over sixty people i killed in iraq as al qaeda linked forces stepped up a brutal campaign with a wave of bombings targeting crowded neighborhoods. are now attempting to look at syria and from their spring throughout the entire region put you right smack at the foot of southern europe a former pentagon official tells r.t. about a way al qaida expansion is heading. and president obama is accused of direct encouraging u.s. intelligence to spy on chancellor merkel's phone calls a claim that the n.s.a. vigorously denies.

the line from moscow this is are you with me tom with a let's take a look at our top story this hour. right a series of bomb blasts across iraq have left sixty six people dead and dozens more wounded most of the blast targeted shi'ite muslim districts around the capital baghdad they rockey government blames the daily attacks on sunni islam is linked to al qaida let's take a look at how the terrorist network became so powerful based in afghanistan from one thousand nine hundred sixty two thousand and one was under the protection of the taliban it was also present in pakistan and the jihad his group began a rapid expansion of to washington launched its war on terror in response to that september eleventh attacks prompted by the u.s. invasion in iraq the country's radical islam has turned to al qaeda in two thousand and four and by two thousand and seven apart. for united group under the name al

qaeda in the islamist web started expanding through north africa now the yemeni and saudi branches merged two years later in two thousand and nine to former al qaeda in the arabian peninsula the network has been gaining ground across the region since the arab spring unfolded with new cells emerging in the countries group including syria where radicals are now fighting against the regime them out is granted she can investigate. u.s. intelligence officials speaking anonymously of course say they're not concerned that al qaeda affiliated groups in syria are shifting some of their focus from toppling bashar al sought to launching external operations against the west one u.s. lawmaker pointed out that's exactly what happened even gonna stand which. they are now focused on fighting assad but very soon they'll be focused on something else we have michael here former pentagon official with me mr maloof where are the. groups headed in your opinion the. forces that are there.

are now attempting to look at syria in the long term to be under a caliphate and their spring throughout the entire region when you look at a map of the whole area stream from the arabian peninsula to all the way across north africa and into the margaret put you right. at the foot of southern europe and that is. the strategy is to ultimately move into europe according to various estimates more than ten thousand committed members are operating just along syria's eastern border with iraq it's reported to be more than the number of jihad is in iraq during the u.s. led occupation worth mentioning it was the u.s. invasion that brought terror into iraq this graph from the national consortium for the study of terrorism and responses to terrorism shows the spike of terrorist

attacks in iraq following the u.s. invasion the u.s. now shrugs at all this terror that iraq has to deal with every day calling it well pains of democracy libya and similar attitude the u.s. helped to kill qaddafi now the country's engulfed in chaos and terror again you hear pains of democracy but as these extremist groups in different countries become more and more organized as a network it's difficult to ignore them. monster it spreading through the region the u.s. thinks drones are the perfect tool to deal with terrorists they say drones are the solution but on the receiving end those drone strikes are seen as acts of terror when they kill innocent people and they help terrorists recruit more terrorists most recently to report came out by amnesty international and human rights watch they looked into u.s. strikes in pakistan and yemen human rights watch found that in the strikes that they have investigated seventy percent of those who died were civilians washington

says they've decimated al qaeda solution but it seems al-qaeda has metastasized and continue spreading with drawn strikes and brewing civil wars in washington i'm going to. discuss the situation with journalist and broadcaster neil clark that he believes the u.s. is simply not interested in curbing our influence in the region. the fact is that if al qaeda did exist it have to be invented it serves an awful lot of good purposes for united states to push its again you around the world if the u.s. was really serious about al qaeda wanted to deal with it they would do they wouldn't be supporting al-qaeda in syria they would be wanting a secular regime in syria to be toppled that they wouldn't be wanting regime change in libya would be a real cloak also the worsening turmoil in iraq is directly linked to the rise of al-qaeda in syria. incidence that has been misused by can violence in syria and in iraq at the same time al-qaeda groups are going from iraq to syria from syria to

iraq the whole movement is in turmoil because of the united states policies and this is not a mistake this is it is a mistake to think it's a mistake if you like because whenever the neo-cons come on to talk about iraq of course they very rarely want to talk about iraq they always like to claim that while tony blair and george bush wanted world but they made a few mistakes along the way that's nonsense the whole of the exercise was to destroy iraq as a functioning country to make never again be a threat to regional powers that the us backs in that region the same with syria and as yards militants keep up their war of attrition against syria's government a growing number of civilians are volunteering for military service. my family worries a lot but nothing is more precious than our country or the homeland where i was raised coming up we need a syrian woman who is putting her life on the line to defend her family and her country. president obama is facing some

embarrassing revelations in the german media reports there say the u.s. president had full knowledge that the n.s.a. was tapping chancellor merkel's mobile phone and despite his claims to the contrary he was allegedly briefed by the head of the n.s.a. about the scheme back in two thousand and ten and even ordered a full dosia on the german leader merkel made her outrage clear in recent phone calls to obama she said such monitoring practices would be a breach of trust if confirmed the chancellor also said that spying among friends does not work obama apologized and insisted he had no previous knowledge that the n.s.a. had been tracking her mirco had been targeted by the agency for over a decade and according to the latest legal documents european leaders are now pushing for a new spy code of conduct with the u.s. afraid rhoda from the international advocacy group. that would be unlikely to restrain the n.s.a. i don't think these proposed. spy treaties or no spy laws will have

a big bird. or a surveillance agencies have grown to an extent. in the space of just one month spanish media says that in december last year u.s. intelligence harvested numbers calling locations all over the country but while the case builds up against american intelligence fred rohde says european agencies. shouldn't be let off the hook. it's not just about the owners it's also about. surveillance agencies in europe such as the british law and even the german ones

which do not allow citizens to keep their privacy there is ripping each other i would not be surprised of where we are for the revelations on other countries spying on each other's leaders that's just an average quinola from the twenty first century germany's also sending its top intelligence officials to the u.s. seeking explanation so how much damage is being caused to relations between the two countries and a kind of fallout should we expect that's what we're asking viewers in our website poll so far now almost forty percent of you say the e.u. will react by developing highly encrypted communications for its leaders and a quote of you so far say the specs of europe to restrict access to private data and race cars for american businesses the same numbers suggest that obama will apologize and offer to spy on a prime minister david cameron instead and just around ten percent say germany will retaliate offering edward snowden as well as sanch asylum had to r.t.

dot com and cast your vote if you haven't done so already. ily. ily. ily. ily. a surprising solution to london's housing crisis could be on its way. with the sins of a looming housing crisis with rents at an all time high in the u.k. right now we're going to be telling you why some people it's hardly away from bricks and and instead turning to big shipping containers for the service that

stories coming up later in the program to stay with us here on r t for that. two years after the forced ouster of gadhafi by nato forces in libya stands at the abyss the lack of a strong central government weak rule of law and endless violence in a country awash with weapons has resulted in libya facing a failed state status add to this the presence of islamic militants can things get any worse in libya. we speak your language i mean some of the will not advance. news programs and documentaries and spanish more matters to you breaking news

a little too much of angola's stories. or you hear. it all t. spanish find out more visit eye to eye. on next story takes us to syria where the conflict continues to take its toll on civilians as some are deciding to take matters into their own heads are does put us to met one young mother who's taking up arms to ensure had children's future. miriam is getting ready for work like women around the world she enjoys putting on makeup before heading to the office but miriam's job is a little different to most the twenty three year old is heading to the syrian frontline it gives me great satisfaction being able to defend my country against

terrorists who want to destroy it. it's strange to find women here in the line of fire even more so because miriam is a mother her sons are just four and six years old. and i signed up because of them i'm not afraid anymore because i've stopped worrying where in a state of war. but every day miriam sees the reality of war more than one hundred thousand people most of them civilians killed the people who lived in these homes were her friends and family all of them have fled most of them will never return i was never there and i am most afraid when the letter bombs fall in our posts and there is shrapnel if you days ago the terrorists launched rockets at our jug point their rockets are not accurate sadly they had a civilian building and many people died were rescued a few and carried them to hospital this used to be a school playground but children's laughter has long been drowned out by the whistling of bullets. and i was kidnapped twice the last time for two months they

arrested me when i was in civilian clothes this is backed it up was cooperating with the army i did i did and luckily they eventually let me go but the risks facing a woman in uniform are often far greater than for her male counterparts several of my female colleagues have been killed while held hostage often it's nothing more than luck that separates the living from the did. my family worries a lot but nothing is more precious than our country or homeland where i was raised to my children are very precious very prudent but my country is a movie. and despite the points it's a job she's proud to wake up to each day from the ground women have been in the syrian army since the seventy's there's even a special military college for them but usually they had jobs are at ministry of and logistic desperate times however cord for desperate measures police leer r.t.

damascus meanwhile opposition groups in syria have voiced their anger against powers that are pushing for peace talks even threatening russia russian foreign minister sergei lavrov called such threats outrageous in his latest speech he also spoke about russia's long running concerns over the deployment of a nato missile defense system in europe. has more on that dispute. foreign minister does say that moscow is ready for a compromise on the a missile defense system issue but at the same time he says it's not going to pretend that it's ok with all the talks that nothing could be changed in the american scheme and still no legal guarantees from washington that the system would not be against russia really this has been one of the biggest problems in the relations between the two countries in two thousand and ten russia and nato agreed to work together on european missile defense but these talks pretty much have been frozen because there are still no legal guarantees from washington for

a few years now moscow has been calling for the construction of a unified into missile defense system where each member would share the responsibility for the safety of others saying that otherwise and without legal guarantees it would see it as a threat to its national security really been one of the hottest topics in the relations between moscow and washington in the meantime the construction of one of the elements of the american anti missile shield in europe has started in the romania on monday and it's planned at that base will start operating by around twenty twenty five. dozens of saudi arabian women cause a stir on the weekend by defying a ban on female drivers one support us inspired by the campaign came up with this. that clips gone viral over the past two days gathering over three million hits on you tube you can watch it and get the full back story on our website r.t.

dot com. also while your day a blunder in the u.s. state department electronic communication systems open up external access to a highly sensitive information check out our report on that online. with almost all ballots counted from sunday's presidential election in georgia the ruling party candidate georgie mug of ale ashley has emerged at the kill without with a sixty percent of the spring and the decade long rule of a miss. his party's candidate trailed a distant second murry for national explores the controversial legacy of the outgoing leader. people he believes he told us that the presidential vote was a less about welcome in the future but more about saying goodbye to the country's past because really is banned from running for president again and these are his

last days at the helm of the country he was a once popular leader off the rose revolution the first color revolution which saw power change in the post soviet republics but others who we spoke to here in believe they accuse him of building a new three terran regime with brutal oppression on opposition would enter a geisha news and a rest during his term in office make the time to to bring the full of regular republic of south assertive back on the georgists control and this is when russia had to intervene and fended off georgia's forces in a five day conflict last year had looked old worse parliamentary elections the party of mickelson has really lost after videos showing yawn inmates in georgian prisons been beaten and humiliated in ten years this man has come full circle from a very popular to one of the most hated politician here in the country who is now

facing accusations and enter a geisha is this is a pledge for pushed forward by the current prime minister really. a look now at some other news making headlines around the world this hour written in hit by its worst storm in five years telling two people one of the victims of teenager who was killed when forming a tree quest to the roof of a home and a man died when a tree hit his car sent do it as the storm is being called is likely to become the base is struck to since the one nine hundred eighty s. around two hundred twenty thousand homes have already been left without power numerous rail services have been cancelled. in the south of france the police have use a bed tongs and tear gas on around seven hundred. and animal rights activists clashes erupted during a protest against an upcoming bullfighting festival. held in many towns in southern france and dozens of schools. toreador training.

is really a force has bombed a missile launchers in the northern gaza strip just hours after palestinian militants they allegedly fired two rockets across the border israel managed to shoot down one of them while the other fellow into the scene no injuries were reported the scuffle occurred after israel released a first batch of twenty six palestinian prisoners to be freed as part of a u.s. brokered deal that led to the resumption of middle east peace talks. we all but as soon as have sent letters to over fifty countries calling on businesses to boycott israeli settlements in the west bank and israeli military whistleblower told r.t. is sophie shevardnadze why many i.d.f. soldiers are unhappy about their mission to keep the settlers safe. you send nineteen year olds eighteen year olds to court to control millions of people through the barrel of the gun i was trained as an infantry soldier to fight another

army and this is the case for most soldiers so you get there to to the west bank or to you know around the gaza strip unprepared to deal with civilians unprepared to control civilians the only thing that you are fed with is fear and hate and you know you are constantly told be careful of the palestinians if you turn your back to them they will stab you in the back your shoulder when i got to the west bank i was told that we need to show the ship palestinians that there is a new sheriff in town and i'm quoting here. as i live in cars put a strain in people living in the u.k. some are starting to adapt their ideas on what should be considered. first reports. when addressing the issue of affordable housing one london charities being thinking outside the box but when it comes to the solution inside the camps

meet the my i pad shipping container doubles as a low cost. renting in london is particularly expensive and once again we seeing rents hit record highs so we're going to go up and take a look inside and see what this is all about. oh yeah let. me thank you very much for having us this is my palace yeah this is the my. desk here inside the my pants been designed to provide these who need it most with affordable independent living and just seventy five pounds a week than my pads certainly cheap by london standards i think it's difficult for anybody right now to get. comfortable accommodation. without you know pay and extortionate amounts of the projects the brainchild of timothy paying. for this is essentially this is a shipping container full time this is

a shipping. bread you cover over a great big boat the projects already received planning permission and funding is expected to come from the greater london authority initially this project will be soley for young people the charity works with society just takes the. for money to them because the moment they get into work they can't afford to live in a hostel in the can't afford to move anywhere else because doesn't make any moral or any economic sense. as an idea. is brilliantly innovative it's been designed as a quick fix that is planning permission for thirty more things to be built next year but predictions that if bracing continues at its cover rate of building them by twenty twenty and we face a shortfall of two million homes in the u.k. so you can see the scale of the problem and it's why what started out as

a local temporary solution could end up becoming a more permanent fixture surface r.t. london. right time now for a quick look at what russia's black sea coast looks like at the moment why you may ask well it's almost a hundred days before the grand opening of the sochi twenty fourteen winter olympics you're now seeing the latest pictures of the cutting edge menus that are almost done and dusted that image putin has met the new president of the international olympic committee for final chats on the preparations and so she may have also unveiled a brand new transport hub so it's one hundred days to go come tuesday and here on r.g.p. will be bring you all the action as it happens. one hundred days remaining. days of play.

up next it's the sports news with kate partridge you are watching r t stay with us . well. science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered. wealthy british style. markets why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy

with my next concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kaiser report. hello welcome to the all t.v. sports show hall for an hour of talk sporting action with me kate partridge and these other headlines. all me pro but you wait for investigates claims of racist chanting as tesco used to want to tie him to manchester city in the champions league. plus

a driving force of red bull sebastian vettel think it's his fourth straight forward to one championship after winning the indian problem free. and packing a punch you have to see champion john jones and kick boxing legend jerome liban up with a star guest at moscow's latest ever may fight night. but first champions league football and sony went seconding group after late one know when a ten month old the hosts were down to ten men after just six minutes to error picking up two yellow cards well porto held off their visitors but with four minutes to go substitute alexander called headed home to gives an eight three points and their first victory in three group games while allegations of racist chanting overshadowed to sky's two one defeat as home to manchester city something manager manuel pellegrini says must be addressed. shows like yours i guess i don't really think. you know where to put things and i told her they would have

the right message to finish all things before. it before. and while those incidents are being investigated by your wife city went on to lose two one late on the chelsea in a dramatic english premier league match on sunday bought city a still targeting domestic and european success as considine put out of reports after an eventful night in the champions league. manchester city marked their maiden visit to chill in moscow by coming back to edge russian champions say ascot to one at the arena all the goals came intend for us how minute they are man opening after thirty two through former manchester united midfielder zoran to watch it but in form strike a set of immediately cool eyes and doubled his daily just before the interval then goalkeeper joe hart ensured c.d.'s survived to his car second half onslaught the

ninety suki honda and equalizing stoppage time put it that way came with you if you know the condition today. was not the best but it was important to win. a point of that was. always he said they. would have to go so we have to have another things to add to win the match and i would it was always goes into a choice in this city. be having there we had it. in front so it is very fun and there we have a very strong team also so that's that's why i'm very happy about our performance my know and believing in the game cd is managing june before my real madrid in mali to go from or about the man cheney who led seeded to their friends the mystic title in forty four years in twenty twelve but was sacked a year to the day later after finishing runners up to cross into rivals.