hold freeboard video for your media project free media r t v dot com. the u.s. pledges to switch to supporting position in afghanistan by spring with a military possibility of maintaining that role long past the twenty fourteen withdrawal date. france send its military to mali to drive coddling militants that have already gained control of vast areas of the west african country. and made in the u.k. local clothes manufacturers call on the prime minister and top brass to buy british .

it is ten am in the russian capital you're watching r.t.i. marina joshie welcome to the program president obama says that u.s. forces will and most combat operations in afghanistan by spring and switch to a support role that's the outcome of a meeting between the president and leader hamid karzai and what's thought to be the file chapter of america's military presence in the country but as are just going at you can are reports that u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan well beyond two thousand and fourteen. during his election campaign president obama may have sounded very resolute to leave afghanistan in two thousand and fourteen but the white house is now negotiating terms to stay there the president said if u.s. forces stayed their role will be different but critics argue it's an attempt to rebrand a military presence which both the majority of americans and afghans a pope's take a listen to what president obama said about the mission after twenty fourteen i

think. you know although obviously we're still. two years away. i can say with assurance that this is a very different mission and a very different task and a very different one. for the us if we're able to come to an appropriate agreement now one of the key points of the agreement that the president mentioned there keep point probably is immunity from prosecution for u.s. troops so that the afghans cannot prosecute any american soldier if they commit a crime that's the deal that the white house couldn't get from the iraqi government the u.s. wanted to keep some troops there but couldn't because of how we opposed the iraqis were to allowing the u.s. to further operate there with impunity but with homemade karzai it could be different he indicated that he is willing to give them immunity and that he's willing to bourg it besides he knows that he's in power because of the americans and many experts believe his government will collapse in no time after americans

leave but whatever post twenty fourteen deal comes out of their negotiations it might not be easy for washington to sell it to the american people because despite the administration trying to present of ghana's that is a success story in many ways they see it as a failure and don't understand why their troops should stay any further policymakers in washington can't really come out and say that they don't want to walk away and just just pack up and leave from such an important geopolitical position now that they've spent billions and billions of dollars to have a presence there but such chill political calculations may not sound very appealing to the american people at a time when the country's head over heels in debt despite pledges that u.s. troops in afghanistan will switch to a mainly support role phyllis bennis from washington based institute for policy studies believes it's still a long way off before local forces will take full control. we're talking about an official acknowledgement by the two governments that now the afghan military is in

control what that means is anybody's guess but what it does not mean is that the u.s. troops are going to be pulled out early there's a huge occupation force in the country that's not going to be brought out in twenty thirteen in the spring what we're talking about is a claim that as of that time the afghan people the afghan military the afghan government will officially be in charge they will be in charge of the military now the idea that the u.s. forces still there or the nato forces still there are going to take their orders from the afghan military i think is rather spurious that's certainly not going to happen i don't think the afghan government has the capacity to survive without massive u.s. support that means both economic support and crucially military support but his reliance on that support leads to one massive corruption which is widely hated throughout the country karzai has very little public support in the country and

militarily his his very large army isn't capable of standing up to the other militias it's one more militia the government militia called the afghan national army but it's essentially one more militia and without the u.s. backing it has very little possibility of standing up to the other competing militias who are vying for influence power territory access to resources all those things throughout the country so he's in a very very difficult position where massive public demand is on the rise urging that he get the u.s. troops out because there's massive resentment of the u.s. for its drone raid its killing of civilians the the kill or capture raids throughout the country all of that that has continued for these eleven years at the same time he knows that if he does that the u.s. leaving will leave his government and his own position in a very and in a very precarious moment and he may well not survive that politically. well just to

have it for you here in r t as america promises to pull its troops out of afghanistan artie's resident asks people in new york whether it's a good idea. because that wonderful oil. it's all about money. but our finest gauge is their reaction to america's an afghan mission of the troops really do you that's coming your way later in the program to stay with us. our president francois hollande confirmed that french military intervention in mali will go on as long as necessary as paris joins efforts to drive adult qaeda linked militants from the country the u.n. has also agreed to accelerate the deployment of an african led force with rebels making key advances in the area jeff stand burke senior editor of executive intelligence review says the crisis in mali is a result of the collapse of a kid off the regime something which france itself helped instigate. there's

definitely an element of falling back on an old colonial controller molly was given its independence in one thousand nine hundred sixty but is still part of the francophone region of africa the rebel operations in northern mali have existed for quite some time but it was only in the aftermath of the overthrow of the khadafi government in libya which was promoted by france britain and the united states in particular really double crossing china and russia at the un security council for regime change it was only after that that you had a massive flow of weapons out of libya into the hands of the rebels which basically took a low intensity conflict and threw it into a much greater crisis where the rebels outgunned the mali an army

and so suddenly as the result of one badly flawed regime change policy in libya we have instability spreading to many parts of the african continent and beyond so it's a kind of a supreme irony that the french are being asked to come in and clean up a mess that they themselves helped create. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said stopping iran from building nuclear weapons will be his top priority if you were in the upcoming election despite iran denying the allegations its view as a major threat in israel and as artie's policy reports many israelis are already preparing for war. mushroom clouds confusion hysteria this is israel's last day according to a young filmmaker who wants to shock his country into taking action i've created this morning to share my thoughts and my fears with the world about the potential

threat that is coming from iran if you ask me the same question two years ago i would say that people don't think about it so much but. it is different we can see that the majority here of israel are preparing them so i think most mentally grandparents are holocaust survivors from a mania a foreshadow he fears of what could come it took hitler six years to kill six million jews and it will take. only six minutes that's why i made this movie many israelis already i'm easy fearing iran might be building a nuclear bomb until iran isn't mincing its words threatening tel aviv it will teach you to listen if it tries to attack first warning is we need missiles will make sure israel does not survive the center of israel is

a problem and that's where we have to move forward not only that we haven't got enough voters it's very very populated so everything that is falling in this area can cause casualties. in two thousand and six during the second lebanon war rachel balmer ors and her family hid here from the katyusha rockets raining down from across the border she never imagined she'd be restocking her shelter again so soon and for potentially more deadly consequences of course i'm afraid from the war from with iran because nobody wants war and peace and now i have also some rain children five grandchildren and i'm afraid i'm afraid because my cells will go to the army there are soldiers in the air i don't want it the recent war with gaza was a chance for tel aviv to taste of the iron dome missile defense system but israelis

are anxious in part because of widespread media coverage of just how unprepared for war the country has many bomb shelters and residential buildings are rundown and neglected or have become furniture storage rooms while most of israel's arab citizens about to twenty percent of the population lack shelters altogether as the chances of war start looking all too real the army says four times as many israelis are collecting state funded gas masks than they were several months ago i am a big concern it's not like i think they're going to be a we're. just. the side my fear this thing came from and with impending doomsday predictions circling the country no one wants to be caught unprepared police fear our t.v. television. well seeking a solution to the syrian conflict the u.n. says the sound voice says military alcohol will not leave the country out of civil war while rebel extremist fighters claim war strategic games in syria's north. it's

easier said than done britain's m.p.'s are urged to dress in only what's been made in the u.k. we bring in those reports after a short break stay with us. you know he's a good laboratory here mccurry was able to build a new age most sophisticated robot which fortunately doesn't give a darn about anything tim's mission to teach music creation why it should care about humans. this is why you should care only. the world with. science technology innovation all the lives developments from around russia we've got the future covered.

more news today violence has once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. the giant corporations are old today. welcome back you're watching r.t. live from moscow al do you want to and arab league peace and boy for serious as there can be no military solution to the conflict meeting with top diplomats from moscow in washington like me has reiterated the need for more diplomacy and the violence this as some fifty countries back a call for the u.n. to refer the situation in syria to the international criminal court the move could

open the way for war crimes prosecutions with the security council to consider the appeal later meanwhile syrian activists say islamic militants have seized a strategic air base in the north capturing ammunition and military equipment washington is weighing how to secure syria's chemical weapons that could fall into the hands of extremists u.s. and middle east expert. could be at risk reports claim damascus has up to fifty tons of an enriched uranium where it will alice tomorrow xabi says western states present only one side of the conflict and there's a lot of noise about it there was a bombing in two thousand and seven the israeli jets bombed the site in syria claiming that it is a nuclear site there was no indication yes the i.a.e.a. visited the site the i.a.e.a. said that there were traces of your a norm of depleted uranium but they did not confirm that there was any quantity or at least you know this huge quantity that is being publicized i mean they're saying

fifty tons of uranium this is this is i don't know where they come up with the number. i did some research and it appears that they came up with a number because they they they they are coming up with the story that this site that was there that was bombed in two thousand and seven would actually require fifty tons that doesn't mean that the syrians actually have fifty tons and that doesn't mean that the site is actually for a nuclear program the syrian central government was able to control more than past six months there is an advance of the syrian army and the syrian official police and they are controlling most of the country there are only some areas in the countryside where rebel fighters are in some areas in the countryside where the syrian army withdrew from these areas because they thought that these areas were not important strategically but over all this syrian central government under the leadership of. the territory obviously it's difficult because there are many

fighters infiltrating from outside syria there are many a lot of money being infiltrated being pumped into syria to these rebel groups by a neighboring country especially by by turkey by qatar by other european and by the united states there is a sponsorship of these terror groups. so here weather is becoming the new norm for the u.s. that's according to a draft of the country's national climate assessment released on friday with a flickering electrical grid crumbling roads and bridges america's infrastructure appears unprepared for a what mother nature can throw at it or it is more important reports now on what's being done to address the problem over the past decade america has spent hundreds of billions in the name of national security wars military intervention fighting terrorist and hunting online hackers meantime getting much less attention is a domestic danger lurking in and lighting up every corner of the country the u.s. power grid in recent months federal officials have warned that america's electric

cables substations and transformers are not sufficiently secured and are vulnerable to attack by anyone with a weapon and some basic know how experts say the energy grid is also outdated and antiquated unable to prevent outages from cascading in october superstorm sandy hit twenty four states causing some sixty three billion dollars in damage more than four and a half million people lost power and new york was left crippled by massive floods leaving much of the city including house of the big apple plunged into darkness. two months after the storm the streets of downtown manhattan remain clogged with tubes wires and heavy equipment because dozens of the city's iconic skyscrapers still rely on generators for power things like this going chairman suite major buildings. that does not occur in hong kong in shanghai.

because they have built systems designed to deal with the reality of nature so what is this kind corners to invest in you know most of you reckon economy when it comes to america's electricity ninety percent of the grid is privately owned by utility companies beholden to investors. energy sector in the united states is law actually. operated and took her. there for only regulation own the federal government has meant that by regulation state and local governments. possible to haul. the grids to gather that he is saying there are many reasons not only financial but also policy

reasons really changes have to. if we want to change our safety and livelihood the changes aren't just limited to the grid engineers have warned that many of america's bridges roads dams levees and power plants are in danger of crumbling if not repaired especially as sea levels continue rising even one bomb does nothing compared to what hurricane sandy did across the northeast a thousand miles of destruction there was a very very big natural event. you know to have congress not funding the. repair of the basic infrastructure. is just staggering shortsighted a broken foundation that risks the chance of becoming the nation's biggest homegrown danger marina porton new york our online team is working twenty four

seven to provide you with the latest stories and pictures on our website and here are some. public health emergencies sparked in the u.s. as the country's gripped by the deadliest flu outbreak in a decade killing more than a dozen people and leaving thousands struggling to fight off field. and also in line with his recently granted russian passport in hand french actor gerard depardieu gets another invitation this time to join the country's communist party. now is a look at some of the stories making headlines around the world. in pakistan leaders of the shia minority have refused to bury the bodies of more than one hundred victims killed in series of sectarian bombings on thursday the shiite leaders are protesting over a lack of security in the country and three days of mourning were declared following the attacks among the deadliest carried out by sunni extremists shia

muslims are a minority in pakistan and have been the target of a recent surge in violence. overnight riding has again hit the city of belfast in northern ireland a bus was torched in police used rubber bullets and water cannons trying to spur the crowds at least four officers were injured in the clash moralists block dozens of roads during rush hour causing traffic disruption throwing missiles and petrol bombs tension has been boiling for more than a month after the city council decided to fly the union flag in front of city hall for only eighteen days in the year you can closing manufacturers are calling on the prime minister and cabinet to buy british they say the industry needs a boost amid growing tension between firms selling real u.k. made clothes and those just using the union jack as a label but as our laura smith now reports from london it appears hard to find an

outfit not made overseas. it's got the british flag on it but all these clothes made in britain a quick look at the label shows they're not made in china or made in vietnam anywhere but here and down on the high street the stories no different you'd be hard pushed to find anything with a made in britain label on it in any shop a recent survey by a daily mail journalist found just one item in sixty three with a british made label but now david cameron and his ministers are being urged to back british from their hats to their socks and wear only british made clothes it's not impossible there are companies that still make clothes in the u.k. including the firm that's doing the urging private white p.c. but the vast majority of what we were ninety percent of the last counts and including everything i'm wearing today is made abroad since two thousand and fifty

two percent has jobs in the textile industry have disappeared and we imported twelve and a half billion pounds worth more clothing than we export it last year even some companies that trade on their very british n'est don't manufacture here so even if david cameron and his colleagues did pledge only to buy british it's unlikely to revive britain's ailing textile industry as doubts rise about america's promise of a military spring cleaning of ghana stannard his very own resident into the streets of new york to find out what people think about the u.s. a long lasting operation there. the obama administration has recently said that it's considering having no troops

in afghanistan after december of two thousand and fourteen is that a good thing a bad thing or a totally made up thing designed for political shenanigans this week let's talk about bet do you even think he's going to do it he said that's a years ago and it didn't happen so i don't buy it so why does he keep saying it if he doesn't mean it. to get people like and their families will be happy with hopefully you know you finish what you started what did we start and what do we have to finish what is finishing mean. to capture or. do you think that we've defined what it means it's tough because you know we don't know everything i think we need to have a world presence to maintain the market why is it up to us to maintain a world presence why don't we just get out of everyone's business well that's a good idea too but if no if we don't do it nobody will and otherwise the world's going to go to war and we really need a stabilizing factor and until now and time it's been us but we're the ones causing

all the wars. depends on your perspective i think as i am sort bored more defending than attacking but don't you think that there are some people in the world that feel like america imposes its will on their countries yes but americans will lose its freedom and democracy at its heart it's not a fanatical you don't think it's its own might be money and imperialism a little bit too i don't believe that it is imperialism. and what about money do you think that money might drive some of the reasons for goal of course but money is going to help everybody i don't think it's happening i i just came back from afghanistan so oh so you don't believe he's really going to pull the troops away. entirely i think that i think that there our presence there is important and therefore sustaining what we've done so far my opinion is that the reason we are over there is because of the wonderful oil. it's all about money and.

that the marine as someone who puts your life on the line doesn't that make you mad it makes me really upset because we have a lot of marines that are dying each and every day in afghanistan you know and you know for god's sakes i can be next you know so it does make me pretty upset that he's promising something that he's not only not to the bottom line is we're so used to having u.s. troops all over the world up in everyone's business that we probably can't imagine us pulling out of anywhere and that makes americans the world's bullies whether we like it or not. why after the break out of martin gives us her take on washington's plans for the afghanistan mission and breaking the sound stay with us.

because of recent events guns have a become a big issue all over the usa both sides are throwing their talking point ammunition back and forth and we hear a lot of conflicting stories well in australia they got tough on guns and crime went down but then again others say in the u.k. they got rid of all their guns and all hell broke loose i've heard stories that you are way more likely to be killed by a deer in your headlights than get taken out by a maniac with a tech nine but then again i've heard that soon deaths from guns will exceed even deaths from car accidents japan is safe because it has no guns but switzerland is even safer because automatic weapons are all over the place the information is all very contradictory but ultimately it doesn't matter what facts and reports you throw at the other side the gun question is a philosophical one some people would rather at least feel like they have their

fate in their own hands even if there is a chance they will shoot their own dog in the middle of the night and other people are so concerned with safety and are so full of fear for their fellow man that they'd rather disarm everyone and leave all the weapons in the hands of the criminals who have them legal or not anyways and in the hands of the government who was pretty happy to use force at home and abroad i don't know i'd rather risk the unpredictable actions of some idiots out there in society but at least have the ability defend myself and have some control over my life and a means to resist oppression but that's just my opinion. to get. to go.

to live on one hundred thirty three bucks a month for food i should try it because you know how. i mean. and we're all very so personally. worse for the little. white house superman. radio guy and for minestrone. what we're about to give you've never seen anything like this i'm telling. you know it's friday before you turn to for fun and games keep watching there's a few things that you should know today president obama's announcement that u.s. troops in afghanistan.