russian national money boots in a sentence to eighteen months in prison by u.s. federal court for failing to register as a foreign agent. i don't think she's in jail shoulders as of politics but i think anyone who thinks that someone who wasn't russian would be in this situation is for self. journalists who leaked sensitive information on them selves in the yemeni war hold in for questioning by french intelligence. and a project of truly epic ambition britain germany hailed china's belts and trading network initiative as the countries take part in a major economic forum on beijing's plans.

to join he is this is all to international. breaking news story this hour is that russian citizen maria buton is accused of who is accused of conspiring against the u.s. and of being a russian agent has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison by a federal court which in his lawyer spoke to the media after the sentencing. clearly ripe for reform you've got an odd situation where maria could not have been prosecuted under civil farrah which is the one that everyone knows about through metaphor in other cases because she had no knowledge of the statute you know to be criminally prosecuted under fair you need to have a willful violation so because of her lack of knowledge she ended up being charged with a more serious crime the foreign agent statute i think it's an area that's ripe for reform if you take it seriously and literally the government's position in this case and apply to other circumstances you really end up in a in a pretty dangerous situation not only for. foreign nationals here but i think for

americans and abroad doing similar activities i think would not be thrilled with this i don't know if i'd go that far then we have a overall a good process in this country i don't think she's in jail for old because of politics but that anyone who thinks that someone who wasn't russian would be in this situation is water itself. boots and it will serve only half having already spent nine months in detention kill a woman has the details. those who were in the court room heard maria but not give quite an emotional speech prior to her sentence being handed down she talked about how she came to the united states not as an agent or an operative but with purely good intentions and what a nightmare her family has been through this is some of what maria buton a said to the court my parents discovered my arrest on the morning news they washed in the rural house in a savior and i love them dearly but at home the morally and financially they're

suffering from all of that i destroyed my own life as well i came to the united states not under any orders but with who and now nothing remains but penitence. now the prosecutors in the d.c. courtroom argued that somehow maria buton his activities with the national rifle association had somehow harmed the political process of the united states significantly they argued that by being an unregistered lobbyist and working behalf on behalf of the russian government inside the national rifle association that she was in severe violation of u.s. law and had somehow harmed do the u.s. political system and done a great deal of damage now the judge did then hand down a sentence of eighteen months in federal prison now nine months of that will be time served that will be the time that she's been held since she was initially arrested so only nine months remaining in federal prison and then after that time she will be deported from the united states back to russia now what's interesting

is that maria bhutto was swept up in the aftermath of the twenty sixteen u.s. presidential elections in which talk of russian agents and russian meddling and russian subversion seemed to be quite widespread there was quite an atmosphere of fear and in that atmosphere she was swept up and it appears that now after months of being detained after quite a bit of time in which it was it was reported that she was held in solitary confinement in rather harsh conditions that she now has nine more months to serve in u.s. federal custody before she will be allowed to return home to her family so people are seeing this is kind of a conclusion to the case as at this point her lawyers are saying they will not appeal this verdict. russian embassy in washington has already reacted to it demanded boots in his immediate release describing it was a political prisoner. where appalled by the closeness of the justice system we regret that considering the level of for being the us common service did

not prevail. as a political prisoner a victim of a few years justice norms and provocation must unwind it by the year. we insist on our computer of innocence we demand her immediate release russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov also condemned the arrest alleging that putin there is the victim of america's internal politics international law attorney bruce marks also questioned the ruling. i think it's a very unfair and very harsh sentence for what you did. the u.s. government has overplayed its hand from the beginning of this case creating the impression that she was a spy she was nothing of the sort they even allege that she traded sex for her secrets which they had to retract. it's hard to see the decision by the

department of justice other than the attempt to retaliate against her for exposing at least some of the allegations about her. as she did violate the statute because she had connections with the russian government officials but that's not the type of violation that should have resulted in a total of a year in prison. as journalists are being grilled by intelligence services over a breach of national defense secrecy after they leaked sensitive data about weaponry used in the war in yemen so the day. they appear to have exposed a government blowing but now it's three journalists all the ones being investigated they've been summoned to appear before the french general directorate of internal security or the d.g.a. s.l.i. after appealing a confidential note from the country's intelligence services it showed the french

government new weapons that sold to saudi arabia and the united arab emirates were being used in the conflict in yemen a fact the government has repeatedly did no light that's left thousands died and pushed millions to war to the brink of starvation it's been described by the u.n. the worst humanitarian pissed off. this investigation by the d.g.'s only has provoked theory with journalists from thirty seven french outlets signing

a letter defending their colleagues this document the publication of which in no way jeopardizes the safety of french agents on the ground was revealed because of its obvious interest to the public they have done only their job to bring to citizens attention information of public interest on the consequences of french arms sales at the center of all that this storm is a classified by francis military agency the d r m group real to the by the journalists it showed forty eight french sees a terrorist guns were being used along the sounding game in order that tanks and fighters sold to the u.a.e. are in action and its missile guiding technology may have been deployed as well it reveals the french ships are serving in the blockade of yemeni ports directly leading to doa food and medical shortages in additional battalion of sees a truck mounted how was this had been deployed the yemeni border on the saudi side

to bring the number of cesar's in that area to forty eight as of the twenty fifth of september twenty eighth seen about forty you look look tanks or observed in a fixed defensive position and advance positions in the west of the seventy or so tanks deployed by the u.a.e. as part of the operation the french government has continued to repeat the line that weapons that sold to saudi and u.a.e. were only being used for the defensive. papiss cisse but this note was written back in september contradicting those claims the concern now is that this investigation by french authorities is about putting pressure on these journalists to break up their professions and most of all level out to reveal their sources jollity even ski r.t. paris. school journalist analyst with me take gave us her thoughts on the leak and

why it's cause such concern for the french government. i don't think there's any kind of secret that french weapons are being used in yemen and you could very well argue and the government has been saying this and preaching about this that since the civil war in yemen was started by rebels against a legally installed government with the support of a foreign power that you're on this is indeed in defense of the state it's a member of the us it's the position of a number of people from your america britain saudi arabia etc so i think what's different in this specific instance is the detailed the nature of the report which is fascinating reading but it also ate meat makes it easier to place possible french agents on the ground so the french government feels that this has harmed it's not helping and it's their position that's what they're defending.

you came to germany have praised china's plan for a massive global trading network known as the belgium road initiative a forum for which is currently underway in beijing there are leaders from your asian countries and further afield who gather to share their views on how to develop economic cooperation reporting from beijing is r.t.c. gets done. well i have to say it is more than just a forum more than just a place for people to meet to talk and sign documents no it is a statement by beijing and those countries and representatives of international bodies and leaders who have come here today who have come to beijing it is a statement that this is a new way to boost global prosperity and also it is far from being just a regional event for instance the boat and road initiative and this forum have been the cautiously praised by the european union have a listen to both the mode initiative has tremendous potential to spread prosperity and sustainable development to achieve as it does potentially seventy percent of

the world's population a project of truly epic ambition the u.k. is committed to helping to realize the potential of the belgian road and to doing so in a way which works for all of those whose lives are touched by the project in the big used seats we have agreed that we don't want to sign any by a literal memorandums but together make necessary arrangements between the greater european economic area and the economic area of greater china we will take this promise seriously of this tone goes into a bit of a contrast with what the united states have been saying in fact washington has been one of the most stark opponents to the whole belt and road initiative because they see it as a threat to their dominance and here's why because thing is this forum is merely a tiny part of a much larger scheme a much grander vision of beijing outlined its concept for the first time in twenty thirteen and since then it's been all about well investing into global

infrastructure into building new major trade routes somewhat inspired by the you once prosperous silk road in fact he's a map showing you two key projects two key trade highways if i may say so that are being developed within the frameworks over this belt and road initiative as for the rush. and leader vladimir putin he's of course here in beijing and when it comes to relations between moscow and china the two haven't really pulled any complements i should say when it comes to that and also both lattimer potentiating ping they shared their thoughts on why they think the belton road initiative is so important . we work together to promote the high quality development of one belt and one route we are told to the principle of extensive consultation joint contribution and shared benefits and advocate multilateralism know what is important to create

an effective onset of the risks of global economic political and technological space fragmentation and answer to the rise of protectionism the most dangerous form of which is the illegitimate one sided measures taken without any account from the un or even worse trade was well when it comes to action besides her russia and china have already agreed to conduct joint military drills sometime in the near future they also announced the establishment of a new fund of a new investment fund and it is now it is said to gain of the net capital totally worth around one billion dollars and its key purpose is to streamline the process of investments of russia and china investments into projects within the framework of the bridge of the belt and road initiative and somewhat beyond that as well so i guess it is fair to say that russia for now has asia and its spotlight. the un is looking into whether the whistleblower julian assange is right to privacy was

violated while he was holed up at the ecuadorian embassy in london details after the break. geysers financial survival. when customers go by you reduce the price. then now well reduce some lower. that's undercutting but what's good for market is not good for the global economy.

trumping ministration is on an offensive around the globe as a candidate trump called out neo cons for supporting american military adventures now many of them work for the president and this administration the very idea of diplomacy is absent it relies upon threats to say. welcome back in the songs is wrong to privacy by been violated while he was holed up at the ecuadorian embassy in london the u.n. representatives now investigating whether or not that's the case. supported because it was a very special set of circumstances were a person who was not formally. subjected to. the un so i sing where the record those decision to place that we could least co-found under strict

surveillance violated the universal declaration of human rights so it was arrested earlier this month when he was dragged out of the ecuadorian embassy where he'd been claiming asylum for almost seven years may now face extradition to the states to be charged there with conspiracy to have government computer. julian assange has gained international attention through his wiki leaks project which publishes leaked documents that incriminate governments all around the world his organization is behind some of the biggest disclosures of classified information ever. i know i.

cut. oh. hello wiki leaks walks like a hostile intelligence sort of like a hostile takeover. we earlier interviewed a friend of julian assange the sweetest journalist behind this wall street who is sure that the rights of the wiki leaks from violated numerous times. who quite

clearly you know who is just under that routes are violated on a daily basis though because basically without saying he is currently detained for no other reason than being a journalist and seeing and this i think is probably will be most important developments that has happened over it recently and that is our roughly nine years of returns where the discussions and had little concerning it were usually a new. person or every least resistance or just now going to look at least in receipt for the sole reason of. the charges as far as we know or don't have only substantial evidence only sort of to start with and the second issue is that even way we're at the early describe disparate as the classical relationship between a journalist and a source where according to the arguments of of the court as far as i understand it

at least you mr assad has asked his source to provide him with material if that is illegal then seriously the journalism is as such. but the trump pledged on friday to with door america's support for lamont global arms control treaty the us president made the announcement to a cumulative crowd at an annual meeting of the powerful national rifle association gun lobby my administration will never ratified the. trade treaty and i am officially announcing today that the united states will be revoking . the a fact. of america's signature from this badly misguided treatment when taking our signature back. united nations arms trade treaty came into effect in two

thousand and fourteen and regulates foreign weapons exports and requires that signatories ensure arms are not being used to commit human rights abuses more than one hundred countries have ratified the treaty and un has responded to the us president's decision to withdraw american signature. the treaty is the only global instrument aimed at improving transparency and accountability in international arms trade this is particularly important in present times when we witness growing international tensions and renewed interest in expanding and modernizing arsenals. gregory copley is the president of the international strategic studies association in a joint on the line now great to speak to you as always gregory how would you assess donald trump's decision and is the criticism fair. the criticism is not the treaty itself was published at the start really by the international lived in knows that russia itself the line is because the treaty firstly did not violate

any capability to ensure that weapon the international trade in weapons would. produce the result which was just it was claimed secondly it did in impinge on the sovereignty of the countries which signed it and one of the things about donald trump is that he is about taking back sovereignty to the hands of the us electorate and that's what he's done with this now you could argue that because the treaty itself was essentially meaningless taking back all revoking the us signature on that treaty was also entirely just symbolic but that was that very important about donald trump reaffirming u.s. sovereignty to his to his support base the treaty itself has done zero to. the international trade armaments and has done zero to actually effectively effectively stop.

weapons trade internationally being used for inhumane purposes when weapons by definition are inhumane countries and such societies do have a right to defend themselves militarily that's the essence of the balance of power is the essence of peacemaking is that you have to have capability in order to achieve that so the treaty was designed to stop a lot of the trade in international weapons that effectively work against smaller countries which have had to import their weapons in order to provide for their national defense does that mean then that the us affectively could just sell arms to wherever they wanted. they always have been able to do that as have most countries around the world the reality is that most countries only sell weapons when they hope to gain some increase in their security or well being or sovereign

strategic objectives united states has in the past sold weapons to countries which have been violated bilateral agreements with the united states for example united states sold a lot of weapons to turkey on the basis that they would never be used against another nato member but then in nineteen seventy four the turkish military used those u.s. weapons to invade and conquer and subjugate the northern third of the republic of cyprus for example the us has not been able to do anything about it but the reality is that any influence meant by an arms exporter on its client can only be effective if they have some something they can hold over the the client state if it's really so ineffective this t.d.y. why does the earth see the need to pull out and they just stay in and sort of keep up with this show. well one of the things about dog trouble is that he's trying to avoid the hypocrisy of these symbolic gestures by by leftist presidents

such as president obama this is important for his his audience which is why you know that at the national rifle association. so basically he's about saying look i'm going to repudiate this ypocras which the united states has been living with for some talk. what does need to be done and if this treaty doesn't do the job what needs to be done to stop countries selling arms. to to countries involved in conflicts yemen's the obvious example where you know that human rights abuses are being carried out what needs to be done. well certainly human rights abuses are taking place away over the world for a variety of ways and wind up with a you do with the case of yemen is is a classic case and the fact is that even germany which says that it won't supply weapons to saudi arabia for example to use in yemen has really gone back on there

but this becomes a matter of individual conscience for each country if they really want to pick. an improved outcome in yemen then a lot more pressure these to be placed on saudi arabia and the united arab emirates . pleasure to speak to my guess gregory copley president of the international strategic studies association thanks so much thank you ok i think you're right that state for me for they say they were coming within a cultural bringing up to date in half an hour. when the old maid just manufacture can be sentenced to public wealth. when the ruling classes protect themselves. when the final merry go round lifts only the one percent. of the time

we can all middle of the room six. million real news. of a government just created to platform against this dialogue because their platform does not allow any compromise in their platform talks about serving crimes how serbia should pay for iterations. being an artificial state cos of us simply thinks that everything is already told us when they wake up from their lucian's they will have to face it sarah the reality of. american politics it's only going to tent city and the notion that somebody's playing games at the margins of the election could dictate even

influence the outcome is frankly is frankly absurd to food to compare russia with the other states to notice states has been fall or. in influencing the domestic politics of other countries. than russia. and we don't know what facebook's aims are in fact facebook. doesn't know what its aims are because it's going to be the sum total of all the people who are working on these algorithms a whistleblower someone who used to work for facebook came forward last year and said i was one of the news curators at facebook a bunch of us used to sit around every day and we used to remove stories from the news feed that were too conservative and now and then we inject a story that we thought was really cool. the facebook founder mark zuckerberg says

he's committed to giving everyone a voice news from responding to an allegation that facebook edits conservative views out of its trending topics they can sit back and types of results based on what they think you should be seeing based on what your followers are presenting now a new report claims that according to a former facebook employee the social media mega company sometimes ignores what is actually trending among its billion users if the story originated from a conservative news source or if it's a topic causing buzz among conservatives. facebook costly manipulates or users they do it by the things that they insert into the news feeds they do it by the types of posts they allow their users to see and the fact that they actually decided to do psychological experiments on the users is something that i think a lot of people need to really fully understand and they were doing it based upon

the fact that different things that people posted they want to see how other people would react to it. to help watch what your facebook friends posts can have a direct effect on your mood new research shows the more negative posts you see the more negative you could become. so if for example let's say somebody wanted to post something that was on the news feed that was a very negative story they want to see how their users would react via their likes by their statements for their posts and they would show people who. already had a predilection to maybe having some depression or maybe having some other issues in their lives and they can figure that out based upon your like space upon your connections based upon where you're going and so what they want to do is take that information and then use it to basically weaponize this information against their users so that way their users could see different things that may affect their mood .