thanks. mapping out the road to peace in syria russia's foreign minister and the u.s. secretary of state are meeting to push for an international conference on the ongoing deadly conflict. and it comes amid growing fears the violence could spread across the region after a rocket with died from lebanon into israel following two shells which landed in beirut. also trade war pace german chancellor angela merkel hosts the chinese pm as the e.u. threatens beijing the arabs for unfairly selling products below their real value.

hello there good to have you company watching with me andrey from now the conflict in syria i'm ways to stop the ongoing civil war are the focus of talks between moscow and washington russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov and u.s. secretary of state john kerry will meet in paris to prepare a conference on syria planned for next month this comes as tension grows in the region with neighboring states already involved let's get more on this from artie's tom barton the u.s. and russia have had very clear differences haven't they on this issue in the past for example washington's vocal support for the syrian opposition do you think that in any way will hamper today's talks or her hopes for peace. they have indeed been major differences with widespread international criticism of widely perceived russian support for bashar assad and his military forces and russian

criticism of u.s. support for certain rebel groups but it does seem that they can agree that further talks for the negotiations may have a chance for peace unnamed russian and u.s. officials say that lavrov and kerry are indeed meeting in paris they'll be discussing attempts to try and get together an international conference in geneva in june to try and get together crucially bashar al assad's government and syrian rebel groups to try and talk peace after this two year civil war there may be problems however syrian rebel groups have factions within them and divisions and their central demand that bashar assad should step down may prove a deadlock russia has also asked iran and saudi arabia to attend the conference as well they have not yet answers france has for it part voiced concerns over iran attending because of arms supplies to bashar al assad's forces and all this time is

coming at a time when tensions are rising in the region because other countries are now being drawn in aren't they. indeed the u.s. the u.n. bigger problem says that eighty thousand people have died in the two year conflict and more than one point three million refugees have fled from syria's borders but beyond that there is controversy over the possibility of russia supplying s three hundred anti aircraft missiles to bashar al assad's forces in the u.s. congress a committee of congress voted in favor of proposed legislation which if it went along the road and was passed would allow the u.s. to supply arms to certain syrian rebel groups and the e.u. a group of foreign ministers is meeting today to consider proposals by the u.k. and france that the e.u. lift its embargo of of weapons to syria in recent incidents in the region

they include rocket attacks around southern lebanon involving syria hezbollah and israel recent exchanges of fire across the golan heights between israel and syria and airstrikes widely suspected to have been carried out by israel but not confirmed by the israeli government which destroyed arms convoys heading to bashar al assad's forces. ok thank you thomas artie's tom barton well as we've just heard a rocket has apparently been fired from lebanon towards israel that after two shells landed in a hezbollah controlled area of beirut syrian rebel fighters have denied any involvement but middle east expert at least feels what they say can't be trusted. some members of the free syrian army deny that however there was one official who said that hezbollah you know its activity will lead to repercussions that would

target by the northern city of tripoli and beirut international airport or not perhaps as an indicator of what some of these armed opposition groups of these syrian opposition groups are indeed involved in what happened you have to remember that the free syrian army use in the one block so if one spokesman denies that it might very well be that another opposition are opposition group which also use of title three the free syrian army could have been involved in one of the rockets even landed in near a church and it lies on the border between the southern beirut and the christian district so obviously this is not an attack on a husband. institution it's a clearly an act of terrorism against innocent civilians on an inhabited area and so i think it just goes to show you the nature of these groups who we are dealing with. the u.s. enjoys a vast military presence worldwide and recently president obama unveiled

a new face to the war on terror defending america is a the c's policies but there are more questions about the legal basis for this military activity when the u.s. is fighting wars under the cover of military threats. as this report. president obama in his major national security speech this may quoted james madison saying no nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare at the very same time the administration claims power to wage endless war across the globe there was a senate hearing this may revisiting the authorization for use of military force which congress enacted days after nine eleven attacks in two thousand and one at a hearing pentagon officials claimed that authorization gives the president power to wage endless war anywhere in the world including syria yemen and the congo and when asked how long they predict this war on terror is going to last they said quote from ten to twenty years and one way of understanding this is you say ten to twenty years when you see no end in sight here's

a clip from that hearing on the you agree with me that when it comes to international terrorism we're talking about a war one struggle. absolutely sure that would you agree with me the battlefield is wherever the enemy chooses to make it. is sir from boston the two. i couldn't agree with you more do you agree with that general. the enemy of the goose so by the administration's definition but wall that is the battlefield with me today is brian becker with the answer coalition brian thanks for joining bryan you have president obama saying in his national security speech that the u.s. is not engaged in a boundless war and yet you have this vast military presence across the globe washington post cited a senior administration official who said u.s. special operations forces were active in seventy five countries to that you had the drone strikes and new drone bases does it look like the u.s. this really seeking to limit itself in the use of military force no in fact the

policy in the institutional policy is for the united states then i would be prepared for endless war but to being engaged in all of the activities that would lead one to believe that they are an endless war there's one point three million u.s. military personnel three hundred to four hundred thousand of them are overseas there's nine hundred military bases the united states spends not five hundred twenty five billion which is the defense department budget but really about a trillion dollars on warfare that's greater than the next sixteen nations combined we see an integrated network of bases now drone bases growing increasingly this is to have a full spectrum domination using the military as the club the administration argues that all their military actions in the countries that the u.s. is not at war with are perfectly legal under the u.s. congress it's authorization for use of military force that's their legal justification for continuing all these attacks what about international law while international law has been shredded by the so-called global war on terrorism or the

authorization bill that allows the u.s. to invade any country bomb any country and kill whoever it wants the u.n. charter is quite clear. the united states like all other member nations of the united nations can only go to war in gage and more engage in military activity. as an act of self-defense in other words the defense from an imminent threat but in fact the united states by arrogating to absolve the right to war anywhere against anyone all the time is clearly in violation of international law but president obama says the administration does not violate anybody's sovereignty because it operates in consultation with the governments concerned the whole population of pakistan their parliament unanimously the monthly oppose drone strikes and yet they continue so maybe the administration is in consultation with the government there but certainly not the people i'm going to check on me today was brian becker with the answer coalition from our studio in washington thanks for watching. so is president obama really a catalyst for change or does he piss you the same goals as he's pretty to say this

is that is the question posed in cross talk today with the debate centering on the us presence foreign policy is a quick preview. you think when we compare like nixon to bush obama there's really not much of a comparison we do have something like an imperial presidency now well i don't know if i'd go that far i'd say obama you know he was swept into power in two thousand and eight as a you know on change on hope he was really idealistic so originally he had foreign policies that were very different from what what what had happened in the past and he was saying we shouldn't gauge with so-called rogue states he was saying that we should make this huge effort to engage the muslim world and so he gave a very famous speech in cairo he even went into the very same crossing to u.s. policy on israel by really pushing the israelis to do more and on settlements and he wanted to big strategic and deep relationship with pakistan but all of that basically didn't work out.

and the full edition of crosstalk is just around the corner it's coming up in about twenty minutes here on our take. also to come u.k. industry getting back on its feet. in industrial giant britain's coal mines. and i'll make the thing of the past we've come here to the northeast of the country to find out the impact of the death of that old industry have had on local communities here and why the new signs of life a proving so important. digital dissent you will soon be able to take part in any riots around the world from the safety of your own home to tell you have after this break.

i. i. do we speak your language or not a day in. the music programs in documentaries and spanish what matters to you breaking news a little turn it into angles kid stories. so you hear. the spanish find out more visit i to allahabad.

welcome back lin's maneuvering to avoid a looming trade war between beijing and the us chancellor angela merkel hosts the new chinese premier on his first foreign trip germany's the only destination in leek chains european tour and comes after brussels accuse china of pricing its solar panels and telecom devices to cheap play and threaten trade tariffs. has been following the talks between the economic giants of europe and asia. the new chinese prime minister is in germany for talks with chancellor angela merkel and trade a set to dominate those talks last year alone germany exported around sixty seven billion euros worth of goods to china and they want to see that increase in the future and dylan merkel it has in the past made no secret about her want to court

the chinese markets last year she visited beijing twice within the space of seven months and she's wanting to make sure that the trade can be done between the two countries especially considering germany's traditional markets in europe do appear to be drying up the financial crisis meaning that those countries in europe that were previously buying german exports will really can't afford to do that at the moment she also perhaps has an eye on the future in a potential british exit from the european union that could see over seventy billion euros worth of exports put into doubt if great britain wasn't part of the trade union or that is the a you for the chinese they want to do more business with germany germany is one of the few countries that is kept its head above water when it's come to the spine on chill crisis they've also that means that they're one of the few countries economically that can afford to buy more and more chinese exports so that's why

we're seeing the world's second largest economy in china courting europe's largest economy and germany to try and mutually to increase mutually beneficial trade between the two countries. well the european commission is pushing the block's members to get engaged in talks with china which could pave the way to a free trade deal they need to set aside their tariff frictions there and make an investment pact to start with direct chinese financing could bring around two hundred billion euros in fresh capital to europe this year a figure double the money paid by the e.u. to rescue greece political analysts yang union says chinese money is crucial for debt stricken europe the recent statistics show that china has increasingly being active in investing in europe therefore investment from china is very important or has become very important for some e.u.

economies in. kind of recovery that's not surprising that a number of you politicians or government leaders actually go to china for some kind of help you is very important for china in terms of strategic relationship but they're also most importantly in trade an economic relationship and germany is the biggest kind of trading partner of china of all you countries and strategically also important the row therefore it's not surprising the prime minister. chooses to visit germany. as the first you country he visited amid the financial doldrums and toughing a stereotype the u.k. economy has managed to show a weak growth no point three percent in the first quarter of this year british industrial output has been forecast performing stronger than expected but as r.t. sara firth reports while it might have dispelled some clouds over the u.k.

economy the road to recovery will be long and hard. britain's industry seems to be showing some signs of life recent figures from the office for national statistics show industrial production is up which some of seen as a sign the u.k. might be slowly bringing itself back from the brink of another recession but renowned historian nicholas comfort has mapped the decline of the once industrial giant and says that when it comes to industry the k. is still falling far behind the global competition have been massive individual companies the second largest manufacturing power in the world in terms of exports we had a massive car industry a huge aircraft industry we will world leaders in computing and nuclear power. over that period pretty well all of this is evaporated along with the loss of great

british brands britain has gone from having the majority of its workforce in manufacturing to having little over ten percent so just how did this happen you know this clear need for all industries to keep being updated and relevant and the way to do that is to work closely with the workforce and to ensure that there is that modernization happen the life support was turned off for many. industries loued by the seemingly easy cash of the cities finance industry passed governments dismantled large swathes of british industry arguing they were no longer profitable or here in the northeast that heavy industry is a huge point of pride when the coal mines in the still works in the shipyards were dismantled it wasn't just the loss of the industry it was a huge emotional loss as well it's one that many here have never really recovered from in the aftermath of the industrial collapse for a skilled labor workforce there was little else today that it is evident with the

northeast suffering from the highest unemployment in the country. in the shipyards and factories and in the stores. perfect. things seem to be more difficult especially. but along with the recent beast in manufacturing figures there are signs that things could be looking up the region's on your legs ports have almost doubled in the last five years enabling job creation in areas such as the car industry recent resurrections might not be enough to replace what once was but it is at least an attempt to breathe life back into areas such as this and for many in the communities here that could prevent a welcome lifeline sarah firth r.t. in the north east of england. a quick look now at other stories making headlines this hour

a series of blasts and gunfire attacks have once again shaken towns across iraq five were killed in the capital including one teacher and a police officer in three separate incidents of gunfire while near fallujah and it ether fatal roadside blast struck army convoys claiming the lives of three iraqi soldiers in the northern town of moves or car bomb was detonated during a police wounding dozens more. massive protests against france's new gay marriage bill spiraled into full on violence in the capital on sunday police attempted to disperse the one hundred fifty thousand strong demonstration with gas and rubber bullets before clashing with members of france's extreme right ninety six people have safe are being arrested president francois hollande has been the keys from both sides be using the gay marriage bill to avoid the heat of his economic policy failures. went on a shooting spree in concho county in texas on sunday leaving two dead and wounding five according to police the twenty three year old man was armed with an assault

rifle a handgun and had hundreds of rounds of ammunition when he randomly fired it passes by one victim is found dead in her car while five others were wounded before police caught up with him the suspect was later killed in a shootout. more than two thousand people marched through willage in london on sunday to commemorate the soldier hacked to death by muslim extremists last week the rally was organized by a nonpartizan group which has been accused of having links with the far right daylight murder of lee rigby sparked a wave of national protests by the country's extreme right wing despite the unanimous condemnation of the attack by british representatives of. now the effect of the foreign troop withdrawal from afghanistan on border security will be among the key issues discussed at the summit today in the capital while the u.s. military base at mass use for its afghanistan missions also faces an uncertain future

with plans to close it in july next year and despite the u.s. paying handsomely to keep it open over the years many believe its operation does more harm than good. as this report. three weeks after u.s. military refueling plane went down in the mountains of kurdistan people in the nearby villages are still reeling from the effects of the crash. it went into the mountains right into three fresh water springs where villages get their drinking water the fuel leaked into the streams and now it's impossible to drink i have the official conclusion of an inspection of this water is too polluted to drink people now say their livestock beginning to get sick and when americans came here to get the wreckage they drove right over our pastors in the fields the k c one thirty five straight a tanker was one of the planes station to the us air base which for a decade has been a major hub for the u.s. led war in afghanistan the base was renamed under the government of president bush

to rid of any association with another country's military presence on the ground some thought that the heated debate surrounding the airbase would window once it was are named into a transit center changing the nature of its activity but the people in surrounding towns and villages say nothing has changed and they continue to feel the negative effects of the american presence no matter how much money is said to be poured into the colony the people still want the u.s. base off their land washington shells out sixty million dollars a year on the lease and wants to extend the deal but the kurdish government has already announced the plans to evict their merican in june of next year once the lease expires the decision could be attributed to the vocal opposition to the base many have expressed over the decade often questioning just what exactly is going on . in the course of all these years the kurgan's government never once inspected the base they have absolutely no control over what's going on there and

what kind of operations the base is engaged in americans are the sole bosses of the facility. i'd like to point out that monastic is the country's main civil aviation airport and it is being. for military purposes. the u.s. would be hard pressed to find a better location afghanistan china and iran are all within easy reach it's the spot on the map that's there for difficult for washington to let go and this puts kurdistan in a very precarious position. to. the rest of the. people. by possibly being dragged into a larger war there's a possibility of course to recapture control of the country and. eventually a flight. with destabilization that has afflicted afghanistan so the destabilization politically and security wise in the region is hardly worth the

. going to return for comparatively small sums of money tensions have existed since the start confrontations between locals and military personell have a least once turned fatal when it curtis lorry driver was shot dead by one of the bases guards who believed him to be a threat but it's didn't vironment the tops the long list of complaints about the effects the american transit center has in the region. because experts say planes have to land with their fuel tanks nearly empty so they just dump the fuel over the place mostly in our lowlands and in the mountains in one town even the trees don't grow any more. u.s. officials say any problems are more than compensated for with a huge annual investment into kurdistan's economy which has surpassed one hundred million dollars annually for the past four years but money locals never see means little to the carcass people who describe the treatment they receive from the u.s. military personnel as derogatory and would much rather see their crops grow than

have another plane spilling fuel into their drinking water in kurdistan in the r.t.e. . now if you ever wanted to take to the streets in protest at an important cause or perhaps join security services to try to restore peace on the streets well soon you'll be able to do both with the new riot video game giving you the opportunity to be on either side of the barricade without putting yourself in direct danger r.t.t. alexi had a chef ski explains. soon you will be able to take part in the street protest from the comfort of your armchair coming out for handheld devices and p.c.'s is the first riot simulator game wrapped and pixel graphics and old school sounds it will let you choose sides protesters or the police and help violent havoc unfold in the streets of european cities the game's designers say they have taken part in real life protests in italy so they floated this game to tell the true tale of global uprisings stop listening to the lies of the media shut down the television and get

yourself in the line to fight for your freedom of speech is the message on the games website moreover the designers claim they are documenting eyewitness accounts to make the gameplay as real as possible and to answer many questions like what triggers acts of violence and what do cops feel when an angry mob attacks a game like this would probably have raised eyebrows a few years ago but today the world sees protests on almost a daily basis to a large extent street riots have become a popular media tool music stars film videos with violent street skirmishes and hollywood makes entire movies about street movements scenes of rallies worldwide are ever present on t.v. screens which breeds a feeling that street upheaval is no longer something out of the ordinary the masterminds of the new addition to the whole protest many say their app is more about education than entertainment that i called one of the designers writing is an experience that needs to be lived and of quote and despite the fact that game hasn't been yet released it's already promises to be

a hit judging by the hundreds of thousands of views of its trailer and the developers easily managed to get funding for the game online the ride's better version is expected to be available within a few months. coming up next as promised pace of the veil and his guests debate u.s. foreign policy. you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so. you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture.

wealthy british style. restaurant on the right of the money. markets why not come to find out what's really happening to the global economy with max conjure for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into the report. is easy. to. see.