president obama is set to deliver a speech on the n.s.a.'s surveillance methods as many question whether the government is ready to limit the agency's spying reach. russia be ahead of a final diplomatic push through should all sides get a first say to next week's international peace conference on syria. and u.k. foreign secretary william hague heads north shore trying to convince a struggling not to go it alone with an independence referendum eight months away. to. one of an

already international you're with me to obama's day if you've just joined us a very warm welcome to you millions of those who are concerned over the extent to which they've been watched by america's national security agencies are now waiting to hear from the country's president he's expected to announce much anticipated changes to the way the agency works but it's unclear how far the reforms will go archies are some sags a report from washington d.c. . today president obama heads to the department of justice just a few blocks from here and he'll deliver a speech on n.s.a. reforms specifically what he supports from the forty six recommendations his own review panel put forward a few weeks ago the president is expected to devote a large portion of his speech to the privacy concerns of non-u.s. citizens and businesses basically trying to assure foreign consumers that their privacy will be protected when they communicate using american tech companies like google and yahoo now you might remember when it was disclosed that allied world

leaders like brazilian president dilma rousseff were spied on by the n.s.a. the president was quick to order a review of that program but the president has not shown the same concern for tens of millions of non u.s. citizens in germany and brazil and france who are also being spied on so there's a high likelihood that he will finally tackle that issue today now the big question is what happens to the most controversial n.s.a. program revealed by edward snowden and that's the n.s.a.'s bulk telephone metadata collection program the president could order an end to that program right now we could do it today if you wanted to and he wouldn't need congress's approval instead the president is expected to introduce some limited reforms to the bulk collection program and then take it to congress to have the final say on whether or not it should continue the president's speech they will set up a fight on capitol hill between lawmakers cozy with the surveillance state and lawmakers pushing to substantially reform it ultimately though a lot of what happens to the n.s.a.

moving forward is out of the president's hands the courts are weighing in on the constitutionality of these programs and in congress the patriot act which underpins many of the n.s.a. surveillance programs expires on june first of next year and it's unlikely the votes are there anymore to extend the more controversial parts of it so you can think of the president's speech as him reaching out to congress to save at least some of these spy programs that he is spy chiefs have been defending before those same programs are completely. by the courts or congress next year in washington d.c. same socks are to. just lend radek a campaign a full government accountability does not believe that any of the ntis the pay to changes will make a genuine difference so far what has been telecast through government leaks look a lot like a lot of cosmetic changes in other words it does not appear that the president will

be reigning in the largest controversy with this probably the bulk collection american data nor will he be adopting any recommendation to house and store that data in for example a telephone company rather than five anational security agency again i think a lot of these changes are really discuss magic and they're contrary to what his own internal review panel recommended and you assume a critic congressman rush holt is more optimistic though he told us about a bill that he proposed for reining in the n.s.a. it does several things it grants whistleblower protection to members of the intelligence community it would prevent the n.s.a. or any similar agency from installing back doors into hardware or software the bill would also remove the justification that the n.s.a.

has invoked for seizing the metadata of virtually everyone saying that they will treat it with care and we won't abuse people's civil liberties unless we suspect that we don't want those who are doing the surveillance to be the very same ones who decide who the bad guys are. spying on the whole world doesn't come cheap but the actual figures as with much else in the field of intelligence a top secret now leaked information has revealed that the so-called blood budget amount of two fifty two point six billion dollars for the twenty thirteen fiscal year now out of that pie over ten billion went to the n.s.a. its funding has grown by a staggering fifty three percent since two thousand and four years sources say terrorist detection methods only involve the n.s.a. surveillance seven point five percent of the time artie's ganja can look into the

agency's effectiveness. for years the u.s. government had been hiding its dragnet surveillance of entire nations under the national security rug in fear of another nine eleven americans had no idea of just how pervasive the government spying program became but following edward snowden's revelations lice came to the surface does the n.s.a. collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of americans. no sir. we know of at least. fifty threats that have been averted because of this information. there is only one case where this was useful somebody somebody thought eighty five hundred dollars to somalia to an al qaeda affiliate not to be encouraged but even in that case the government wait of two months to investigate this case so you know the idea that this is kind of critical to stopping terrorism is overblown public policy group the

new america foundation has analyzed hundreds of terrorism related cases and says traditional investigative methods such as the use of informants in tips work best. the n.s.a. sweeping surveillance did nothing to prevent the bombings in boston last year even despite multiple tips from abroad concerning one of the perpetrators the president's own surveillance policy review board has concluded the n.s.a. bulk data collection was quote not essential to preventing attacks the head of the n.s.a. was eventually pressed to admit that the government had exaggerated the effectiveness of the program would you grant the fifty four cases a keep getting cited by the administration for not all plots how the verge of war my thirteen had some nexus of us do you agree with that yes or no. yes the obama administration found itself in hot water when edward snowden revealed that

the n.s.a. was busy spying on allies and trading partners and not just terrorists the n.s.a. has built a vast new center in you talk to store people's private data and much of it will have nothing to do with terrorists what we're doing is said you're kidding tyler perry and procedures which is gathering information about all the individuals in the world. thousands have been taking to the streets to protest against what they see is their government becoming big brother when in the wake of nine eleven the patriot act are for an end to privacy many americans thought at least they'd be safe but with recent revelations even that tradeoff is on the question in washington i'm going to check on our take. i have to a website to learn more about america's surveillance that fits and get expert analysis on what u.s. spying means for the rest of the world and of course we'll bring you more on president obama's upcoming speech later today here on r.t.

. last ditch diplomatic efforts full swing to bring all key poll players to the upcoming international peace conference on syria some major issues remain to be ironed out with less than a week left before the summit kicks off in switzerland let's get the latest now from artie's irina going to go who joins us here in one of the main hurdles about need to be tackled and you know at such short notice. well the mean current hurdle at the moment remains the. the the decisiveness on part of the syrian opposition whether or not they actually want to participate in the talks take the syrian national council for example on friday they're actually going to meet in the ston bill in order to figure out whether or not they want to be present at the geneva conference in fact the disagreements within the faction itself are so great that they even have a dozen of members who have left the faction already over these discussions and

it's still unclear just how much gravitas really the sea carries within the notorious the fragmented syrian opposition for example some of the groups on the ground such as the hardest groups and the free syrian army have already said that the s.n.c. carries no authority over them when it comes to the syrian government however yes they said they are going to be at the geneva two conference in fact that was retreated during the meeting between the syrian iranian and of course russian foreign ministers in moscow on thursday meeting between russia's foreign minister and the syrian foreign minister is actually going to continue today now when it comes to iran's presence at the geneva two some of the protests against the united states believes that the round should be there should be no more than an observer from the sidelines moscow however has a different opinion which was expressed by the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov who said that in fact iran can be just

a just as an important player in these talks as syria. like the syrian people and the people of iran we want to eliminate the hardheads of terrorism on syria's territory so this is our unified position. so moscow is stepping up its last minute efforts in order to bring all of the parties to the table for two for them to come and try to come to the peaceful agreement or at least to make this first step in that direction it is not clear exactly how long the conference in geneva will last or exactly what kind of results will be achieved but of course the international community is hoping that this will be the first step in order to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict in syria which has been at this point raging for almost three years and according to some estimates claims around hundred thirty thousand lives. there giving us an update on these ongoing talks and of course leading up to those talks in geneva in the next week thank you for that

washington is also urging the syrian opposition to attend to the geneva two summit but the top u.s. diplomat has come out with a sharp condemnation of extremism in syria secretary of state john kerry says the country has become a hotbed for terrorist groups seeking to capitalize on the strife of the syrian people the world needs no reminder that syria has become the magnet for jihadists and extremists it is the strongest magnet for terror of anyplace today. so it defies logic to imagine that those who bruges whose brutality created this magnet how they could ever lead syria away from extremism and towards a better future is beyond any kind of logic or common search for answers among the countries that will be attending the geneva two conference the country has voiced

concern over hundreds of international fighting alongside the rebels in syria amid fears they'll return home radicalized full of pressure a prime minister told us that the talks in full and must take place without preconditions. i believe we have two problems today one is we need of cause the opposition to take part in this discussion because how can we have any settlement without having everybody around the table but also we have within the opposition a very strong. very strong fights between the two parts of the political opposition and the jihadists are fighting very strongly on the ground i think we should take away the jihadist all the people that are behind al qaeda and we should not focus on the plot of assad that we should not have any preview condition. before starting this political discussion the i really believe that iran should be

as much as possible part of the talks because you were uneasy very regional players and if we can have iran on board in discussing the crit crises of the region we'd of course we will be much more efficient. so i had for you this all on our international before living on the constant a blind and. they threatened us with our lives and that their will right the family to go to war for the door correspondent from white south africans would say the country's a races get off from equal treatment when it comes to security will have a story of the. controlling the media agenda social media expands in scope and influence you tube twitter and facebook entertain and inform hundreds of millions of people every day

however the same are used to promote hoaxes in mass propaganda pursuits is it inevitable that conventional media is doomed to follow the whims of those games hijack big internet and. t.v. if you leave the. economic ups and downs in the final months the longer the deal shanghai and the rest because it's going be taking it will be everything we own all the. wealthy british soil the sun holds a spot on the front. of the. market find. find out what's really happening to the global economy for

a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines to name two crimes a report on. the media leave us so we leave the media. by the same motions should surely play your part of the musical. for shoes that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers from it's all on politics only on our teeth. pulled.

there is so little self reflection on the part of both them eric and public and the american decision makers i wonder why is that we are. country of three hundred and fifteen million people very self-absorbed we are. slated from the world by two large oceans. which i do think of foreign policy is something we do to other people rather than that but something we participate in.

thanks for being with us here on our team to national the people of scotland have eight months left to decide whether to split from the u.k. and london is making its concerns korea with britain's minister for europe warning that it independent scotland would not get an easy pos into the european union foreign secretary william hague is also determined to keep the scots in the fold details now from party boyko. the u.k. foreign secretary william hague is in glasgow today to outline the case for why scotland should stay within the united kingdom. say the latest scotland analysis papers which are a response to scotland's white paper which came out last november and propagated voting yes in the referendum in september now the analysis today is doing the direct opposite senate focusing on the breath and the u.k.'s informatic networking just how much scotland currently benefits from it so take for example business

based in scotland they say that it benefits directly from efforts to protect the u.k.'s economic interests like defending the world famous sport whisky against counterfeits against excessive taxation and against trade barriers but the battle from both the yes and no is really heating up in the run up to the referendum in september and we've had accusations of propaganda war being waged from both sides of the barricades certainly critics of westminster have accused the british government of fear mongering in order to secure a no vote to come september but let's take a listen to what the minister for europe said about scotland's independence bid just yesterday first of all of scotland quits walks it leaves behind all that it gets as part of the united kingdom not just about membership of the e.u. the un security council the commonwealth the g eight the g twenty but in very concrete terms we've got this very large international network of embassies and

high commissions around the world the scottish business including things like scotch whisky scottish agricultural produce beef and so on. the analysis on bail today goes as far as your minding squats about the relatively modern day encourages that they currently enjoy as british citizens such as consular services when they travel abroad but we know that westminster is better together campaign is really stepping up the fight for the union and sort of forming the scots with key to stay in the united kingdom from english celebrities prominent business figures and sports stars but in reality scottish independence is quite a remote possibility according to the latest polls just twenty six percent of scots plan on voting yes come september so the war of words on both sides is sunny hostin are going to be watching as it progresses in the run up to the historic vote on the

eighteenth of september. because your dad wants to install over on our website to build a new home from scratch and under california scientists say that very soon it will be no use for new generation of giant three d. printers now we get to the bottom of the technology as exciting as it is. so slim down for big coin and big clubs become the first professional sports organization to accept the digital currency find out which gave it a big point to use a band of plenty to cheer about online. right seem to be the first really. and i think the true. on our reporters were very. instrumental.

in the little. so african government as well to tackle violent crime a problem that it poses an equal threat for all races living in the country many white pharmacy things differently there and say they are living under constant fear of attack last year here's their side of the story. is fixing his fence last night burglars again trying to break into his farm two weeks ago they story quickly and after killing six of his horses they threatened us with their lives and that they were all right the family got a wife and a daughter. to the police and they've done nothing of that for thirteen years when he has lived here in south africa the successful farmer grew and sold horse feed but three months ago he gave it up the constant harassment that he's convinced is coming from some of his former black farm laborers had simply become too much in

fact last week. they arrived a woman not far from here and she said to them well if you want to use a condom and they boil the kettle a board or. water on her back because i think the they saw that she was not afraid farm killings in south africa have hit a record highs according to genocide watch in the last twenty years since nelson mandela's african national congress has been in power more than four thousand white farmers have been killed but ten times that number of white south africans have been brutally murdered in what many claim of racially motivated attacks an hour's drive from willy's farm and cornelius mill has been farming cattle and maize for nearly forty years he's convinced the killings are part of a systematic bird to drive white south africans and in particular farmers out of the country he's paid the ultimate price his daughter vanessa was shot dead on his

farm. a lot but. where is the worst. to curb gun used to short the thirty three year old was killed in front of her two small children from the all or part the years but i really think the former's of the these really the old farmers was good of the way i mean the government is saying that. they're going to take the forms because we stole it the ruling a.n.c. has dismissed such claims pointing out that south africans of all colors suffer violent crime i don't. belong to all who live image. black and wage and there's never been an intention to victimize wades and the vision in the mission of the south african police service is to protect everybody any citizen but the recent passing of nelson mandela who devoted his life to be

consigning the races has seen white moves shoot up personally i think it's going to get worse for because they were scared for him if true it's a sad legacy for a man who devoted his life to building a rainbow nation the unfortunate reality is that south africa is still a very racially divided country is a huge discrepancy between the haves who tend to be white citizens and the have nots who tend to be blacks who live in townships like this one. r.t. south africa. and other news around the world this hour south korea has rejected the north demanded that a call of military drills with the u.s. plan for february and march you know young one that failure to do so could lead to a catastrophic escalation of tensions on the peninsula korea was criticized last year after a conductor's a nuclear test to find u.n. security orders to freeze its atomic program washington meanwhile is pledging to

send another eight hundred troops to the south in addition to almost thirty thousand already stationed there. an explosion at a crowded islam examiner read in northwestern pakistan has killed at least eight people and injured sixty eight others the blast occurred as a thousands were gathering at the religious school for traditional friday prayers new groups have admitted to carrying out the attack the country is virtually divided along sectarian lines within turns rivalries between sunni and shia muslims . face really prime minister has hit out at international critics of jewish settlement expansion branding them hypocrites he also dismissed claims that further construction in the occupied territories poses an obstacle to peace meanwhile state media say netanyahu has drawn up a list of jewish enclaves in the west bank that will remain in place regardless of any deal with the palestinians over half

a million israelis live in settlements that are considered illegal under international law. the mexican government is stepping up efforts to restore order in a troubled sulfa western state local vigilante groups have been fighting with a powerful drug cartel and have now occupied much of the gang's heartland this week to state how to increase police numbers not just self-defense groups rejected a federal order to lay down their arms following to force drug laws out of the region. and you saw and just no news just came in on our it international we're getting reports that twenty eight people have been injured in thailand capital of bangkok that's after an explosion hit a marching antigovernment protesters the device was a reportedly thrown on to a truck carrying demonstrators from a nearby ruined building of protesters have been holding rallies all week demanding

the government be forced from power right we'll bring you more on the story as soon as we get the information. i have almost time for the latest edition of tom. 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 a 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 lead 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 . as a. fellow and welcome to crossfire all things are.