barack obama's state of the union address pledged to pull more troops from afghanistan but questions remain about how many americans will stay in the war zone that is the two thousand and fourteen withdrawal deadline. golden a new report sheds light on the israeli government the country's media. doesn't want to. head away europe's small business government. as pressure mounts during tough financial times .

thanks so much for joining us here on our. live in moscow with your news from around the world barack obama devoted to his first state of the union address and that is trying to appease lawmakers and taxpayers with fresh promises to boost the economy and slash debt and deficit policy the us president also announced four thousand troops are to leave afghanistan by next february. joining us from the studio to tell us more about this so good to see you so well so what exactly are obama's plans for afghanistan from here on out do you think first off a huge announcement on afghanistan of course after a decade of war like where he said thirty four thousand troops. are coming home in

a year and all combat troops by the end of two thousand and fourteen as obama put it but let's take a look closer obama pointed out that there are two missions at hand now one preparing afghan forces to take over so that the country does not slip into chaos again keyword here again it almost seems as if it's now a stable place but just today ten civilians were reported killed in a nato strike targeting taliban insurgents only four militants were killed it's also rated one of the most corrupt countries in the world and while obama spent most of his speech talking about the economy and taxes domestically he failed to mention that so far the u.s. has invested over one hundred billion dollars in reconstruction and that this year it's expected another thirty billion dollars could be spent in aid and that's despite red flags coming from a committee monitoring aid that there's no way of ensuring all this money is going

to the right place or whose hands in fact the cash is falling into the watchdog also saying it's too dangerous in many places in afghanistan to safely observe what's happening sounds pretty chaotic to me but let's try to find out more we can now cross live to kabul we're joined by former and political analyst. thanks for being with us i want to start with obama saying that the main goal is to ensure chaos doesn't come back to afghanistan if we analyze that it almost sounds like he scenting that things are a lot better that improvements have been made and the u.s. is ready to withdrawal leaving a stable country behind is that the case. well it's quite interesting if you add a second this speech on the one hand president obama was promising its own people in america that the government needs to provide better services a social security umbrella that will provide. why didn't services for the

people of the united states at the same breath they are talking about a war in a country where the government is unable to provide those kinds of things that america is trying to provide for its people so our people of different are human beings different are their needs different maybe it relatively speaking yes but basic needs of all humanity should be the same respect for rule of law good governance delivery of services by governments and while the u.s. government is trying to. arrange and its own people for for on its government for better services or why can't the afghan government do that has the african going to the government done that has the united states and the west but able to get. the afghan government to be accountable to it to the people of this country the answer to those things are no add to same time billions and billions of dollars the u.s. alone obama asked for nine point nine billion dollars just for twenty thirteen the

money is flowing directly to afghanistan would it not be better to perhaps give these billions of dollars to n.g.o.s to contractors even to make sure that kabul and the rest of afghanistan is rebuilt at least. i think. first of all the prescriptions for remedies for the afghan problem is written outside afghanistan. and most solutions are sought based on the political realities of other countries not the realities on the ground here so it will be too far fetched to ask for something logical in this kind of an environment nationally there will be waste in many countries thrive on this war they make money there n.g.o.s their un people or others who are lined up and making fat salaries and while the life of afghan ordinary afghans have not changed we of course we have had some things like media and like communication and this and that but. in

relation to what was available and what could have been done it's a drop in the bucket one of obama's pledges was to also in store the continuation of counter terrorism and really to allow the u.s. to pursue remnants of al qaida and other organizations is that code you think for drones what are we looking at after the withdrawal will america really leave afghanistan so to say. well mr obama mentioned that al qaeda is defeated so i don't know where what to do with the drones they will go after talks on the taliban afghan taliban which kind of targets will be the targets for drones that's something that has not explained yet but afghanistan will not be stable nor. peace will come to this country and total and then less the people of this country are part of the solution and they are counted they are given parts and

governance and rule of law and they are being served as human beings by a government that is accountable both to its own people and to the northerners and also i think that mr or mr obama's rejection of troops could mean something else for the whole region they may ask the entire region to participate in bringing their fair share into the equation to safeguard security in the region maybe they will as india they will ask is there a rush rush even to. pay chen and i have a chip in i should say and get involved in the security that may be a plan i'm just concluding from the speech and former m.p. deadwood sultanzoy joining us live from kabul thank you for that analysis now rory i'll be back next hour with more analysis and next hour i want to look at obama's claims of cyber defense and also his comments on the arab spring as well as more on

afghanistan you know and he's just doing that interview his very very interesting interview i was just doing some research and i saw that according to a new report coming out of london england the united kingdom i should say has lost approximately four hundred fifty drones being used over the past number of years in iraq and afghanistan of the heart of the fleet that's one of the main issues with the drones is that they're very hard to keep track of at least of now and according to a lot of reports that's the kind of warfare we're going to see in the future absolutely all right he's in the finale many thanks indeed. in the wake of his state of the union has been charting the future course of the united states of america some of been speaking out against his plans for stricter gun control measures. from the capital of state. where protesters hit the streets to demonstrate against. introduced by the authorities to the school.

so i could have you with us here on out today israel's media is being hushed up but the direction to keep silent coming from the very top it's come to light after the australian press filed a report of a new zealand man who sell for an israeli jail in two thousand and ten after being held in secret for months now the story never made it to the headlines until recently. now reports. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu summoned the editors of all the major israeli news outlets to an emergency meeting and in that meeting he asked them not to publish the story saying and i'm quoting that it would be embarrassing to a certain government agency not at first the editors did listen and all references to the original australian report were removed from israeli news websites but later it was brought back not only to the websites but also to all the radio and t.v.

stations here and certainly since the early hours of this morning it has been the headline news everyone though is referencing it as a report from australia not what we understand is that israeli parliament terence did oss the justice minister to confirm whether or not this report was true they also demanded to know if there were other prisoners who were being held in secret in israeli jails the justice minister's comments were and i'm quoting that there is no doubt that if this information is accurate this is something that needs to be checked state senses gave news office in israel the green light to report on this parliamentary debate but nothing else but of course we're witnessing now that the reporting has gone much further than just this debate such a gag order it is important to say is highly unusual in israel way a statement of three senses normally involve the local media to quote from any sources on controversial topics such as the alleged israeli strike in syria last month what we also understand is that various human rights groups such as human

rights watch as well as the israeli civil rights movement has been aware of this particular incident for quite some time now the australian media is reporting that this man came to live in israel when he was a youngster he made what is called idea and he was recruited now understand by the messiah these ready secret service something went wrong and we've been given no reason for him being in prison but they respect relation that it would have had to be connected somehow with espionage and sensitive state secrets the. former foreign minister avigdor lieberman has said that left wing parliamentarians have damaged israeli security by bringing this issue to the fore in the first place. on his policy reporting tough times mean that many in europe are finding it increasingly harder to make ends meet but. excuse me are unlikely to be given much reprieve especially when the governments are tackling record debts and with no one willing

to ditch generously funded public services the e.u. looks set to continue having one of the highest tax rates in the world are all over investigators this. he's a leading man of stage and screen however european heads of state will be hoping share our debt by a deal doesn't become the leader of a tax exodus by the super rich front lines decision to push through a seventy five percent top rate of tax on those earning over one million euros saw the actor up sticks and head to russia europe has some of the highest rates of taxation in the world with many giving lead lie in sheriff there to the state of vermont feel that it can be a balancing act of course you want to run a successful business but if you make over a certain amount you find yourself paying out huge quantities of the tax over fifty percent but there are warnings for europe that when compared to low tax countries

like russia they could lose their competitive edge if their country with low taxes and with high taxes capital flow well to country with a low tax in the same is true for people with talent there's always going to be people that think the taxes are too high but a growing number actually starting to think that it's becoming detrimental to the development of business pretty hard to owns a haulage company in munich currently he employs around ninety people transporting everything from the small to the big and bulky all over mainland europe he says that lowering the current rate of tax would not just make big changes to his business but also to the lives of his staff does where not only can his with him and can't he would be super first i could pay higher salaries this is a very important issue right now due to the rise in the cost of living also i can invest more into the company and grow the business even employ more people everyone

benefits something that is impossible under the current tax system that i ask and that those in power argue that the problem in european countries right now is that taxpayers want to have the best of both. big management one of the phenomenon we face regarding taxes is that everyone wants to pay as little as possible however no one is willing to give up the services that those taxes go to pay for the few signs of any major tax cuts on the horizon in year businesses like this one going to have to continue to struggle to bring home the bacon but it comes to saving fifty future development peter all of a. still to come for you this hour here on odds he thought of a dangerous precedent in just a couple of minutes here on the program reporting a court ruling blowing up a big hole in the british government unemployment. two years off the pro-democracy revolt secular. schools teaching children hard grade

his law are spreading throughout the nation. wealthy british. markets. find out what's really happening to the global economy. look at the global financial headlines to name two.

mission. critical patients three. more charges three coming from and three. three. two three. three blown video for your media projects free media. it's a pleasure to have you with us here and i'll see today on the research i live in moscow. religious schools spreading throughout the nation following the revolution from two years ago some parents have no problem with kids getting down to the nuts and bolts of islam at a very early age but others fear such education is only planting the seeds of future extremism these are going to go as the story. tunisia's learned

some tough lessons in the wake of its revolt but now the report card for what's going on in its schools is facing examination in the school in one of the poorest districts of the tunisian capital children come to learn about the qur'an and the way of life of true muslims religious education was banned under the old regime but it's making a comeback in a big way the rise of islam as a has led to an increase in the number of religious schools springing up across the country these schools are private operating outside of the control of state officials who have no say over what's being taught in these schools and some worry that this may lead to a rise in the number of young extremists even many religious experts agree filling young minds with religious doctrines may not be the best way to bring up children. what. i read and one of the papers sent by a three year old girl to her mother with a message my beloved mom teach me about the afterlife the same way you teach about

this life is this a way to teach three year old children we can see it clearly attempts to brainwash these children dr ramani carried out an extensive research of religious schools in tunis to find out whether critics were right to say that they were damaging to the country's post revolutionary development she found most schools were primarily focused on teaching strict islamic values without worrying about the effect these methods may have in youngsters. that i have noticed that all female teachers at these schools where any cub while teaching you can't see her face this is in contradiction with what's known in psychology as communication how can she communicate with the kids of her face is covered emotions and movement of vital to kids and social interaction such things do not contradict our values and morals. but parents who send their children to study at these schools believe they are on the right track. educating their children with muslim values is the way to ensure

that they will lead a proper life from childhood study in the koran improves memory increases thinking abilities and says the right course for the rest of their lives. at the moment not even the ministry of education is able to say exactly how many religious schools there are in tunisia after the revolution they sprung up over the country many operating without license from the state the government has acknowledged the problem but has its hands full trying to keep to gether education is on the back burner is this absence of control that especially we're on top of the concerns about extremist salafist groups gaining ground. on these groups don't believe in democracy republic and freedom they consider them to be against their religion they want to impose their way of life on by force as if they know better than other people after the arab spring revolt tunisians were eager to embrace what they hoped

would be a new way of life but with radical islam permeating more and more spheres of everyday life these children's future may not be exactly what many parents had hoped for in their quest for freedom or democracy in tunisia. i know run over. a lot of stories for example when the president of. the police. well it's. heat. suffering mother nature. of new york which was hit hardest by hurricane sandy. surprise from the city's. believes. these.

and. most. of these are the. streets of. the day. it was one of the u.k. government's policies designed to get people back to work but it's claims of slavery and could also result in. millions to those who took part. university graduate kate riley and forty year old jamison wilson succeeded in their

claims that their unpaid work scheme that they were made to take part in was indeed a little for them a small but significant victory now the lawyers for that willing say it could mean that thousands of people who have their benefits stripped from the under similar circumstances in this government work program could reclaim that money that could leave the door open to millions of pounds compensation that would be footed by the taxpayer of course that's causing a lot of concerned our teeth done its own investigation into the work program in a response to what's the government has said that it was read to suggest that there were any problems with the work program and that it wasn't helping people get back into work but look this is all being quite embarrassing for the government today now speak to us more about this i'm joined by amery o'reilly for the boycott workfare program thank you very much for joining us

a small victory do you think that far enough because on the surface of it it seems like a big deal and a win the obviously the people involved in that but is this going to be as hard hitting as far reaching well today's ruling is really significant for us it shows that workfare forced unpaid work in the u.k. isn't just wrong it's also been unlawful sport you're right it doesn't go far enough the still a lot to be done one of the my significant schemes mandatory work activity is still intact and really disturbingly the government threatening to bring emergency regulations through to bring workfare straight back in the future controversial loads of criticism about these government work schemes but they are schemes that are in place in the government's quite right getting people back into jobs are they not like unemployment in the u.k. the moment is a huge huge issue but the government nice that these schemes don't work instead of helping create jobs what they're doing is replacing paid work effect. replacing

jobs that would exist if the schemes were employés not only that the governments are using these schemes to massage the unemployment figures because when people are forced to work without pay on the schemes they can't count them as having a jerk a very strange definition of having a job where not a single person is receiving a wage for them before one graduate who is on the program certainly a small but significant victory in a fluid that k. fed today it certainly means that the government now has to go back to the drawing board when it comes to their work schemes. or in our shifting gears to be united states as barack obama prepares to enact tougher gun control measures many in the country think he's taking americans down the wrong path the state of new york was the first of followed the president by passing restrictions like flogging customers who buy large amounts of ammunition and also health checks as well for potential gun owners artie's an associate reports of the state's capital albany on how some there are taking it all then. the big apple business as usual.

a few hours by train the empire state capital. as the united states remains divided when it comes to what to do with guns in this country after a recent series of shootings hundreds of anti-gun control protesters gathered outside the state capitol building in albany hear the toughest state law on firearms in the u.s. after the sandy hook elementary school shooting the same fact was passed a month ago was. and those whose guns are at stake are far from happy so why look like a terrorist because they will look like a fanatic among other provisions the new state law bans weapon sales over the web restricts ammo magazines to seven bullets include stricter background checks and regular decertification cuomo saying that law and a maryland i without these three days were to be allowing the people to read it. these protesters say their second amendment right to bear arms under the u.s.

constitution is being stepped on by the legislators and need to smarten up and listen to get the garbage out in your ears and listen to what the people are saying gun owners believe politicians are looking for criminals in the wrong places i've been going to owner for thirty years and now some of the guns i have in my locker are now illegal well i've never had a. parking ticket in my life there's nothing wrong with good law abiding citizens having firearms it's just it's an assessment because this legislation is not going to stop hardened criminals obsessed with firearms it's not going to stop drug dealers it's not going to stop murderers it's not going to stop the latest so what is the answer as the u.s. struggles to find common ground on where the gun debate should take the country next i think the fear fine if anyone does a crime with a gun here. no map on the hand no pro no.

imagine. what you see in the country well the position of these gun advocates is clear what remains to be seen is whether the us as a whole can ever come to a compromise and r.t.e. . on the dilemma of gun control is also brought up in our special report that is up next after the show.

you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture.

a. cold. cold. and. the. luck. i stand on guns in america is i'm i'm pro-life and from i don't think i'm political stand but i do say i think that we see an increase.