the u.s. pledges a switch to a supporting position in afghanistan by spring with the military pas movement aiming that goal long pause twenty fourteen withdrawal date. the french military helps mollies forces clear militants from the key town of on them by launching airstrikes on the the area. and a medic in the u.k. local clothes manufacturers call on the prime minister and top brass to buy british .

live from moscow it's two pm here you love with me to say president obama says that u.s. forces will and most combat operations in afghanistan by spring and switch sure support role the outcome of the meeting between the president and afghan leader hamid karzai and also ought to be the final chapter of america's military presence in the country but as our g.'s day energies you can reports the u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan are well beyond twenty fourteen during this 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. the role will be different but critics argue it's an attempt to rebrand a military presence which both the majority of americans and afghans oppose 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 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 on that key 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 the 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 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 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 based 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. 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. well critics

judging america's promise should withdraw troops from afghanistan are jesus the resident asked people in new york what they think of the pullout and campaign. the reason we're over here is because of the wonderful. it's all about money reaction to america's afghan mission from the streets of the big apple that's coming your way later in the program. the government forces have driven out al qaeda linked militants from mali strategic town of qana with the help of the french air strikes on the area this after president francois hollande has confirmed that french military intervention in mali will go on as long as necessary the u.n. has also agreed to speed up the deployment of an african led force to the country as religions are looking to enforce strict sharia law in the region sparking fears

it could become an al qaeda stronghold and eventually be used to threaten europe just steinberg senior editor of executive intelligence review says the crisis in mali is a result of the prolapse of the gadhafi regime something with 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 despite iran denying the allegations it's viewed as a major threat in israel and as are his policy reports many israelis are already

preparing for. 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 have 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 will say that people don't think about it so much but. it is different we can see the the majority here of israel are preparing the i think most men chile grandparents are holocaust survivors from a mania a foreshadow he fears of what could come it took hitler six serious to kill six million jews and it will take a where the only six minutes that's why i may be small maybe israelis are really

uneasy fearing iran might be building a nuclear bomb and turn around isn't mincing its words threatening tel aviv it will teach you to listen if it tries to attack first warning israeli missiles will make sure israel does not survive in 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 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

sons will go to the army there are soldiers in the. 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 wall the country is 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 connecting the state funded gas masks when they were several months ago i am a big concern it's not like i think they're going to be a war. just. subside life here just in case and with impending doomsday predictions circling the country no one wants to be caught

and prepared police where our t.v. television. seeking a solution to the syrian conflict the un's peace envoy says a military outcome will not leave the country out of a civil war while leveling stream is fighters claim wall street gains in syria. and the easiest said than done britain is a he's ours to address and only once been made in the u.k. we'll bring you those reports after the break. she agreed laboratory to mccurry was to build a new its most sophisticated robot which on fortunately doesn't give a darn about anything terms mission to teach music creation why it should care about human to end. this is why you should care what you only.

well. funny it's technology innovation all the news developments from around russia we've got the future covered. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations are on the day. my. the u.n. and arab league peace envoy for syria says there can be no military solution to the

conflict region was top diplomats from moscow and washington after brahimi has reiterated the need for more diplomacy to end the violence this some fifty countries back a call for the u.s. to refer the situation in syria to the international criminal court could open the way for war crimes prosecutions 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 could fall into the hands of extremists u.s. and middle east experts also say the country's uranium stockpiles could be at risk it was claimed damascus has up to fifty tons of an enriching uranium political analysts all monash says western state and resent only one side of the conflict. 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 uranium 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. of yes the i did some research and it appears that they came up with a number because they they feel 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 a. able to control more. 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 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 severe 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 what mother nature can throw at it. at nih 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 moore's military intervention fighting terrorists 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 half 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 nature building. that does not occur in hong kong and shanghai. because they have built systems designed to deal with the reality of nature. but 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. operating and. now. only by regulation own the federal government and then that line

a regulation to state local governments though it possible to call on the grid to gather that he is saying there are many reasons not only financial and also policy reasons where 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 is 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. oh online team is working twenty four seven to provide you with the latest stories and pictures on our website yes some of them. a public health emergency is in the u.s. as the country is gripped by the deadliest flu outbreak of the decade in more than a dozen people and leaving thousands struggling to fight off illness. and also online deal with the here's a recently granted russian passport in hand a french actor gerard today gets another invitation this time to join the country's communist party. and now to some other news making

headlines around the globe this hour. there are conflicting reports over the fate of a french intelligence agent following a botched rescue operation by the country's special forces in somalia francis's that danny alex who was held hostage has been killed during the shoot out with al-shabaab insurgents the al qaeda linked militants meanwhile say that the agent is alive and that they have captured another soldier runs claims that two of his soldiers and as many as seventeen militants died during the operation in the south of the country. in pakistan leaders of the shia minority have refused to bury the bodies of more than a hundred victims killed in a series of sectarian bombings on thursday a shia leaders are protesting over a lack of security in the country three days of mourning were declared following the attacks among the dead is carried out by a sunni extremist shia muslims are

a minority in pakistan and have been the target of recent surge in violence. why you're looking at live pictures of from a paris with thousands of troops from a cross europe are now protesting i.d.s. is less a nation of three clueless female activists shot in the head on thursday among the victims was a co-founder of the latest on workers' party the p.k. k. who are struggling for independence from turkey turkish prime minister tayyip everyone said earlier the murder appears to be the result of internal feud forty thousand people have so far been killed in the decades long conflict between turkey and the kurdish minority. overnight rioting has again hit the city of belfast in northern ireland boss was torsion police used rubber bullets and water cannon to try and disperse the crowds these four officers were

injured in the clash progresses lawyers blood to dozens of roads during rush hour causing traffic disruption during missiles and petrol bombs tensions 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. u.k. clothing manufacturers are calling on the prime minister and cabinet to buy british they say the industry needs a boost amid growing tensions between firms selling real u.k. made clothes and those just using the union jack as a label but as our g.'s lawrence with 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 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 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 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

a leg textile industry as does rise about america's promise of a military spring clean in afghanistan are to his very own resident took to the streets of new york to find out what people think about the u.s. as long lasting operations. 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 day or a totally made up thing designed for political shenanigans this week let's talk about that do you even think he's going to do it he said that two 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 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 i guess to capture 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 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 were in his stabilizing factor and until now in time it's been us but we're the ones causing all the wars. depends on your perspective i think as i am sort board more defending than attacking my opinion is the reason we are over here is because of the wonderful oil and i don't have it's all about money and. that the marine is 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 owning up to the bottom line is we're so used to having us 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. he has to the arctic circle not all there and russia stationed.

because of recent events guns have a game 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 or have them legal or not anyways and in the hands of the government who was seems 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. whether you die from high or to the death. touch the power of the wind or drift into of the currents. the well prepared is a must and if you're lucky. you'll never forget you're.