twin car bomb attacks in a turkish town near the syrian border claimed the lives of forty three people on car is quick to blame the bloodshed on pro assad saboteurs and it says it reserves the right to take every kind of countermeasure. shareef pakistan's former prime minister is claiming victory in the country's milestone general election that's after the nation was rocked by a series of deadly blasts and gunfire which claimed the lives of more than twenty people making the election the bloodiest in its history. and in search of a better life as immigration in germany reaches its highest levels in years many germans see newcomers as an extra burden on society.

at least forty three people have been killed and more than one hundred injured in twin car bomb attacks in a turkish town near the syrian border turkish authorities claim they have evidence that the deadly blasts were carried out by people linked to the syrian intelligence agency the foreign minister says the country reserves the right to take every kind of measure in response the bombings come as prime minister air to one plans to visit washington next week with the conflict in syria being one of the key issues on the agenda artie's middle east correspondent policy or as details. two car bombs have exploded one was in front of the city hall the other was in front of the local post office in the turkish town of re hyundai which is not far from the syrian border now we still don't have anyone when the organization coming forward and

claiming responsibility the turkish vice prime minister has gone on record as saying that he feels that that might be the usual aside culprits now it is important to remember that turkey share is a somewhat five hundred mile border with syria and in the past ankara has lent its support to syrian rebels who are backing the syrian presidency of bashar assad and turkey has lent the rebels both a staging santa and an area from which they can conduct their logistics so what we're hearing him is that it might in fact the syrian government officials and soldiers tell me ating against syria but as i mention no conclusive proof of this it is perhaps important to remember that back in february there was a car bomb in the same in yemen at that stage to the turkish government pointed fingers at the assad regime this is an area that does see a lot of fighting between syrian rebel forces and pro side forces and certainly the syrian turkish border is extremely volatile or trees polish we are reporting for us

there now for more on this story we are joined by dr khan al anon a contributing editor from the foreign policy in focus thank you very much for being with us now on call is pointing the finger at syria is this a legitimate. well it's the timing is certainly very suspicious you know a couple of weeks ago the syrians were used of using poison gas and then call it a proxy from the united nations said recently that it appears as if that was the insurgency that used poison gas certainly wasn't gas disappears then this bombing happens i mean i think you have to ask what the onset of government. be stupid enough to pick and open fight a country on its border that has the second largest army in in the north atlantic treaty organization i don't see the sense in that i mean it would suggest that the

us a regime has a suicide complex and they haven't demonstrated in any of that in the past i would be very very suspicious of these charges i we don't know what happened we don't know who set those bombs off but car bombs are the particular signature device that are used by the us some of this very extreme islamist rebels in syria so i be very careful about to point fingers at this point well a turkey has been very open about the fact that they support the rebels at this point could of these attacks possibly be retaliation for that. well again the turks have been doing this for the past two years and israel just finished bombing serbia homing out of syria syria's been very careful not to respond to any

of this in the past again i think that the damascus regime has a strong streak assault preservation why is this moment when the insurgency doesn't seem to be doing kili well on the ground when the os or the army seems to be making progress in various areas of the country with syria then turn around and launch an attack on the most powerful army in the european side of nato it just doesn't make any sense to me and given the fact that we've already seen these charges of chemical warfare largely evaporate over the past week i would again i would i would be very suspicious here i don't think this syrian government is looking for an open fight with israel no i don't think they're looking for an open fight with nato i think they have plenty on their plate right at home now that you mentioned this timing and it being suspicious like what's your take on this i mean

prime minister everyone said to go to washington we've had kerry here in moscow we've even had a camera in such a talking to put in as well syria is pretty much now at the forefront of you know global policy what is your take on the timing of all this well i do think that at this point the obama administration talking about stepping up and actually arming the rebels and stepping up the levels of a this recent bombing. of the essentially the french and british are pushing to and the u.n. arm and bargain so that they can begin directly supplying the rebels i think it's a very dangerous moment because it could actually result in a direct intervention in the civil war. at the same time there is also push going on from the united states from russia on the m from some elements apparently in the obama administration that is looking for some sort of diplomatic resolution of this

i think these are two tracks that are going on at the same time as to whether or not this indicates that the u.s. and turkey are going for more direct intervention i think it's a little early to say that but it's certainly the timing here is is very suspicious and of course there is one other woman and that is many people who warned that the disavowal war had the potential to spill over into other areas of the middle east that prediction is coming very true right person your thoughts on the subject dr colligan contributed contributing editor for foreign up policy in focus thank you very much for being with us here on r.t. thank you for having me. now tension continues to rise in libya the u.s. and the u.k. have announced they are withdrawing some staff from their embassies with the pentagon putting its of european forces on alert later in the program.

and accounting is under way in pakistan's general election which will mark the country's first democratic transition between civilian governments now was shareef two time prime minister ousted fourteen years ago in a military coup is claiming victory the election has been the bloodiest in the country's history now deadly explosions and shootings have rocked pakistan on this day of voting at least eleven people were killed and dozens more injured in a series of bomb blasts and it more people died in pakistan's biggest province of just on where explosions and gunmen targeted voters outside polling stations there people were also killed in shootouts between rival political factions violence has erupted in pakistan's a volatile north as well where to bomb attacks caused a further casualties in the city of peshawar. and off has been following the turbulent vote for us. no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks that took place across pakistan today but we do know that there are numerous armed to

political factions the do operate here in pop the son and of course. the pakistani taliban which has waged a bloody intimidation campaign in the weeks leading up to the vote that has claimed the lives of more than one hundred and thirty people here all across the country now the pakistani taliban regarded these elections as quote islamic and actually they've been targeting with the violence largely secular left leaning parties including for example the m.p. the awami national party which is in the front of the tops of has been prevented from campaigning openly which is certainly certain to skew the results in some districts we do have to say though if this election was between despair and defiance defiance did win as a record eighty six million pakistanis were eligible to vote people did turn out in droves we saw in men's excitement at the polling stations but at the same time there were some accusations of voting irregularities for example in the city of karachi where much of the violence has taken place there were delays in votes and

in fact the electoral commission has extended of voting in some areas saying that free and fair elections did not take place at certain polling centers there but that is not likely to affect the overall outcome of the results and by and large we can say that this was a successful democratic election across the country this is significant of course for a country has been ruled by the military for more than half of its history as an independent state we do have preliminary results and based on the outcome so far it looks like the p.l.o. and party which is led by former prime minister nawaz sharif is in significant leverage that does put mr sharif on the road to being prime minister for a third time in his career and in fact just. to the stage before his jubilant supporters in lahore to announce an electoral victory for his. party saying that the party thanks for the opportunity to serve pakistan again now quite significant

here is the turnout that we're seeing the at least according to preliminary results for. cricket star turned politician has seen a large turnout largely among young voters and is poised to become popular second largest party which is quite significant also for the pops on people's party which has formed the outgoing government it shows a mandate for change that shows that pakistanis do want differences in their electoral outcome and it certainly shows that the large problems that the outgoing government has had to deal with unemployment the economic problems the rising threat of violence they have not been addressed significantly so pakistanis with their ballots are saying that they do want change or to use lucy katz now is reporting for us there in pakistan now international security specialist patricia de janeiro says the people of pakistan are so disillusioned with conditions that they headed to the polls despite threats of violence. these things are very tough

though you know we saw the same thing in afghanistan with the taliban threatening and you know as we're seeing they're very very serious about these threats and and it's difficult for people that don't have a lot of of ability and maneuverability around with so many threats going on around them here goes a long way particularly when you don't know when it's going to happen and you're looking around at every corner. but you know people who really take risks to get out there and and exercise their right and their voice are becoming victims from an xterm power and they're becoming victims by their own internal struggles so yeah people become very very tired but you know remember when you're so traumatized and and you become absolutely exhausted with this continuous type of reflection in your reality it's sometimes it's hard to to be so courageous well on our website our t.

dot com we're asking what's your take on pakistan's historic a first democratic transition let's take a look at the results of this hour they've been jumping around through the night so far the vast majority of you fifty five percent as big blue slice of the pie say that this changes nothing it is just for show now slightly more about twenty six percent in the pink say that this will plunge the country into further violence and then thirteen percent say that this provides a basis for a working democracy and did will actually become more functional make things better but the rest of you this tiny little sliver in green here six percent say that it will bring a further dysfunction to the government of course you can head to our to dot com to cast your vote. now still ahead keeping a presence the u.s. will keep nine military bases open in afghanistan even after a planned a troop withdrawal in two thousand and fourteen we have an expert opinion on why the u.s. is not ready to give up its presence in the region just yet more on that after

a short break right here to. speak your language. news programs and documentaries some spanish

matters to you. a little tune to keep these stories. for you here. the spanish. visit. and to your watching our team welcome back what have you with us one of the e.u. newest members slovenia is set to implement a package of tough economic reforms in order to avoid needing a bailout the measures include the sale of fifteen state companies tax hikes and public sector wage cuts sylvania is relatively a tiny a coup. i mean with a g.d.p. of about forty five billion euros and indebted banking system burdened with around a seven billion euros of bad loans slovenia is now trying to prop itself up by transferring the non-performing loans of its largest banks to

a newly established bad bank meanwhile its credit rating was recently cut to junk status one of the lowest investment grades the same thing happened to cyprus in two thousand and twelve a year before it faced a punishing bailout terms however slovenia's government is trying to persuade everyone it is better off without brussels money johan van overtveldt from the economic trends magazine says it is a familiar story everybody who has been in trouble in the eurozone in the last years as in the first phase of the grass is always refused to admit that they are really in trouble and that of course is first of all some kind of psychological game they're trying to play which of markets and with the public at large. but that. being said. that's also been quite clear that all the countries that came into the danger zone eventually had to ask for help which is something national governments don't like because

obviously to at least a certain degree. to hansard to and to date to foreign powers be the european central bank the european commission the i.m.f. or the tree together in the famous trachea. well there's more news online at r.t.e. dot com there for you now the norwegian mass killer anders breivik fails in his attempts to start a fascist organization with the application being denied by authorities due to incorrect filing and lack of support all the details online plus. the first chinese unmanned drone is reportedly ready for a test flight bringing the asian powerhouse into the technology race. dot com. foreign troops are set to leave afghanistan next year but it won't be the end of

the road for america's armed forces there the u.s. says it will keep nine military bases open while thousands of private security contractors are also staying on middle east and a u.n. issues activist phyllis bennis believes that's because afghanistan's strategic location allows washington to keep a foothold in the region. we know that the agreement signed between the u.s. and afghanistan allows for some number of u.s. troops to remain after the end of two thousand and fourteen the numbers have varied there's been estimates of as low as eight thousand and as many as twenty two thousand that the obama administration would like to keep in afghanistan after the the withdrawal of so-called combat troops this has everything to do with the neighborhood where afghanistan is located afghanistan doesn't have on its own but it has a large territory in the midst of a very crucial neighborhood in terms of oil and in terms of the expansion of power

the u.s. wanted for example to keep permanent bases in iraq that it could use as a base from which it could attack iran the iraqis said no the afghans will be asked the same thing will they allow those bases even if it's only nine of them to be used potentially to attack other countries in the neighborhood that's one of the things the u.s. is very eager for on a permanent basis it's not so much about the immediacy of the taliban everyone knows that the presence of u.s. troops in afghanistan is making it much more difficult not easier for there to be serious peace negotiations between the various factions in afghanistan whether it be the taliban whether it be the afghan government whether it be a host of other factions that are all competing for power or to be martin exam and american presence in afghanistan beyond two thousand and fourteen in her show breaking the set war correspondent who's covered fourteen different armed conflicts compared u.s. military operations there to the british colonial forces in the nineteenth century

here's a quick preview of their discussion. you've written article titled all colonial wars are alike where you state that the us has reconfigured its army for colonial forces and warfare how did they do this the pentagon has had to train its troops for guerilla warfare the cold counterinsurgency it's got a more helicopters less heavy equipment less tanks and heavy artillery and it has to develop all kinds of or a reconnaissance techniques and tactics doctor and they call it in the military how to use this thing to hunt small groups of lightly armed combatants but the quick question that bothers me is the british army in the late eighteenth hundreds was similarly trained and equipped to fight its colonial wars on the northwest frontier of india plays in zulu wars when the british ran into real soldiers at the some in in one thousand nine hundred fourteen sixteen in the in the western front

two britons were horribly massacred because they were trained from our war of the united states is now announced that it's pivoting towards asia and u.s. military development will have to take china into account how do you do that with an army trained to fight tribes and on the northwest frontier. and you can watch of the full edition of breaking the set on our website. both of the u.s. and of u.k. have announced today are withdrawing some of their non-essential staff from embassies in libya the pentagon has also put its european forces on alert both the u.s. and the u.k. made the moves citing the deteriorating security situation in libya at the end of last month militia men besieged two ministries within the country's capital tripoli

demanding khadafi era officials be banned from taking posts in government on friday explosions said to police stations in the city of benghazi professor mark almond of bill kent university thinks the violence is a result of divisions within the ranks of former revolutionary. we're seeing is deep divisions among the libyan revolutionaries who britain and other nato countries supported there's a power struggle over who should control the libyan state and control libya's or written gas if colonel gadhafi had suppressed still positions him when it was opened in the streets of loss of two thousand of them possibly hundreds of people would have died or perhaps as many as thirty thousand have died since and the country is in a state to disorder uncertain to life for most libyans is worse than it was on the congo her article scuttled about his regime was supposed are the western countries to be a second paragraph she anything must be russia we were told well i'm afraid so we

see that it's not necessary after all they need bombing libya which current situation where armed groups came to power and so they have local nomination and there are of course. groups who may have been welcoming nato bombers but aren't quite serious and he wants to muslim fundamentalist groups who are sending parts also to syria so they don't will go this is an order to continue presence of western embassies the british french all the americans as well as the holy of the robot see in a labor of tube as they would see libya. well despite further recession predicted within the european union in two thousand and thirteen germany's economy is showing signs of growth within the block the largest economy be coming an attractive option for immigrants searching for work but many germans are not happy with the influx of newcomers saying it puts a strain on the country's infrastructure artie's peter oliver now reports those coming to germany in search of a new life might find one of the biggest challenges in the shape of the gym and

people a bertelsmann foundation poll shows two serves of people here a few new comers as a burden on society one of those is called schmidt he says he knows families who come from outside of the e.u. as many as five children who live in the state presently. the main performance which you have to bring to stay in germany you have to make children if you have no drop in germany and normal social flat if i'm not square meters if i have children you get another three thousand euros that month social eight call runs a motor scooter hire company in berlin and claims to represent many upset at what they see as a free ride given to migrants. if i would live in africa and i hear that and i see that my friend of my of of mind is already in

bali and we value of facebook how he is living then i would say oh well i go to bernie and as soon as possible immigration here is a twenty year high with a further two million expected to arrive within the next three years along with traditional settlers from turkey the bulk of that number will come from with in sight the e.u. as the jobless countries like spain and greece look for better opportunities and the much wealthy in north as the mediterranean situation worsens wealthier countries like germany are a magnet to provide work for their fellow e.u. citizens but even those who weren't even born in germany worry about the influx. i came here in one thousand nine hundred four and now there are so many immigrants in germany who are not working not doing anything this leads to problems they live better than those who work. but those in the turkish community insist it's not easy

. sometimes having immigrant status is not stickle to get a good job which leads to a lack of prospects and in some cases people turn to crime but this is not the majority how to handle surging immigration numbers or even the perception that they're draining society is going to prove harder for leaders to avoid there's a general election here just five months peter all of her. well i'll be back with more news in less than thirty minutes time but first after the break max kaiser puts big bankers and global finances on the ropes in his latest report.

at the going down of the sun and good morning we will remember that we will.

choose your language. we can with knowing that you will. choose the consensus. choose the opinions that immigrate to. choose the stories that impact the. child's access to. welcome to the kaiser report on max kaiser scottish independence. no not the adult diapers the real people of scotland they want their freedom from english rule or at least some of them do offer the bloodless way toward independence it seems

some of the good people of scotland aren't so sure they want it stacy yes max this has been a big topic here and it appears that it's difficult to determine whether or not they're going to vote for independence because apparently some of them only like to dress in blue and run down hills the spear is that's the sort of independence they want to win but the other issue is george osborne has been visiting scotland and warning them that if you leave the union then you will not be able to use the pound sterling so this is a problem because alex semin with a scottish national party he wants to stay in sterling now alex semin refuses to rule out separate currency alex salmond has refused to rule out a separate scotland adopting a new currency and faced accusations of being clueless on how a multibillion pound pension shortfall would be resolved you know i was born starting out as bottom as a scholar has got all the oil they've got the creative spunk they've got it all sky .