eat. sleep. in the stories that shape the way karen r.t. china gets its military battle ready unit disputes over trade and territory worsening relations with washington. donald trump announces the renewal of all the nuclear deal sanctions against iran a decision that doesn't sit well though washington's european allies who vowed to protect their business interests in the islamic republic and kurdish forces in

syria halt their operation against islamic state claiming they've come under fire from turkey while isis is gaining ground in its latest offensive. hello there is the latest news and a look back at what's been happening over the last seven days you're watching weekly here on r.t. international now the president of china has instructed the country's military to be wall ready as tensions increase over trade and territory but should we see it is posturing or perhaps a genuine response to a real military threat but again takes a closer look. so here's the thing the chinese government almost never says anything you wouldn't expect that's their thing their game ik they're incredibly careful reserved at least with their tongues so when the chinese president orders

his military to prepare for war serious indeed. the military to concentrate on the bouncy revenues for war the chinese are preparing for war out loud how over how did we get to this well trump for one aside from land blasting the chinese at every opportunity is tariffs is sanctions his trade war he's also being very heavy handed congress has just approved a second arms deal with taiwan in eighteen months. of untruthful the sales of weapons by the united states to taiwan damages china sovereignty and security interests that beijing's sees china and taiwan as two parts of a whole two chinese entities same culture ethnicity same languages with two separate governments communist capitalist the end goal is to reunite into one state

there are differences of course currently preventing that and about one hundred kilometers of c. that separate the two and trump always a fan of sticking it to the chinese he's been floating his warships right between the two china's eyes in one thousand we have expressed our concerns to the u.s. side the taiwan issue concerns china's sovereignty and territorial integrity and is the most important and sensitive issue in china u.s. relations. for starters how about you express your concerns about these important and sensitive issues to someone who cares a little more because that in trial. if you worry about. i don't worry about things. let's be greats never worrying about anything unfortunately others are there are those in china who believe that america wants

taiwan to declare independence and the chinese are preparing for that eventuality militarily. as your own you know we are resolute to defeat any scheme or act of taiwan independence in any form. thing is the taiwanese don't really see a point to defending themselves taiwan which recently switched from conscription to a volunteer army is having huge trouble recruiting even reserve troops dodging the juicy after all that's the point the devil when. the government needs to think whether it's necessary to bring conscription back national security matters but taiwan is a minor player in these confrontation if war does break out it likely be the

people's republic of china slugging it out with the united states rather than taiwan and that is a war that trump really really ought to be worried about the world is really at a cross rolled the united states has been pushing china around china and imposing unilateral tire of the chinese exports china does not want to have a trade war with the united states and china does not want to have a conflict with the united states but if the united states really wants to impose these things are. i feel the chinese people will be fully mobilized behind the chinese government and the chinese military meanwhile on friday the trumpet ministration announced that washington is re-imposing or sanctions against iran were lifted as part of the twenty fifteen neatly deal donald trump took to twitter to taunt her around with a new use in a post resembling the tagline from the t.v.

series game of thrones while the sanctions which are slated to come into effect on monday follow america's you know that for withdrawal from the iran's nuclear agreement in may this year a new sanctions come on top of the ones already imposed by washington and focus heavily on iran's oil sector penalizing states that refuse to hold him ports of crude oil from iran u.s. secretary of state might pompei it says the main target is the iranian government before you choose here or areas of iran for economy it is a game to deprive the regime of the revenues that it uses to spread death and destruction around the world however people on the streets of toronto older cities ordinary iranians that will end up bearing the brunt of the sanctions. time about manson's a hard to come by because of sanctions no doubt if you are caring for a patient your life is affected by these sanctions sanctions decrease the quality of life as people cannot now obtain things they used to obtain easily before but i

thought it was i'm a merchant in a century cannot trade with businesses outside of iran any more it would take its toll and we have yet to see to what extent that affect ordinary people and merchants. in fact every year or every two to three years they see new sanctions will be imposed so people have gotten used to sanctions but that doesn't mean we accept them and it doesn't hurt it means we've had them so long they don't affect us any more they harm the u.a.e. in nation they have always been there for the past four decades and they've been harming the uranium nation all along their inquisition that's why many other. states that are under sanctions like russia like many others they are all against this move especially because this new round of sanctions by washington it doesn't have the u.n. support it doesn't have the support of even the united states close allies like the europeans that have stayed at their opposition in defiance china turkey or russia

and many others have defied the u.s. sanctions against iran and many are worried in washington that this could make these sharp tool or weapon blunt and make you know take it off the menu even for future u.s. administrations if it goes ineffective or despite the pressure coming from the u.s. the european union has confirmed the blocks commitment to be around nuclear deal brussels also value to to protect european companies doing business with iran however despite all the tough talk washington might be more flexible than its letting up. we ask all nations to isolate iran's regime. as long as its aggression continues we do not intend to allow our sanctions to be invaded by europe or any body else.

we will work to maintain the framework of the twenty fifteen deal in spite of the american decision by ensuring that our companies can stay in iran looking at the latest so for. someone to see the thing. we need at least what do we want to be muscles number to be blinded to what americans do want us europeans to say about how the economic interests and would want economic relations with iran. we never threaten anyone but we do not tolerate threats from anyone. we want to achieve maximum pressure but we don't want to harm friends and allies

either and we're working our way through that in five very. aiming for zero zero zero they are now giving two countries themselves for iran oil import that indicates that they have understood that the maximum pressure on the wrong and not the focus and now they are changing that maximum pressure to enough pressure that these. six you don't know that's also on the question because they cannot. be needed they think against iran because now there is a difference in america have been. ministration. thank you ron for that. system and there was the. messaging. in the mix that we have. been there.

now after almost two decades in big politics angela merkel announced on monday that she was stepping down as the party leader of the christian democratic union what's more merkel also said that she wouldn't run for german chancellor in the next federal election slated for twenty twenty one of course decision comes hard on the heels of her party's latest disappointing performance in regional elections in the state of hester the c.d.u. suffered a double digit loss. the figures that came in overnight from the election a wholly disappointing and bitter. this politically it can no longer be business as usual for us after this result has after the result of the area after the conflicts between the c.d.u. c.s.u. in the summer and after all the difficulties in forming a government coalition as the previous attempts to form one between the c.d.u. c.s.u. f.t.p. and the green party fell through what i'm going to began her political career after

the fall of the berlin wall drawing. in one thousand nine hundred eighty nine ten years later she became the party secretary general and then its leader in two thousand and then in two thousand and five angela merkel made history by becoming germany's first female chancellor since then she has been reelected a further three times but over the last few years her popularity has taken a hit. what they say if we misread what oppression political oppression we have a responsibility to help from the best we can of the convention for refugees based on our sign and policy and article one of our constitutional whether we want to.

measure that along political or russian ality this move by going to merkel is not surprising at all because her party was losing. confidence among the electorate and the reason to speak the burden of this party was under merkel herself so it was quite rational for her to leave office as party chairman but they were the less whenever something important happened you usually are surprised by it happening right now and this is wider was really surprising that anger merkel is so

quickly stronger consequences out of the disaster still a electoral defeat during the last eight elections in bavaria and it has merkel's fall from grace could be could prove to be a worrying sign too for mainstream parties all across europe as artie's done quarter now explains. europe's political establishment is set up for a meeting in may during the e.u. parliamentary elections and with support to win doing for both the center right and the center left the big winners euro skeptic an anti migrant parties the feeding is that there's a kind of the extortion among voters because they feel that the traditional grantees have nothing new to say they feel contempt from those voters that it's not exactly always making them vote for populist but it's making making voters do to anybody who looks you french president emanuel macron took it upon himself to warn europe of a nationalistic menace comparing it to leprosy europe faces

a risk that of being broken up by nationalist leprosy and of being pushed around by foreign powers and thereby losing its sovereignty but it seems like the french don't see eye to eye with micron right now a majority of people in france apparently would prefer an unelected technocratic government while over forty percent even say they would rather support and off for a tarion political power so this could be a wake up call for micron as his approval ratings hit record lows to move away from traditions and embrace public opinion so too has voted for him in un mccoll he did come from those sponsors but he had created his own and he was a change of face a new shades of generation but now that he's become president he's got a slightly different style but in terms of what policies as you think it sounds more and more like the policies that everyone is as you age and they do not know how to express their discontent except have by voting against those bonuses again

with mainstream parties and leaders who champion modern liberal values losing popularity we could have an electoral power vacuum but that won't stay empty for a long time a quarter reporting are you watching a weekly here or not we'll have more news he just after the break. in terms of blasphemy i mean blasphemy has never actually been used nobody has been prosecuted but you are right it was only renewed ten years ago by a previous government and it really shows how out of step the political establishment has been there's been a huge movement of women and young people and dave been pushing the political establishment you know relentlessly on the issue of the abortion rights because ten

women a day leave the country and five others were taking abortion pills online illegally . the united states under many pros as a warning warning of breakin its treaty and other promise not the united states is going to leave a treaty again. welcome back to the weekly now the u.s. backed syrian democratic forces which are mostly made up of kurdish troops have announced a temporary hold to operations against islamic states it does come as several

kurdish villages were attacked by to the nearest border with syria the u.s. has been supporting kurdish forces in the region because washington does consider them to be effective fighters against. however on the opposite side of syria are still terrorists have gained ground close to the border with iraq killing over forty u.s. backed fighters joining an offensive there the group's resurgence goes against what some have been led to believe is you go to don of explains. from all the boasting you may have gotten the idea that islamic state in syria is so two thousand and sixteen the coalition to defeat isis has liberated very close to one hundred percent of the territory we've done a good job with those as we have just absolutely decimated but the latest carnage is a clear signal that the terrorists are not ready to buckle just yet they've squeezed every drop of profit from the victory they've been craving for so long from obvious territorial gains to a massive p.r.

push they filmed their operation and spoils of war from all thinkable angles it seems even with reinforcements america's proxy ground force the kurds couldn't hold off the surprise onslaught hard for its incursion tuesday both sides but we will continue to go after them in the weeks ahead i saw the latest propaganda video even includes a not so subtle threat a skyline view of the government controlled town but hold on just how much of a surprise was this latest isola tag really short they moved in under the cover of a sandstorm but it's not like the kurds which are in charge of eastern syria didn't know eisel was on their porch they have been fighting terrorists in the area for a whole year but despite their best efforts to little success and that could be due to the fact that their effort has been dwindling gradually apart from i saw the kurdish fighters have been focusing on skirmishes with the syrian army and

repelling the turkish operation against them in the north this plays into the yard as sounds perfectly since assad's forces are not going anywhere and neither is turkey as president erdogan tease the next phase of what he calls an anti terror operation in syria but don't use them as you know we have started active intervention operations against the terror organization in the last couple of days we will. soon come down hard on the terror organization with more extensive and effective operations the united states also has been convincing the world it's hell bent on cleansing syria of terrorists yet years on it's their area of responsibility where i saw strikes well with its bloodiest attack in months and i wonder could it be because american troops are in fact miles away from all the action we don't have a cantor arena mission here we have a defeat isis mission there are many players in the syrian conflict and all of them

are hungry for a geo political bounty in syria and writing off i saw early means risking another wave of terrorist resurgence. there were earlier we talked with baroness caroline caulks she's a member of the u.k. house of lords and has been heavily criticised over her stance on syria she thinks that the media is turning a blind eye to many things that are happening in the war ravaged country. i've had very vicious articles about me in. newspapers like the london times is a big media onslaught but he's very biased indeed and it really does not give an equal representation of the horrific atrocities perpetrated by the tea hardest but it's not going to stop me people just say thank you so much. you are not getting all the truth from the b.b.c. we knew there was more to it than that and thank you for telling us the other side of the story and i'm sorry to say that u.k.

and saudi arabia big time have been supporting the jihad is i've managed to find out questions in parliament that the british government has used at least two hundred million pounds of taxpayers' money to support the hardest related groups and the truth must come out to have a democratic and open discussion and i've stayed in the houses of parliament in the house of lords but i think russia's been doing the right thing in syria russia's been helping the syrian army to get rid of the jihadists that must be the priority and i really respect russia for doing that. now i mean america's somewhat toxic political atmosphere at the moment ahead of the midterms hillary clinton is facing a backlash after jibing that african-americans all look alike she was correcting an interviewer mixed up two democrat politicians using a cory booker's and using comment to him in your kill file i don't know anything about him saying kick them in the shins essentially start to get to that kind of i was eric holder eric holder i know they all look alike no they don't i.

know many fired back at clinton on twitter dubbing her racist for the joke some were left a bit confused as to why there was no reaction to clinton's words other suggested if it had been the same line the at range would have been more vocal artie's kind of mockery and has been gauging reaction in new york. so recently there was a political figure in the united states and they were talking about these two leaders eric holder and cory booker and they made the joke they all look the same can you guess who it was who made the joke yes. donald trump. was trying donald trump trump i'll give you choices right was it a president trump and b. hillary clinton c. george w. bush or d. david duke. they. should trump i want to go to david duke probably say david duke actually it was hillary clinton it was

a yes interesting but it said they they all look the same i was surprised i don't think that anything but anything like it was it was hillary clinton that surprise you. yeah hillary clinton made the joke yes you are correct oh say who are who you're correct yeah understand why people might be offended when someone says they all look the same in reference to these two guys no no no they came up in an interview and she said they all look the same is kind of meant to be a joke but people say it's pretty offensive. i mean that is pretty offensive yeah i see why people might think it's offensive to say they all look the same in reference to these two guys and yes she probably meant it as a joke she wasn't actually scare one doesn't so it can't be that yeah one has a mustache one doesn't can't be that. but that's not appropriate joke is it no i understand why people might be offended by saying they all look the same about these two guys. you know. people say the same things about me before so i mean. some people think all the chinese will say it's pretty insensitive.

especially when they don't look like at all she probably meant it as a joke but do you think that's an appropriate joke. no not at all and i gauging reaction on the streets of new york you've been watching the weekly here not what back again and thirty five and. i've been saying the numbers mean some things matter u.s. has over one trillion dollars in debt more than ten colored timestamping each day. eighty five percent of global wealth you want to be ultra rich eight point six percent market saw thirty percent just last year some with four hundred to five hundred three per second per second and bitcoin rose to twenty thousand dollars. china is building a two point one billion dollar a i industrial park but don't let the numbers overwhelm. the only numbers you need

to remember one one doesn't show you know or to miss the one and only. sure this one do you like to keep it as i live it here good for yourself then. fine . need no. need. to worry we have many things in this world and this is you know. why some peoples also take our thing all the power just for damn self.

plan welcome to worlds apart as the western world faces the political reemergence of social conservatives there is one state that's been steadily progressing in the opposite direction arthel and one of the most traditional nations in europe has just lifted its ban on abortions and repealed a blasphemy law is it now on course of becoming one of the most liberal countries

in europe to discuss that i'm now joined by ruth carpenter irish politician and a member of the irish parliament ruth it's so good to talk to you thank you very much for coming over for the invitation now i know that both the repeal of the abortion ban and the repeal of the blasphemy law were major milestones for you personally for your party as well as for your country as a whole but i think to many outsiders the main question is not so much how did arlen do it but how did it manage to hold out for so long how do you explain it. well it isn't unusual to the church control in the country since independence almost a hundred years ago the church and state were interconnected i suppose because it was a very weak economy quite a backward country and it seems that the new independent routers to close connection with the catholic church for social control. the church of control of

health education and specks of life include including advising the government on passing. legislation. restricting the freedom of women working class people poor people and the despite all of the control things seem to be moving very very fast in two thousand and fifteen are they became the first country in the world to legalize same sex marriage by a popular load of both and from what i understand it was done by a fairly big margin and i think this is still a very contentious a very divisive issue in the most liberal constituencies and i find. this succession of things very interesting the fact that people would endure same sex marriage before they actually say let's say did blasphemy provision or. the abortion ban what is it about arlen it kind of takes things.

in very different question well. twenty fifty a referendum is put to the people but the country has been changing for about twenty years the catholic church has been in decline less and less people go to church and of course young people are much more progressive from advanced and so the referendum. majority primarily by young people persuading older people and people showed solid. people want to to affirm tolerance and then you can people then said well the next is abortion now let me ask you specifically about the blasphemy law i saw people characterize it as medieval but from what i understand it's still a fairly fresh legislation i mean it was passed less than a decade ago the did more detail deaf.