but. there. was no cattle on independence riots flare in barcelona leaving dozens injured as protesters decry a federal government competent meeting in the regional council. signs for fusing to sign a pro israeli pledge u.s. school therapist sues texas all dorothy's over the mandatory that's in place in more than a dozen states. traditionalists crossing the line that's wrong doesn't sound right you go to work to work you don't go to work for your outside life you should be able to have your own political views outside of your work. and denmark

have decided to shaking hands is something more than just a sign of friendship a country has adopted a law that makes you shake hands at the danish that is than ceremony. a very well welcome to you you're watching r t international with mina king and great to have you with us but first this hour a partial shutdown of the united states government has just come into effect the senate has failed to approve billions of dollars for the border wall with mexico proposed by president trump. we're going to have a shutdown there's nothing we could do about that because we need the democrats to give us their votes call it a democrat shutdown call it whatever you want but we need their help to get this approved so democrats we have a wonderful list of things that we need to keep our country safe let's get out

let's work together let's be bipartisan and let's get it done the shutdown hopefully will not last long well this is the third shutdown this year nine federal departments have stops that work with almost four hundred thousand employees to spend it hundreds of thousands more will work for free until an agreement can be struck dave lindorff a founding editor of the online news website this can be happening thinks it's all a bit of a gimmick it's just it's all theater it's playing to the media the media is making a big deal out of it. and it really isn't a big deal the less it blew up into something that was going to last for a month or two months or something it started hurting me in the government's ability to pay its debt on time as happened one time with this but it you know it's becoming kind of a joke in the united states that you know this super powerful super rich country

can't come up with a budget every year and it's almost every year thing that trump has made it more so with this continuous threats to shut down the government but it's really a joke it's unclear how long the shutdown will last but president trump early estrus take full of very long time when we took a look back at the main reasons for such downs in previous years.

violence flags in barcelona as pro independence protests erupt in spain's cuts alone here region more than sixty protestors and policemen have been injured with anger escalating over a federal government cabinet meeting in the regional topped. with

flags less off and barricades builds extra police were brought in ending with at least thirteen arrests local journalist a boat is up to speed with a vengeance. for me the cabinet meeting is held in madrid that has federal centers that already and the lizzie actually also want to do it here in barcelona and people took it as a provocation because only one year ago catalonia the third in the pendants so people obviously are angry because they want to be independent and they want to be separate separate from the whole thing so as you can see behind me you have signs of libor that the press is politico's which means greece libor rate the political prisoners still nine of them are held in detention and basically you have people you have young people protesting and still trying to remember what happened here

one one year ago so as people took out of the streets not only here in the center but also they blocked eighty seven seven which is the freeway leading to the airport so many people were blocked today and couldn't go home for christmas. or forty's had hoped that relocating recovery meeting to barcelona would reduce tensions in catalonia previously all parties have agreed to an effective dialogue a year ago a catalan independence referendum was deemed illegal climate ridge region's leaders were arrested for failure and sedition. for dial hundred couper garro who's a spanish history academic abortions newcastle university says the politicians completely misread the mood of the people. the cats the government trying to orchestrate the crowds are. really just their mind they consented to match the woods kind of government and then they sit in the sidewalks next to the crowds was

not just a good deal so in many ways that was expected you can see that use of the federal government that cannot control everyone in going to hands on hands is the first time that the spanish and we kind of government are meets in since the elections in december of last year. was somehow symbolic but very important for both the spanish and the catalan government and the current government because they haven't been able to do much in the last year and hundreds leashes. more unrest in europe this time in france as the so-called yellow vests protesters are preparing for a sick consecutive weekend of nationwide protests against government policies journalists on the front line also run the risk of being caught up in the action our correspondent paula dobriansky takes us through some of the basic precautions they take. i am.

thankful if there is one thing the french really know how to do it's protest at all t. we believe that the best way to tell a story is to really get to the heart of it and that's essentially what we try to do as a team in the protests i am. i am. thank . you. thank you thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you thank you but this brings its own difficulties and dangers so how do we try and stay safe well firstly we always carry a medical kit now as well as the basics i think that these little i washed pods are worth their waiting gold particularly after being tear gassed.

as you can see tear gas is being fired by the police because these teargassed going everywhere now tear gas is an irritant sickly if you are always you know is your mouth and your lungs and its effects kick in after about thirty seconds that can include difficulty breathing and chest pain it's a chemical weapon which is actually found from being used in warfare yet it still used to control crowds to mitigate its him. packed we wear protective goggles like this and respirators if we see crazy on the streets rubber bullets being deployed she is streaming down my face again as a result of tear gas i can't tell you how many times now we've been gassed with all those gloss bottles the stones the tear gas canisters and sometimes even molotov cocktails flying about having

a hard hat is very important. when things turn particularly nasty the police have been known to shoot rubber bullets now it may not look like very much but one of these little guys can cause some serious damage and they can even be lethal so try and keep my cool area safe where this fast it weighs around two and a half kilos and the idea is that if i get a direct hit it's going to help disperse the impact and hopefully reduce any injury . so that's the basics of the kit now we're all set for the next act.

a speech therapist in the us is suing or thora ts in texas after being sacked from her job at an elementary school for refusing to pledge she would never boycott israel this is required by a law signed in over a dozen states prohibiting the employment of people with anti israeli sentiments are more pin explains the first amendment of the us constitution guarantees citizens the right to criticize. the american government however if you criticize a foreign government you might get in trouble and twenty six in u.s. states government contractors are forbidden from boycotting israel in texas employees are required to sign an oath saying that they do not and will not boycott israel or engage in any activity intended to sow economic harm well one speech pathologist refused to sign the oath and was fired she says this violates her rights and she's taking it to court it's

a baffling that they can so this down our throats you know and decide to protect another country's economy versus protect our constitution rights and this isn't just a red state republican thing here in a liberal new york a similar laws in effect we are against the b.d.s. movement and it's very simple if you boycott against israel new york will you we've been hearing what locals have to say about it think it's a little bit odd it's ridiculous crossing the line that's wrong doesn't sound right you go to work to work you don't go to work for your outside life you should be able to have your own political of views outside of your work because people can do as they wish i guess and you know you shouldn't put that on employees to be the one way or the other you can have someone sign. an agreement for taking another country congress even has a bill in the roster that would punish american companies were engaging in a boycott we must continue to stand firm against the profoundly by this

campaign to legitimize the state of israel through boycotts divestments and sanction supporters of the bill say that it would only affect major companies however some fear it could be used to punish individuals were this legislation to pass federal officials would have a new weapon at their disposal to chill and suppress speech that they found objectionable or politically unpopular if there was a law forbidding criticism of the american government we would see rioting every american is taught about the moral principles the country will. founded on however there are many who feel that israel deserves a special layer of protection from those who might disagree with its rather controversial actions. r.t. new york. hunch a case of first to be a simple gesture of friendliness but today is causing something of a full out denmark has adopted a new law obliging people to shake hands as part of the ceremony to become a danish citizen supporters of the lord says that shaking hands is

a custom and part of being danish the reason is causing consternation is because of claims it targets muslims for whom physical contact with non-family members of the opposite sex is forbidden for religious reasons or some town manners are refusing to comply it's against my conviction to have to force the people to have. well this is a subjective find out lots of discussions and we hosted one earlier on r.t. with both sides proclaiming it's all about respecting their respective traditions. it just shows how petty and vindictive the danish government is shaking hands is a personal choice there are many members of the jewish community you would choose not to shake hands of the opposite sex you can be vibrant members of society you can play an integral part in health and education as a lawyer in business be a good citizen without having to say what i see you know what for religious reasons

i do not want to shake somebodies hand and therefore i'm not going to do that does that make you any less of a human being less of a responsible citizen and you want to live in denmark they want to shake hands well from we shake hands get in the modern world use this nonsense we don't shake hands it doesn't tell us how it's going to be for us to the village guy go they finish go back to their country want to be forced it's a sign of friendship if you don't want to be friendly if you don't want to make similar coach or if you don't want to be tolerant go home i'm sure there's loads of places where you don't even have to shake hands but you can chop each other's hands off if you steal some the job enjoy is going to play to the gallery are going to talk to you about individual freedom human rights. to the gallery. does it necessarily make it possible that you won't be responsible citizen engaged in society played an active role just been able to practice your faith the fairy

the fact that people have been forced to do this you've got dozens of mares of. no you don't know jehmu to do more are on the point is the central point is this that it's about individual responsibility it's about human rights and it's about stopping bigotry and this law pacifically designed to target just a muslim community is discriminatory and inacceptable if you read the articles if you take the time to do it rather than just play with a chip on your shoulder you'll see it's not just about muslims and secondly if you don't like to shake hands don't idea that it's an attack on your human rights. hormone grow up whatever you want to simulate whatever you want to sit in with western culture but no they want to pretty the other people or discard mohammad ease always diminish it wants to spread create division and then he accuses me of played to the gallery listen we shake hands in the west it's the way it is by not

shaking hands does it make you less of a human being doesn't stop me from contributing to society are making a positive contribution now i'm somebody who personally my own choices i do shit people male and female but there will be people out there who choose not to touch their choice well this is not the only case when nonpolitical decisions cause strong reaction in society following the example of confectionery parents like cadbury the world famous top lawyer and chocolates has been declared to be.

certificate did not result in any change to another traditional type around of original recipe which production process essentially makes the house criteria anyway. islamization does not take place in europe it is therefore certainly pure coincidence that depicted in chocolate writing is now certified as. iconic swiss chocolate becomes to conform with islamic purity though. everyone who claims to be opponents to this lamaze ation of europe must of course refuse to buy . time to say goodbye i do not heed his next move the.

president has left the international community stunned stunned following his sudden decision to withdraw u.s. troops from syria however the move has been backed by number of leaders including one major nato ally. the trump told us during a conversation. from him. before and after this. as long as you give us the support in terms of logistics and how they started to withdraw they have. not all those parties to the conflict in syria are on board with the decision there is anger among the kurdish forces in the region and with family members of the fight to the paling to washington to reverse that with two old mothers and wives of soldiers in the so-called syrian democratic forces have been gathering near the alleged american military base in aleppo province. one zero zero zero of all the american turned his back on us as we continue to fight and. it

was a learning curve brownie. why did they leave us in. you know we went to the airfield they promised us that they would not leave and now they've sold us out. tension is already escalating in northern syria with turkey now vowing an offensive against the kurdish forces which currently control beach a representative for the syrian democratic forces told russian media they could be ready to hand the town back to the syrian government to prevent turkey launching a similar operation in the province like it did after the liberation from islamic state back in twenty sixteen. we do not support and we would oppose efforts to move south and engage in activities against the syrian democratic forces so kurdish commanders have made

commitments that they will turn over areas to local populations as they have been so tremendously successful in liberating those areas from dash we expect them to live up to those commitments. that i'm from on base. threat that's defined together by the americans and the collison again that. until they have a stronghold from their surrounding advantages is complicated business around territory. but we noticed more movement from the euphrates shield along the front line as turkey before its military operation on

a friend threatened that the man beach would be the next target. as i said before. ridicule juncture either we must put it back on track or it will further deteriorate we have agreed essentially to normalize the relationship again . as i said is going to be given. there for this is. one of the issues of work together. we have a part of syria and. we don't support separatism what you want an agreement to be reached on something the street shoot is part of the free syria. we heard from former pentagon security analyst michael maloof you think the syrian government will look to fill the void being left by u.s. forces well i think that given that the u.s.

is pulling out it's only inevitable that assad would. begin to move move his troops back in and measures is very very important strategically. to keep the turks away as well the turks are not going to be. going into monday's as they have threatened to do so giving it back to assad is very important and i think that that avoids the potential for a major conflict between turkey and the kurds and so and also. the turkish president everyone has pledged support for so so. this this is all beginning to offer an a whole new dynamic in that region as a result of the u.s. pull out. north korea has issued a stern warning to the united states saying it won't give up its nuclear capabilities unless washington is willing to meet it halfway this statement could

cost a shadow over their recent thought in the u.s. north korea relations. the united states must understand the proper meaning of the korean peninsula denuclearization and they had better study geography too when we talk about the korean peninsula it includes the territory of our country as well as the whole of south korea with the united states has placed its invasive forces including nuclear weapons when we talk about the complete denuclearization of the korean peninsula it means the removal of all sources of nuclear threats not only from south to north korea but also from areas neighboring the korean peninsula relations between pyongyang and washington took a nosedive when trump initially took office the two countries' leaders traded insults on the west situation improved in mid june this year when the two met in singapore so i'll try thinking committed themselves to denuclearize in the street

came with the korean peninsula and normalizing relations the summit was seen as a breakthrough although not much has been accomplished since with u.s. officials insisting crippling sanctions will remain in place. the united states has no intention of easing our unilateral organized nations sanctions they have they have not lived up to the commitments so far and until that happens there's not going to be any release of the economic sanctions earlier we spoke to human rights attorney eric through what can he things washington has felt to reciprocate pyongyang's efforts towards resolving the nuclear issue. why shoot him has not approached these negotiations and a level at the same level as north korea and in reality the better we can do nuclear islip the notes or where we may view it so the threat of nuclear attack is gone from both sides that is going to win in jail the us opening

if facilities the international inspectors to the nature of there are nuclear weapons still there the us doesn't comment on such things we haven't seen any progress from you on formal relations and during the korean war of ending the state of war in the korean peninsula why would the e.u. nuclearized when there is a ending state of war there the next step to take place at that time is a commitment to denuclearize what they will look like but only after a peace treaty is entered. germany may block chinese telecom giant huawei from a government tender to develop a high speed internet network it comes amid rising security concerns over the company's possible espionage activity for beijing a u.s. delegation reportedly visited burleson and held a closed door meeting at the german foreign ministry and courage ing

a boycott off our way the company has already been blocks from building high speed networks in the u.s. to australia and japan u.k. secret service chief alex younger has also voiced concern however germany's i-t. watch star has expected expressed skepticism due to the lack of evidence proving while ways my activity. for such serious decisions like a ban you need proof which every second editorial director of the american institute for economic research thinks this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. the u.s. is is famous for its for its hacking and cyber surveillance of every political system in the world i mean so this is this is getting really out of hand and it's starting to be i must say deeply embarrassed seen for the u.s. on international economic stage but i think it's really sad because response to be

in the middle of a trade truce but instead of just using the ninety days to come to a better understanding what the u.s. is doing is almost you know every forty eight hours another propaganda blitz against china is kind of a rhetorical bombast we're getting on a daily basis is actually have been a tremendous human cost and it's also a futile i mean yes china is a rising economic power if you want to call it power but actually what it really means is that we can as a world community get get richer and richer together and i think the u.s. needs to like come to terms with this and stop playing the bully on the playground . and major group of indigenous people from argentine pasa goni are suing some of the world's biggest oil and gas companies for environmental damage that approach tried to say that contamination from fracking sites threatens their lives and the wildlife of patagonia and then those be brought to birth merican exxon french to tile and argentina based pan american energy.

does it does your legal eagle a good current make a logical situation where it is very serious and alarming our community feels under threat because there's been a violation of our rights and there's uncertainty over our lands getting energy firms have taken advantage of legal loopholes to come here in the big day and night leah's they can put this on deadly menace over us. no it isn't i love the e.c.m. as it is by the region's natural richness people here are very poor having is the energy companies come blunder and contaminate are less able to fortunes they make

are kept for themselves and the people they pay off to cover this all up in that one i mean and. the way visa oil companies operate is pure environmental vandalism demonstrates how little control local authorities truly have. they look like hope this will be a serious investigation and with those responsible named and duly dealt with we are sure we will win this case show and then we'll be able to keep our lands and safeguard our health in the yard most importantly as they want to save our identity and culture.