eh. eh eh eh oh. syrian government forces push deeper into adlib dislodging al qaeda linked fighters from dozens of villages and the sound of the rubble promised. also this hour punishing looters the french government introduces a new tax on your bees and trucks and it's a battle to reduce carbon emissions. and research shows u.k. weapon sales to the saudi led coalition in yemen have spiked dramatically in the last 5 years despite britain being signed up to the arms trade treaty.

and very warm welcome to the program from all of us here at our teacher in moscow thanks for joining us this hour. the syrian military is making significant gains as it attempts to wrest back control of the country's final opposition enclave over the course of a week long the ground offensive in southern province government forces are reported to have displaced as a misfires from around 40 bill just the campaign is causing concern in western capitals though as mine goes to explain. the wall since asaad made headline news it's been everyone but america selling out its allies and pilfering syrian oil . claims of bias that the. but no last until now. thousands of syrians forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives as hundreds of ground and air strikes hit the region of it late overnight some thursday part of a new ground offensive by syrian government forces. russian backed government

forces of intensified the bombing campaign well of course i will go to the camps near the turkish border to escape from and rockets the syrian military has been a bit of a role capturing a slew of villages and towns and media days of course whenever that happens the media and his opponents exploded out of rage same thing every time we want a peaceful resolution we want talks we want. we want we want we want with do with al qaida. it live is ruled by a high at the sharm an offshoot of al qaida h.g.'s feeds on war and

drinks violence it turned deadly into a cesspool of zealots and fanatics mercenaries and foreign jihad ists on a world war i mean the fact that evil is where they found the founder of isis it's the safest place you could find qana gives it away and h.g.'s refuses any negotiation with the syrian government are you seeing the issue here how do you get a peaceful resolution when one of the biliteral is a homicidal maniac that just wants to cut your head off in the name of god or interest lies in killing the terrorist in order to protect the civilians not leaving those civilians. under the supervision of the terrorist and being killed by a bit of the issue here is refugees for now civilians have fled from the immediate war zone but they have to do somewhere and the safest place for now is north. look

50000 people are once again coming from egypt to our lands we already have 4000000 people and now another 50000 are coming and this main crease even further russian and turkish diplomats are in overdrive trying to manage what's happening and prepare for what's to come it is absolutely clear that the status quo is over america selling out its allies and camping out in oil fields turkey diluting kurdish territories with arab refugees and now it lip the last islamist stronghold if it falls it will mean the end of the syrian civil war it will mean as sad wins. the military operation in need province is in line with the policy goals set by bashar al assad the aim is to liberate the entire territory of the syrian arab republic that. it is their right to clear and to extend the.

sovereign the fear of the state in danger. is what they're doing at present sooner or later i believe that the syrian army will expose these people from from being flippant from bent out of the syrian territory and i don't think that it is this stoppable from mali it may be difficult it may take some time but sooner or later they are going to be expelled from from the syrian territory understandably those who spent billions fled in syria with weapons and ammo with fighters and propaganda they don't want that to happen so certainly logical for them to insist on impossible talks so long as he's wasting his time waiting for the other side to pick up the phone the turks can continue colonizing northern syria the americans can continue pumping out its oil we're now at the last

domino and it's. with france's groans all of popular anger over controversial pension reform plans showing no signs of subsiding the new year only looks set to add to some people's economic woes the government is now preparing to introduce a bruising tax hike on the most polluting vehicles and order to meet tough new targets reporting from paris here charlatans. as presents are being wrapped from under the christmas tree is the french government has given its citizens a gift that they may want to return it's passed a new law to increase taxes on s.u.v.s and trucks meaning that vehicles that pollute the most will pay you more from $20.00 to $20.00 the new pollution tax will come with a $20000.00 euro price tag that's up from the current $12.00 and a half 1000 you raise it's no doubt that s.u.v.s are heavy polluters but despite that they are still popular in france making up some 30 percent of sales in the 1st

11 months and 2019 so want to drive us in paris make of the tax hike even a. it's true that those vehicles consume a lot but people have to get around people who work every day when they need those types of vehicles for warmth it's be true there is no other way to earn money. everything's increasing in price nowadays and we've seen the whole country on strike the government can tax the citizens but eventually they will have no choice but to protest it's unfair in france you have to pay and pay and pay taxes are rising while salaries a stay in the same new tax comes on top of already tough new measures are to european level to lower car emissions many governments are pushing people in the direction of boy electric cars which is seen as being greener and better for the environment but at the same time the french government is actually considering reducing cash incentives for new electric cause perhaps not great news for those

who are thinking of buying one from also plans to ban fossil fuel cars within the next 20 years in paris they could be banned in the next 10 years to do people here feel that they are being pushed by higher taxes vehicles that use traditional fuel towards electric cars. it's a natural progression that was seen one which will lead. more and more electric cars. and that cost why not it's a good we can use them in our country if the government helps us to buy electric cars why not but otherwise it refer to drive my car even if it pollutes it's not that bad and there are other concerns was many people say they want to be green charging points for electric vehicles are still not widespread while still in paris there are plenty of around the city elsewhere that's not always the case. we need to have enough places to recharge them in addition to service center this

is the same as with cycling. we're long way behind we have to develop cycle lanes and we have to develop charging stations. or the vehicles in front seem to be developed but that's not the case. on france even the president doesn't set a good example travels by car while we travel by food by bicycle by scooter so it seems there are still many mental barriers for people even thinking about buying electric cars but as the cost of taxes on fossil fuel vehicles are set to steeply roys they may feel that there is no other choice. altie paris. meanwhile across the channel the u.k. is also looking to go green police in britain have spent over $8000000.00 pounds on electric cars which critics say are not fit for purpose a story later in the program. it must be top of the us

democrats christmas wish list to see donald trump kicked out of the white house but the president seems to be spending the holidays full of good cheer saying he's in a very good position ahead of a summit trial and with that in mind the artist ask a teller and bites you now for a cheeky impeachment drinking game. disclaimer if you're not 18 change channels and those 18 plus is out drink responsibly 3 months ago 3 long months ago the impeachment inquiry against donald trump was announced and now the house of representatives a say in my go for a double whammy and impeach trump for a 2nd time if more evidence comes to light so since we're clearly in it for a while yet and it's christmas off to roll we've come up with a little bit of a libation based game pick a drink. so let's lay down the rules if ok when trump takes a swipe at knott's post he also says that it's all a witch hunt bottoms up but slow and steady wins the race let's make it

a half he does that a lot off the wall then if politicians uncharacteristically locate their moral compass and decide no one is above the law. no one is above the law president trumps continued actions but the rule of law is that america no one is above the law we vote to defend the constitution and our democracy so that the president trump and every future president would know that they are not above the law now and the stakes if the republicans admit the troubles may be probably protect just a little bit naughty drain that just joking that's never going to happen but for any republican who steps forward to defend his needa truth is because if that has been one moment of clarity in this whole saga it's about 2 camps if you blew your about the merry impeachments hash tag if you're right you'll probably be reporting the hash tag and seeing red ok so if a journalist got

a bit tipsy at the christmas party and betrayed the oath of objectivity sally looked and said journalist is better and thinks that writing trump equals bad articles is a good cover for his bias so i'm take a and before i forget if anything to do with mother russia sneaks a mention. that might be the one to tip you over the. letter you know friend primary objectives within the united states or so as to foment unrest for their nation or t. is putin's propaganda machine here in the united states i think you've got the gist but in case you were in any doubt any mention of a quid pro quo it's a simple question yes or no i don't recall bribery business i did not have sexual relations and one speech meant but seriously i wasn't joking about the dems gunning for a 2nd impeachment if that is. they managed to wring out evidence suggesting that trump somehow obstructed the investigation but we all know it's unlikely to need to anyway i mean even donalds that he broke a sweat i don't feel like i'm being impeached why would he sure the democrat

controlled house of representatives can possibly as many impeachment articles as they want but the senate needs to sign off on booting the president from the white house and the senate is carney controlled by the republicans making not a bit of a long shot maybe not need to finally recognize that shouting impeachment trumped the election quite the opposite in fact it seems america actually quite nice this particular dog probably why they chose him in the 1st place goodness that was exhausting my need to drink. there's been a sharp rise in the u.k. weapons sales to saudi arabia and its coalition partners over the last 5 years that's despite britain having signed up to a treaty designed to prevent arms exports to rights abusers increase has been calculated by oxfam which says it's deeply concerned over the way weapons have been used in the conflict in yemen according to the charity in the 5 years since the

arms trade treaty came into force the u.k. has licensing deals worth nearly 6 and a half 1000000000 pounds to 8 members of the saudi coalition and the 5 years before the agreement was adopted london sold 4.4 pounds worth of weapons to those countries now the arms trade treaty it was adopted on christmas eve in 2014105 sovereign states ratified the accord and a further 33 signed up as well it regulates the arms trade in order to prevent human suffering and ensure weapons are not sold to those who violate human rights back then the british government was also keen to stress its importance. the a.t.t. is the only legally binding treaty regulating on promoting legitimate and responsible trading conventional arms he remains a unique and valuable instrument with tanner from oxfam told us that the increase in sales shows that britain isn't abiding by the treaty it signed. when the arms trade treaty came into effect the u.k. was a real champion of that treaty unfortunately those 2 countries that we in yemen

know party to not war in yemen have actually increased and i think this is being sick know that you're yemen world's worst humanitarian crisis right now and the u.k. and far from kind of living up to the treaty and and the word is that treaty has has continued to so countries in both new country where we know international intamin know is has been disregarded. with pressure mounting the british government has had to put arms sales to saudi arabia on hold in june the court of appeal said they were unlawful and made without assessing if the gulf state had violated humanitarian law in yemen as expected the government will appeal the decision and the supreme court saudi arabia's intervention in yemen started in 2015 to fight who think rubbles who they see as terrorists however it's the level of civilian casualties and the conflicts that are of major concern.

ruth tanner again says there is clear evidence rob has committed human rights violations in yemen and that the u.k. must stop selling arms to the saudis the evidence is really i have a well meaning and that there's been consistent violations of international law and and as you say the case was really clear that. that the government needed

to you know if it was going to continue to license weapons had to be clear about what that there was a pattern of violation and that violation was clearly that so i find that height that will be upheld and i think it's. you know very sad that the government have had to try and chosen to appeal this decision and wish to continue to sow weapons that have been used in a war that is causing untold profits and homme and destruction fed to people if yemen. young eco activists in germany have had a dressing down after disrespecting their elders that's among our story still had after the short break. i.

same camera can use to smash someone's head is the same camera can use to build them a home but that's a human choosing what to do with that that's me expressing my values for the tool and that's what we need to do with artificial intelligence as well. seems wrong quotes just don't call. me. yet to shape out these days to come get educated and engage with equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground. join me every thursday on the alex simon show and i'll be speaking to give us of the world the politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then.

welcome back u.k. police are going green with a major splurge on electric cars but as i explained the vehicles are not hard up to speed. imagine being a criminal in london and you have c.c.t.v. numberplate the texas police patrols and more to keep the peace if you need to escape the police it might not be the easiest thing to do but one thing might be working in criminals favor increasingly police forces are adopting the use of electric cars and that means they may not be able to keep up with. vehicles that are less damaging to the environment are struggling to cope with the arduous needs of emergency service autonomous driving and safety systems are not

conducive to pursuit or response driving and even if the electric police cars could keep up they might not last very long because the batteries they use would soon run out plug in electric cars do not have adequate range and they take too long to charge up which is a significant challenge the motivation behind the deployment of these cars is desired by the police to be more eco friendly figures from 30 police forces across the country show that 448 green vehicles have been leased or bought by the police at a cost of around a $1000000.00 and a half pounds but now it's being reported that the vehicles are only being used for not of agencies and for police officials to travel around before they were being used in patrol situations and the metropolitan police have set themselves and i'm bishop target to cut all of their vehicle emissions to 0 by 2050 a politician should be checking always. ensure the public house but leave for money

because truly the money is very much needed are in place also has across the country to. share with all all sorts of crime she just always had to improve and. credential or start to be a strange not citizen poll for heights. will. clearly because it's only the cause of prove that in effect in this in other countries in september police in the u.s. were forced to give up a chase with suspected crooks in the back 3 in their test the police vehicle went dead british police are making a noble effort in the war on climate change but the cost could be a price to pay in the war on crime. a german environmental group affiliated with eco activist proud of tom burke has

caused outrage by insulting the older generation on social media the youth group fridays for future germany posted a tweet saying why do our grandparents keep lecturing us every year they will soon be gone whether they were being silly or sinister and german politicians including the environment ministry were quick to fire back i don't think you are doing yourself any favors with this tweet you can get crazy every time you get any criticism and constantly demand more respect then throw a tantrum it undermines your legitimate concerns climate protection is everyone's concern and as a social g.t. for every generation tasteless and glad that the majority of young people in germany do not think this way we must be respectful to other generations and not only during christmas after the backlash the activists issued an apology saying it was meant as a joke we are ribera from the reactionary times opinion website things in any case the arguments in the climate debate are somewhat overblown. this type of rhetoric

in these types of tweets and you know it only really resonates with the fringe the far out reaches of the environmental movement within their mania their climate you know induced mania they really truly believe that having too many humans on earth is going to lead to a catastrophic apocalypse which is absolutely ridiculous because the evidence just doesn't support that narrative climate alarmism you know created a superstar out of gratitude and they're going to create more superstars in 2020 and it's only going to get worse but that's unfortunately the ignorance of youth if we believed all of these environment environmentalist and all of their crazy predictions over the past 3040 years i mean if they were true men and right now would be underwater. britain's guardian newspaper has been forced to amend an article it published last year about russia's role in an alleged plot to extract

julian assange from the ecuadorian embassy and london raf national takes up the story. the crime and the punishment the guardian newspaper gave a misleading pression to readers and was forced to clarify that its article was well something that you might be tempted to call fake news the piece in question published in september last year claimed that russia had a secret christmas plot to smuggle julian assange out of the ecuadorian embassy in london to moscow a tentative plan was devised that would have seen that we call expounder taken out of london embassy in a diplomatic biko and transported to another country one ultimate destination multiple sources have said was russian the involvement of russian officials in hatching what was described as a basic plan raises new questions about a san just ties to the kremlin but they investigate which was led by a high profile panel of academics and journalists and last 13 months found that the

authors got carried away with some of their claims the plan in relation to mr sanders ability to be able to leave they could door an embassy was not devised instigated by russia there was nothing illicit about the plan as described in the article the investigation was triggered by a formal complaint from the former consul of ecuador 3 they'll not a virus described several of the papers assertions as falls and defamatory r.t. talked to him they talk about secret talks of russian diplomats in london and they have put trained me us this past contact with. the kremlin in order to execute some kind of plot that's why i feel 'd that their article needed to be challenge. and i myself need to have an apology from the guardian apology there happen but

their review panel has. decided. and has ruled that the article was indeed misleading breach in the heart of conduct of the press in the united kingdom but i'm not completely satisfied with the correction the other thing is that they have not being. amend it does the article is to says that russian diplomats. secret talks in london in order to. flee the embassy that's not true and finally enough one of the journalists who penned the piece luke harding was behind another controversial article published by the guarding that piece also published last year claimed that the old transcom pain manager paul mann a ford had held secret talks with a son to an ecuadorian embassy somehow one of the most surveyed places on earth

didn't manage to capture any evidence of that alleged high profile visit the guardian didn't attract the story but detained the headline shift in the responsibility to its sources mr nigh rise has called the latest corrections he story journalistic fiasco for the guardian for again publishing false information that's not the only article does a part owned by the same mouth those are the same out there there's a pattern they have accused of spying into the embassy they have. several articles which i mentioning in my complaint. as a partan from the same journalese which i have disgraced the newspaper in his complaint mr not a virus accuses journalists of hiding behind confidential sources the article indeed cited various sources and it seems by sources they probably meant their

imagination. that's our global news update for this hour but don't forget you can always had to our website r.t. dot com for the details on all those stories and many more. max and stacey are continuing on our south american tour and as you can see behind me we are in rio de janeiro oh my god so beautiful so much going on this is a country and transition. where there's. no room light up and little. my name is drawn more than i was for it is to die in prison by the exploration of love my life. take a stick grab some media attention i mean it's a shooting in

a 16 year olds to 16 birthday party south side and the place was held a lot of pressure channel closed the case. for us i think just. it's like i couldn't believe those. you know i've testified to draw more than the sure don't want peace be with us that all of the issues because i was standing right next to. me for is because you got to keep in mind one thing doing those 1617 zones so. these could lose monday night just wondering does appear that the train. pulled food really. for more than just close to. you you have to go through now the true. you know world of big part of the lot and conspiracy it's time to wake up

to dig deeper to hit the stories that made the stream media refuses to tell more than ever we need to be smarter we need to stop slamming the door on the back and shouting past each other it's time for critical thinking it's time to fight for the middle for. the truth the time is now for watching closely watching the hawks. from.