stories here one fears grow that notorious mercenary blackwater implicated in civilian massacres in iraq is making a comeback for a full page is published in its name warning that we. the u.s. congress has criticized the cooperation deal between the associated press. saying. for propaganda. that seeks a second meeting with kim jong un the us. to pay a billion dollars in damages to the family of a student after being released from north korean custody.

just moments after ten am on wednesday december the twenty six here in a very snowy moscow let's get into your top stories for this hour. the u.s. defense secretary spent his christmas are working at the pentagon even after donald trump's abrupt decision to remove him from office two months earlier than he had planned to resign james mattis wrote this holiday letter to american soldiers. in this won't a washington change you hold the line stormed it because of you you'll fellow citizens live safe at home james mattis resigned last week after the u.s. president announced his decision to withdraw troops from syria he also advised donald trump to keep troops in afghanistan opposing the idea of using private contractors in war there now it seems that's precisely what could happen next.

explains. imagine you're sitting there on your porch reading about guns and huntin and all things good and then you see this ad we are coming blackwater judging by the logo the infamous private security group who is trigger happy antics further disgrace the very name mercenary but i never heard that. they were dead bodies everywhere and this is the argument with few people in society among the dead bodies ministry and some which was in the middle of the seven years old.

just last week a former blackwater contractor was charged with first degree murder for his part in that slow thought it was then that things went easy for the mercenary group which was then rebranded renamed and resold into obscurity but it's presumably back now nice states are spent dearly in blood and treasure in time in afghanistan every prince co-founder of the original blackwater now that everyone's fearful over trumps of ghana's stan withdrawal erik prince sees an opportunity the option i was pushing the options that were considered by some of the. white house an irregular

warfare option that would use cia capability special forces capability some contracted capability to strengthen to give a skeletal support structure to the afghan security forces prince is selling a new kind of war private war war waged not by governments but by corporations the plan is simple six thousand mercenaries backed up by a few thousand u.s. special forces guys give them a small air force private their force and lulu cost about five billion dollars a year a year for reference the afghan war has cost on average five billion a month for seventeen years but the pentagon is reluctant you just can't trust national security priest these reputation to merck's guys willing to kill for money when the american put put their mission credibility on the line

privatizing it is probably not a why it's idea every prince has been absent for years he's been selling this plan since he found out that the president wanted to get out of afghanistan the president was right to campaign against endless wars and he resented her message to him he's going after all the maddest for this to happen if we leave decisions on warfare soley to the pentagon we will be at war for well mr prince had been new year to you james mattis u.s. secretary of defense will leave his post on the first of january and john bolton trumps security advisor is much more pliable there are always a lot of discussions i find helpful i'm always open to new ideas but the issue here is different it's more about principles about morals we know how blackwater behaved in iraq we know what they did when. they had immunity they ran wild they shot and

killed with abandon would you trust the same people to run an entire war trump may do it just to because. it won't have the it won't have the spotlight that u.s. troops did and it's quite conceivable that he might. buy into that idea united states has had over one hundred thousand troops in afghanistan and still the taliban has grown and in terms of its influence the answer will not be the use of private military contractors to resolve the overall problem of afghanistan but it's going to take because shushan in discussion among the countries in that region every princes selling point may not be that he's cheaper it's that trump and the pentagon will become less accountable gotta start will no longer be entirely their

responsibility if blackwater or whoever alex messes up at the be on their heads and it'll all be written off to plausible deniability and corporate bureaucracy so what do you think worth a try letting mercenaries run an entire war. u.s. congress has expressed concern over a new cooperation deal between the associated press and chinese news agency xinhua it's worried china might exploit the american outlook as an instrument of propaganda a correspondent eager to stand off explains the u.s. government is on red alert this time quite literally after the a.p. news agency signed a memorandum of understanding with chinese counterparts in who are the letter lawmakers sent to the boss of associated press explains that senior journalists are well basically all spies and shouldn't be dealt with at all. seeing who

was serve some of the functions of an intelligence agency by gathering information and producing classified reports for the chinese leadership on both domestic and international events because grisman and women who signed the letter seem to be a bit out of the loop though because here's a news flash a.p. and seeing who are have been partners since nineteen seventy two this memorandum is something of an official pinky promise to stay friends and make each other's jobs easier the reason them all of understanding updates a relationship that has been consistently the signs in one thousand nine hundred two and opens the possibility for future commercial interactions it does not include or invision any sharing for its official intelligence information or any other technology and normally this indeed would be way under the radar of the us government but this time the chinese are involved democrats and republicans often

seem like they're ready to rip each other's heads off but as soon as breaching gets in the picture oh they sing in tune nine is effort over take the united states as a world preeminent superpower china is totally eating our lunch they intend not just to supply america but all countries on earth and the west china is ruthless in how they go after us we're in a fight with china we have to ride to china tyler earlier this year the wall street journal reported that washington was mewling branding seen hawaii as a nasty foreign agent this is what happened without seeing the us this is what al-jazeera has so far been avoiding the letter to the a.p. chief seems to continue the trend when the american government tries to sketch over the media landscape the mighty still stand for now at least but the foreign agent label begins to loom over the horizon the interesting thing the bell the

congressional letter is on the one and there were. protect u.s. national security but they're trying to protect the country claims. a free enterprise system that of companies over free to tree with counterparts only domestically but around the world so on the it's a contradiction if you want to claim that you have freedom of enterprise on the one hand and yet you're restricting enterprise on the other here so it is a very terje so and this is the question isn't there or have to go to u.s. public in. while the u.s. is worried about chinese propaganda china is worried about us buying a beijing is accusing washington of using its embassies around the world for covert surveillance places the u.s.

accuses china for tagging in cyber security but the latest legal weeks really zsh shows the u.s. is guilty of throwing stones from glass houses the statement came after wiki leaks published a list of purchases made by u.s. embassies worldwide the report highlighted spy gear reportedly made for cia and national security agency global operations now beijing claims that u.s. embassies are being used to spy on foreign nations around the world including in fact washington's own allies and diplomatic compounds are said to have bought various forms of spy equipment and that includes cameras described as caps tie shirt buttons embassy's also purchased microphones night vision gear and secret g.p.s. locators that the u.s. has yet to respond to the claims but we spoke with network security expert benjamin chel who told us that would not just be a violation of international law but also of agreements with beijing. the now

infamous u.s. eavesdropping of allie's is already common knowledge to the world president's office alys and openly criticized the us on the use of similar equipment before a sudden spike in behavior right away right violations of international laws and agreements not to mention mention trust for example the u.s. and china have signed agreements a few years ago on stopping spying activities for commercial purposes the more than china is a peaceful country and we believe in women situation through trade but at the same time china is becoming very well equipped in mordor warfare expression bending the country in electronic. christmas present has just become christmas past and christmas future is still to come inspired by the festive season artie's germany correspondent peter oliver now gives his own rendition of a classic christmas time. hello hello and welcome come under fire would you like to store one involving three spirits which is quite similar but for many

reasons quite different to a christmas carol will come with me to germany where i'm going to. be mostly for german journalists abbreviated named a k k has been elected to the role of leader of the christian democratic union party. taking over from i'm going to merkel who ran the party for eight years was never going to be. but as the clock struck warrant a.k.k. was reminded of the past of the party tanking in the polls and also at the ballot box the c.d.u. on their allies looks to be a lawsuit in twenty eight. beria and in both crucial local elections it is painful for the city you that we've lost so many votes the losses for the c.d.u. became wins for the green party on the center. and the un team

a gratian alternative to germany right. after bringing tidings to kate the spirit was gone see this is how it's going to work with me so far right leaving the past in the past and switching to christmas present the second spirit to visit k.k. showed her the state of play today. was the first choice of chancellor angela merkel to succeed she wasn't the first choice for a large groups of the c.d.u. party germany's conservatives wanted someone a little more conservative. and weakening and a renewal at this time of migration and globalisation the modernisation must be firmly grounded in national identity and traditional values in our actions and mindset it's uniting a group that fits the bill is pale male and stale if i was to be somewhat unfair

the whole be the main task for the woman now essentially the heir apparent to take over from mrs merkel when she steps down chancellor. so let's see what that spirit brings with it in the future there's a whole load of states and other local elections lined up in germany next year that's in a lot of ways will be seen or votes of whether the germans believe that k.k. is the woman to take the country forward i'm glad merkel plans to step down as chancellor and twenty twenty one and performances on the ballot box could decide the way it plays out so there we have it all story has come to an end and all that's left for me to do is this and to wish you all the very best from us here at r.t. and hope that twenty nineteen brings you wealth health and happiness. so christmas

has passed and the end of the year is across the stories of may twenty eighteen as a quirky media analyst lionel has his personal book. early. said that white russian. oh maybe you could read it oh please stop it you know we're talking about. us of data his appearance before face before congress was a disaster that the short of a disaster next mainstream media news in general took a hit from every conceivable angle and i believe one of the readers might have been . the jim acosta moment next. merkel and globalists in general it

was a disaster and it was a template and a learning lesson for i think most of the world. there is a revolution going on in the world right now regarding the new platforms a new bases for information delivery and platforms such as this are proving that this is the best source of news again why the ability to not be limited by a commercial the ability to speak freely the ability to question more. the initial screech and clamor of revolution. we saw with the yellow mass we sought elsewhere we saw. beginnings of what will be a cataclysm

a change in the structure of the world is what was intended to be this global event of polar type of congress's ation of the world that's changing. the truth hurts are still to come here on the program on us judge orders pyongyang to pay half a billion dollars in damages to the family of a student who died all for a student a north korean custody and more just. to put themselves on the line to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be

president. want to. have to go right to the press this is what the four three of the four can't be good. interested always in the water. should. think it certainly makes sense for for moscow to think. in its context with the united states i just feel. in this city is that it isn't nearly impossible until the united states kind of settle this domestic divide about the environment in d.c. he's you know i hate to see these laws work toxic but that's exactly what it is and then i think it's in a way you know you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.

good to be with us today just twenty past the hour here in moscow a u.s. judge has ordered pyongyang to pay off a billion dollars in damages to the family of a student who died after being released from north korean custody is a quick look back at what happened to auto won't be. after i plan to detail to accomplish my plan i arrived in pyongyang on the early morning of january first two thousand and sixteen i committed my cry of taking out the important political slogan from the staff only area made the worst

mistake of my own life but the point is. to say for me. he was inclined he was dead he had a large scar on his right foot north korea is not. their terrorist state today's droid staged a purposely and intentionally injured i think you need to define torture the fact that he has an ox take it's awful lot of the brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen to bring we don't know what the request was and that is i mean could that have been torture at the time we don't know we don't have enough information about what happened to him at that initial insult to you. draw any concrete conclusions

following the death of auto warm via washington the realist of north korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in nov twenty seventh seen going rejects the allegation that torture is the student prior to his death and we don't all getting ready for a second meeting with kim jong un we look at what consequences the warm be case might have. the us should be prudent and practice self control keeping in mind that if it persists in the end to the d.p. r. k. smear campaign while i'm reasonably picking a quarrel with the d.p. r. k. over the human rights issue it will pay dearly for all the consequences rehashing accusations of badly evidenced torture against north korea seems to be a step backwards for peace especially when only several months ago trump and kim were shaking hands and making nice.

thank you for. the man you met today. as you know has killed family members has starved his own people is responsible for the death of here why are you so comfortable calling him very talented interesting how back then trump attributed discussions on korean denuclearization to none other than otto himself or rather his death otto warm beer. is a very special person and he will be for a long time in my life his parents are good friends of mine i think without. this would not have happened and the north was set out to win as well with the us potentially lifting sanctions but the script on the significance of those deaths has now been flipped aside from kim's destruction of a nuclear test site neither side has fulfilled the promises of the singapore summit despite all the hearty pledges neither denuclearization know. more sanctions relief

has taken place and looking forward to the next summit it's still unclear how both sides might use auto's case in the political arena. the israeli military is claiming to have shot down an anti aircraft missile coming from syria and syrian state media saying three soldiers have been injured in an israeli strike on an arms warehouse to the west of damascus reporting from tel aviv all asleep. what we're hearing from the syrian side is that they say they activated their ground to air defense missile systems in response to incoming missiles from israel what we are hearing is that they managed to intercept eight out of ten rockets now syrian state media says that they intercepted what it's calling hostile and in the targets that were aiming at areas in the damascus region we are hearing met the israeli strikes have caused damage to an ammunitions and that three so when soldiers have been injured we have heard from the israeli side the israeli defense

forces the israeli army has issued a statement in which it says it manage to launch its defense missile systems and that they intercepted at least one rocket that was fired from the syrian side now all of this is hot on the heels of the american president donald trump announcing that he was withdrawing american troops from syria you might remember that just two days ago the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said that would godless of whether or not the united states withdraws israel would continue to act and act false of lean in syria. the decision to withdraw two thousand u.s. troops from syria will not change our consistent policy we will continue to act against iran's attempts to stop wishing military presence in the series and if the need arises who even expand operations there certainly tensions between israel and syria are escalating. and there's a legend martina navratilova is in the spotlight after getting a broiled in a twitter spot over transgender people participating in sport as women.

clearly that can't be right you can't just be claimed herself a female and be able to compete against women there must be some standards and having a penis and competing as a woman would not feed that standard. never at eleven apologized and deleted her tweet following the spate of criticism online including from cyclist rachel mckinnon who last year became the first transgender athlete to win a world title. that's transformed genitals do not play sports what part of a penis is related to tennis i help you see your way to regret and how you tremble this never until the street is just another variation on someone saying that if you have a penis you're not a woman let's be real and stop pretending she isn't transphobia just because she's reach and famous and effects walk like pretensions you're the real hero here and martina the truth is painful to some but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be spoken

it's incredibly disappointing that you've been intimidated into backing down from telling the truth never is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time she is also a widely widely known as an l g b t rights activist and the issue of transgender athletes and sport is generating a lot of debate these days and you can find more opinions on that issue on i website right now r.t. dot com in the meantime though your program your wednesday world headlines continue in about half an hour i hope you can join us then. as are financial survival guide. to your pension account. yanks this is what happens to pensions in britain. watched kaiser report.

when our mind when the content of our minds. changed there are. the level of the physiology that is at the level of the brain the brain as a form of plasticity can rewire itself and not just the brain but also the rest of the body respond to. time after time so you know what you're going on the ground while we're away for christmas we're screening some of your favorite episodes of this season coming up in this who is to raise a major talk about human rights in the case of jamal khashoggi a lifelong friend of a saudi dissident and fight for the liberation of palestine as i'm telling me on

crimes against humanity. surveillance was found in eagle by your of what now bugging of your phone we go to san antonio in texas to talk to award winning convict better brown hounded by the f.b.i. for rejecting a brave new world that's all coming up in the show but first today's seventy is the leader of africa's richest defacto nation was killed with u.k. backing here was the reaction of the woman who could right now be president of the usa we came we saw he died. clinton nato nation media and to resume support of the end of libya's government even as they profess to love this towering african hero. customs. stop what. they hit there is no reason whatsoever. why we should have any hesitation.

about haiti. that the human rights as being demanded in south africa but if the tories and liberals helped kill mandela's comrade in arms seven years ago today that all appears forgotten in today's house of commons aside from bracks it no one m.p. did feel that u.k. and israeli oppression this week should be condemned by tourism a pm cues well the prime minister make it clear to the prime minister of israel that this is occupied territory these are to refute g.'s protected people whose forcible rape removal would be as the united nations has stated constitute a war to come michael didn't mention u.k. backing injuries that made julie said nothing about this week's garza dead referring to question one particular settlement once again.