off the conflict erupted the opposition calls on foreign forces to move in. on the illegal immigrants trapped in a vicious circle in the u.k. as a search for work and stemming from this poverty. this

is r.t. well news analysis twenty four hours a day book plans to exit afghanistan are taking shape with the british and american leaders confirming that foreign forces one hundred security next year it was new strategy shift announced that meeting in washington but it gradually moved towards an advisory role for combat troops leaving twenty fourteen and investigation is also pending into a possible assassination attempt against the u.s. defense secretary during his visit to afghanistan and salties. president obama was talking about pulling out responsibly within the next two years so no change of plans there the british prime minister basically echoed what the u.s. president said the two main contributors to the war in afghanistan are coordinating a timetable for withdrawal it becomes increasingly clear that this is turning into a face saving operation for the leaders especially in the wake of the tragedy that happened over the weekend when a u.s.

soldier apparently murdered sixteen innocent afghans in cold blood including women and children nonetheless prime minister cameron and president obama were talking about real progress in afghanistan but it doesn't quite look like the right time for the leaders to pat each other on the back really and celebrate success when so much speaks to the contrary insurgency in afghanistan is rampant afghans clearly want the allied forces out incidents like the latest murder of innocent civilians are used by all kinds of extremists to recruit even more people to their ranks opium poppy and herion production in afghanistan has increased dramatically in the last ten years of the war as far as other crucial international issues the u.s. and the u.k. have been pretty much on the same page on everything on syria both want to see regime change as prime minister cameron put it not through revolution but through transition both leaders again military intervention. undesirable and say they're looking to work with russia to bring about a peaceful outcome on the rent president obama said the window for

a diplomatic solution is shrinking but most experts agree a war will not solve the problems but will create a million new one. over a longer and david cameron the have been stressing their country's special relationship throughout the visits with state dinners on a trip to boston pool gate investigative journalist and the worthington leaves both are hiding secrets about the same target. i think it's strange really i mean you know ever since nine eleven and the war on terror against first of all we had you know a labor prime minister cozying up with a republican president now we've got a democratic president cozying up with a conservative prime minister it doesn't seem to make much difference maybe all it demonstrates is how interchangeable these people are certainly there are you know pretty terrible reasons for a farmer and cameron to be close but you know they're both deeply involved in this . horrible wall that has gone on longer than any water anyone can remember. but

should have ended long ago they're also you know they were the country's at least were you know were hand in hand shoulder to shoulder with each other in countering terrorism. and there in the involvement in torture and rendition in the darkest days of the war on terror bomber administration has not wanted to open up about what took place in those years and the camera and administration here having initially appeared to favor transparency has now climbed up as well. one terrorist just one of the reasons the west says he gets involved in conflicts abroad the other is bringing democracy to the u.s. and its a nice criticize other countries for their lack of freedom and human rights they're failing to notice matters closer to home. the u.s. and its european allies have many things in common security politics and a familiar practice of outsiders about the pillars of democracy iranian people have

a universal right to assembly and free speech this is the precincts across the rights from office and this is a big step. for democracy rule of law human rights these are and we believe these must be respected by the egyptian authorities in russia we've seen crackdowns on civil society groups as western leaders were added their finger around the world. wouldn't the times in brutal force have been used to help public protest at home. why have police handcuffs and iron fists have repeatedly been used against unarmed demonstrators in greece spain and london where thousands flood the streets to protest against austerity measures and unemployment they should focus on getting their own house in order and practice what they preach rather than nosing about in

over their countries and trying to you know grandstand on an international scale rather than deal with you know they are there are very serious democratic deficits as public anger continues to be inflamed u.k. officials made quite public fire with a barrage of water cannons which senior scotland yard officials are reportedly trying to get hold up along with taser stun guns in tear gas to break up unruly or only want it counted against hundreds in and carp protesting against a controversial ruling. on the other side of the atlantic uprisings against economic inequality and corporate greed have left countless occupy wall street activists covered in blood temporarily blinded. behind bars the movement is currently planning to draw tens of thousands of demonstrators to the upcoming g eight and nato summit in may. but this week the u.s.

military is unveiling its latest non-lethal weapon to members of the press. like opening up an open door almost mixed with a sting from about my sternum to my. very new active denial system can repel crowds using an invisible electromagnetic b.m. that delivers a blast of intense heat up to one kilometers away without a sound a smell or even a warning the weapon promises to disperse crowds and reinforce security while the military weapon isn't her only intended to be used by police critics say ray guns like water cannons could eventually be rolled out in the land of the free we are seeing an intensification of repression because people are challenging the system and challenging it in europe a challenge to get in the united states and it's easy for our leaders to point the finger somewhere else rather than take responsibility here in america do anything

differently lecturing others on democracy and human rights has become a branch of western foreign policy i discoursed that seems to be based on the highest of standards but as we sit here i've shown it's a lot easier to scold others when everything is i. may say protesters it. or injured students in europe might suggest that their leaders do a homework before it's something to be a teacher of democracy or not artsy new york. but i still to come on the program howard drive to secure cheaper materials with the use finance as washington and brussels close in on beijing everett's restrictions on revenue that sports prospects of china's eight instructing you. run dry also. it's so much more than just a simple stew it's the thing i hold dearest the trouble of the land of the voted

blacksmiths whose profession is more than just a job. syrian government forces are gaining ground in several flashpoint cities a year after the conflict escalated in the country the opposition which wants military intervention by arab and western states says recent army gains are likely to quell the revolt was for a diplomatic solution has responded positively to peace proposals put forward by arab league and they include an immediate ceasefire by both sides access here in aid and start of political dialogue despite that opposition some foreign governments are sending weapons to support the rebels critical honest responder it says it shows that neither the opposition or nato states have peace on their minds the opposition no fences they have support from the west from the gulf states and

saudi arabia and launchers could go back although they themselves are quite for fragmented and or simply for the fragment of fragmentation we're already seeing on coming in from saudi from probably told from the west the french the americans and i suspect the british as well i think will be more fighting and more death row is in this group of friends of syria met in israel there are all these i said advise those be no. military advisers been sent to the free syrian army arms are coming coming in with saudi arabia has been involved in stalking of satyr intentions itself there is a western intervention in my opinion already underway into the civil war in syria. well president obama has warned that the window for talks to solve iran's nuclear dispute is shrinking a new round of negotiations over tehran's nuclear ambitions is in the pipeline despite the threat of a strike by israel they said we hear why his approach towards iran changed from

a friend dialogue in the early days of his presidency so the confrontation we're seeing today. it's a story of a president that enough in my assessment was genuine about diplomacy and wanted to pursue it but also knew that he had a very limited political space and political time to do so and that political space was very quickly eaten away by several different fuck you some of them he had no control over there was pressure from israel there was pressure from congress there was pressure from saudi arabia even some of the europeans were very concerned about the extent of the diplomacy that obama was willing to engage in by the time he managed to get everyone to take it up to over two thousand and nine. the policy according to one senior obama administration official. had become a gamble on a single roll of the it either had to work right away or not a drop a bomb or

a quick result because he had only one year in his own mind to prove his critics in washington that diplomacy could yield something by the time he got to the table ten months of his presidency has passed and he needed a quick fix to even get it and as a result four weeks later the obama administration essentially abandons diplomacy and then there's the sanction truck. and you can catch the full interview with trita parsi and later this. hour the search for a better life is the draw for thousands of illegal immigrants and flock to the u.k. many are left subjected to more degrading poverty than they left behind was either bennett reports for some the promised land is now a point of no return. it looks like nothing more than a dumping ground and squalor plain to see harder to spot other signs of life this is what forty illegal immigrants call home under

a motorway bridge in london's outskirts penniless and without sanitation the place is infested with drugs disease and destitution many risk their entire family's fortune tickets here dreaming of the riches that await instead they found a nightmare they probably are looking for a better life they've been told the fact they've been sold the fact that if you come to the u.k. i is like i the streets are going to be paved with gold this man paid traffickers in india over fifteen thousand dollars to smuggle him to britain in the back of a lorry like most he destroyed his passport when he got here to make deportation more difficult but it means he now can't escape even though he wants to he was promised he'd find plenty of work and money and accommodation but he's now trapped in poverty worse than he left behind the home i have been largo. it's.

all it's where do you sleep. i wanted to have a look at all it's been in the in the bin with no official identity men like black end are stuck in a bureaucratic no man's land britain won't deport them unless they can prove who they are and where they came from each case has to be dealt with individually and some can be complex with many not having travel documents or not wishing to employ good documentation projects in the cases of indian nationals we continue to work with the high commission to speed up the time it takes to return them to their home country. nearly thirteen thousand illegal immigrants left the u.k. voluntarily last year called drew pulling in numbers over just six years such is the desperation to leave this car park east to be a busy pickup spot for manual labor but now there's nothing this is where the men

waits looking for work every morning hoping to be picked up and paid for a day's labor day like most days they wait isn't this before the downturn was earning up to three hundred pounds a week now he's lucky to get fifteen pounds a day doing jobs he never thought he'd stoop to although guys are all thinking about doing learn you know money is. really much money going to come here don't know what happened here because they realize the reality is there. as we didn't you know doing india. from a good family the men are expected to send money back to their families in india no wonder most were reluctant to appear on camera rather than it. london. dot com has the world at your fingertips here's what's being covered for you online

today something to cheer the occupy wall street protesters a top goldman sachs executive quits in disgust the bank heartless toxic and destructive. and lord of the rings' british pub dedicated to tolkien's the hobbit is about to feel the full force of course it will story r.t. dot com or visit all you tube channel for best videos. some more world news for you now a fragile truce between israel and the palestinian militants high school shaken by more rockets being fired into southern israel they turned a strike on gaza the army say it hit a rocket launching site in a tunnel used to shelter terrorists at least twenty six palestinians have been killed in the worst violence in a year which was not by israel planning a high ranking palestinian militant. family and friends have attended

a service to remember the victims of a bus crash in switzerland that killed twenty eight people most of them children which was parents and students were returning to belgium from a skiing trip when it crashed in the tub will be telling them to investigators have ruled out speeding as the cause and looking into whether the driver suffered a heart attack. thousands of illegal gold miners have battled police for control of a regional capital in peru at least three people were killed by gunfire and more than thirty others injured outnumbered riot police fired tear gas lines and threw stones and tried to seize public buildings including the local airport the men are resisting government efforts to regulate small scale go the extraction which official say is destroying the rain forest. china is in the lead of urgent political and economic reforms if it doesn't want to plunge into

chaos so says the country's prime minister aging is also facing a battle that. as washington an e.u. challenge its restrictions on exporting minerals used to make high end it tronics the conflict prospects of getting that help from china saucily reports. with china's three trillion plus dollars in foreign currency reserves it was only a matter of time before debt laden europe came knocking on its store front chinese side or the leaders always say ok they are willing to be sold that we can reach the car so actually you can see this kind of work if you will be present in its record not putting in practice may be the wrong from kind of a deal from a well it's not even a maybe china's call is clearly on the rise and so is its confidence this time around china has no qualms letting the e.u.

know that it is well aware of its trump card and that any help will come at a price top of its list of demands gaining the status of a full fledged market economy and lifting the nine hundred eighty nine ban on its purchase of military weapons from the e.u. . and for the first time china has openly used its potential cash card to lash out at the e.u. for a recent anti subsidy and anti dumping investigations into imports of chinese made steel products precisely because the chinese know that there is a danger of some forms of protectionism what they want to do is have companies don't bases in europe factories manufacturing products or screwdriver companies in europe so that a lot of their products will be labeled made in germany made in france made in greece and so on so they will not be considered to be importations from china and the plans already in action just last month the first chinese automobile assembly

plant opened it will be area aiming to produce fifty thousand vehicles per here for the whole european continent raising more fears of china's far reaching influence it does would emerge. as. it is you know. he's it's. can but europe hasn't thrown in the towel just yet it still has the power to grant china's wishes and as the country's second biggest trade partner the fall of one is the fall of both the e.u. also has its own demands for one backing on syria and iran part of the political game the international politics. is very much committed to economists in particular to all natural resources but behind the gates of cash rich china it's fighting its own battle trying to sell the idea to its people chinese internet forums were

a buzz with annoyance of what they see as poor ordinary chinese paying for rich europeans so why the chinese prime minister when talbott when job or try to persuade its people and people and. colleagues in their government to. i think that. helping the european union is helping ourselves not all the chinese are convinced but if business must go on one local commentator wrote don't hand over a dime without asking for the world in return yes or sell your r t brussels some adventure is exploration next as we take you to another corner of the largest country in the world in russia question. today will travel over fifteen hundred kilometers east of moscow in the city of new

katherine but it's set the for the year awards that provide europe and asia and its those new niche mountains and make its regional hub of metal manufacture for many locals it's more than a professional it's a passion to stop. russia's ural mountains have a long history when it comes to metals and mining for centuries they provided the raw materials but it allowed russian industry to grow and now they're trying to adapt to the steel mills and industries around the mining but trying to adapt to modern conditions and a modern steel industry is those things that i've been examining in markets. and metal and surroundings of blacksmiths for thousands of years and of alexander looser cough in his forge and russia's mountainous euro region for the past thirty he's now as much a part of this world as the hammers and tongs from c. iron work and fence posts but he still remembers the very first thing he made this

spoon. it's so much more than just a simple stew it's the thing i hold dearest. but whereas alexander is content hammering one piece at a time the urals also contains snow to moderations on a truly industrial scale this plant turns thousands of tons of molten steel into thousands of kilometers of oil and gas pipe in this isn't about craft and skill any more say engine is here it's about science and needs detailed education technical specialists here need computer and math skills to work these increasingly complex machines sadly the russian education system isn't turning out skilled enough people so we have to train them up here these vast holes are the direct descendants of the first four which is in the urals they think back to the eighteenth century and metal working in all its forms is still widespread in the region the furnace is

here pour out three thousand tons of molten steel a day it's one of the around a dozen such plants scattered across the urals but for steel you have to get up to one thousand six hundred degrees to get the globe like this not with all that. gold the stuff that's made while it's fat a guy's greedy since time immemorial these men smelt it into it's iconic gold bullion form but they say to them it's just another metal. if you know if you think too much about the price you can put out a decent product we don't actually value with us highly it's a huge responsibility put our tips. gold's malting is about the most carefully humble metaphor peroration there is. not to knock all xander of course and his enduring passion for his age old art to touch and he say's it's just as present in

all but for workers no matter how nonchalant his gold silting contemporaries may seem. he's lying he's lying of course they feel something working with gold and all the wonderful nettles they're just not admitting it to themselves. whether in a small forge or a vast complex metalworkers here are following in the footsteps of many pioneers in their trade and at least according to alexander they all share the spirit of this man and his metal from boston r.t. . that search out what's going on in the business world that attach a hazard up there to force of passion what's happening. while ukraine threatens to y. garza from or russia if from germany that is of course if russia fails to offer a significant discount ukraine as russia's thought gas supplier has been refusing to cut the price of its long term contracts in korean prime minister rick all eyes

are on wednesday said. buying gas from germany's r.w. eve may help ukraine save some money but that's worse actually delta's plans going to work they say if it happened the volumes of such replies would be very low and certainly not enough here to start buying gas from russia not to mention that ukraine's transportation network is the zine to pump gas in the opposite direction from russia to europe. and now saying with gas it looks like russia won't be able to use the full capacity of the north stream pipeline it's news through to europe the e.u. regulators say pipelines that link nord stream with europe's gas infrastructure how to reserve house of their capacities for other suppliers it's still unclear who those other suppliers are but analysts say the decision is a reaction to russia charging a very high price for its gas delivered to europe and let's now move on to the equity markets in asia the only place where they're actively trading this hour the

markets are mixed in tokyo the nikkei is higher thanks to a weaker yen that's supporting the exports and in hong kong behind saying is actually shedding value and it's less than two hours ahead of the opening bell here in moscow it was a pretty good day for the russian equities on wednesday the r.t.s. and m i six ended up closing more than one and a quarter percent higher we'll see how they do today wall street was also a moderately positive day the major indices closed flat to positive the dow extended its gains for a six straight session but what comes up has to come down and many now expect a correction on our on the u.s. markets especially considering that the indices are trading near their multi-year highs and now moving on to crude crude prices are higher this hour on wednesday the

international energy agency's global world supplies are actually lower and february and that's despite opec increasing production and obviously tighter supplies are usually lead to higher prices but the dollar on wednesday rules against major currencies and cents or oil is priced in dollars that usually puts. pressure on the oil price and unfortunately that's all we have time for in this edition of business i'll be back in about fifteen minutes i'll see that.