access all areas millions of people's internet and phone data is being harvested by a british intelligence agency according to reports that leading telecom companies that gave it g c h q unfettered assistance. while in the u.s. calls to scrap a massive n.s.a. surveillance program are ignored as politicians seem more intent on attacking edward snowden. and america calls on its citizens to stay away from the middle east in the light of a major al qaeda terror threat with some experts saying washington's policies in the region continue to fuel resentment.

and whether you're watching it from denmark or the greater detroit area this is r t i'm sean thomas certainly glad to have you with us. now some of the world's leading telecom companies have been exposed as giving a u.k. spy agency complete access to their networks giants like verizon business vodafone cable and british telecom were among the companies on a list published by a german newspaper that's according to a fresh round of revelations from n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden documents released by him suggest seven companies have been secretly providing g.c. h.q. with unlimited access to their network of undersea cables that's allowed spooks to allegedly tap and store data for millions of phone calls emails and facebook chats this comes as g c h q reportedly got one hundred million pounds from washington in exchange for access to the u.k.

signal intelligence programs are teaser furth has details for us. those companies operate a huge share of the high capacity undersea fiber optic cables and that carries data for millions of uses now back in june the guardian newspaper has revealed details of an operation named tempera that heard it was alleged been looking at the data hoovering programs from the british spy agency g c h q and that had said that you were able to access these companies fiber optic cables and access that huge chunk of information that was being carried in and store it for thirty days data that's been released by whistleblower edward snowden prior to his gaining asylum in russia not some of the companies have actually come back in the wake of these claims and have said that the questions relating to national security are for governments to answer not for the telecommunications companies but bt spokesman reported as having

said they can reassure customers that complying with the law and not disclosing customer data in any jurisdiction and less legally required to do so now under the one nine hundred eighty four telecommunications act these companies can be compelled to cooperate with government and pass along that information if legally required to do so the question for privacy advocates right now is going to be whether or not these big companies are actually challenging and nothing when asked to parse over this big chunk of information and of course this is just the latest in a search of revelations that look into the level and scope of snooping by u.s. and u.k. intelligence agencies and indeed the degree of cooperation between the two countries now some of the recent revelations say the g c h t had actually been funded by washington to the tune of one hundred million pounds now that was for a period of over three years and those payments made to secure access to british

intelligence gathering programs and in return is alleged the g.c. . he were required to quite pull its weight another way of the bassman a real headache the downing street and the situation of days communications companies obviously going to be fearing a backlash from the customers a that they say let's break a privacy or two sarah firth's reporting for us there now british intelligence analyst glenmore trinny or harvey says u.k. and u.s. spies helping each other goes back quite a ways back in the one nine hundred sixty s. there was an arrangement between the united kingdom the united states canada straight and new zealand called new kusa where they all shared information and g c h q like the n.s.a. and hearsay very very pleased in their operations in fact there are three main locations in the united kingdom menwith hill harrigan. the big dome. the stone office they call it it shows them and when so formal these have all been

funded in the main by the national security agency and at the minimum mention menwith hill there are seven hundred fifty national security agency american employees working now so they meld together they might as well be known as the n.s.a. g.h.q. there are so close and while the scope of american led surveillance is raising eyebrows across the globe nothing has been done on capitol hill to curb the practices that he's going to to can explain what the government is doing to plug the voices of discontent both at home and abroad. while edward snowden as the messenger remains the focus of everybody's attention the u.s. government is trying to kill his message or at least contain it senior intelligence officials have testified in congress so boring everything is done in accordance with the law congress has already killed the bill that would make the n.s.a. walk back some of its powers so as of now no concrete steps have been taken to rein

in n.s.a. surveillance but call school reform keep coming lawmakers are putting forward new initiatives earlier this week the president met with members of congress specifically to discuss slashing and. of course attacking snowden is much easier for the white house defending this surveillance state and here's what president obama said about that just in the wake of snowden's revelations and if people can't trust not only the executive branch but also don't trust congress and don't trust. federal judges to make sure that we're biting by the constitution due process and rule of law then we're going to have some problems on that trust issue a gallup poll shows fifty three percent of americans now disapprove of the government surveillance programs thirty seven percent approve and now the poll by the queeny a pack university conducted just in the wake of snowden's revelations shows forty

five percent of americans say the government's anti-terrorism efforts have gone too far restricting civil liberties three years ago that percentage was twenty five so it's a massive shift in attitudes but his longest snowden's own destiny remains the top story it will be much easier for the government to sweep the debate under the rug in washington i'm going to take it. from reporters without borders says in hunting down edward snowden the obama administration is sending a signal to any potential whistle blower i just would like to remind you. the last fare of war a war against we saw glowers since the. was abducted in one thousand nine hundred seventeen. prosecution have been launched against we so blowers have been under the obama administration it's clear that the obama administration hopes that the war will discourage any potential that we saw grow or to reveal any information that

you also have to understand that here and us any information related to national security is considered a secret is considered classy fight so everything is classified so it's really easy to become a creamy knol in the eyes of the obama administration if you're revealing any information which are related to national security and it didn't take long for an entertainment side to emerge from all of this edward snowden has not only made headlines he's also become the hero in a new video game a new smartphone app called snowden run three d. puts a digital version of the whistleblower in a never ending chase from what looks like a cia agent in the game of the mail on the run is collecting a u.s.b. sticks and laptops containing secret information if caught the digital snowden gets a one way ticket to guantanamo bay and that but there's also an uncle putin call option which drops

a hydrogen bomb on the chaser allowing the player to escape. central istanbul turkish riot police have fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse small groups rallying against what's seen as prime minister erdogan authoritarian authoritarian policies on current has been intensifying its crackdown on demonstrations that have rocked the country since may with some lawmakers saying the ringleaders could face life imprisonment. goole and he stumbled based journalist a witness to the police intervention here's what she had to say absolute people paid to taxi scared today we did social media and then we called and they said one million people packed and today i said i would like hundreds of people were in fact i think today while they were gathering to please aspect of whole thing was in a sequestered in the race for the week because especially on friday that that was

federal days there are a lot of people who are because there's some bars in shopping malls and that's rough and while leave actually close to the full free also to give the park to give the party the park to hold a class has tried. to force the may after that actually there was some small group who are frightened both of the fact where we're at by the police and it's cold it's still both going on and also it's always been thinking because there wasn't. nobody knows who is the organizers of this so they and the police is there right now actually full of people we want to see what he said journalists and. the local. stories also we see again as we walk through the water that. well still to come on r t iran officially has a new president. hassan rouhani as election is endorsed by the islamic republic's

supreme religious leader but the west doesn't seem in any rush to change its tough stance towards tehran. the rock band the blood hound the gang has it been banned from a music festival in russia after one band member shoved the country's flag into his underpants on stage more on that later this hour. the u.s. state department has issued a temporary worldwide travel alert amid fears of a major al qaeda terror attack washington has already ordered the temporary closure of twenty one american embassies in the middle east due to the threat the u.k. germany and france have also followed suit and announced a day to will close their missions in yemen author and historian gerald horne says america's regional policies have backfired. i think that what alert

basically reflects is the fact that the united states' policy in the part of the world has backfired for example in syria united states has basically encouraged if not supported a war against the damascus based regime of all saud this is involved a number of u.s. nationals and european nationals going into syria to fight with the so-called jihad this is given to shut me armed to. back forces was such as they are in syria which is tied to al qaeda and iraq which in the last smoke has been engaged in a spate of car bombings in baghdad in the surrounding region so it seems to me the state department alert basically reflects a failure of u.s. policy. delling to violence has even spread to more remote communities in the region around two hundred kurdish civilians including women and children were taken hostage in syria after clashes with a jihadist that's following an attack which claimed the life of one kurd leader or

he's eating a glitch as a story for us. considering the complexity of syria you have to understand that there are dozens of groups of people who are divided by either faith or nationality or of the city all of them are also involved in this bitter battle which has been going on in the country for the last couple of years kurds are among the biggest ethnic groups kurds are actually the largest nation in the world that does not have a date the dream of statehood is something that kurds have entertained for hundreds of years they are originating in iraq turkey and in syria now increasingly kurds in syria are coming under under extreme pressure from the radical groups which have permeated syria and are affiliated with al qaida recently severe clashes broken out in several villages on the border between syria and turkey primarily in the northern province several hundred kurds have been taken hostage by fighters of all means or a front and they are also helping videos posted on the internet which claim to be

pictures all but kurds who have come under attack from the from the extremists truly horrific pictures now the kurdish militia house call them kurds in the region to unite in their struggle against the radical islamists are completed with al qaida forces are also dreaming of their own state and it's not other than syria that there are plenty to initiate their state out in fact they're saying they're going to get right to it immediately after ramadan ends and that is just in a week's time so the situation in that region is in creative incredibly harsh and literally boiling at this point as we're having a very having again hundreds of people abducted from their homes. we're also hearing about people being killed just for the simple reason that they're kurds and it really doesn't seem like anybody is especially paying attention primarily the western media there is very little information on the subject if you try to look for it. dr allan semel is a representative of the foreign affairs and relations office of the kurdish

democratic union party in syria he thinks militants are now resorting to brutal tactics through desperation it would be for that could not mean is that as that these terrorist groups are using in. and they cannot. resist. that didn't defend all of that kurdish forces because the kurdish forces on the ground protecting them solve their own not that at that king anybody and all the kurdish people now are supporting them and they're defending themselves and these groups are failing and they are running away from their attacks that are for they are using this as a method to kidnap and host people. and in that end of the day there will exchange because of a very weak to exchange. for your with r t we've got more news for you after

a short break stay with us. from one show reverberate through the centuries when vengeance called for blood. i have a magic hanging and this member him for eight years. get out wave law and faith in the caucasus. vendettas were handed down from generation to generation and they killed my son with impunity i too killed them with impunity there was a question of can once mortal enemies be reconciled today. blood . right on the scene. first struck. and i think the church.

doors twitter. and instagram. and.

i would rather questions for people in positions of power instead of speak on their behalf and that's why you can find my show larry king now right here on r.t. question more.

from moscow this is our team glad to have you back with us hassan rowhani is analogous fishley iran's president that's after he was endorsed by the country's supreme religious leader rouhani was elected in june promising to end the country's international isolation but his inauguration was greeted in the u.s. by calls from over seventy senators for tougher measures against the islamic republic political analyst professor saeed mohammad marandi says the new president should not be underestimated. what's interesting is often when the western media when it's convenient they say he's powerless but when it's not they say he's a threat like the former president ahmadinejad but he is a very powerful figure he is the second most important person in iran and he has the vote over half of iranians and in another election that had

a very high turnout over seventy two percent almost seventy three percent if the united states is willing to take this opportunity to really evaluate its policies towards iran and take a serious step toward the iranians and president rowhani will definitely be willing to make a positive move themselves and to move towards rapprochement. for more on this as well as many other stories you can always head to our web site r t dot com here's a quick preview of what we've got lined up for you right now some are wondering if america has just gotten bigger and should its neighbors be worried. that's after the head of the senate intelligence committee included both mexico and canada and what is considered homeland territories in a charge she used to at a briefing find out more online plus. a comment graveyard that's how astronomers have called their latest discovery located within our solar system you can head to our ti dot com to find out what could bring them

back. to life. american rock group of a bloodhound gang have pulled a stunt that got them banned from performing at a russian music festival the band has been splattered with eggs and tomatoes on their arrival in the country after their bass player shoved the russian flag down his trousers during a gig in ukraine earlier my colleague bill discuss the story with our correspondent alexy our shops. now the famous american punk band the blog gang had a concert in the city of odessa in ukraine several days ago and during that concert

will be able to see that in the video now the bass player jared hasselhoff took out a russian flag all of a sudden and put it into his trousers before taking it out and throwing it into the crowd the front man of the band jimi properly later intervened said that he did not support of this action which is hard to believe because several days before that concert they had a gig in key of and during that concert jimmy properly was shouting the f. word russia from the stage now this story gets even more crazier because this band was supposed to perform this weekend in russia in south and part of the country during the combine a festival they came over there they were told that they will not perform because the ministry of culture deemed this act is very offensive and that and they canceled their performance still they received their money and were on their way back to the airport when they were thrown at their bus to majors and there was even a small demonstration in front of the front of the bus so they arrive to the airport went into the v.a.p.

section when several men stormed into the base of the section and attacked the band reportedly one of the members of the band was strangled with this american flag so we can definitely say that this time lot on gang would not need any water to let things burn because their bridges with russia are totally torched so after getting clearly a very angry reaction after arriving here in russia earlier you said you weren't too sure what the motivation was did they try and explain what happened because obviously there are also a lot of questions when they arrived in russia why did it happen while they try to apologize and said they did this simply to their fans in a death so of course they are a punk band they're no strangers to different sorts of controversies and during concerts in moscow and they've had lots of concerts in russia i've been to several of them personally they've been chanting something anti-american so this is like maybe their definition of controversy another time but definitely the antics with the flag putting it into the trousers this is something and seen before just as the

attack on the musicians in russia something unseen before as well. more news from around the globe now making headlines for you flooding has forced more than five thousand people to flee their homes in northeast china torrential rains hit the region in the early hours of friday morning sparking the mass evacuation of residents to safety water levels are still rising as for the rescue efforts are underway. new zealand fund terror of the world's largest dairy producer announced it had found a rare type of bacteria that is related to botulism the country's authorities have triggered a global recall of up to one thousand tons of dairy products botulism is a potentially fatal paralytic illness which affects the muscles and can cause respiratory problems. tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the taiwan capital to vent their anger over the death of

a young conscript the twenty four year old died of heart of heat stroke excuse me after being forced to perform excessive physical exercise as punishment for misconduct incident happened just three days before the end of his compulsory military service the defense minister has already resigned while eighteen army officers have been charged in connection with the case. a series of shootings and bomb attacks across iraq have left at least nineteen dead many of them civilians the deadliest attack took place about one hundred kilometers north of baghdad when a convoy carrying a top military commander was ambushed by gunmen the commander escaped but six of his bodyguards were killed it's the worst violence in five years with the death toll now exceeding four thousand people since january alone. well coming up on r t we look at the ancient custom of the blood feuds in russia's caucasus region and how they're changing in the twenty first century.

i've got a big question for you how stupid can stupid terrorist paranoia get according to four progressives dot com the texas department of public safety demanded that any women entering the state senate hand over any tampons or pads before entering wow so why would they do this are they really that scared that some terrorists are playing a sneak a bomb into the place at any cost according to news that yahoo dot com the official reason is that they're afraid of people using projectiles as a form of protest against a law that would really restrict abortions oh well no i kind of see where you abortion is an issue that people really get furious over now it kind of all makes sense but wait wait wait wait what's that they're afraid of projectiles but people

with guns were allowed to take them into the senate are you kidding me i think the second amendment does a lot more good than harm by i think it goes without saying that for women to concealed carry their hygiene items they should need a permit or permission from anyone but that's just my opinion. good speech.

i. know me better a little. police officer of cleaning his gun after being on duty is a matter of priority it's almost a ritual for him and he's helped by his seventy year old son male yak a good thing with for i want my son to be a soldier everybody in our family has been a military man me my father and even my grandfather and his time it's always been

that way you could say our family loves weapons. which is melican already disassembled a pistol by himself and knows where each individual part goes. and it is who he says it's not too heavy for him it's just his hands are too small. this smell is being prepared for adult life in chechnya several generations of the family have followed the chechen code every shooting his own sword with another. they have taken revenge for each one of them murdered klan members. and then ask him do you like to fire guns yes very much so he says are you going to carry a gun i will he says we have always had respect for weapons and i suppose it's been that way for centuries it's in our hearts.