week's top stories on the u.s. accuses iran of attacking to oil tankers in the gulf they claim the terror on denies calling it sabotage diplomacy. survivors of the grand fire in london a legal battle against 3 u.s. companies whose products and legibly contributed to the tragedy. of the on american imports after donald trump with all countries special trade status. this is the week here a lot international with me. time for our top stories are from the last 7 days and

later up to date news welcome to the program. turned to the sword between the united states and iran this week after washington accused iran of attacking to all time because in the gulf of oman on thursday the u.s. claims no one else in the region had the capacity to carry out the act u.s. central command released a grainy video which it claims shows iranian special forces removing an unexploded mine from one of the vessels the owner of the tanker those says the crew reported being hit by flying projectiles iran for its part has accused the u.s. of attempting to undermine peace and stability in the region and says its rival is engaging in quote sabotage diplomacy. the 2 vessels caught fire in one of the world's key oil close to the strait of hormuz is the only way in and out of the persian gulf the incident immediately elicited worldwide reaction and chicken to says you know prices with russia saying the situation could pose

a threat to the global economy with more on the story is a cannibal. so there were 2 oil tankers that were hit. probably. had reported. from us from tokyo you. don't do you remember the real being on board don't fly when i am sure but i don't want. to go into. the boat but it will do. the business so this mean that it will get on or not

supposed to be the let's go over the facts now the 1st one belongs to john fredrickson 2 he's a long time norwegian trading partner of iran his relationship with iran goes back to the 1980 s. one biography even refers to him as the ayatollah as lifeline so at a time when washington is using all kinds of pressure to try and stop or running an oil exports it really doesn't make sense for iran to then lash out and attack one of its oldest friends now the 2nd oil tanker to be hit is even more interesting this is a japanese owned chemical tanker and it was hit at the same time that japan's prime minister shinzo abbay was in tehran meeting with iran's supreme leader that. iran. from the ancient times of the persian empire into the present day has been the great country of the middle east and will remain so in the future so we're to believe that at the time that iran was making nice with japan while japan was helping them to find ways to help their oil exports keep flowing despite u.s.

sanctions that iran then turns around and decides to bomb a japanese vessel in fact iran has been rather nice to the united states in the last few days a us resident who is charged with espionage was just released as a gesture of goodwill so why would they then choose this moment to fire tar paedos in the gulf of oman the iranian foreign minister juggins aris is describing these events as suspicious reports of the tax on japan related to tank use occurred while pm was meeting with ayatollah for extensive and friendly talks suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning while iran is struggling to keep its nuclear deal intact and keep its economy afloat by selling its most prized resources on the international market like bomb peo would have us believe they then flipped out and torpedo their 2 key business partners now why exactly would iran do that well because they're the bad guys of course don't ask too many questions caleb

mop and r.t. new york where the regional tensions threatening to spill over into conflict we asked a number of guests for their assess that of the situation. washington with mr and mr of bolton are really trying to. escalate the situation so that they have an opportunity and an excuse to attack iran when they commit that you have to know to whom this crime is beneficial so as it will weaken the discuss and we can see the geopolitical situation of iran and the united states in the persian gulf we can say that the rain ians i'm not going to torpedo it heap we switch. to the americans to attack them and it's going to give the american an excuse to attack that. they ran the country of iraq there are other interested parties who could very easily been walled in this particular act which took place

in the last 24 hours could be saudi arabia could be washington itself with this fleet in the gulf region the americans not because the americans despite what donald trump always say he doesn't want to go to war he doesn't want to put boots on the ground he doesn't want to to send his troops to iraq to get killed the american people are not ready for that he just want to score a political win and get the uranian to come and discuss on the table with him in the usa once to remove the current government in tehran mr bolton has clearly been rubbing his hands with glee over the last decade when he wasn't a security advisor that he wants removal of the regime in tehran so it's only john bolton who wants to go to war but even the president from recently said that he's ready to discuss with the iranians and even my computer the secretary of state was

the hottest and who was go to war all the time he said recently that the united states is ready to negotiate with iran without any preconditions. and has held a silent march on saturday marking 2 years since the grand tower fired a shot 72 people comes after 3 u.s. firms fish produced materials used in the pelting face a lawsuit from hundreds of survivors and relatives of the victims some of the products are banned from use in u.s. skyscrapers prompting accusations of double standards. are comics and the message that foreign lives are worth less than american lives and that it is acceptable to expose people outside the united states to do. to which people in the united states would not be exposed. and i'll assume names cladding produce our. product is by the company's own admission flammable and also names that will pull the make of the refrigerator that is believed to have caused the fire and insulation made by

senior attacks is said to have released cyanide gas waiting to further avoidable fatalities. all 3 companies expressed their sympathies are with the victims will prove also no to the 2 separate probes fail to find fault with its refrigerator seal or tag said it's insulation was just one element of the cladding system used on the tower last

iconic said it would respond in court. we spoke to peter herbert co-founder of the emmy lawyers for grand file who says these multinational companies must face up to the. united states stands out a very little good aphrodite culture whereby if a multinational national company has been guilty often selling negative product or rich trail product without sufficient safeguards then they will take those previously big cases in the united states where a building collapse has resulted in damages of around about $230000000.00 to be distributed to the victims residents and not tragedy i believe there's a 2 year limitation period at least not to stir. it's the action must be tremendous but fall 2 years expires otherwise the limitation mark would rule the action outside of their limited jurisdiction of the us so it is a necessity to safeguard the legal position and at the end of the big question is

are we individuals that grown so stop with so much going to go to you but your real benefits for those of their families who are people who are after the break. that is right that must be part of it just such. a death of a syrian rebel icon true widespread media attention this week prompting impassioned debate about his legacy according to the opposition group he'd been fighting with abdel baset also it succumbed early in month to when he had sustained during clashes with government forces in hama province a former goalkeeper for syria's youth team the 27 year old shot to prominence in the early years of the uprising singing a street protests against the country's president bashar al assad widely referred to as the nightingale of the revolution he was even the subject of an award winning 2013 documentary but in the years that followed as the country deeper into gruelling sectarian conflict

a number of silent songs and statements became increasingly extreme artie's donald a quarter takes a closer look now at the controversy and the warning his report contains images of an execution. he became the poster boy of the syrian uprising or shall we say the voice. oh. and his death in battle against government forces apparently made him a fallen hero in the eyes of the media syrian footballer and singer of revolution killed in conflict. syrian soccer goalie who became rebel i can dies in battle syrian soccer star symbol of free vault dies after battle. that also roots was a former syrian footballer who turned rebel fighter and not just any rebel fighter

oh no he became an icon of the fight against bashar al assad so he wasn't shying away from speaking the truth here's one of the so-called singer of the revolutions greatest hits judge for yourself. perhaps the lyrics don't exactly communicate the artist's intended message that's all right though also it was much more articulate about his political beliefs in this 2014 interview that our vision of what we do blame islamic state. but that blame comes with love because we know that these 2 groups not politicized and have the same goals as us they are working for god and they care about islam and muslims no you didn't hear that wrong the same goals as islamic state and apparently 911

was a great accomplishment to. was good yet. there are those in the media who acknowledge it's problematic characteristics but for them a little elbow rubbing with terrorist groups shouldn't stand between him and his rightful page in the history books. some individuals celebrated as heroes make you doubt all stories of heroes in history books others like abdul basset also root not inspire of but despite his flaws make those stories highly plausible he's a true legend and his story is well documented may his soul rest in peace so if these guys got an oscar. and.

abdul deserves a grammy no less as in other. kovar western operations it becomes important to maintain this sense of plausible deniability it's clearly being useful for for the us and the us media to maintain the whole idea of there being moderate democratic forces and among the rebels in syria but clearly most of the groups fighting the government were really extreme islamist groups that's the reality and these were the groups that the cia and and its allies its british and french and saudi and qatari and turkish allies were supporting and arming from the very early

stages of this conflict. bt activists are challenging the catholic church over gender definitions that story animal after this break. in a world in which there are the americans that the chinese the indians the russians

etc europeans can only really be a player at that global top table by standing united and we are already united of the economic front and we increasingly understand that we have to do so also on the defense front. welcome back to the program india is opposing the trade tariffs on $28.00 u.s. goods in a tit for tat measure this follows donald trump's decision to withdraw new delhi's at preferential trade status for goods including steel the us president accused new delhi of failing to give washington equitable access to its market so in retaliation import taxes as high as 70 percent have been placed on u.s.

products such as almonds and apples we spoke to the editorial advisor from india's a republic t.v. who believes there is nothing equitable in global trade. it's not a train well it's a john think that's what sean does i mean he needs to make these noises he's used you know every country has constantly constantly saying i'm going to do this and we'll do of at the end there's nothing equitable in trade no more than there is anything equitable in foreign policy the big guys do what they want ok this only set interest the end tire trade the trade on is never been at the top of them you cannot compare a country of the american economy size the indian economy we are going all the countries the need each other trade means trading with each other this is business as usual. in the latest episode of artes in case you missed it polly gives the take on washington's controversial trade policies in those countries blacklisted by

terrorists. how do you launch a war without needing to fight a war in case you missed it the economy stupid. international access to the u.s. market used to be a bit like dating the rich girl next door when you were a vogue was not easy or cheap but in the end it was worth their time for those u.s. markets are now 11 and stood in a well lit window access is now expensive and even if it was worth it you know it's going to hurt so we all know that america has the biggest military in the world just levels the cost of whatever country you're in there's a good chance that there is a u.s. aircraft carrier staring right back at you so now the u.s. is a weapon raising its economy in order to fight international disputes and dominating the market is i.c.b.m.'s. teetered you saying the

intercontinental ballistic sanction ready to be deployed anywhere you need it advantages of the i.c.b.m.'s include causing misery to entire populations in countries you don't like without firing a single shot collapse the economies of your opponents and then blame the attack countries without actually having to deploy a single soldier and then accuse them of aggression and remember once deployed i.c.b.m.'s will work for decades with absolutely no effort from you just keep it fueled with a strong dollar you're going to leave the country very. traditional just because it was. sanctions are great to use against the likes of cuba venezuela last korea iran russia you know the bad guys the problem is. you can't use them against the good guys which is why i don't know for months administration has repackaged

sanctions he calls them. terrorists allow you to target friends like mexico europe canada and especially your buddies in beijing because while sanctions are used as punishment tyrants are just a normal part of global trade right the way the us has been using them is no different china has started fighting back though apparently they've started to prevent the release of american films this might all have a hollywood ending after all. the community has had times at the vatican for reiterating in a recent report that there are 2 genders male and female it was meant to tackle what the catholic church calls an educational crisis saskia taylor delves into the reason for the sudden outrage over a stance the vatican has consistently held. now you'd be forgiven for thinking the

catholic church doesn't really know what turns the public on and you'd be right in fact it's just dealt a mosque a class and turning people off the vatican has released a paper which says there are only 2 genders male and female and it's called male and female he created them just so that was no misunderstanding if we wish to take an approach to the question of gender theory that is based on the path of dialogue it is vital to bear in mind the distinction between the ideology of gender on the one hand and the whole field of research on gender that the human sciences of one's taken on the other so according to the catholics men are men and women are women and anyone who sees themselves otherwise is provocative poses a threat to the institution of marriage and seeks to overthrow nature itself on a surprisingly it's head up you know note amongst those who are outraged to find that any if you want gender theory other than that of course exists by refusing to engage in dialogue with people about their lived experiences or so from

a standing in faith the vatican remains in the dark ages for most of your false teaching the law is a myth rumor unfolds so the paper is not popular partly because it sounds like it's from the time before christ which it is it's filled with quotes from the bible after all and because it was released during pride month the 30 days every year the world celebrates the l g b t community quit but wait no where in the paper does it say being gay is sinful and in fact it condemns any discrimination and violence against people the number of men and women who have deep seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible they must be accepted with respect compassion and sensitivity to resign often just destroy a nation in their regard should be avoided now it's surely not news to outrage friends that the church struggles with accepting homosexuality and transgenderism and when they do throw in that 2 pennies worth met the by. as huge as one bishop in

rhode island blonde when he decided to chat to his view on pride month a reminder that catholics should not support or attend a pride month of vents held in june they promote a culture and encouraging t.v.'s that are contrary to catholic faith and morals and yeah it seems the people who replied must of left the christian values of kindness out the door we woke up this morning and we saw the bishop's tweet and we were honestly flabbergasted he is like the don't trump of the catholic church goes on twitter and spews out hate my catholic children will be attending pride events as this. guy always taught me what would jesus do yes i know jesus would be attending that pride parade with pride i also with pride and i also know that god is love and jesus is love and love is love the bishop apologized and decided to spread the love but the question begging

to be asta is why the surprise kids the church isn't known for being big on reform is it really shocking it's not breaking it's happen it's a pun intended that's the week a i'll be back of the top of the hour with no global update so do stay with us. next as a financial survival guide. let's learn about let's say i'm a director and here i'm greece banks have to fight. thank you for. destroying. slavery.

we had one man 3540 years old. this child in the water. some 30 fisherman well this child later in his neck. understood. that he was going to move ahead. and i thought my feet were stubborn and hurt the machine and. i believe that this is one of the therapy is to. our tom. i'm sorry to really harsh things that happened in life. join me every thursday on the alex simon show and i'll be speaking to guests of the

world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. on our journey to the moon from the genesis block we've just passed an all time high in bitcoin it's at nearly one trillion dollars in market cap it's nearly $20000.00 as we begin 2018 it is the when lambeau crowd who shows up they've seen people handed 10 x. 5 x.

20 x. returns across 2017 and again cryptocurrency not big coin necessarily looks like magic internet money that makes you wealthy and when lambeau lot of people all over the world were descending on a trip to conferences conferences particularly ones that when we 1st started going in 2011 alive $1020.00 people at a copper tariff 400-5000 people are showing up at these mega conferences and people are coming up on stage and pitching i c.e.o.'s you know dozens of them onstage one after another like bitcoin miami which is held in january 28th seen there were a lamp post parked out front and people assumed you just had to pay the $2000.00 show up at the big conference and when my lambo come that's all you have to do there's no hard work there's no proof of work there's no need to go through all the

trial and ship relations and understand big coin it is literally just buy whatever i.c.a.o. is being offered and you to become rich when lambeau sorry when lambeau. ok also above when. lambo. i think there's always going to be silly people around the desert anything to do anything i think you always have silly people i think some of this stuff which when lamb bows obvious of this stuff are parts of all world that will die away too so as we draw people to the spirit of what we've been doing creating in the space of a coin i think. that. you know activity has a shelf life or is is not the long term dusty here and now like you know we got involved in getting your you know max was so helpful in showing us the way we didn't look at it as how much was big corn were we looked at the fact that we had a new way of doing transactions how we can interact with each other he spoke about

a way that we no longer would be limited to or controlled by people who never respected us anyway so busy i think some of the leftovers of the or residuals of this current environment is kind of spilled over into this new world that we're creating but that's going to that's going to go away also 2018 continues the i.c.a.o. boom in fact more money was raised in 2018 then the epic amounts raised in 2017 and in the 1st 3 months of the year a total of $6300000000.00 is raised and i see. q one saw 59 percent as many i.c.'s raise capital as all of 2017 by september $2800.00 there was over $13000000000.00 raised for initial coin offerings these are genuinely magic internet money it's just fabricated at

a thin air sure because the market was beginning to deflate but people were not believing the bull market might be over so they were buying into it still quite aggressively and that's always the case isn't when these bull markets start to roll over the 1st 1020 percent drop is usually met with skepticism you know it's just a little bit of a pause and we'll be right back to new highs shortly and money kept piling in of course and seem cheap if you like the 20000 to love 816000 there were by this time in 201-8146 crypto hedge funds. they exploded onto the scene and 2018 this compares to in 2012 there were just 9 crypto based hedge funds the correction in 2018 was in part due to the fact that we started to actually financial eyes because in a negative way we started to have coin lending that wasn't backed by the actual coins we we started to see cation come into and we haven't even seen the.