we you know. washington expresses concern over russia's new hypersonic weapons saying there are no effective countermeasures missiles final test was successfully carried out on wednesday. the way to protest spreads across to the death of a journalist to set him on fire protesting the difficulties of being a part of the country's economic problems. plus french judges drop a two decade long probe into the deadly attack on the president's plane

a case that's long been a cold one in relation. to surprise visit to iraq to meet with the country's leadership but ends up holding the meeting. and you're watching all t. international live from our studios with me in a day or two to welcome to the program russia has successfully tested a new hypersonic strategic missile named on god president vladimir putin called it a big event for the armed forces and the country as a whole but earlier in the program my colleague spoke to our correspondent. to find out more. tell us about the media reaction to this. launch did certainly become a top news story all over the world those analytical pieces that have had a chance. it's to come out there were more along the lines of why the united states

should fear this missile and i should say it kind of does carry the same message that we've been that we've been seeing for months really because god missile was one out of five vance two weapons unveiled by vladimir putin back this march and that's when just everybody went bonkers and everybody should feel scared even though it has been since the message of the russian government that it is purely defensive that these weapons they are meant to defend russia not to attack any other country obviously a very important launch certainly for the security of russia or and as is said by the russian president vladimir putin he was talking about this system back in march the first of this year but what exactly is well first i would like to stop as to why exactly this new inch is important it is important because it is the final test before this missile goes into service and now let's just have a look let's enjoy how it unveiled.

as for what exactly happened god is well it's just one of the most advanced weapons and missiles in the world here's a quick preview of what it's capable of really. so it's incredibly it's incredibly precise and also it is classified as sort of a glider missile what it means is that it doesn't go beyond the. atmosphere it

travels through it and this is what allows it to go really low like a prone sort of thing and to maneuver very unpredictably that's why everybody is so concerned that's why even the united states is saying that it apparently doesn't have any means of intercepting it because of its unpredictability and maneuverability but as putin has been saying since day one with the other guard system this is to act as a deterrent this is a defensive system was was he involved in any way with the actual final test while he is the commander in chief so he watched this final launch and also it was a bladder putin who announced that this mess the russian military will get the first units of this missile as soon as next year that's why russia kind of made an emphasis this year to world roll out as many new and advanced weapons as possible keeping the country safe you know you've got to talk to me about the balance of power here how does this new apple guard missile system affect global security well

sure it's a missile so by definition it is designed to destroy things to obliterate them to do damage but so does pose a threat but there are two different sorts of how you can pose a threat one thing is saying look we have this new fancy missiles so we're just going to attack you all now and destroy your countries and then another thing is saying look we have this new advanced weapon so we are ready to defend ourselves but only if we're faced with any aggression and this has really been the case with this message and as put by the russian president vladimir putin have a listen to shows the u.s. is now leaving the iron a treaty was going to happen it's hard to imagine what if the rockets are located in europe what should we do which is of course we will have to ensure our security with some concrete steps not say later that we are trying to get an advantage and we're not trying to get an advantage but merely to seek your balance to ensure our security and this really applies not just to. this particular missile or as

a matter of fact to any other for weapons unveiled by the russian president in march this is about the russian military as a whole because the country has been pushing forward its military capability all year it has been sort of the flavor of the twenty teens so to speak but it hasn't been the offensive sort of way russia has been maintaining that it is a measure of deterrence and not of aggression. we discussed the new weapons implications for global security the number of access. but i think the u.s. is also working on these types of thanks and the first one to launch one doesn't always get to win the contest as the as we saw in the age and also in the space race but certainly. a existing u.s. defenses can't deal with them by existing us and defenses aren't that good against regular missiles so if start this. doing away with the a.b.m.

treaty is start a new arms race but i think you know we're just building more and more nuclear weapons when we should be trying to limit government and the new start treaty is coming which is the arms limitation for the longer range missiles is coming up in twenty twenty one so you know that would be a good time to cool or to you know cool off the arms race and you know lock in some limits on these types of weapons as well i think that is a motive i think it's in the interests of the russian people the american people in the whole world to not see an increase in a new arms race the danger here is that the u.s. military establishment is going to react to this by saying well we need to poorer ever more money into developing our own hypersonic missile systems and we have a new new escalated arms race of course right now the united states is spending seven hundred billion dollars

a year on its military which is more than the next nine countries combined so we know who's leading the way in the in the military arms race but i think russia i would assume they're hoping that this can be a reality check and bring and promote more negotiations and less military development. funding clashes have quit two days here after the death of a reporter who set himself on fire he was protesting to. economic problems and the difficulties of earning a living as a journalist the incident is joined comparisons to the events that led to this is revolution in twenty eleven which also started with a man burning himself and eventually led to the arab spring.

there are people who have no means of some assistance and also you know i saw this when i was going to set myself on fire eight years after the arab spring and tunisia is still in turmoil with protests over the economic situation and the high unemployment rate in january of two thousand and eleven the old school dictator ben ali was forced to step down the democratic transition gave way to a new constitution and for free elections that paved the way for pro western secular forces to dominate the new government back then u.s. president barack obama hailed the progress toward democracy and called it an amazing transformation musial was the first country to undergo the transformation we know as the arab spring and given it is now the first to have elections we

thought it was appropriate that tunisia would be the first to visit the white house next one person it's been very good to be this transformation truly inclusive and for. there were very high hopes as well but the recent round of protests sparked by the journalist suicide show that many feel that things haven't really improved and that stability is fragile to show that the reasons for these young men soon so i have folded see isolation and the difficult circumstances join in this be seen tonight and benefit and so this tragedy sums up the status of journalists in tunisia he was driven to do that because of the impossible living costs journalists work with no contract. and poverty wages laying on the facts and large number of journalists in a fragile situation but financially at least in the human mind i see that with the launch number of journalists and chinese in the sense the arab spring to nisha has

followed the path of liberal reforms advocated by western leaders and poverty is still widespread the overall living situation has been improved teachers among other public employees have been pretty badly affected there been calls for mass protests and when it comes to the european union back then the e.u. demonstrated its support for the transition to democracy by implementing the three m's money mobility and markets however the high hopes have been widely disappointed and now it seems that the clout of the european union has declined in the countries that had revolutions many people have lost home. probably some. high expectations. of uprisings in two thousand and eleven but their government has not been able to deliver on. the high hopes on the economic situation has deteriorated. and unemployment is really. sky

high and in some areas ones that have been some improvements for the elections and . more freedoms enjoyed by the popular patient hold here freedom of expression freedom but i had to protest but at the same time social and economic problems the basic infrastructure of problems that existed at that time are still there that whether we will see similar. results this time i think it's truly have. many similarities but also many differences at the same time. we see as tunisia streets once again fill up with protesters in response to another public suicide it seems that western style free markets and free elections haven't solved

the country's woes the amazing transformation seems to have left many unsatisfied kaleb up and r.t. new york. judges have called off a two decade long probe into the deadly attack on the former president's plane which ultimately led to the genocide in one thousand nine hundred ninety four investigation was a stumbling block between the two countries it was the rwandan officials close to the current president in connection with the death of the country's former leader the decision comes after reports that france also rejected by human rights groups to reopen a separate probe into whether the french military had any of the blame for the deaths of hundreds of people they had promised to rescue.

today we're being asked to leave with the people who killed our families we're told they're sorry they will do it again some people believe that i'm not one of them. the fighting was triggered by the downing of a plane carrying the french backed president in one thousand nine hundred ninety four hutu extremists blamed the rebels and the rebels denied involvement for the past twenty years paris has pursued those responsible for the assassination but not anymore the inquiry has reportedly been dropped over insufficient evidence. we have to. interpreted this decision by friend judges as a form of resignation faced with a political context which prosecutors did not know how to fight over the years france suggested the tutsi rebels headed by the current president paul kagame who

were behind the attack they even charged seven people close to the leader for paul could you the physical elimination of rwanda's then president was seen as the only means to achieve his political ends a total victory this process of the massacre of the tutsis from the so-called interior of the rwandan government flatly denied the allegations and cut diplomatic ties with france fast forward to has some nice words for the french i think the president. has. put it to. different people. but. i think. how times have changed the world bank considers rwanda to be more business friendly than much of the developed world and france seems to have an interest macron even

back to rwanda's pick for the head of francophonie group of french speaking countries. if there were to be an african candidate to head the francophonie that would make a lot of sense i think that the rwandan foreign minister has all the expertise for that role but sure france and rwanda have had their differences and twenty five years since the genocide justice has never been fully served but for the present it looks like that doesn't have to stand in the way of a little money making donald quarter. you know i could arab emirates has announced that it is reopening its embassy in damascus it closed in twenty twelve calling the syria file into civil war going across live to see. how much of a breakthrough for the syrian government. it certainly is a breakthrough as you yourself mentioned the united arab emirates has announced

that it's we opening its embassy in damascus this is a diplomatic boost for the syrian president certainly it is a sign of renewed relations and not least of all because the united arab emirates was one of those countries who supported were able fighters against president bashar al assad's forces over the past few years of conflict now it was back in two thousand and eleven that the u.a.e. shut its office all the gulf countries did this with the exception of amman and it was as the as the violence ensued it was also in two thousand and eleven that syria was kicked out of the arab league it was in criticism of its what they said use of military action now the fact that the u.a.e. is a member of the arab league certainly is a sign of improved as a league member you'll remember that it was earlier this month that the sudanese president the first arab head of state visited damascus what is also significant is

that all of this is happening hot on the heels of the announcement by the americans that they are withdrawing their troops from syria ok paula thanks for the update. on. reporting from tel aviv thank you paula. ok yes we'll be back in a couple minutes hope to this project thank you. what

holds us do something to. put themselves on the line. they get accepted or rejected . so when you want to express interest. in something wanted. to write to be close that's what the fuck are you people. interested falls in the water. there should. be. welcome back to the program u.s. president and his wife have paid a surprise christmas visit to u.s. troops stationed in iraq on what looked like a rock star entrance all soldiers taking selfies while trump signed autographs.

the visit didn't all go to plan though also on the agenda was a meeting that with the iraqi leadership however the two sides couldn't agree on for much of the meeting which then ended up being replaced by a phone conversation the head of one of two main blocs in iraq's parliament was not a tour amused by some surprise visit to the country branding it a blatant violation of sovereignty but least experts i leave it says the failure to

meet suggests a rift. president of the us goes to a country and doesn't meet with its leaders and the fact that there's about only a phone call on this points to something you know of a strain which has taken place you know there could be very successful nations trump is quite on orthodox in his approach to international affairs and today's visit i think in that case for the time being they're going to stay the other side in time you know as i said with trump you can to be sure you know you could hear or see a tweet in twenty four hours but i was thinking stand as they are they don't seem to be any intentions of the americans. from iraq also you have to bear in mind that the iraqi that this saw is american troops in iraq it is a lot more a lot bigger than the size of all american troops in syria. but since the time is newspapers printed a highly controversial interview with a chechen fighting against anti-government forces in eastern ukraine the members of

his battalion a frank about the terrorist past on admit that their fight is wage jihad in syria. some of the battalion gunman admit to having home their combat skills and islamic state training camps in iraq and syria the bearded churchill had a simple explanation for fighting for ukraine against kremlin backed separatists putin is our enemy he said he brings a really evil. battalions leader even admits being part of a terrorist group committing atrocities in russia going under the name a muslim he was part of a terrible that took hundreds of lives across russia in an interview with another british newspaper the guardian he claimed that although he generally disagreed with massacring civilians sometimes it was the only way they're up to one hundred chechen fighters are going to new crane though they are not officially part of the ukrainian army the battalion commander said that they share our munition. we have truthy weapons we have weapons that would be the weaponry that we have is enough

for us to act effectively ukrainian for its share ammunition with us we fight side by side media reports of ukraine's chechen a battalion that came to prominence in twenty fifteen of the times latest story on the chechen fighters follows a litany of headlines describing russia as the aggressor not least over the recent naval incident in the kurdish strait russian foreign ministry spokesman the marias ahead of us says it is not surprising that radical elements are fighting in new crane. the military conflicts especially supported by arms and money from outside have always attracted people different does the same happened in syria be people who support religious fundamentalism is coming from far away and who ows will they find in ukraine these jihadi fighters help ukraine realise its agenda of suppressing dissent think it's intentional try to whitewash the connection of the

ukrainian government to these groups while knowing that they are their core cooperating with the ukrainian government supposedly the jihad as are the biggest threat to the western world for the last how many a couple decades now but the government of britain and for that matter the deep state of the united states they surely don't look at it that way they look at these groups as useful i don't know how many readers when they see a story like this really know what the background is for example let's take of the look at the relationship that i my six the british intelligence agency has with the white helmets who are essentially a public relations group for al qaida and province and elsewhere in syria does anybody how many people put two and two together and say wait a minute this doesn't smell right why is our government why is the british government which is a close ally of the united states working with these terrorist groups i thought we were against terrorism and it is i think very hard for

a lot of people to look at this and say wait a minute maybe we're not as against the terrorists as we pretend to be we have all seen ukrainian government and military to comment on the times reports about them looking with tyrant linked chechen fine tis we also asked the u.s. state department about the possibility of their weapons getting into the hands of terrorists and let you know if we get a response. and birds down cocaine to our president prince harry a newly published waste report by senator rand paul has revealed some of the alters things the u.s. government's been spending tax dollars on here's a look. at the research is used.

for america i'm a professional daydream. the news hour i'll be back around thirty minutes time but do stay tuned for being bussed.

people feed the economy because they buy scratch tickets scratch off lottery tickets they you know when i was living in the ghetto in new york you know the red apple grocery store uptown had the highest prices in town right and a liquor stores are open and you buy you know more expensive in the ghetto and that's how you build an economy it's almost built on the backs of the poor america was built on the slave market america was built on prison labor to give them a look that they the good times of america the ne'er do wells it's all very swishy and swell that's over we got to go back to basics. i had a great education a good job and a family that love me. i never had to worry about how i would eat somewhere i would sleep. but i'm facing christmas alone on the streets of london. well you look to. the oriel a grown up. you know to simulate it to still give up food for the purpose.

for. which you don't really feel like a human being you know. and then. the guy just came over to me you saw me and gave me a change of this book. this is boom box broadcasting around the world as you could see from. washington d.c. where important policy and money decisions are made there on capitol hill i'm bart

chilton and thanks for joining us for what is the first installment of our infrastructure deficit special we're glad you're on board what will focus on the u.s. this time we'll have a few comparisons with other places around the world there's so much to cover much of the things that you would expect like roads bridges airports and rail but we also take a more complete and comprehensive look at other important infrastructure critical to not only commerce but to national security we'll look at energy including pipelines and the electrical grid and communications including broadband and even specifically how trucking fits into our deeply textured transportation network there's so much that we couldn't do it all just us and one program and i'm pleased that will be doing so with a little help from our friends some of the arctic correspondents and others who are lending their expertise to it for most of all i'm really looking forward to it and i hope you are too.

so we're going to jump right in and start with a bit of an infrastructure place setting and then look at rail for that we turn to our to correspondent manila chan. president trust campaign for months and months on repairing america's crumbling infrastructure from the roadways to waterways railways to the airways and has recently unveiled a plan to bring america up to speed we're here today to discuss the critical need to rebuild america's crumbling infrastructure. and one understands and the people in this room really understand better than most probably hopefully better than anybody that the problem it's the states have and local leaders have with funding the infrastructure is horrendous.