an israeli ground offensive against gaza could be touring closer with hundreds of the airstrikes already targeting the strip. the intense aerial bombardment the raising fears of back ground offensive as egypt and others try to stop the fighting. the u.s. shows on the bay bring support voice rose operation blaming hamas for the spike in violence but many people in the streets of new york and washington disagree. so they sound off to people in england and wales. own police commissioners for the first time low morale layoffs and a growing workload could lead to officers growing on strike.

international news live from moscow this is us he with me follow the hello and welcome to the program israel is calling up thousands of additional troops and moving heavy weapons towards gaza stoking fears of a ground assault it's also pushing forward with intense air raids and naval attacks hamas vols to retaliate and continue rocket strikes targeting television its latest sonic nineteen palestinians and three israelis have reportedly been killed since israel launched an offensive on wednesday let's now get a tape from boston in tel aviv good morning tom so they've been reports of another strike in gaza this morning so what more can you tell us. they have indeed you near the moment what we know is that there's been a huge intensification of bombing recently and in the past few hours over over gaza

eighty five missile strikes of various air strikes from drones and israeli aircraft across gaza in the park in a just a forty five minute period and that is just comes at the end of a continued aerial assault that's gone on now for a couple for a couple of days. hitting sites around gaza and we also know that thirty thousand reservists israeli reservists have been called up and we've seen numerous reports of tanks and troops being moved south towards the border with gaza we also have heard a number of statements by israeli defense folks people and generals such as the head of israel's southern command saying this is just the beginning of the operations and others saying that they are prepared to do all that is necessary to

defend israel's security that includes the israeli prime minister and others and they say that they don't rule out a ground offensive all of which all of which these various constellation of little bits of knowledge point towards the possibility of a ground offensive set obviously zero has been threatening to turn the health situation as you say to a full fledged ground invasion prompting comparisons with operation cast lead but how much support does hamas have in all this. well if you cast our minds back to two thousand and eight nine the new year their operation cast lead was the last time things became this intense around gaza israel launched a full scale ground offensive then which was heavily criticized around the world including a u.n. investigation for the for the high numbers of civilian casualties that resulted in most one and

a half hours of. civilians died in gaza as that ground offensive continues and there are fears that that may happen as well which is garnering the same kind of nervous international response please try and tone this down please try and deescalate this was the message from russia from france's president alone tuesday trying to reason with the israelis to try to get them not to escalate this any further and also egypt egypt the only other country with a direct connection a physical connection to god so that's that the rap for crossing we heard yesterday that. egypt wants to send it sir prime minister and a delegation to gaza as a mission as a message of solidarity with the gazan people we're not quite sure that that will happen or not as far as we're concerned as far as we know that will indeed go ahead

and egypt has also been strenuous in its condemnation of israeli airstrikes and the possibility of any further escalation we don't know yet whether all of this pressure will help to avert a possible bloody ground war in gaza but that's certainly what's a number of members of the international community are trying to do oh he's pulled past tom bosley were telling that. coming are coming to us live from from tel aviv i'm sorry tom thank you very much indeed for that update. despite a number of civilian deaths including those of children israel's foreign minister has held the precision of the israeli operation and my colleague worry sushi has been speaking to their spokesperson poorhouse. this is being so far one of the most surgical pinpoint military operations in modern military history i think again you will see that the civilian to militant casualty ratio will show up in israel to

have unfortunately killed civilians but fall fewer then than any other comparable military. action but you have a pin point operation you call this one of the most precise and exact and pinpoint military operations that israel's known in recent history and that can allow for what you might consider collateral damage the killing of children when you when you presented and you talk about civilians it's always said as all the civilian the israeli civilians being killed just today the three israelis who were killed but all of the palestinians who were killed seven are confirmed militants two to use a light with no you are you. possibly you're just giving rise to anti israeli attitudes among palestinians let's have a listen to this quickly as the hamas leader that we spoke to just a bit earlier please stand by. the assassination of this great leader. clearly confirms that we are still in the heart of resistance with the israeli enemy the zionist enemy knows nothing but the language of killing and blood our battle with

the enemy is an open bottle that god willing this battle will end with palestine and jerusalem liberated you should wait for action not words. we've seen your actions a situation which most often anywhere in the world could accept what would you do were just one missile to land in central moscow where we talk about missiles and let's this car fire here we're talking about more rockets that are being attracted over some some i say that a mortar rocket from the palestinian militants compared to your. health fire inside why the missiles from your super high tech fighter jets oh well that's quite a big difference between fireworks and bombs but the truth of the matter is that we have a situation where just today three israeli civilians were killed call the mortars call the missiles. did civilians we have a situation where in the recent past some thirty percent of these raby children in southern israel diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder israel was heavily criticized by a part of the world community i agree with you there i remind you and i point out

that that was four years ago the lowest civilian to militant casualty rate in history twenty nine percent of those killed were civilians and i'm not belittling the death of any civilians but far lower than any other military campaign in the last century i think that we will see something similar the start we're hoping to achieve number of things first and foremost to significantly degrade the command and control operational abilities of. an israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu has also been talking about hating hamas with what he calls surgical strikes warning of a significant why doing all the operation and out he spoke to dr mohammed said bonnie has been treating the wounded and he says they're coming from residential areas not military sites. and armed civilians are under attack including women and children not all the injured we're treating come to us from residential areas we're located in the intensive care unit of the clinic here in this bed as

a nine month old girl with severe head injuries are life is hanging in the balance yesterday a boy came in his only eleven months old he had burns over ninety five percent of his body he died an hour after admission these are children invaders started the war and against whom i think there launched a war against children and ordinary people because all of their patients are civilians. and of course you can keep track of what's happening in gaza now website . on line featuring live updates on the latest with everything from eyewitnesses accounts from the besieged strip to official statements from blood sites and also that the right now warning to be zero for its threats to block the internet in gaza they will also provide detailed instructions for users on how to avoid a communications blackout story and of course full coverage of the conflict in gaza at r.t. dot com. the u.s. has blamed the escalating violence in gaza on hamas saying its rocket attacks were

destabilizing the situation and putting peace efforts farther away but were tested stick to the streets of new york and washington with a different view they marched in support of the people in gaza who are suffering from these really outsold demonstrators were calling for a separate palestinian state and an end to the by the y.p. as many as six hundred activists have gathered outside the israeli consulate in the city and that comes as washington strongly by the use of force against gaza saying israel has a right to defend itself correspondent explains there's been several responses on the international level most of the un's most powerful voices have called on israel's defense forces and gaza's militant groups to exercise restraint but the u.s. has remained the exception the u.s. has backed israel's decision to launch operation according to the white house president barack obama spoke with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu by phone on wednesday reiterating washington support for israel's right to defend itself after coming under rocket attacks from gaza the two reportedly agreed that

hamas needs to first stop its attacks on israel to allow the situation to deescalate obama reportedly urged netanyahu to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties now the u.s. president also delivered this message to his egyptian counterpart mohamed morsi during. phone conversation that's of course according to the white house now meanwhile other major yuan powers like britain and russia have issued more neutral statements calling on all sides to exercise restraint and prevent any acts as collation of violence u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon echo those sentiments reminding all parties to respect their obligations obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure the protection of civilians at all times the u.n. secretary general is scheduled to visit the region next week in order to advance a cease fire between israel and hamas but we should also mention that leaders the

arab world are also holding on israel accountable and blaming israel for this escalation of violence so clearly the u.n. as she has a lot on his plate if he is when he attempts to to to successfully achieve a cease fire because for now this violence is clearly spiraling and escalating. stay with the crisis in gaza you could also live updates on twitter and of course we're closely following the story. the syrian opposition has received a major vote of confidence from the country's name but. the sheer wreck of the national coalition alliance and the u.k. could be said to do the same to the golden rule coming out late one. downtown the run into british police force of one conflict some with constant cuts and

a seeming lack of government support leaving the client base quiet on the threat that's coming up a special train. things are just getting too expensive in london many families just can't afford to live in the city anymore so because of upcoming welfare cuts the government is buying or rented property to relocate people outside of the city the maximum housing allowance for welfare will go down to four hundred pounds a month which is peanuts compared to the one thousand two hundred fifty pounds need to pay for the average three room apartment expelling the poor from london seems a bit fishy to me so instead of say regulating prices or god forbid using the money from the welfare cuts to create jobs so people can earn a living for themselves rather than rely on handouts london has decided to make

itself some official get to. what is to call a place where everyone from a certain economic classes forcibly shove to although this may sound like some sort of help from the government it seems to me like a means to get rid of the poor rather than trying to make the poor less poor but that's just my opinion. with. science technology innovation all those developments from for. russia we've got the future covered.

this. live. live. live. live live. live

. welcome back taki has given syria's national coalition a major boost by recognizing the opposition group as an attractant representative of the country's people france said it became the first western power to officially acknowledge the alliance and is now considering supplying weapons to the rebels the syrian opposition has now lobbying for more support in london the fleet is prepared to meet with the u.k.'s foreign secretary britain wants to see a clear plan of political transition from the alliance and is considering official

recognition of the group the u.k. could also have a say in lifting the e.u. arms embargo on the rebel coalition chairman john if my right hand says tech is moved to help the opposition could eventually find find that that's countries. within the last mile turkey both supporting the red lights and i don't see the syrian rebels we know that the rebels are fighting against the syrian government are coming from all over the region they are coming from because it's reaching they're coming from afghanistan from yemen we know that they are rebels coming from movie and even from sudan but that turkey is providing the infrastructure for these mercenaries are jihadists who are coming into the syrian country this politics towards syria it's a very short term politics it's the fuel short terms and if assad before to disappear and if syria would be split among the lawrence and this country which i know supported by the west by turkey and by. emirates countries such jerky would

witness these warlords sooner or later of taking also turkey and i think the turkish people knows that this politics is drawing against the interests of the turkish we have now it's huge demonstrations in the stumble in ankara against it specially against that form of church politics the word syria because you know that this is violating their interests. and of home whipping up a storm of controversy if you are so much use agencies facing flak after it's revealed it's sort of disaster relief trailers on the very day sunday was upgraded by forecasters. also now outside chanting not as out and throwing coffee greek protesters events that plane over comments by german chancellor angela merkel. home won't she said to make them so angry. at least seven hundred thousand u.s. citizens have signed online petitions calling for their states to peacefully

separate from the union they are unhappy with president obama's recent re-election to the white house and activist to cave preston things talk of breaking away is gaining momentum because american society is increasingly torn apart with political and cultural depressions but question is whether the united states in its present form is sustainable for an indefinite period of time there are many people who would say no that's certainly not the case because we look at things like the fiscal the economic bankruptcy of the united states we look at its military overseas military empire and the question of military overstretch we look at the ever more divisive cultural and social and ethnic issues that are currently plaguing our society we look at the widely class divisions that we see going on this well what we see is a society that in many ways is becoming ever more divided over time along all sorts of cultural and economic and demographic lines so in most who believe that the

united states can continue in that kind of direction for an indefinite period of time it's certainly plausible to start taking a look at alternatives like succession and maybe scaling back into smaller political units of the type that some of these movements like the second vermont republic advocate. time now to take a look at some other stories making news this hour at least two pakistanis who were suppressed are now have been killed in a blast in the south west province of baluchistan to border troops were escorting to arrest the suspects from the country's border with afghanistan when explosives reportedly hidden in the suspects clothes went off in the vehicle and another bomb in the same region code two more people and injured nine others including border guards. been bottled former cia director david petraeus says he did not pass classified information to his biographer who he had an affair with a former journalist being investigated by the cia and claims that he quit due to the sex scandal rather than controversy over their salt on the u.s.

consulate in libya was shot four americans dead but tresses due to testify on capitol hill of that matter on friday. the world giant b.p. has agreed to plead guilty to charges in the deadly fuel spill in the gulf of mexico which devastated the environment and claims the lives of eleven people the corporation will pay a record a settlement with the u.s. authorities worth four point five billion dollars in return for the case being closed three employees had to face charges over the twenty ten disaster two of them four months longer the company will soon get the money from the sale of fifty percent of b.p. to the russian oil giant also yet. the debt crisis is predicted to drive the eurozone into its second recession since two thousand and nine according to a new survey it says that negative growth is forecast to return next year news of the economic downturn comes amid waves of protests by millions of people across europe this week demanding the end of a stellar selections. people england and wales have been given

a choice of where they want to see the peace in their local areas they have voted for police and quiet commissioners for the first time but the new development goes hand in hand with all problems with a former london police chief warning that plummeting morale is putting the fight against climate risk. why the force no longer feels it has the government's support . another day another demo and the police always on hand to keep control but while the boys and girls in blue do their jobs sometimes impossible conditions the government is reducing their budgets by a massive twenty percent the net result more all in the forced hits an all time low with just fifteen out of fourteen thousand officers saying they feel the government gives them a great deal of support rachel baines is surprised but not in a good way. to see those fifteen officers are certainly in the force i work in

lancashire and i don't have any officers that they're not been supported by the government really is at rock bottom baines has lost five hundred fifty officers from her force meaning more work for those left behind and a genuine fear that when people call nine nine nine there won't be anyone left to deal with the emergency and she's not alone simon pain is chair of the warrick ship police federation and says morale hasn't been this low in his twenty six year career we have a plethora of issues over the last two years whether you start with or conditions of service pension reforms or were thought forms of the police. training percent cuts and if i give an example here in work prior to this government coming to power we had a thousand and fifty offices we're now down into the seven hundreds we have one of the biggest motorway networks in the country. we have no traffic department. so

it's coming from all sides times are so hard in warwickshire that the force is even selling off its stations including its h.q. there's no for sale here but the iconic scotland yard headquarters of the metropolitan police is also on the markets it's a real turnaround just a year ago the met with trumpeting a three billion pound refurbish it spain was revolving starting now its downsizing to a new size of the thames nearby and replacing smaller stations with counters in supermarkets and communities that is the force feels it's being disproportionately targeted but home secretary to reason may is on repentant lets stop pretending the police are being picked on they do feel picked on and critically powerless to protect themselves as legally the police aren't allowed to strike but that could change in

february we are seeing everyone can fall off the rank of chief inspector in england wales and the very question is do they want full industry rights and and the reason is important. members need protecting from what they perceive is an unfair treatment by this government a police force on strike it's the last thing the government needs particularly as it stares another winter of discontent in the face laura smith r.t. london. and surely one r.c. would talk to a former manager advisor to george w. bush who shares his views on the likelihood of a strike on iran over its nuclear program.

you can tell an ordinary russian siberian in the blink of an. anthropologist. those days siberians were different clothes different food. different animals. but what about. my journey began into men but the big city was all shiny skyscrapers and shopping malls much like any other prosperous russian. so i decided to. a small town just outside. dumplings came from here to dominate the russian cuisine but only in siberia. with cabbage and making sure you can have as a starter main dish. although

it may draw. most people in siberia see nothing wrong with hunting only if you decide to participate. when you look upon martin. as in the middle of a swamp only accessible by air transport. and. it's inhabited by. a large muslim minority that migrated head before the russians. and this. israel. maybe not this. there is a brochure but distinctive enough to show that the oldies yez still don't quite like.

wealthy british style. markets why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy in these kinds of reports.

sitting down with our tea for a one on one interview is robert mcnally the founder and president of the rapid and group mr mcnally also served as top domestic and international energy adviser to george w. bush mr mcnally thank you very much for sitting down with r.t. today you're very welcome glad to be here you have said that the u.s. the e.u. and israel give a fifty fifty probability that a war with iran would happen how big of a window of opportunity still exists to prevent any military action well i think it's closing very quickly iran according to most non-plussed gratian experts nuclear experts will by sometime next year be at the point.