u.s. pledges to switch to a supporting position in afghanistan by its brain who was a military possibility possibly maintaining that role long past the twenty fourteen withdrawal date. the french military helps mali holds an al qaida link drabble advance by launching airstrikes on the key town of qana. made in the u.k. local clothes manufacturers call on the prime minister and top brass to buy british .

as one pm of the russian capital you're watching r.t. on marina joshua 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 afghan leader hamid karzai in what's thought to be the final chapter of america's military presence in the country but as r.t. has got it she can now reports. at a stand well beyond twenty 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 would be different but critics argue it's an attempt to regroup and a military presence which both the majority of americans and afghans oppose want a solution to a president obama said about the mission after twenty fourteen i think. you know

although obviously we're still. two years when. i can say with assurance that this is a very different mission. and different tasks and a very different footprint for the u.s. if we're able to come to an appropriate agreement now one of the key points of the agreement that the president mentioned there they 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 that immunity and that he's willing to bourg it decides 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 sent as 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 subordinate 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 raids 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. with critics

doubting america's promise to withdraw troops from afghanistan president president asks people in new york what they think of the pullout and the campaign. is that when you're over there it's because they're wonderful. it's all about the money reaction to america's afghan mission from the streets of the big apple that's coming your way later in the program. president francois hollande has confirmed that french military intervention in mali will go on as long as necessary of this mass government forces retake the strategic town of qana from a qaida linked militants with the help of french air strikes on the area the un has also agreed to speed up the deployment of an african led force to the country as well as the militants are looking to enforce strict sharia law in the region sparking fear fear it could become an al qaida strong hold and eventually be used

to threaten you were just on board senior editor of executive intelligence review says the crisis in mali is a result of the collapse of the 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 he wins in the upcoming election the spyder iran denying the allegations it's viewed as a major threat in israel and 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 more 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 will say that people don't think about it so much but today 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 are already uneasy fearing iran might be building a nuclear bomb and tehran isn't mincing its words threatening tel aviv it will

teach it a 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 test its iron dome missile defense system but these raids 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 then they were several months ago i am a big concern it's not like i think they're going to be a war. 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. so you know a solution to the syrian conflict the u.n.

says he's hanoi says a military will not leave the country out of civil war while rebel extremist fighters claim war strategic gains in syria's north. and easier said than done britain's m.p.'s are urged to dress in only what's been made in the u.k. we'll bring you those reports after the break. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so poorly you think you understand it and then you glimpse

something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know. welcome to the big picture. welcome back to watching r.t. live from moscow now at the u.n. an arab league peace envoy for syria says there can be no military solution to the conflict meeting with top diplomats from moscow and washington like barbara he has

read a rate of the need for more diplomacy to and the violence this is so some fifty countries bad 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 the 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 experts also say the countries the radium stockpiles could be at risk reports claim damascus has up to fifty tons of and reached iranian political analyst tomorrow he says western states present only one side of the conflict. i mean 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 fuel rain 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 a 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 overall the syrian central government under the leadership of president assad controls most of the syrian 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 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. and 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 what mother nature can throw at it or does marina board reports now and 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 coops wires and heavy equipment because dozens of the city's iconic skyscrapers

still rely on generators for power things like this going cho months with 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 it is this kind corners feeling 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 privately operated and two couriers. only by regulation own the federal government meant that by regulation state local governments though it possible to haul our

grids to gather that he is saying there are many reasons not only financial but also policy reasons really changes hands. 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 it was a very very big natural event. and you know to have congress not funding the. repair of the basic industry infrastructure. is just

staggeringly shortsighted a broken foundation that risks the chance of becoming the nation's biggest homegrown danger marina portnoy r.t. new york. what you know as you live from moscow and our online team is working twenty four seven to provide you with the latest stories and pictures on our website here are some of them listen to. the public health emergencies parked in the u.s. as the country is gripped by the deadliest flu outbreak in a decade killing more than a dozen people in the thousands struggling to fight off the illness. and also in line with his recently granted russian passport in hand french actor gerard depardieu gets an another invitation this time to join the country's communist party. now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world is limited in somalia the french military has failed in a hostage rescue attempt leaving at least three civilians and one soldier dead

eyewitnesses claim four helicopters were used in a raid in the town of bull amar one hostage is known to be a french intelligence agent that was kidnapped by al-shabaab militant group in two thousand and nine along with a colleague who was released shortly afterwards a total of nine french hostages are thought to be held in africa. in pakistan leaders of a shii minority have refused to bury the bodies of more than one hundred victims killed in series of sectarian bombings on thursday the shia leaders are protesting over a lack of security in the country three days of mourning were declared following the attacks among the deadliest carried out by sunni extremist shia muslims are minority in pakistan and have been the target of a recent surge in violence. overnights rioting has again hit the city of belfast northern ireland the bus was torched and police used rubber bullets and

water cannon to try and disperse the crowds at least four officers were injured in a clash for british loyalists blog dozens of roads during rush hour causing traffic disruption throwing missiles and powerful 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 clothing 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. may close and those just using the union jack as a label but as our lord 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 of these clothes made in britain a quick look at the label shows they're not made in china made in vietnam anywhere but here and down on the high street the story's 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 at the last count and including everything i'm wearing today is made abroad since two thousand and fifty two percent of jobs in the textile industry have disappeared and we have four to twelve and a half billion pounds worth more clothing than we export it last year even some companies that trade on their very britishness 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 down its rise about america's promise of a military spring clean and of ghana stan artie's very own resident took to the streets of new york to find out what people think about the u.s. as 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 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 kill or. do you think that we've defined what and 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 well 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 were going to a stabilizing factor and until now in time it's been us but we're the ones causing all the wars. it depends on your perspective i guess i'm 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 just put america's will lose

its freedom and democracy at its heart it's not a fanatical you don't think it's it's not 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 our reasons for most of course but money is going to help everybody. i just came back from afghanistan so oh so you don't believe that he's really going to pull the troops away. not entirely i think that i think that there our presence there is important and this war sustaining what we've done so far my opinion is that the reason we are over there is. the

world's a bully whether we like it or not. and after a quick break we talk to one of america's best jazz vocalist jane monheit about how contemporary jazz music stands up to modern.

secret lover tori was able to build a new most sophisticated robot which on fortunately doesn't give a darn about anything tunes mission to teach creation why it should care about humans and. this is why you should want your only on the dot com. to. get. to more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world is seeing from the streets of canada. trying to corporations are rude to

you as. to. how again a welcome to spotlight the interview on r.t. alderman of and today my guest on the program is jane monheit jane sayings jackass and giles is the father of music that makes people who dig feel good but i was raised in the soviet union in that country we used to say that jazz is the music of the fat meaning the fact cats of american imperialism. russians and americans saying jazz who love jazz perform jazz together and jay is in moscow to perform with one of the.