the withdrawal of over thirty thousand troops from afghanistan is one of the main pledges and barack obama's state of the union address party examines the foreign policy areas he wasn't keen to talk about. the israeli media and its a shroud of secrecy of the death of an alleged secret agent in custody despite the government trying to keep it quiet. frenchman commits suicide by setting himself in front of a. lead sitting behind the economic problems crippling the eurozone.

from the new center here in moscow this is r.t. with the online on screen twenty four hours a day. use the first state of the union address of his second term to try and appease lawmakers and taxpayers making fresh promises to boost the economy and slash debt on foreign policy the us president also announced thirty four thousand troops will leave afghanistan by next february and he looks at what he did and didn't say. after over a decade of war troops are coming home and twenty fourteen as obama put it obama points out that there are two missions now one to prepare handing afghan forces take over so that the country does not slip into chaos again the key word here again it almost seems as if it's now

a stable place just today reports of ten civilians killed by a nato strike targeting taliban insurgents now obama spent most of his speech talking about the economy and taxes he failed to mention that so far the u.s. has invested over one hundred billion dollars in reconstruction of afghanistan and that this year alone it's expected another thirty billion dollars could be spent in eight this as the afghan state is rated one of the most corrupt in the world despite red flags from a watchdog monitory bad aid they say there's no way of ensuring all this money is going to the right place or whose hands the cash is falling into and that it's too dangerous in many places in afghanistan to safely observe what's happening well former and. some have become very rich including western officials well most afghans have been left with nothing many countries thrive on this war they make money there in their un people are 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. 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 now obama also spoke of defending democracy across the globe most notably the arab spring which is previously been held by his administration a great success especially libya egypt and tunisia those countries of course now still drowning in chaos and violence two years on well. bomber has changed his tune a bit now saying well it's going to be messy those transitions also his tone on syria a bit distant considering a year ago the u.s. was insisting president off to moscow a lot of speculation about intervention was going on now the president saying they will continue to put pressure on the syrian leader but another pledge from obama to

continue to push for legal and durable policy on counterterrorism no mention here of guantanamo drones or wiretapping and obama mentioned internet freedoms well sort of he flaunted signing an executive order on cyber defense but the order is really seen as a response to congress's refusal to pass the cyber intelligence sharing and protection act or says last year in light of serious privacy concerns in other words a loophole is now available for cispa to effectively be put into action well let's get more on the bowmans comments on security from he's from the think tank take freedom joining me live now to press the ball he started growing threats from attacks just oh just to follow it all these fizz. well i think the threats are real we've already seen it in american companies foreign companies governments both here

and abroad attacks by russia's hair purse for countries presumably china where no one really knows and also international networks of criminals and and perhaps even terror there are some of the threats are real and i'm glad that we're focusing on the real problem here which is that government can do more to help private companies know where there's a threat coming so disorder is really folk distortion areas met threat information from government to private companies and that's a good sign. are you pleased to know that this new order wouldn't compel the private sector to take any action in other words does it have to cooperate as such no i very much so there are good proposals and in congress such as as was mentioned earlier about systems and other bills that would potentially at least your courage private companies to share information and in our concern is that if a nation we're talking about here can include user communications like e-mail us so

anything we can do to focus on the real problem which is government sharing information with private companies is good and anytime that private companies are going to share information with governor ridge we make sure that they are removing the private information of users and if they're able to do so and also that users have a remedy that in other words what we don't want to situation where government can either legally require or can pressure or coerce private companies to share are essentially sensitive user information should all i and just to just to drop him about does say that this order is stresses specifically that there will be strong privacy and civil liberties protections and yet some people don't seem to trust that one though. well i understand their status as frankly we don't have a particularly good record track record on this the good news is true for the administration has put into place pretty robust privacy protections that so-called

fair information practice principles and those really are intended to be used as limitations on government so i think they're generally appropriate here and the second piece of all this is that the president made very clear that what it's going to take to exercise proper oversight here is for congress to appoint the chairman to the privacy and civil liberties oversight board and to fully fund that or we've been waiting for that for years now and that's what we need to make sure this system works properly right now all we see in the control of the internet here that actually affects the likes of you and me do we need to worry about this or is it not really aimed at criminal groups terrorist and indeed state sponsored organizations well there is a concern here if we're talking about his private companies sharing information with government because that information could include the contents of our you know except that if your listeners want to viewers want to get a sense of how real that threat is i would just encourage them to look at the google transparency report which documents just how often that particular company

gets requests from government suddenly here in the u.s. that all around the world or used for reassurance so there's a lot of that going on and sometimes it's justified the trick is to make sure that we have proper safeguards in place so that when government really does the access to private information like e-mails they're doing it for the right reasons and that there is oversight and also accountability baron thank you so much good to hear from me byrnes ok from the tech freedom think tank joining us live here and i take . it you a man who was out of work has died after setting himself on fire in front of a job center in the french city of nuance the forty three year old self-immolating off to finding out he was in the legible for unemployment benefit and last time this happened in france was last august when a man died off that burning himself in paris senate as the details. it said it reports that he had actually set a letter to some journalists saying that he was going to do this this week so the

police had said that they had set of surveillance outside that employment agency but they didn't manage to see him he was already on fire they said he had entered through a side street and therefore this tragedy had happened now the man did this after finding out that he he is no longer eligible for those unemployment benefits and this is not the first time it has happened in france in august we know that a fifty year old jobless man had done the same and this is a worrying sign for france for a country that has seen its unemployment rising for the past twenty months and this after a president had been elected on a campaign of jobs and growth so we haven't seen any improvements on this matter a lot has declared twenty thirteen as a battle for jobs he said that by the end of the year there would be he would be creating jobs for the french people however statistics show that by midyear the number is set to rise and let's not forget that more than three million french people this number does not include people who have quit the unemployment program

because they simply have exhausted all their benefits similar to the case of the man who were just burgess self and also those young people who have never registered or those who are in part time jobs if we look at the trend we've seen a lot of suicides and attempted suicides in countries like greece one of the hardest hit euro zone countries because of this eurozone crisis there's a general feeling of a still in the country a lot of people going out in protest we've also heard of stories of suicides in italy another hard hit country so if we're looking at the trend that's happening in europe we hope it does not continue but we could see a lot more of expressions of dissatisfaction. which just ahead european leaders may think tax hikes will help tackle the debt crisis but europe's wealthy are being lured away by low tax countries with small business left at home and struggling to stay afloat or report on that for you just ahead in the south also. we talk about a veil of silence now over the death of

a top secret prisoner who's been lifted by the israeli media which had been gagged by a court order it surfaced following a report in the australian press about a man linked to the israeli secret service who hanged himself in prison after months of being held in secret or he has the details. 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 for back not only to the web sites but also to all the radio and t.v. stations here and certainly sincerely also this morning it has been the headline news everyone there 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 outlets 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 ways state military sense is normally and now all the local media to quote foreign 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 and he was recruiting on the stand by the

messiah these ready secret service something went wrong and we've been given no reason for him being imprisoned but they respect the nation 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. plenty of questions remain after that israel spy secret was revealed a columnist and senior correspondent for israel's how it's newspaper i mean or and i spoke to an allele he says entire situation is a source of embarrassment for the country on one level it's an espionage story and mystery regarding the foreign intelligence service mossad and the tragic. circumstances under which one of its operatives apparently found his death on another level. government versus press story and the press here has

been struggling against various government agencies and gradually has been able to leave at least some of the secrecy surrounding this story there was a gag order here apparently and defer this was the case and one cannot confirm it independently from israel but again embarrassing as it is one has to rely on foreign sources if that is true and a gag order was signed by a judge then one would have been subject to prosecution if one were to violate it so apparently even though these really press is far from being lazy for the last two years it has waited passively for someone abroad in this case australia to break the story. with the twenty four hours

a day still to come later in the program a gamble for africa the u.n. human rights chief says the situation in mali is swiftly deteriorating following french intervention we examine the volunteers that's plaguing the west african nation in just a few minutes from now. sometimes you see a story and it seems. you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything. is a big. secret

lover. was able to build the most sophisticated. mission to teach creation why it should care about. this is why you should care only. continues now hannity tax hikes is still the default plan for nations trying to get out of debt and while the super rich can feed to places that won't take such a hefty slice of their cash small business is left behind say livelihoods risk. of a found out. he's a leading man of stage and screen however european heads of state will be hoping

share our debt by do doesn't become the leader of a tax exodus by the super rich fund to our lands 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 the lion's share of the things to the state of vermont feel the need 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 tax over fifty percent. there are warnings for europe that when compared to low tax countries like russia they could lose their competitive edge if they're a country with low taxes and with high taxes capital flow well to country with low taxes and 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 but he can't owns a whole it 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 that's where not only. 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. those in power argue that the problem in european countries right now is that taxpayers want to have the best of both worlds big management 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 it with signs of any major tax cuts on the horizon in your businesses like this one going to have to continue to struggle to bring home the bacon but it comes to saving fifty development peter all of a. just provide you with more stories and great videos for you at the moment on our website dot com here's a quick look at what we've lined up there for you at the moment. taking a battering from mother nature residents in parts of new york which were hit hardest by hurricane sandy are in for an unfortunate surprise from the city's tax authorities. plus we'll call him on the iraqi capital baghdad makes its first steps onto the couch in ten years the fashion shows seen as a symbolic break from the years of twelve months since the u.s. invasion more on that and plenty of other stories and features.

the united nations says the united nations says the french military intervention in mali has made the situation in the country worse with is that the west african nation will fall into a downward spiral of violence human rights groups are concerned about ethnic reprisal killings and accused money in forces of murdering suspected militants gonzalo one who's been traveling around the country throughout the conflict reports now for r.t. . so you got him money. and united nations already describes the situation in

mali is a disaster the u.n. human rights commission says the country's caught in a spiral of violence fraught with grievous consequences the situation has been made worse in the wake of ferocious fighting in and around the city of northern mali following four days of fierce resistance from insurgents complete with suicide attacks and the french military has been forced to conclude that some of the locals made in three missiles that however some of the key areas in this conflict are still off limits to international journalists the french army denying us passage saying it was for our own security and the u.n. high commissioner for human rights not be belayed made it plain in a recent statement that the situation in mali is only deteriorated following the foreign military intervention you know that that the insurgency in mali is aggravated by ethnic clashes. camera crew witnessed instances of executions and brutality perpetrated by the mali an army and survive. the military are not the

only ones in gage's and hunting down people look at arable quora origin or believed to be part of the insurgency. the locals are going after them as well and for some time it has been difficult to find people from either of those ethnic groups anywhere in mali and this brings us back to the fact that more than three hundred thirty thousand people have been forced to flee from their homes because of the crisis the last straw for all those refugees and indeed for all of mali has been a statement by al qaida coming out of the arabian peninsula which calls upon every muslim to join the holy war against france a war that is being fought in mali against the will of its people. are. either in ukraine a passenger plane carrying about forty people as crash landed near the city of donetsk it's believed the aircraft which. it was an internal flight missed the runway and overturned before bursting into flames the full scale of casualties

isn't clear but early reports suggest at least four people have been killed with two still missing the reasons for the crash landing are under investigation we'll bring you more details as soon as we get them and other international headlines surgeons were killed after they launched a pretty daughter of sorts on a military base in the country self over one hundred heavily armed fighters stormed the marine camp on the malaysian border state of suffering no injuries themselves the raid is the heaviest militant attack for several years in the restive region. in bahrain police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters in the country's capital one day before the two year anniversary of the uprising people marched in the streets carrying bahraini flags and chanting government slogans accusing the ruling regime of corruption and human rights violations iranians have been staging demonstrations since early two thousand and

eleven demanding political reform. movement the ruling. family blamed for the violent crackdown on protests. religious education is making a serious comeback in two years after the regime which burned the teaching of islam was toppled the current government has no control of private schools springing up across the country and the worry is they are spreading extremism ortiz or in english go visit a school where the qur'an is the main subject. 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 islam has led to an increase in the number of religious

schools are 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 do i read in 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 the west is this a way to teach three year old children yes we can see it clearly attempts to brainwash these children with dr mooney carried out extensive research of religious schools interviews 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 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 if 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. how did you get in your. building with muslim values is the way to ensure that they will lead a proper life from childhood studying the koran in memory of increases thinking abilities and says the right course for the rest of their lives. 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 the economy together. is on the backburner this absence of control that especially worries tunisians on top of the concerns about extremist salafist groups gaining ground. 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 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 i mean not be exactly what many parents had hoped for in their quest for freedom and democracy in tunisia. are. about with the news team with more for in just over half an hour from now on the impending round of talks on iran's nuclear program that's to be. break stay with us

this is. the british. markets. find out what's really happening to the global economy. the global financial headlines.

hello and welcome to cross talk where all things are considered i'm peter lavelle talking the talk for serious in meaningful negotiations this is the question always asked when it comes to the western powers approach to iran's nuclear program soon the two sides will meet again in search of mutual agreement other too many red lines and toxic history for this to happen and who really needs to unclench their fist.