this is our duty tonight ten days before the peace talks on syria but the opposition is still silent on taking part despite russia the u.s. and the u.n. warning the summit cannot be delayed any longer also iran may take part in the upcoming geneva two conference on syria amid a slight shift of washington's stance russia and the un's invite makes to rand's presents a real prospect with the u.s. saying it would welcome the step but under certain conditions. headlining to tonight britain's prime minister's accused of bribing local authorities and homeowners to accept controversial fracking in their areas with a cash incentive to sweeten the deal. and his muslim rights take a leap forward in germany with people's concerns about spreading islam as ation of the cost to other faiths.

good evening i'm kevin i mean this is r t it's just past ten pm here in moscow our top story tonight the peace conference on syria can't be delayed any longer must happen at the end of the month what is the joint message now from russia the us and the un after talks in paris but the main challenge is convincing the syrian opposition to take part as the group still haven't given a definitive answer could offspring following discussions in front. well one of the first things that we've heard from u.s. secretary of state is that russia the u.s. and the un are completely on the same page that the only solution of the conflict in syria is a diplomatic one mr kerry also said that both the soon enough and to the opposition are equally responsible for the atrocities committed there now we've also seen

a slight shift on iran since a lot of barbara he needs your own special envoy on syria and syria lauber off they both of you are saying that they want to see iran taken part in the geneva two conference this is a key player in the region this was something that the u.s. has previously against but now according to u.s. secretary of state washington wouldn't mind seeing tehran there at geneva two if it supports the agreements reached earlier at the one now mr labral also said that the authorities in syria have now confirmed that they are going to take part in the conference although one of the sticking points right now is that it's really unknown whether or not the opposition is planning to do the same although we are possibly witnessing now apply a positive tendency somewhat of a positive tendency when it comes to the relationship between the opportunities there and the rebel since we've heard today about possible exchanges of prisoners and allowing humanitarian aid to get in but according to sergei lavrov right now

regarding humanitarian aid the rebels are the key obstacles that's why moscow doesn't want to see the terror threat is among the key issues to be discussed to be on the table there. to now today we've heard nothing about calls for president assad having to step down which is different from sunday since yesterday the french prime minister when he met with the syrian opposition he did make these calls for the syrian president to step down which shows that right now even though the key players now working on organizing this conference they are completely on the same page. when it comes to lots of key issues some currencies in the west are sending mixed signals which could theoretically undermine the success of the car friends. your priest can offer and despite the glimmer of progress then in paris infighting between the once united syrian rebels has worsened al qaeda linked groups of executed dozens of rival islamists in the last couple of days bringing the total number of victims of two in the rebels to over seven hundred this month alone it's

now estimated indeed the majority of rebel fighters belong to either islamist or terrorist groups one of the most notorious of those called the islamic state of iraq and the levant began a campaign called expunging filth which targets the u.s. backed rebels from the free syrian army among the methods used by the jihadists executions bombings imposing sharia law and capturing those not sharing their beliefs it's a group of five that so brutally ignored kay's leadership has distanced itself from it get it now largely controls areas of syria iraq which total an area larger than portugal you can see it there in the black. well qaeda gaining ground in syria and iraq source the focus of today's cross-talk it's next here's a taste. now one of the western media and politicians told us al qaeda was defeated or at the very least on its last legs the same media and politicians today tells a very different story al qaeda is very much alive in fighting indeed across many countries of the middle east al qaeda is betrayed as

a deadly minutes in this edition of crossfire we asked what is al qaeda today who supports it and who benefits from it. britain's prime minister is being accused of bribery by eco activists to announce a lucrative incentive to areas which are fracking for gas despite widespread concern still about its safety david cameron is letting local councils keep all the money raised from the business tax levied on energy firms who drill in their perch he also about cash payouts to two affected homeowners so the first got the details . local authorities that allow drilling to take place will receive one hundred percent of the business rates from the scheme that's double the fifty percent the kids currently receive no government estimates say that that could be worth one

point seven million extra a year each site that a council agrees and there are other estimates as well that say that the industry could attract three point seven billion a year in investment and support an extra seventy four thousand jobs so it all sounds like great news the financial incentives that have been laid on the table for the local authorities that campaigners and environmental groups of expressed their anger at the plan saying that it amounts to nothing more than a bribe we might have seen the government track back pushing the benefits of this procedure but the extraction of shale gas from the ground to schools why spread control to see here in the country we've seen large scale protests in the recent months in fact on sunday we saw protesters from across the country marching to solve it to an area where exploratory drilling is taking place in campaigners really concerned about a wide variety of issues with this controversial process including contamination of

ground water the potential for the triggering of earthquakes we've already seen work on one exploratory site here. after it was thought that that was linked to earthquakes that had taken place in a nearby area this is a really huge amounts of anger we've seen campaigners and protesters of course the announcement coinciding with the expected announcement from french energy giant who are expected to say that they're going to be investing millions in u.k. drilling licenses now that's causing anger because you look to france it's actually got a ban on the process and campaigners are asking why when there's a ban in that country the energy company can then exploits the u.k.'s opening its tools to shell gas exploration in this way so despite the financial incentives that we've seen on the table i think a lot of people going to remain unconvinced. furthur went on to fracking campaigner

in the u.k. told us the government is giving the public a trojan horse here the first miffed we have to bust is that it's going to bring cheaper energy to gas if it goes into production in this country will be sold to the highest bidder on the market it's as simple as that so there's a very high likelihood that even if we did go into fracking production in this country we wouldn't see any of the benefits that was widespread opposition to the industry so now they've tried to throw some more money our message to david cameron and to central government would be when are they going to realise that democracy is not for sale and you simply can't throw money at this problem because there's no social license for this industry this industry has a history of manipulating day and twisting the facts to suit to suit them and to suit their investment and you cannot bribe communities into accepting this dangerous industry on their doorstep so some brits the. fracking paid a bit cross the atlantic is a squeeze on those in need. like pretty clinton didn't commit

a crime what did we do because of this deficit automatic budget cuts force of the most vulnerable americans their hopes find out more about that later. trying to be accommodating to religious sensitivities is proving to be divisive in germany these days regional governments are increasingly incorporating muslims feelings into local legislation indeed a couple of districts even christmas lights this season for fear of causing offense to non christians recent surveys suggest more than half of germans now fear the growing islam is ation of their country as peter oliver discovered. daily prayer in bremen. this region was one of the first in germany to make islam an official religion nearby lower saxony is the next in line with at least three other states expected to follow in the near future the change of status allows worshippers to have their religious holidays officially recognized burial rites

carried out and classes taught in schools. but what does it mean to the islamic community in this part of germany to have their religion officially recognized by the state. perhaps in the future it will help the building of a mosque or a school it will also help to bring communities together over the last ten years both sides have made efforts to build bridges and aid integration and they combined critics of the move claim this is being done to score political points here by hundreds of you can interpret this as a slam if occasion germany but i see it as more politically motivated politicians telling muslims islam can belong but the majority of germans don't want this. only nineteen percent of germans believe that islam is compatible with german culture that's the lowest in europe thirty percent had specific concerns such as terrorism and almost half thought there are too many muslims in germany only around five

percent of people in the country are muslims giving leave to the idea that the real issue for germans may be immigration not islam and i think it is more a question of getting people in big numbers into germany than having a problem with the. they mix it up and they don't recognize it's a different story islamic leaders recognize that they have work to do to improve the image of their religion. we have a duty to change perceptions and prejudices unfortunately the media plays a big role they only show negative stories about was them so this makes it harder for us. whatever the public perception of islam in germany more and more federal states is set to follow suit jim needs almost four million muslims the same rights as the christian and jewish communities these are all of the gemini. coming to a final goodbye for the man who was once israel's most powerful figure to meet the

solemnities hundreds of soldiers on an anti missile defense system to secure a safe burial for the former prime minister. plus britain's told it should be soft on its most dangerous criminals as the e.u. says jailing people for life without parole is unfair to prisoners more a new case fight for the couple of minutes well. it was. very hard to take. that back with that but they're looking.

at the. i think that the fact that these weapons can fly semi autonomous lead for seven thousand miles to you know the locations where unfortunately my military and the cia are attacking people in countries with which we are not at war to me is simply horrifying and as many you know already argue it's a violation of international law it's assassination i do not support assassination by my government period.

but. i would like to know that you know the price is the only industry specifically mention in the constitution and. that's because a free and open press is critical to our democracy albus. in fact the single biggest threat facing our nation today is the corporate takeover of our government and our civic we've been hijacked by handful of trans national corporations that will profit by destroying what our founding fathers once told that's my job market and on this show we reveal the big picture of what's actually going. to go beyond identifying. rational debate and real discussion critical issues facing. you ready to join the movement then walk a bit of.

israel's been final farewell to form a promise to ariel sharon but the atmosphere around the ceremony wasn't exactly peaceful the israeli army and police have been on high alert with anti missile batteries dispatched around the burial site as the country's air force carried out a strike on targets in gaza after two rockets were launched on to israeli territory is a middle east correspondent paula slee. anti missile defense system was deployed over the south of the country with extra drones also being deployed over southern israel for the. this is because the ranch where sharon was buried is in rock of range from

gaza and in recent weeks there has been rockets fired from gaza into israel of course israeli security did not want to take any chances of there being any kind of disruptions during the funeral itself in addition to this there were kilometers of roads around the burial place that was sealed off now the irony is that sharon always justified in the kind of military or political action he took by saying that it was in the interests of israel's security and here we seeing him buried in such an atmosphere of insecurity sharon is a very controversial figure for most israelis he is regarded as a military war hero who fought in almost all of israel's wars he's seen as a powerful politician and fearless leader he has the nickname of the bulldozer and this is because when he set out to do something he allowed nothing to get in his way but among many in the arab world particularly palestinians he is despised and resume to you see him as the mastermind of crushing military action and military

offenses against palestinians and for killing thousands of them since the war back in one nine hundred forty eight is this regarded as the butcher of beirut for the world he played in one nine hundred eighty two when palestinians were massacred in the camps of supper and shifted the eleven on by christian militia groups and there's a lot of anger still on the palestinian street that he was never brought to book for the role he played in those massacres and muscles also issued a statement saying that sharon's death is a historic moment that marked the disappearance of a criminal whose hands are covered with palestinian blood so certainly a very controversial figure that was buried in israel today with what might have been once more door to door some stories going to most troops the used to rebut the guns were on a space site so american firearms for snow but i think these weapons all together after customers would go. themselves. cybersecurity election governments

are asking citizens how they think it should be done it says fine tuning the country's strategy to stay safe is given some more thought. than your comment was. it's a. pleasure to have you with us here on t.v. today i roll researcher. low income families in new york feeling the pinch of the so-called sequester the automatic multibillion dollar spending cuts which kicked in last year after congress failed to agree

a budget people being told find smaller and cheaper apartments now or see their rent skyrocket is at his report that one of. his my brother and his family live inside and brown's home this is home for me a lifetime of memories are displayed everywhere you look one of my friends went in with a doing this eighty three year old has lived in her one bedroom new york city apartment for thirty seven years this is the first played out for mercy from h.p.d. but it's a few months ago city officials told her she has to downsize her options move into a studio apartment or see your seven hundred dollar rent triple the only thing i know is they heard the word sequester whatever that means they have this thing is the city agency that subsidizes rent for low income new yorkers is facing a thirty six million dollars reduction due to budget cuts known as sequestration. as a result thousands of seniors like ann are being forced to shrink their lives into

smaller and cheaper apartments and that physically able. will. do it my friend if you just said it over i can't afford to stuart so what i'm going to do with my life is in this disappointment civil rights attorney norman siegel who represents many sequestered seniors calls the downsizing campaign inhumane i can't dismiss the possibility that the effect of this will impact disproportionately on seniors and poor people because in the bigger picture the people who are in power and make these decisions. know that seniors might not fight back and it's a problem playing out nationwide potentially affecting more than two million low income american households in the coming year that's according to one washington budget think tank but it's when social cuts drag in the nation's unprotected pension nears that experts say the effects will prove explosive what happens to

a family watching the government of the contrie stick it to grandma when she's eighty years old you're making enemies you wonder why people join the tea party you wonder why people join occupy wall street while many times the reasons are grandma in the current era of budget cuts the country's elderly most in need of government assistance and stability are being displaced vulnerable citizens forced to spend their golden years suffering the consequences of washington's debt and overspending is like putting somebody in prison that didn't commit a crime that's the way i see it what did we do because this deficit and why are you going to balance it on the backs of the seniors marina porton r.t. new york. and bring thousands of protestors a block the roads in bangkok in a bid to bring down the government of prime minister shinawatra demonstrators are also vying to surround the cabinet building to prevent it from functioning meantime

supporters of the ruling party would gather for council rallies some twenty thousand police and soldiers have been deployed well officials say a state of emergency may be declared if there is fresh and arrest. a series of explosions ripped through several neighborhoods in the iraqi capital at least twenty one people have been killed including children the largest attacks or car bomb packed with material designed to maximize injuries detonate on a busy street as attacks happen as al qaeda linked islam is caught mistimed off right now with the iraqi army in the cities of luigi and ramadi. heavy rains and floods and landslides too in the southeastern philippines to report they've forced thousands of residents to flee their homes at least thirteen people have died more casualties of food to swathes of the country still living rough conditions of course after was battered by super typhoon haiyan and only last november. there seems to be little letter to the violence in the central african republic capital despite the interim president little early declaring the fighting over and claiming that visiting troops are returning to their barracks the provisional government

also issued a stern warning to rival muslim and christian militias to employ ashes weeks of turmoil in the country's killed more than a thousand people. a top european courts try to make britain ease up on handing down whole life prison sentences for its most dangerous criminals judges believe that offering no chance of parole even to those convicted of horrifying murders breaches international human rights but you case fighting back stop brussels muscling in on its justice system for smith reports. if we're talking prison sentences it's already very breath a knife to me in life but if the european court of human rights has its way it will become impossible for courts in this country to hand down the most severe punishments that exceptional criminal never become eligible for parole condemned to die in jail the a c.-h. all got involved after convicted killers lodged

a complaint with the courts saying it was deemed moralizing not to have a child it's a pretty nice last year the courts the greens and rules that having no rights to review contravene big european convention on human rights the justice secretary is set to fight the decision in a lengthy legal battle but many say he should go a step further and leave the court altogether the legitimacy is pretty much nonexistent. but not a proper court that made up of. often of politicians rather than lawyers many of. members a tiny countries or countries with. very poor human rights record i mean we're getting a lot of interference in our legal system. from them and i think it's completely completely unreasonable i think we should make our own decisions aren't arrangements about the but sentencing there are fewer than fifty prisoners serving

whole life in england and wales the severest rights one of the bridges he was set down last year for murdering well schoolgirl. he floats to the pale another killer in maclaughlin has already avoided a whole life because of the e.c. a child he murdered a man while on dave released from a murder that said meanwhile the u.k. government is entering into a little expensive flights but the course of treatment right to the courts interfering with british justice. as lawyer smith reporting there for us and it's a break shortly after the nobel peace prize winner jody williams talks with tells about her life saying to rid the world of deadly drones.

because he doubted states is the big dog the only hyper power and the cultural driving force of globalization it takes a lot of flak i mean globalization means the whole world gets hollywood and hot dogs not the other way around so let's take a break from the negativity and talk about something truly amazing about america and as a guy who lives in moscow i could say that the constitution of the united states is something truly amazing in russia there is constant talk about needing a new national idea new ideology or political theory or big changes to the russian constitution and so on. it's hard for people in america understand this but twice in the twenty centuries the system that russians gave their lives for collapsed and the current constitution was written quickly after a period of violence and said collapse not after a glorious victory now you see why people here aren't exactly memorizing amendments and founding fathers quotes here in america there are debates between liberals and conservatives but almost everyone believes the constitution and it is america's

greatest strength there is a national idea that is a sacred document with a list of rules as almost universally agreed upon everyone with half a brain on the street but certainly not in congress knows when something is against the constitution or should see against america near universal belief in the constitution is actually something truly exceptional about america but that's just my opinion. hello and welcome to cynthia and co i'm selfish ever not say jody williams embarked on a crusade against land mines in the early nineties with few people behind her within several years certain modeste n.g.'s who had grown into

a globe spanning network landmines where international event and she was awarded a nobel peace prize now she's on a different mission and killer robots are her target she's our guest today. from speeders to guns from chariots to tanks humanity stops at nothing to invent new ways to kill. and with drones already making pilots history driblets are on their way this this is something finite may coming to life we long lines end up at the mercy of machines and what does it say to stand up and stop it before it's too late. now i guess today is jody williams political activist and a winner of the noble peace prize jodie it's so great to have you on our show so you work to get it thank you for inviting me yeah so you work to get lend lines

bands and that one you a nobel peace prize now you're targeting what you call the killer robots fully autonomy's weapons tell us more about them for those who don't know what they are in simple words sure i think when we say killer robots most people think of drones but killer robots are weapons that would make drones look primitive at least with the drone there is a human being who looks at a computer screen sees the target and pushes the buttons to fire the missiles and kill various militaries are doing research on weapons that would have no human being involved in the targeting and killing of human beings and we found that shocking and horrifying that people are really thinking it is ok to give the right to target in key.