the top stories of the week. the president orders hundreds of american diplomatic star. response. is expected to approve those sanctions against russia are off for a near unanimous vote in the senate look at why europe is warning of countermeasures. journalists working with china is killed by mortar fire from islamic state extremists in syria. deadly opposition shadow election day in venezuela with one candidate. in his own

home. in the russian holkins thanks for joining us this. top story president vladimir putin has ordered the u.s. to cut a number of its diplomatic staff and russia by several hundred response of course to u.s. sanctions. it was. more than a thousand people both diplomatic and technical staff currently working in russia which seven hundred fifty five of them will have to stop their activities and that's painful. because because that is that america has taken a step to jeopardize u.s. russia relations and the important thing is that that step wasn't triggered by

anything because this is a move to impose a legal restrictions to attempt to influence other countries including u.s. allies we here which are interested in developing ties with russia but i knew it was. going on longer than we've been waiting for quite a long time so that maybe something would change for the better we had hoped that the situation would change but it looks like even if it does change and it won't be in the near future quarter i decided it is time for us to show you we will not leave anything unanswered here is when there will be a political. going usenet of course we have more to say here there are fears that we could restrict use here which would be painful for the united states but i think we shouldn't do that and it's only going to harm us russian relations as they are but it's also going to affect us as well betty now the u.s. senate passed the sanctions but on thursday in the white house has said president trump will give his approval washington claims the measures in response to alleged

russian meddling in the u.s. election but as caleb open fired out there are plenty of other factors also at play . the sanctions bill that was passed it targets many parts of russia's economy it targets mining targets finance and russia metal manufacturing but one part of the bill that was specifically singled out was the energy sector of russia's economy the bill penalizes any company that cooperates with russia's pipeline projects it's about sending a message to russia to hold mr putin accountable for his actions we will take tough action against russia the bill is targeting the construction of a key natural gas pipeline into europe citing what it calls detrimental impact on european energy security furthermore in the same paragraph the bill talks about exporting more of america's resources in order to create american jobs strengthen u.s. allies and strengthen u.s.

foreign policy now that all agrees with a key component of u.s. energy strategy america's global dominance in energy policy. is not just a vital element of u.s. economic policy but it's also a vital element of u.s. foreign policy and one of the most important actions we can take is to use our massive shale gas resources to begin shipping liquefied natural gas overseas so there you have it but what does selling gas to europe have to do with protecting the sanctity of america's voting machines the point is it hasn't got to do anything with the geo political sphere with the frozen conflict in the ukraine though with syria and it actually hasn't got anything to do also with an interference of russia into the us elections this has to do with the approach of the us administration to make deals to get their economy going and so this is very commitment rather than political u.s. leaders say that they don't like russia for all kinds of reasons but one thing they

don't mention is that russia is a key exporter of oil and natural gas competing with the big monopolists america's european allies are now crying foul saying that the usa is interfering with their energy policies with these sanctions the us bill could have unintended unilateral effects that impact the e.u.'s energy security interests america first kind of mean that europe's interests come last at this point russia counts for thirty eight percent of the european union's natural gas while the usa only accounts for two percent of the e.u. is natural gas imports you can bet some slick wall street syndicates would like to reverse that lineup so when you hear this explanation of the sanctions the mere fact that russia tried to affect our elections this stunning breach of our right as a sovereign nation decades of unchecked russian aggression whether it be in the ukraine in the crimea in syria don't forget about this one we must continue to

focus on how we get our gas here in the united states our natural gas to europe to our allies so they're not so dependent on russia. one of the key projects affected by the sanctions of course will be ignored stream to pipeline e.u. leaders of warn that they could be forced to retaliate against washington firms from germany austria france and the netherlands have all agreed to invest almost five billion euros into it that's our hoff's of the projects total cost was completed it will substantially boost the russian gas supplies to mainland europe via the baltic sea oil and gas majors including x. and b.p. have reportedly been lobbying against the new sanctions in congress so if you have manufacturers like boeing and ford auntie's piece all of our reports. well it's the potential impact that these sanctions could have on both the the business and energy sectors here in europe that has e.u. officials hot under the collar there are potentially huge fines for e.u.

businesses that would enter into energy projects with russia many of those blue chip european companies of course are heavily involved there what we've heard from the german foreign ministry is them saying that it can't be accepted that the industrial policy of another nation be passed off as sanctions while the german government spokesperson also came out saying that e.u. industry can't be targeted and if there will be a response if the sanctions or when the sanctions go through it's not just the germans though the french foreign ministry issued a statement saying that well they believe that the sanctions impacted upon the rights of private individuals as well as corporate entities to an extent that they believe may go beyond international law the austrian chancellor christine care he posted online he said that politics and a business should not be mixing when it comes to making decisions like this it's

not excluded that they also follow that they also follow their economic interests. we don't complain about that unless it does not affect our own interests but right now it really affects our own interest negatively impact of the plan sanctions notice a very negative form of especially for the energy sector because of the sanctions under the threat of sanctions especially energy pipeline exports from russia so what options remain for the european union when these sanctions or if these sanctions come into being the european union could decide to impose sanctions of their own on the united states now this could take the form of e.u. banks suspending u.s. companies ability to take out short term loans but let's be realistic this would be a nuclear option. meanwhile the u.s.

secretary of state has explained the thinking behind the anti russia bill the near unanimous vote for the sanctions legislation in congress represent the strong will of the american people to see russia take steps to improve relations with the united states we hope that there will be cooperation between our two countries on major global issues and these sanctions will no longer be necessary for the russian embassy in washington responded to rex tillerson statement calling it puzzling there was he said the u.s. government failed to understand the pressure doesn't work with russia and sanctions cannot improve relations we have been speaking to a former diplomat on a political analyst for their take on the ongoing scandal. the most logical thing to say we want to improve relations therefore we are imposing sanctions next to listen to his statement was trying to be diplomatic and less from the impact and be less insulting to russia than the he might otherwise have been i think that's why

you have a logical statement explaining these sanctions to which was not really any sensible justification at all we think about american foreign policy from like one nine hundred forty five forward it's tough to find many great examples of what we've accomplished so what the american force and foreign policy it's stablish meant expected what they're trying to do you know i think it's time for a total and complete overhaul of how we conduct our international business. journalist working with ati's arabic channel has been killed by islamic state in syria. it was covering a syrian army operation in homs province when his convoy came under mortar fire a syrian soldier also died in the attack three other people were injured including a cameraman khalid began working with r.t. back in april reporting on the plight of families caught up in the conflict he was just twenty five years old. the

in. of the head of the arabic has expressed the channel's condolences to collatz family and friends maya mana said in a statement we will support them in any way possible we thank god for his courage and his bravery we can take a look now at condit's last report from rocca. those who use the u.s. led coalition planes and those who give the orders to travel long think about the consequences of their actions civilians have been killed or forced to flee because

of them and the infrastructure has been destroyed the civilians claim that the pretext of fighting against terrorism and extremism is used to justify the actions of the coalition. and how to help the houses were. destroyed but there was no more water for irrigation and all the land is burned in record province and there is no harvest and if any crops did remain we were not allowed to use. it to hurt us one of them the coalition carries out and struck some schools so children don't study anymore many more civilians were injured when the coalition hit hospitals as well. and the just so now is for going hellish jets bombed ourselves so we started going there plus of civilians were killed in

that airstrike as they were sheltering in fear at the time. coming up next rights groups have accused the rocky forces of towards extrajudicial executions that story and more just after the break. seems wrong. to me. to shape out to stay. active. and engaged equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground.

make it is that is that if a fetus or a baby you see. it so that you can be have this it is not to come in the keys and just to get you ready but they feel that that's just the big thing about the leaders. at least thirteen people have been killed in a weekend of rising in venezuela opposition activists flooded the streets as voting got underway in the election.

very dramatic could as you saw was captured off an explosion on a street in caracas several people were injured including police officers in another incident six people will want to girl aid was thrown into a polling station one car that was shot dead in his own home the opposition to the public protests. as a power grab by president maduro is a look at how the rest has been unfolding. in.

other countries president nicolas maduro has cool of on his way to throw their support behind a new assembly which will be created off to sunday's vote it's got a big task ahead rewriting the constitution also have to power to dissolve the current parliament now the opposition is boy cause of the vote saying the president is merely trying to extend his powers and stifle dissent. sat down with the venezuelan president for an exclusive interview he told us the opposition's tactics are alienating many ordinary people. you know get up we sent you notice you're trying your deputy in the lobby the opposition has been saying the same thing for eighteen years they used to say about hugo chavez i know about me for the last four years i thought for a moment really is no other way to resolve a conflict in our country than through democratic means. you were three and

a half your weeks starting him and the opposition to engage in a direct dialogue and join the national constitutional assembly but they refused since they're not the only thing the opposition has been doing which is taking will step back with me right now the situation is dire and you think face political isolation sick of that and that they're leaning towards the far right and they've trapped in selves and this strategy of local acts of violence restricting the movement of people in the very districts that voted for them the opposition is losing the support of the venezuelan people voted for them in the past. made the crisis have been hearing from both sides on the situation venezuela. the purpose is not all it's a right there comes a decision the purpose is to get rid of the national assembly were to reward with two thirds of the bo does precisely the reason and they have now but they did five percent of rejection of the regime so they resorted to the c.b.

go for the unconstitutional there's a presidential election in two thousand and eighteen were made during is going to be up for a vote in the opposition is going to run for president regardless of the outcome of the constituent assembly it's an open democratic process the opposition can run their own candidates and they can participate in it but they have called to boycott it instead of taking part this is not of them. and we're just not trying to legitimize a little and unconstitutional and illegal. last summer than twelve days hundred and seven minutes so that's a lot of the lives that it is people about fifteen hundred have been wounded and we have almost two thousand people in jail the husband the price of a civic protest but it's really this is just another lie that it's just a constantly to justify foreign intervention in the country vast majority of those deaths that would be one hundred deaths are caused by opposition violence over a dozen assassinations by opposition protesters against people first of just for

supporting the government i mean do you condemn those horrible political lynching surge you condemn those horrific political assassinations we are a peaceful opposition behold the whole world recognizes european uni's not all of the united states twenty go on to say let's in america the people. who have been so they say they have been killed by the by our own people that's really rover's and i think it's very unfair to say. over to iraq now where rights groups and international observers have accused iraqi soldiers of executing dozens of suspected terrorists without trial the claims come just weeks off for a lengthy battle to drive islamic states out of the city of mosul. to international observers who are group of iraqi soldiers who don't find themselves as members of the sixteenth division the true naked men down an alleyway to which they had multiple gunshots they saw through the door of it damaged house the bodies of a number of naked men lying in the doorway they said one of the dead men was lying

with his hands on his back and appeared to been handcuffed and there was a rope around his legs. to sixteenth division soldiers the school to one observer and showed the severed head to the soldiers said was an american female i says sniper who they had to compensate it was not clear whether the captives who were alive or after her death all the iraqi forces that are involved in this fight against isis has been committing rampant abuses including war crimes and unfortunately in the face of all of these abuses by many different units and many different elements of the iraqi military structure we have yet to see a thing the incident be properly at investigated by the iraqi or any commanders to be held accountable. for human rights watch report claims the executions were carried out by the sixteenth division of the iraqi army that's a unit the played a big role in the liberation of mosul itself it's been trained by the u.s.

military since twenty fifteen international observers say there's no indication this support has stopped. after numerous calls from international organizations the u.s. led coalition is now urging iraq to investigate claims of war crimes committed by its own military there and been consistent reporting of the legend laws of armed conflict violations recently any violation of the laws of armed conflict is unacceptable and should be in it investigated in a transparent parent manner we meet routinely with our partner forces to advise them on the expectations for throwing transparent investigations and accountability for anyone found responsible for abuses and public disclosure of findings and actions taken we spoke german suv been covering the story they appeared to be skeptical of america's calls for a full investigation it's not even cynical to suggest that just because this division iraqi division were trained by the us military they wouldn't have done

this we have to remember the u.s. torture after the during the two thousand two thousand and three invasion. bag ram and abu ghraib. and i think all of those techniques. taught to the standing army that was created after the after the us invasion looking at what we know so far as can be very difficult to specifically accuse any of those american soldiers fool for training iraqi soldiers specifically in the craft of torture but i think it paints a very poor picture puts the americans in under a very poor lights in iraq generally and we've you know what are they doing there exactly i mean this sort of euphemistic term advisor i think the the mrs been busted on one exactly what those voices do and who writes. i was staying in the middle east jerusalem on the west bank have seen two weeks of clashes over access to a whole you site the palestinians have been confronting israeli police over security

measures that temple mount that's also known as her. israel restricted access to the area of the two police officers were killed by a gunman or is in jerusalem for ati. i'm standing here in front of the dome of the rock which has been the scene of violent clashes for the past two weeks we are hearing that more than a hundred people have been injured the number of palestinians who've been killed in the last two weeks of violence has now climbed to six israeli police reinforcements particularly around the old city many of the arab east jerusalem neighborhoods were closed off and at the same time roadblocks in and out of the west bank will reinforce we're hearing from the israeli security officials that they will see a harsh response to anyone who throws rocks or stones at the israeli police israel says it will remove metal detectors that will put up after two security guards were killed two fridays ago but the palestinian president mahmoud abbas says this is not enough and he insists it is well returns to the way the status quo was before that

incident but outside the temple mount compound the mood is jubilant people have been throwing sweets and chocolate saying that this battle for access has been won by the palestinians policy r.t. jerusalem. can get more stories on our website r.t. dot com alternatively on our social media on twitter and facebook as well we're back with more news from around the world in the weekly top of nextel. it's called the feeling of freedom to. everyone in the world should experience flamingo and you'll get it on the open road. the old according to just. welcome to my world come along for the ride.

if. being.

rejected tonight is a common goal is it not defect by the corporate media. would you go after the corporations that just more your lives profit over people at every turn. over data it's not for me it's like medicine it's like a cancer from all the stress that the news puts you under redacted tonight is a show where you can go to cry from laughing about the stuff that's going on in the world as opposed to just regular crying we're going to find out what the corporate mainstream media is not telling you about how we're going to filter it through some satirical comedic lenses to make it more digestible that's what we do every week hard hitting radical comedy news like redacted tonight is where it's a. little

. file might have been tony on this is america's lawyer it seems like corporations in the united states will stop at nothing in their quest for profits one of the most notorious. actions is the stripping of american consumers of their constitutional right to hold corporations accountable when they lie when they cheat and when they steal while it may seem like a gross abuse of power businesses have been stripping american consumers of their rights for the last decade with binding arbitration clauses that they tuck into their contracts these contracts take away your right to sue a company or join

a class action suit against the company and force you to go before a corporate friendly arbitration panel that will most likely always rule for the corporation so that i will explain how these widespread arbitration clauses have become and what you need to know to protect yourself from these corporate thugs and later in the show i'll talk with you about an emotionally charged tory were a host and sold a reservation partly because her guest was asian so don't go anywhere america's lawyer starts now. one of the biggest scams ever collectively pulled off by by corporate america is forced arbitration to put in its simplest terms forced arbitration eliminates a consumer's right to sue corporations when they break the law millions of

americans have agreed to this by signing arbitration clauses in contracts there in your credit card contracts your cell phone plans your car and your mortgage loans the list goes on and on as corporations are making sure that they're the ones with the legal advantage over you when they find themselves in trouble and when they do that contract you side won't allow you to file a lawsuit or participate in a class action against them for ripping you off instead you'll ask to go before a panel of arbitrators to resolve the dispute unless you're a board member. of one of these corporations and there's no way that these arbitration clauses are going to help you usually corporations pick the arbitrators so they know that they're going to have a friendly audience they also have the benefit of having almost endless money to drag out the process where most consumers can't even afford to hire a lawyer and when you're talking about small amounts of money it can cost the customer more to arbitrate than they could ever get.