the presence of u.s. troops in afghanistan beyond two thousand and fourteen is thrown into doubt after the latest killing of civilians by american forces. also pushes for an equal role for iran at this month's international peace conference on syria as the russian foreign minister hosts meetings with his iranian and syrian counterparts. the battle for arctic riches heats up ask climate change opens the region to increasing economic political and even military competition. and as the n.s.a.'s massive valence and antics draw unwelcome comparisons with the stasi of east germany r.t. talks to veterans of the feared and revered cold war spy service to find out just how much the two have in common.

you're watching r t international live from our moscow studios where it's just after twelve noon i'm lindsey france thanks for joining me relations between the u.s. and afghanistan are in jeopardy after the latest killing of civilians by american troops in the war zone the afghan president says seven children and a woman died in a u.s. airstrike on wednesday nato claims the incident took place during a counter-terror operation and admits that at least two civilians were killed by mistake it's the latest in a series of collateral damage scandals that have shaken u.s. afghan relations kabul has repeatedly demanded and tonight raids and airstrikes in civilian areas but some analysts say it should be going further by ensuring that justice is served for the innocent victims. that's always the argument that the foreign powers make they always make it sound like they're invading

a country just because they care so much about the people that are under attack but all over the world you can see the fruits of us foreign intervention these kind of massacres are really built in to foreign interventions you can see it wherever this happens whether in the middle east africa asia anywhere the result is poverty misery suffering it never improve the lives of the people of the people have the right to run their own country a president karzai if he represents the afghan people should be demanding that reparations be paid to the people of afghanistan for the so many crimes that have been committed there for all the people killed for all the lives lost for all the poverty and misery created by u.s. intervention and those reparations shouldn't come from ordinary working class americans it ought to come from halliburton it ought to come from general electric and all the military contractors that have made so much money off of the destruction of the people in afghanistan and so many other countries in the world. they collateral damage has cast fresh doubts on whether kabul will sign a key security pact with washington the deal would see thousands of american troops remain in afghanistan for another ten years after the nato withdrawal by the end of

twenty fourteen the afghan government has so far been reluctant to agree to the pact which would also make americans immune from afghan law if the agreement is not sealed washington will have to order all of its troops out of afghanistan. as the arctic sea ice melts away at an alarming rate that's access to oil reserves is opening up and countries bordering the region are determined to defend their slice of the pie the polar seabed may hold as much as fifteen percent of the world's undiscovered oil and thirty percent of its natural gas let's take a closer look at how nations hope to benefit from the receding northern icecap. while the lion's share of the arctics natural wealth is still hidden five nations are leading the charge for its resources that's canada denmark norway russia and the united states the other arctic council members are finland iceland and sweden who are trying to expand their influence within that region the organization also

has twelve observer states most of them european but in may last year several key asian powers china india japan singapore and south korea established links with the club the economic rise of asia means that its influence on what happens within the arctic could be crucial as maria port and i reports the battle for the region could take a dangerous turn. melting ice caps in the arctic have ignited a military build up over the world's smallest ocean and the riches buried beneath it the arctic circle is believed to contain thirty percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and fifteen percent of its oil the future of the world economy to some extent is dependent on the arctic and i think you know russia and canada the united states and norway and denmark are very interested in exploiting these resources last month canada abruptly claims that it owned the north pole while the united states with its alaskan outpost has plans to boost its military

there claiming it lacks operational experience and needs to police the thinning ice as it's replaced by fuel filled maritime traffic but that's not all. actually u.s. submarines are deployed not too far away off the norwegian coast it would take us missiles sixteen to seventeen minutes to get from there to moscow so we really hope that with all the things that have been happening in the world over the past few decades we put the cold war confrontation behind us in all five countries bordering the arctic sovereignty rights to resources within two hundred nautical miles of their territorial waterways but a growing op a type for a bigger slice of the pie is what many fear can inevitably spark a twenty first century cold war in the frozen waters are also on explored resources but we don't know yet to which country belongs which could be of course of interest

to many countries i do think that. smaller things could spark. both tension and maybe more tension that we would like to see. our new york. and trade wise the northern sea route offers a highly attractive short cut for russia and europe to ship fuel and other goods over to asia he thought a nice this passage could take as little as twenty two days and slash transport costs for comparison the southern voyage through the mediterranean and across the indian ocean is roughly twice as long we heard earlier from christopher perry is strategic forecaster and former british naval officer he thinks disputes are unavoidable in the race for the arctic where i think we could have some disputes is there a number of other interested countries such as india china korea japan all getting very interested not just in the northern sea route but also in the resources that exists there in the arctic already the chinese are operating greenland to places

like that and i think there will be a scramble by some of the other countries for some of those resources whether the ice does recede to you not just going to have the northern see reach across the top of russia in the northwest passage across canada you're also going to have a route around twenty fifty straight across the top of the north pole so that means that there are countries that in the past of face each other across the north pole that icy waste they can have open water for quite a few months of the year and that will introduce different perspectives different geometries and you're going to see canada and you know the states also entering into the arctic so it's going to be an interesting situation judy point of view probably around twenty forty five twenty fifty but people will be getting ready for that of course it in the years leading up to the. moscow is stepping up its mediation efforts to bring key power players to the table at this month's international peace conference on syria ahead of the summit the russian foreign

minister is hosting a syrian and iranian counterparts for talks moscow helped broker the geneva two conference which will take place in a week's time but so far it's not clear what role iran will play there russia wants the islamic state to have a fair say but the u.s. has been reluctant to accept this iran earlier rejected washington's offer to take part only from the sidelines here's how sergei lavrov summed up the ongoing discussions in moscow. we will. we stand in support of syria's sovereignty and its territorial integrity we want the equal rights of all ethnic religious and other groups that live in syria to be secured so that the country can exist in peace with all its neighbors and like the syrian people and the people of iran we want to eliminate the hard beds of terrorism on syria's territory so this is our unified position but it's not a unique position it has been stated by the united nations security council we do not have a hidden agenda and we have nothing to hide our stance is shared by the whole

international community. we'll bring you more details of sergei lavrov his meetings with his iranians insane syrian counterpart stay with r.t. for all the latest on that. we're now when leaked files from the u.s. national security agency revealed that the american spies had been keeping close tabs on a key ally germany the government there was furious comparing the tactics to those of the stasi east germany's notorious secret police artie's peter oliver met with veterans of that service to find out just how similar the two really are. on finding out that the united states attempt to private mobile phone call confronted president obama with this claim. former offices in the east german secret police which was known as the stars of a warning for the n.s.a.

if they think must surveillance is the solution to a nation's problems who quote if it's even the best qualified and most advanced secret service cannot save the state we showed you that away from the professed shock of the politicians at the n.s.a. spying ability how does it compare with the actions of the east german secret services during the cold war as can now as to elude this is exactly as illegal or some of the tactics that the stars are used to employ it is a breach of human rights but the government machine is so powerful that you can't stop it edward snowden's leaks about the shape and scope of n.s.a. surveillance showing germany as one of the top targets for u.s. snooping again. on top of the common a three named devil's mountain life the remnants of the last major n.s.a. spying program to look into the private lives of the people of berlin or it's a bond and now back in the day this post with years to listen in on the private

phone calls of thousands of citizens in both the east and the west of the fifty then it was thousands of calls now it's millions sometimes tens of millions of data connections that are tracked and logged with them and they move the way they do it now is much more intensive your web browsing history credit cards they can build a profile on you way easier than was ever possible in my day. didn't have access to this type of technology they rely on developing personal contacts minda says even those who were working in counterintelligence in the west were ours even they said it we were pretty good even then the fear of being listened into is taken seriously as one former officer charged with looking into nato told us you mind those fires my superior office. is there any technology we have that i can use to stop eavesdropping on my calls yes just don't pick it up these veterans of the spy game

might be impressed by the capabilities of the n.s.a. but they cautious about the quality of the information collected for dozens yet they relied too much on technology that technology might let you locate a person or listen to their calls it doesn't let you know what they think with the usa doing all it can to justify its intelligence gathering the operation dubbed two point zero by critics except to continue for some time yet peter all of a germany. president obama is expected to release a proposal this week on limiting the n.s.a. surveillance practices attorney kevin zeese says that the agency in the manner in which it operates has to change to avoid alienating u.s. allies. i think or shows is that the germans or the rest of the world as well and it's now what they're dealing with they're doing with a technological peeping tom that doesn't care about abiding by the law were respecting other nations euro hers and i think the world has to unite in some way.

to deal with this issue of privacy invasion the united states needs the world the world so to say we're not going to deal with you you're going to be you hate this way with your world history your extreme militarism and it includes the this dragnet surveillance we're going to make a longer world you say no you know state leads the world i think it becomes a very clear choice for our leadership i think there are forms of. wonder standard i think we need if you want the world community with them in a way of respect and things need to change. the n.s.a. revelations came courtesy of edward snowden who is hiding from washington's prosecution in russia later this hour we meet a woman who stood up in support of him and his fellow whistleblowers in her own unique way. well. science technology innovation all the developments

around russia we've got the future covered. when you're followed around when you are being investigated because of the whim of someone this is the beginning of the end of your freedom. those two units a new team really intercept american citizens'. text message use you know. where the calls text messages so you just. see everything without my knowledge that actually basically and there's no legal absolutely yes when you bareback with the internet you're back with big brother.

did you know the price is the only industry specifically mentioned in the constitution and. that's because a free and open process is critical to our democracy albus. in fact the single biggest threat facing our nation today is the corporate takeover of our government and across difficult we've been a hydrogen lying handful of trans national corporations that will profit by destroying what our founding fathers once built just by job market and on this show we reveal the big picture of what's actually going on in the world we go beyond identifying the problem for trucks rational debate and a real discussion critical issues facing america by feel ready to join the movement then welcome to the big picture.

previously peacekeepers for a prayer are concerned with monitoring peace deals again at post conflict environment nowadays there are increasingly asked to operate in a high risk obama while believe violence is still illegal all we need to stay. motionless with these people who have caused over almost twenty years four million people killed millions of displaced and refugees tens of thousands of women raped tens of thousands of children recruited those soldiers who were slaves no. over ninety five percent of egyptians have voted in favor of

a new constitution put forward by the military backed interim government that's according to early results from this week's referendum announced by the interior ministry islam is supported opponents boycotted the vote claiming the no campaign was never given a chance by the authorities bell true reports from cairo now many people thought this would be the case as there's been a huge drive by the government and the military pushing people to participate and yes this one is multi million dollar purse to campaigns by businessmen across the streets calling on people to ratify this constitution and this is what the government really be looking for is a big yes as this would basically be a seal of approval on that political right now and would see basically pave the way for elections and possibly also paid the way for a president to come to this kind of the seat of egypt to fight to lead i'm gen. fatah sisi you said he might run if the people want him to so this would be a huge blow to them is the brotherhood in that regard the situation as basically

illegitimate and they've been boycotting the votes this yes to the constitution basically be it make it even harder for them to be able to function on the streets to give the dismissal to the government to move forward with elections so we'll have to see what's going to happen next but the most brotherhood and i suppose have said they will start step up the process so expect that in the coming days. the vote on the constitution followed a month long military crackdown on members of the muslim brotherhood and other activists who objected to the course taken up by egypt's military rulers to protest without prior permission battened the muslim brotherhood also found its hands tied as the group was branded a terrorist organization and president of the arab lawyers association told us this new constitution of egypt on the road to dictatorship once again. is a boy and i've read the constitution the present constitution and the one before this present constitution the biggest problem it has in it is that it puts the me and the armed forces above the state and above the constitution people would have

to understand that egypt is the only out of country that the army actually is in control beyond any other country all the people who rose against mubarak are no the being of a new mubarak situation in every sense of the word and even a harsher mubarak regime at the present moment i think the government in egypt at the present moment it's gone way beyond the previous regimes in its treatment to the citizens who do not support it. some other world news in brief this hour in the spanish capital madrid activists have torched trash cans and clash with police the rally was in solidarity with the people of the northern spain where thousands have been protesting against the government's plans to revamp part of the city center opponents claim it would cause traffic chaos and drain public funds the standoff has forced the local mayor to suspend the project. in

iraq government forces have regained control of a small town near the city of fallujah following an air offensive the advance is being hailed as a major success for iraqi troops who have struggled to force militants from the area fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant and al-qaeda linked group have controlled most of the anbar province for nearly two weeks now they've also set up violence across the country forcing the prime minister to issue a plea for international help. mass round the clock protests are raging in thailand's capital where crowds are refusing to leave the streets for a fourth day it's a bid to disrupt bangkok and force the government to step down overnight gunshots were fired at a crowd of demonstrators injuring at least two people the prime minister has confirmed that she will go ahead with snap elections in headway in an effort to calm the situation. on r.t. dot com right now cheating in class has never been more dangerous it turns out that

thirty four u.s. air force officers responsible for launching nuclear weapons are not as highly trained as you might expect they were only able to pass their monthly competence test after receiving the answers via text message. also on our website this is not the alps or any other ski space mr ski resorts in the world it's actually north korea's attempt of a top class would to resort all you want to know about kim jong un's pet project waiting for you online. right to see. her story. and i think that you're. on our reporters were very. instrumental. in the.

numerous protests in support of whistleblowers such as julian a song bradley but bradley manning and edward snowden have taken place around the world in recent years our team meets one woman who chose a different way to show her support for the movement. she's a lawyer she's got a ph d. in international law and she was a lecturer but she's also posed for glamour calibers what some would say would be provocative or racy photos of her age she says is to raise funds and awareness for the works of whistleblowers and other activists like that today we're joined by dr roles live fuller thanks very much for joining us today but what i'd like to know is why did you choose this matter of getting awareness why not another way well actually i have written articles on whistleblowers in the military so i have actually written quite lengthy articles that are going to be published but i really thought that in order to make a difference to these with lawyers who as we know are in jail or you know at the

moment i needed to involve myself in a more material way and i thought well how can i do something that isn't just a matter of talking i think there's quite a lot of consensus on this issue that we've talked enough i do think that something that was a glowing review in violations of international law is very empowering i think there is attention given to these issues obviously however i do think that people hear about these issues and they might you know get you complain in private or perhaps say on that they've been unfairly treated in private but what i'm trying to do is give people a way that they can contribute materially because you can sit and you know complain in the poverty something like that but this is a way to actually make a contribution to funding the legal defense or for example organization or awareness or organizational help for was a blowers not necessarily i just wiki leaks or. also we're turning out public internet work and fair which is a canadian initiative reform to also work place was a blowers are very important as well in this way to basically put our money where

our mouth is and help people keep going. with roughly sixty percent of the world's population living in countries for the death penalty is in force abby martin takes on the issue and today is breaking the sets. u.s. sitting just behind china iran iraq and saudi arabia and a number of state sponsored executions death penalty opponents have plenty of motivation to end capital punishment in this country and while many of these prisoners are indeed guilty of heinous crimes consider this since one thousand nine hundred ninety three hundred twelve people have been exonerated by d.n.a. evidence alone and of those prisoners eighteen were facing death sentences of course hundreds if not thousands of convicted prisoners have no access to d.n.a. evidence virtually ensuring that they will never be able to prove their innocence which is why the decades old case of fourteen year old george stinney is so important one hundred forty four said he became the youngest american citizen to be

executed in the twentieth century for killing two white girls in south carolina this being the jim crow era self the justice system completely failed stinney the moment he told officers that had talked to the girls on the day of their deaths without his parents or a lawyer present and he was taken into a room terror gated in according to police confessed to the crime within an hour however no written confession exists and reports at the time say that the officers offered stinney ice cream in exchange for the confession fast forward to today where a group of lawyers are trying to clear his name and force the state of south carolina to admit this grave injustice but of course for every person trying to create a more just society in this country there are those who want nothing more than a return to the middle ages. oksana boyko is next with worlds apart you're watching r t international.

the majority of congress are now millionaires for the first time in history according to the center for responsive politics which sounds pretty insulting when the average american is not doing so well financially this seems bad like a bunch of rich guys rule the country which they kind of do but one could argue that congress isn't rich enough first off due to inflation a billion dollars is not as much as it used to be especially the cost of one campaign to get in the congress costs around one million six hundred thousand dollars so yeah a million dollars of net worth may sound pretty rich to you or me but the expensive game of us politics these guys can't even afford the costs related to getting the work electoral campaigns are a big money affair so it is no surprise that people like you or me can't get into the law making business without selling at least a little piece of our souls to someone who has very deep pockets so again the

problem isn't that congressmen are wealthy it is that many of them have to get constant financing in order to maintain their positions and as you average folks know once you're in debt they've got you by the throat well that's just my opinion . on your. policies so you. should have you with us here on t.v. today i'm sure.

hello and welcome to walt a part of the u.n. peacekeeping budget has never been larger a good number of the the race missions around the world keeps on growing but the prospect of global peace seems to be more lucid than africa is preventing voice still the best strategy for keeping peace what to discuss that i'm now in joined by . the u.n. undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations mr lott sustained you very much for your time. you are the fourth frenchman in a row to hold this position i wonder what is it about the french diplomats that gets them selected so often for this role i don't think it is. a problem i mean it's just the secretary general's probably that was

a suitable person for the job but you know it's more about doing the job done that is what it's about so you don't think that defense diplomats bring anything special to the table in this regard i think maybe experience because well professional diplomacy. and that sort of job i would say well speaking about experience and professional diplomacy you're worth for your friends diplomatic service for a number of years before joining the united nations and forgive me for saying but some people would find the french and gauge went into world affairs not always conducive to peace and what i mean here is in a french role in the suez crisis in the genocide more recent engagements and iraq in libya in mali some would say even the recent sabotaging of talks with iran and i'm not going to ask you on the french policies i know that you wouldn't call.