al qaeda openly waves its black flags over to iraqi cities with thousands of refugees fleeing to impending bloodbath as the u.s. backed army prepares for a counterattack on the insurgent forces. syria al-qaeda linked rebels and other opposition groups and gauge and bloody infighting the growing divisions among those aiming to topple assad are threatening the upcoming peace talks. plus the backing of. an all time low as mandatory bailouts and austerity trigger a clearance the clearance sale of countries assets to patch up budget holes. and with security being a major concern at the upcoming winter olympics in soft we take a look at how the host city is making sure athletes and spectators are protected.

with a round up of today's news and a look at the top stories from the past seven days this is the weekly on our t.v. thanks for joining us thousands of iraqis are fleeing their homes in the anbar province which has been turned into a war zone after al qaeda linked militants took control of two cities there the army has failed to retake the occupied territories that have been declared an islamic state by the militants as the iraqi military gathers its forces for a decisive assault artie's going to take on looks at what's empowering the extremists in this region. you know they run on chaos emboldened by the fighting in syria these all qaeda linked militants

overran parts of iraq including the city of fallujah we have said earlier that the serious story and will actually go into iraq and this is what we were warning about chaos in neighboring syria deep as the u.s. and its allies threaten the syrian government sending the signal to the rebels to fight on to the detriment of the political outcome islamic groups have now taken over the opposition movement there and have even chased the western backed leader of the free syrian army out of the country. it's a bees nest you the leave it alone because if you kick it they're going to come out and bite you and that's what we did when we invaded iraq you know three and it can bite not just somewhere far in a war zone but here in the u.s. american intelligence and counterterrorism officials now say islamic extremist groups in syria with ties talk to a recruiting and training americans who have traveled there to get them to carry out attacks when they return home there are dozens of extremist islamist forces

that are operating both inside syria and over the syrian borders walk has been a breeding ground for extremists since the u.s. invasion now residents of other parts of the country are bracing themselves for the iraqi army's assault as it is attempts to drive militants out of seized areas the u.s. is supplying hellfire missiles and other weapons to help the iraqi government in the fight the last thing for needs is more missiles we heard the u.s. government say they decimated al qaida is needed but the groups that continue their cause expand and what they thrive on best is chaos the u.s. backed chaos to iraq and in syria washington support for armed opposition has benefited extremists in washington i'm going to check on our quiz. the jihad is behind the occupation of fallujah and ramadi is the infamous islamic state of iraq and the levant it's one of the most powerful al qaeda branches estimated to be six

thousand men strong with that cells threatening the entire region and the organization was formed by sunni insurgents in april two thousand and four a year after the u.s. launched its invasion of iraq many members of the group are fighting in syria against assad and their force is rapidly gaining influence among the radical elements in the devastated country even lebanon has suffered from the group's activity with it being behind the latest bombing attack in beirut anders karen cork a former danish intelligence officer who served in iraq believes the country's army won't be able to wipe out the extremist forces in my opinion. has never been on the run it might have been downscaling due to pressure but once this pressure is lifted the organization is back in full force and it uses these. pulses true to regain its strength the fighting ability of the of the isis for instance is very strong but very contained. to localized battles and one thing the

isis and the rebels has is is them and it they want to continue fighting the iraqi army really hasn't got a chance to fight these militias. and to all to ready kate them. meanwhile in neighboring syria the strengthening of al qaeda linked groups has led to growing infighting between once allied rebels fierce clashes between rival opposition factions have killed at least seven hundred people this week almost one hundred of them are believed to be civilians who were executed by militants from the islamic state of iraq and levant now the outbreak of a civil war within a civil war prompted some western politicians who previously routed soley for assad's removal to change their stance here are just some of the latest statements to come out now former cia director michael hayden said that the assad regime is beginning to look like the lesser of all evils the former u.s.

ambassador to syria iraq and afghanistan ryan crocker agreed that assad is not as bad as the jihadi as russia has long been warning of the threat some opposition groups pose in syria and foreign minister lavrov has welcomed the realisation of this in the west's mind while oxon writer a german journalist who has just returned from syria says the moderate opposition there is as good as extinct. the term syrian opposition is as strong as it could be this these groups are neither syrian nor real position so they don't have in their interest the the good the benefit of the people or of the country these groups are very very often influenced by the west by turkey by the goal of states we have to imagine or to see those groups more like militant gangs like a sort of mafioso those groups who claim about themselves that they reproduce and the moderate position of the mob or moderate rebels don't have any influence on the

better we know in the meanwhile that the fights on the ground are told by slamming extremists. infighting within the ranks of syrian rebels is threatening the russia u.s. brokered peace conference that due in less than two weeks the syrian national council which is the turkey based opposition group has postponed making a final decision on its participation in the talks because of the growing divisions russia's foreign minister is heading to paris to meet the group's leader and to persuade him to sit down face to face with the syrian government u.s. secretary of state john kerry along with the other world's top diplomats are also there raising the pressure on the main western backed opposition group we'll keep you updated on what comes of the two day meeting in the french capital that might just decide the fate of the long awaited syria peace talks. support for the e.u. and some of the worst austerity hit european countries has plunged drastically in

the past five years the data comes from a new regional poll the study suggests the tumbling approval rating is linked directly to the budget cuts and economic woes take spain for instance where public support is at a record low or ireland which has just successfully executed its bailout program and despite that the aftertaste of the e.u.'s austerity dictate is still driving the numbers down the euro skeptic u.k. used to top the critics list with only around a third actually backing brussels now it's even lower than that dropping down to less than thirty percent. the rating decline however has not changed the belt tightening policies of struggling countries in fact the governments are putting some of their most valuable assets up for sale just to stay afloat. of reports. it's been dubbed the great european fire sale in a bid for cash these are just some of what's been up for grabs but even funds

raised from headline grabbing deals might not be enough like six greek island sold for eight point five million euros an italian island sold for two point nine million exclusive rights to use the coliseums image on their products for fifteen years twenty five million euros government debt of the euro zone is greater now than it was a year ago and some of the sales have led to public anger and frustration bestselling history and culture there selling. a priceless and they would touch the price tag to it i think that's absolutely reprehensible there's absolutely no guarantee that that privatization will help consumers which will and one of the most surprising items recently put off the market was. for a little over a million euros to get a maltese passport and therefore becoming the e.u. says it a move that's been put on hold is two thirds of the public at opposition leaders cry foul. the same legal gone through these which.

meant a huge international down which which was uncalled for because more go to date has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the whole european union it's a question of principle over citizenship should not be full o. on say proponents of privatization see it as a necessity for even nations that are in dire straits but also warned that by europe at a bargain may not be as much of a jackpot as one might think if i or i would be buying many of these things all of these countries have serious political risks for any kind of for. investor anybody trying to. flee has to reckon with the possibility that ten twenty years down the line a government is just going to nationalize whatever they whatever they want to nationalize but for what it's worth this sale continues juster silvio r.t. coming up on our to international water that makes the land boil oil and gas

conflicts will take a back seat in the future because experts predict populations rise it will be blue gold the fight will be over also. japan becomes a fertile ground for the far right with calls for foreigners to leave and for the army to be ready to go into action if the need arises all the details later in the program. security is being beefed up in soft t.v. host city of the upcoming winter olympics tens of thousands of police officers have been deployed there and access to the area is strictly monitored artie's paul scott takes a look at what else is being done to keep the game safe. the twenty second olympic winter games in two thousand and fourteen are wardak to defeat be of thirteen up. as soon as russia's black sea resort was awarded the game seven years ago. as a question the choice of host city such as close proximity to the volatile caucasus region was they argued

a cause for concern. and the recent twin terror attacks in volgograd some seven hundred kilometers from sochi have reignited some of those worries horgan ises they say security has been their main priority since day one from the very beginning of the construction phase the state that. made those months to prepare the special measures to stop them from the screen of their own materials checking in all the venue and preparing incredible measures of the security to provide this safe environment here with less than a month to go now until the games begin tight security measures are already in place around forty thousand police and security offices are expected to be on patrol all sales of dangerous hunting equipment a bond for the duration of the games there's also a controlled stretching sixty kilometers along the coast and twenty five kilometers

inland and encompassing all venues. in terms of security so it is a special case because this whole area is authorized visit is only there are security details from a number of countries including the u.k. and u.s. working here. and those security forces will be coming together to protect places like this is the brand new purpose built train station in the olympic village is going to be one of the main transport hubs during the games moving thousands of spectators with the bulk of the work now complete with all venues and transport networks built and tested sochi. now just waiting for the sporting world to descend . altie sochi. all the highlights of the olympic torch relay across russia and beyond are on our website r.t. dot com look for the follow the flame section. will be back after a very short break with a story of clearly relations between washington and afghanistan. stalls essential

negotiations over a security deal after american soldiers kill a toddler mistaking him for an armed jihadist. since what you're arguing for is that the kurds should pull back after making identity above that national identity let me ask you a personal question. occurred first or and iraq it first occurred first then i mean rocky i am not iraq you that i am a kurds because let me ask you that question i am from holland i have been bombarded you know i still remember the smell of the chemical weapons so what iraqi identity brought to me iraq into brought to me the killing so people might as grace four thousand five hundred villages were destroyed.

the. right to see. her street. and i were being put. on a reporter's. instrument. to be in the. washington's hope of signing a new security agreement with afghanistan before presidential elections there is likely to be shattered that's according to america's top negotiator the deal if signed would allow a portion of u.s. troops to remain in the country after official their official withdrawal later this year otherwise afghanistan may be left to deal with the taliban on its own

relations between washington and kabul have been aggravated recently after american soldiers killed a toddler mistaking the child for a militant comber british lieutenant colonel richard williams says it's now crucial the way the afghan government copes with internal problems. i believe that what we try to achieve is to set the conditions whereby an afghan government can deal in a normal way we groupings involved including the time and. conditions of certain easily here and what we're likely to see. a compromise between what kabul wants and what the taliban wants which will see afghanistan model along over the next period of time perhaps the next ten years but that in itself won't be any great strategic victory if we want to call it that or any great strategic outcome. now from on air to online news where we've got the story of fukushima's radiation

spreading even further despite efforts to contain the hazardous leaks readings have hit eight times the japanese government safety standards even at the edges of the contamination zone plus. tens of thousands of fingerprints of u.k. students are collected in school databases without any consent causing outrage among civil liberty organizations and parents learn more online. if you. are happy with us your thoughts for you today our role researcher.

orlan gas conflicts will be superceded by water wars in the future that's a warning from the experts and as the world's population grows access to clean water resources is rising in price let's take a look at this map now the blue dots mark the places where conflicts over water disputes have broken out since the one nine hundred fifty s. these include small protests as well as more serious large scale clashes there have been one hundred seventy eight disputes and the number of such hot spots is rising one example is the tension in the middle east where the struggle for water is a key issue in some ongoing conflicts artie's policy player reports. the bible tells us that within a short distance from here jesus turned water into wine two thousand years later the great american might be turning the wine back into water bubby carballo has

been living in the golan heights for over thirty years each day he attends to his very odd in orchards keeping his wine in a center that was once a syrian bunker he is proud of the wine he produces but knows that in the absence of water none of this would be possible i don't know usually water is important because it's the second main resource that we have other than the land each crop needs water and without it you will destroy all the crops and destroy all of the farming here you can turn the golan heights into a desert and it's not just about the golan heights rainwater from its catchment feeds into the river jordan providing a food of israel's water supply the disputed region was seized from syria after the six day war and residents of the golan remember that water was a key issue in the conflict and one of stance here understands the importance of the work that all the water supply of israel because every drop of water raining

here with us is prone to the security of god so we can say that it is and must. respect the resolve to have football over these what the fall says it's a worldwide rule that whoever controls the water controls the land but the problem is in some places there's very little water to go around bring you have the common water souls shared by several sovereign nations is always a possibility of pressure reaches conflicts that should be manageable was put out of control and examples of possible conflicts are plentiful syria's major water sources travel through turkey and iraq making it vulnerable while jordan is reliant on a river with syria bill today egypt. recently expressed concern of a countries using the up anomaly to generate electric power in the dry landscape of the middle east is a prize precious than diamonds in its absence famine and drought a quick to follow

but this is a region that's very seldom needs an excuse for me and will to show she just might just took the balance. in the golan heights. let's now take a look at some other world news starting with thailand where huge crowds of demonstrators are gathering in the capital bangkok ahead of one day citywide shutdown protesters are hoping their action will bring down the government of prime minister shinzo sister of a former premier he was ousted over corruption claims in two thousand and six. officials have deployed some port hundred thousand troops fear in clashes between supporters and opponents of the ruling party. and out of control bush fire is raging in western australia threatening both lives and properties and emergency warning has been issued for several suburbs officials say fire brigades will be unable to reach some remote areas and are urging people to do whatever they can to protect their home. in spain tens of thousands marched

in bilbao in favor of peace and human rights on officially though the rally was organized in support of jailed members of the separatist group some demonstrators chanted slogans demanding the prisoners be moved to jails closer to their families is blamed for for hundreds of killings during a four decade campaign for an independent boss homeland. nationalism seems to be on the up in japan with far right groups protesting against immigration and demanding a reinforced army and as. you found out the angry rhetoric is forcing some difficult questions. it's become a tradition in japan when some foreign officials are subjected to verbal abuse on this particular occasion japanese nationalists made their feelings known loud and clear to russia's foreign minister china and south korea have also been in their

crosshairs one for an island dispute the other for sending too many labor migrants to japan you know the latest protests korean workers were described as cockroaches which needed to be exterminated this man is one of those behind the nationalist rallies in japan he says he'd like to see japan a more closer citee one and all they want to know and we've been to open to the world now foreigners come here and commit crimes i want us to return to pre-war period where we were closed and self-sufficient despite criticizing the government for its immigration policies the movement could not be feeling more coffeetable since twenty twelve when she was reelected as prime minister that such rallies have been on the rise. those are not only foreign nationals and delegations getting the stick from japanese nationalists there are locals who have directly suffered from their country for becoming on the far right these school teachers have been protesting because they lost their jobs for not complying with what they call

ultranationalist regulations in schools. the c.f.l. should be made is an obligation to listen to the national anthem before classes until my pupils spawn of who were not even japanese and it wasn't obligatory to stand up and then i got fired but it's not only about instilling national pride speculation is rife that with all this stronger japan hype is eager to amend the nine hundred forty seven constitution namely article number nine which braves japan from having any kind of army other than for defense purposes. in the increasingly intertwined world we can ensure the peace of a nation without proactively taking a role in the peace and security of the world why don't we take steps forward on the issue of constitutional amendment but not everyone is buying it and more far reaching goal could be reshaping the regional balance of power. there's been talk among high profile politicians including former prime ministers on launching a public debate on whether japan should have nuclear weapons that it never

materialized but it's something that the ruling elite has been pondering for years now and non-pacifist japan let alone a nuclear power would send shock waves across the region say experts but for now even with nationalist voices getting louder polls suggest that such ideas are still some way from becoming reality let's see russia reporting from japan. coming up next it's the latest edition of worlds apart with that side of what.

there are many internal battles in society liberals and conservatives will never agree on gun rights or abortion but there is one battle that is often more generational than anything the battle for school uniforms teachers argue that uniforms eliminate a big distraction in the classroom and break up the. caste systems that can evolve at school between the cool festival kids and the ones who can barely afford lunch like me in my younger years but teenagers will scream uniforms crush their freedom of expression and that they have a right to express who they are their individuality who has the right to dictate to them what to wear the thing they don't realize is that if the school doesn't tell them what to wear that big corporations and m.t.v. will all the cool individuals who dress alike and blindly follow all the trends are just obeying corporate marketing instead of their parents for some reason it is bad

if the school punishes you for dressing improperly but if the cool kids make your life a living hell for not wearing the right brand of shoes well that's all well and good for some reason hey look at this way school uniforms are cheap which leaves more money for a purpose to buy you video games being individual in your actions and not a fake individual in trendy clothes but that's just my opinion. hello and welcome to all the part of one of the largest ethnic groups without a state kurds have long been both the victims and the active participants of large geopolitical ventures and as the middle east goes through one of the biggest

upheavals in its recent history can the current turn this power struggle into a benefit for that cause to discuss that i'm now joined by him in around me a high ranking member of the democratic party thank you very much for your time sir i know that kurdish folklore has very rich tradition and one of the one of the characters here most often encounter and kurdish tales are songs is that one of the walks and it's interesting that that animal is often praised for its truth and as and cunningness but also. you know he stand and see of overplaying his smarts lance human rather precarious situation sometimes and i think this is very characteristic of kurdish approach to politics in general but it doesn't seem to further your own cause that much i wonder why is that in your view first the kurdish questions in the middle east has been the victim of the lack of democracy lack of peaceful coexistence lack of the non acceptance of the others on the rights of the

other so if you could because the kurds in the middle east were not arabs we are not turks we are not our seas we are a different national group and we have our rights in that area so as i said we are the largest nation in the world without a state and we are realistic we have been divided into four countries with the acceptance of the asking so for people and now we understand the realities of poor countries and each part of kurdistan within the countries that we are living in has its own peculiarities so we don't want to copy paste what we have in iraqi kurdistan to the other part we do believe that this is the time for accepting the kurds as they are to live in a democratic situation that they can have a guarantee of their constitutional rights in their own country absolutely and i think this is the argument that there are various kurdish political parties have been making probably for decades but if you look at your most recent history it seems that any substantial change in their kurdish question.