and that's where we can be clever because of the dumb way of trying to get the world back from the from the wealthy. russia deployed its state of the art album god's hypersonic missile system for combat duty. a passenger planes crashed in kazakhstan and some train shot killing 12 the back light came down shortly after takeoff with 98 on board. after years of tension with the u.s. allies that iran and russia and china hold joint on terror drills in the gulf of oman. and right activists supporting on the u.k. defense ministry to compensate service personnel who were expelled from the military because of their sexuality we got reaction to that i think we need to recognize the real pain and suffering that the subjected to these men and we hear

this all the time from from various groups that we should treat people in the past because they were less you'd like to go. it's 3 pm here in moscow where you are in the all blacks tuning into office international this friday afternoon. and let's start off with the story of russia's state of the art album god hypersonic missile system has been deployed for combat duty the country's defense ministry has briefed the media this friday on the weapon which can carry both and conventional warheads. and we can talk through this with more ethanol maria tell us what are the key points that count came out of this meeting. well you have just heard russia's defense minister may sound a little bit humble but don't be mistaken this is a moment you might be tempted to call the story crushes haven't guard hypersonic

missile system is now officially deployed for combat duty. reported about the president why. porton it is only so far about one regiment unclear when or even other russian army's parts will be upgraded the evan guard hypersonic glider is said to be able to put in trade any both existed in perspective defense is truly revolutionary weapon let's take a look at some of the key features of it. the oven god hypersonic vehicle can fly it up to 20 times the speed of sound an i.c.b.m. will take it to an altitude of several dozen kilometers from where it can dive head 1st back to earth a top speed with a crop like maneuverability dodging and missile defenses in contrast when other existing ballistic missiles return to the atmosphere they fly at a pre-set trajectory making the target for a.b.m.

systems. the last month russia showcased its advantage or a top notch truly weaponry to add team of u.s. military inspectors truly unprecedented move they explained it was an attempt to revitalize the key new start treaty nuclear weapons reduction agreement the only one left between russia and america it expires next february and theories are it may not be extended well of for 2 whole days the american expiries had a chance to be very close to this top notch system it is unclear so far how or if it influences washington's position this is what my dear putin had to say about russia's advanced weaponry. you see when you should you notice when you can minister to us in their shoes today there is a unique situation in a new and contemporary history other countries now have to catch us up no other

country in the world has a hypersonic weapon nobody has a hypersonic weapon with a coast to coast range. well russia's successful development and successful tests of very advanced our weaponry caused quite a stir in washington when it was 1st announced last year but more stories always read to rating that it is only looking for better relations with america especially in the fields of nuclear strategic cooperation back to you quote something of very exciting military innovation for russia will be following the marathon from such moscow many thanks. we also got reaction to this from geo political analyst ron a who told me that the missile system is of significant importance to russia. the hype and missile system is the latest in the war it is a far better in terms of technology when you compared what the u.s.

has what china has but again the defend their deal at the one time i want to send a message to the to the u.s. that they are far ahead in terms of technology when it comes to missile system but at the same time. as indication that you're getting from the national defense in the sea that clearly suggest that additional have also sent a message to the u.s. that they won't this new start treaty to continue after a 2021 diplomatically speaking i think and from defense point of view is assuring us shot off a big effect offensive diplomacy essential to diplomacy in the sense that it has come up with a hypersonic missile system which is a far better then what u.s. has but at the same time the underlying message is very clear that. is open. sure could ology disinterested system that it has introduced and basically conducting the u.s. allegations that the i.n.f.

treaty was cool af because the because the u.s. shield was she could of in missiles program. it's assad he's coming from central asia a passenger plane has crashed shortly after taking off from port and kazakstan killing 12 people and dozens injured including children could hear ya through the night like we could do the 100 took up or do you. believe it or not primarily where you can be going right i don't even put. her. through. this is. this of for. you know the other little. difference of kuwait other you have to consider look at the reservist is a risk. not a. as the shows it was a border of the arab world you would use your perception to. look at those

pictures and we realize what a tragedy it is for kazakstan only a few days before new year's eve but if there is a case in which the words good news could be appropriate after a plane crash this is the one because right now we already understand that the doctors have confirmed that the majority of the people who were on board survived which means that this couldn't have been a nose dive from a high altitude what actually happened was that this back air flight took call from the airport in almaty which is the biggest city in kazakhstan it was still dark there about 20 minutes past 7 but then quickly started losing altitude then it hit a concrete barrier before crashing into a small building this was just a 2 story building i can tell you that like i said it's the biggest city it's a big metropolitan area the airport is not that far from it so there are suburban

areas residential areas surrounding the airport so this is apparently where the plane and it up the captain of the aircraft is among the dead what about the plane itself well this is a medium sized twin turbo fan short range regional jet it's called focker 100 it was produced by a dutch company before it went bankrupt up until one thing 97 but this particular plane was 23 years old so it was one of the final ones to be produced by that company it's still that widely operated by 2 major airlines in australia for example as a regional jet by quantas and virgin it's also being operated by an iranian airline and back air this was actually the only type of aircraft that they have and while this is a big company in. kazakstan it is the 2nd most popular domestic airline that people use there for domestic flights so the onus now on the catholic authorities of coast

to establish exactly what happened what if they don't so clearly grounded all flights by that type of aircraft and like i said just because its fleet only consists of this particular aircraft now they're out of operation for how long right now we don't know many people are still in critical condition so the doctors are fighting for their lives the president promised that those responsible for the crash will definitely be punished i can tell you that this particular airline was going through some financial difficulties lately but previous the no incidents with its aircraft had led to any kind of fatalities because of all considering 2 possible reasons for the tragedy either pilot error or a technical malfunction geoffrey thomas from ratings dot com gave us his thoughts on what could have gone wrong. early indications point to 2 possible causes one

is that as we can see snow sleet snow everywhere it was very very cold icing conditions and it may well have been that the plane was not correctly d.-i still not diaz did all and if there's of buildup of ice on the wing as soon as the plane takes off you're going to have a situation where you would get the lift over the top of the wing the air over the top of the wing is disturbed therefore you lose lift the plane or you reach now 2 to 40 feet and then crash back to earth. and the other thing we but there's a possibility there was an engine problem we know the aircraft reached takeoff speed of about 175 miles an hour and then quickly that speak quickly to within a 2nd or 2 of takeoff back to a 148 and that's when all the data was lost. so possible engine problems possible icing problem on the wings. and now the big story for this afternoon

iran china and russia are due to start joint naval exercises in the indian ocean on the gulf of oman however with at the location a flashpoint between iran and the u.s. in the past some believe that's what the 12. despite what the official line is. through was part of the upcoming naval drills are aimed at deepening exchange and corporation among the names of the 3 countries on war and displays the 3 sides strong will and capabilities to jointly maintain world peace and maritime security while actively building a maritime community with a shared future. this isn't just a military exercise it's a it's a political statement the strait of hormuz is the world's most important oil artery a 5th of the oil flows. through it 21 percent of global supply every day

it's a crazy amount and as with oil the strait is highly flammable we begin with this dramatic escalation of tension between iran and the west or serious provocation tonight in the strait of hormuz after iran seized a british tanker iran seizing control of a british oil tanker u.k. is accusing iranian boats of trying to intercept a british oil tanker and they seem to be no end to this escalation washington and everyone with a warship or regiment to spare seem to be rushing into the persian gulf i mean wasn't the nicest neighborhood to begin with what with saudi arabia and iran mortal enemies facing off across the top of channels and when it seemed like things couldn't get worse they did.

the attack was launched from the north and was in question a response of by iran amid all the calls for deescalation iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply. having failed at max pressure secretary turning to max deceit blaming iran won't end disgust or right at the edge of the precipice cooler heads prevailed things calmed down somewhat everyone's figure is still in the trigger but it's more a diplomatic battle now for example trump still pressing on with his sanctions trying to force iran to abide by a nuclear deal that trump himself pulled out of big protest in iran as well helped along by washington. the exercise is officially unrelated to this crisis it's an anti pirate an anti

terror drill it's also a very clever move by iran pressured and threatened as it is by america to ron decided to cool who has some friends apparently for a friendly sailed together china and russia the 2nd and 3rd most powerful militaries in the world as i said pretty clever in a wide ranging interview with r.t. iran's chief foreign policy adviser spoke defiantly about how his country was bearing up under u.s. sanctions and on cooperation with moscow. russia is our strategic partner our relations are very dynamic developing is a bilateral regional and international partnership currently there are no relations between iran and us iran's representatives will not negotiate with the americans until the us rejoins the p 5 plus one group we've been living under your sanctions for 40 years now from time to time they would ease the sanctions then crank them up again however iran has learned to adapt to get around the sanctions you'll need

more than just sanctions to subdue such a big and powerful nation is a wrong it has sea and land borders with a total length of more than 8000 kilometers and it borders on 15 countries we have already experienced all kinds of sanctions both before and after the war with iraq we know how to run our country despite any american sanctions you're watching are still ahead kicked out of the british military for being gay now there's a push for compensation it's on that story in just under 90 seconds. and the united states presidential candidates debate the future of the u.s. and the world. next kaiser and stacy herbert dig into the burning questions of this election cycle one self big every week wealth tax student debt trade wars

corporate money universal basic. and more catch up with what's front running this sunday exclusively on r.t. . most people think to stand out in this business you need to be the 1st one on top of the story or the person with the loudest voice of the biggest raid in truth to stand out on the news business you just need to ask the right questions and demand the right answer. question.

welcome back it's a tradition of the holiday season for world leaders heads of state and major organizations to deliver greetings they usually wrap up the passing year and generally express hope for a prosperous and happy future but this it seems there are a few messages out but here are some corkers i found out here. christmas the time of year when people gather together to celebrate the bonds of friendship and family as a side note a very awkward period for the brits have to regular engage an eye contact accept well wishes and feign merriment or at the same time sorry this is not my weekly therapy session but anyway we've all grown tired of repeating the same old merry christmas and in a bid to keep good old yuletide going and make it all trendy in 21st century all the world over people are getting creative with the traditional greeting sometimes though they how to best put it misjudge the mood while some gingerbread houses

we do so i get to go with them $35.00 jet merry christmas to christian soldiers and those celebrating around the world i'm a big fan of gingerbread but one in the shape of an f. $35.00 jet which are regularly used to conduct our strikes over gaza just hours after the i.d.f. admitted that a raid in the gaza strip to 9 members of a single family was a mistake i think i'll give it a miss as apparently will many others yes nothing says merry christmas like a freaking war machine all you're missing is some gingerbread bombs to drop on some gingerbread palestinians maybe the i.d.f. had a brainstorm session with donald trump because his festive wishes also struck a song but tone i think someone forgot to tell him that joy. it's a contractual obligation in december on behalf of the entire trump family we wish everyone a joyous merry christmas but can you blame him at the end of the year we're all tired poor thing couldn't even hide the fact he was reading off

a prompter though he does have other things on his plate i suppose like his possible removal from office even as usually bellicose tweets have been a bit like cluster of late no caps lock no explanation marks that kind of thing also jumping in head fast to the whirlpool of christmas for parts u.s. customs and border protection they congratulated santa for not scaling and he was sorry chimneys this year and applying for his visa on time like you'd expect it went down like a sack of presents hundreds of kids in texas are spending christmas eve taking care of each other freezing cold insufficient food water medical attention hygiene resources no contact with their parents many as young as one hope you brought gifts for these kids. he missed the stop and across the pond things want much better queen elizabeth the 2nd film test 67th christmas speech you think after all these years she'd have it down pat but it's been a tough year for poor queenie what with prince andrew clearly not being

a natural in t.v. interviews perry marrying an american divorcee so a divorcee crying on t.v. about being bullied by the very people who pay the heating bill of buckingham palace harry saying that he and william are fighting harry being a climate activist while jetting around a private jets her story not my weekly therapy session so instead of the usual merry christmas one and all they got this and returned filled. with small steps can make a world of difference. a very legal way of defining being on the brink of a constitutional crisis our fingers crossed hoping your son didn't spend nights sweating away with a convicted sex offender and then the icing sugar on top of the your blog the un decided to pick the day christ was born to talk about how motherhood is a real chore which will apparently leave you poor bond employed and most likely gender discriminated against i wonder if mary and joseph consider these downsides as the road to bethlehem so yeah it's tough to know how to wish people while at

this time of year but i don't want to miss out on the fun so mary day the christ was born but only if you recognize christ i'm not forcing anything on you so let's just say it's a winter holiday if the time winter doesn't offend this is a safe space after all totally up to you how you want to celebrate this day or not your call. rights activists in britain are calling on the defense ministry to compensate more than 150 people who say they were expelled from the military because of their sexuality l g b t campaigners say that the armed forces past policy of discrimination did untold damage to the lives of many service personnel and the victims must receive redress . many people suffered horribly under officially sanctioned discrimination and persecution as a result of the ban on l g b t plus people in the armed forces the m.d.c. has been far too slow to offer proper pull edges and the recompense for their

suffering ministers should be doing all they can to put this right gay people was banned from serving in the british armed forces until the european court of human rights rolled the policy on lawful in 2000 since then the mit has paid out 4000000 pounds in compensation it says has settled 51 cases of discrimination over 100 other claims have been either rejected withdrawn or l g b t activist insists though that many more military personnel unlikely to have been affected by the ban meeting a british rights campaigner peter tatchell says thousands of people were forced out of the military between the late forties and the time of the century in the eighty's he says as many as 300 people worked out in the course of their sexuality in many cases this had a severe impact on service members' lives the movie does accept that the policy was unjust we are aware of fewer than 200 cases in which individuals may have been

dismissed on the grounds of their sexuality although we accept that there may be cases that are known about where except our policy in respect of serving homosexuals in the military was wrong discriminatory and unjust to the individuals involved peter tatchell who i mentioned earlier and andre walker new york observer columnist and political commentator gave us that reaction to this issue. i think we need to recognize the real pain suffering that was subjected to these men they not only lost their job and their income but because they're in the forces they lost their forces accommodation their home they also lost their pension rights and many of their friends at the time the law of the law and barred gay people from being in the military there are similar rules that ban people being in the military for a variety of reasons medical conditions what have you thrown out the purpose of the armed forces to protect and defend the united kingdom that is their primary role they were not bad soldiers otherwise perfect service records but of course some of

the people who signed up didn't realize they were gay when they enlisted their only realized much later on in their career and it would be very very perverse to punish people on the basis that they should have known they were gay back when they signed up when they were 1617 or 18 years old but we hear this all the time don't we for various groups that we should treat people in the past as idiots because they were less in lights and those what is going to be difficult here is if it's so at some point in the future we change our opinion then we're suddenly compensating people from the past are my concern is there any organization or group or political view might be able to come forward in the future and attempt to sue or get compensation out of the british government so i think it is fair and reasonable to say that these men do deserve compensation commensurate with the suffering and injustice that they serve the numbers currently under compensation is tiny indeed

a tiny fraction of the numbers who were victimized by this unjust law what we need is a military that is capable of fighting and we need commanders not politicians or indeed rights activists to decide who military personnel are and how they're deployed. and to round off our bulletin for this our mexico. claims it's observed a heightened number of police and security agents around its embassy in the city of la possibly libya describing it as a siege it also says it's going to file a complaint against bolivia's interim government at the international court of justice in the hague. is that will start we are addressing the entire international community because not even join the worst moments of the military coups of the 19 seventies and $980.00 s. was the integrity of mexican embassy buildings or residences ever put at risk. the mexican foreign ministry claims the number of security agents started to increase on tuesday and comes off to the country gave refuge to a group of politicians loyal to ousted president evo morales but libya's foreign

minister however says that it was actually the mexican ambassador who requested more security she says also that mexico will have to retract the accusations. i considered illegal for the city because no one can file a lawsuit based on unproven facts of presumptions from the mexican foreign ministry . a political analyst we spoke to believes the bolivia's a new government is trying to put pressure on anyone that supports either moralez every country is bound to protect i respect every diplomatic representation in every country do something very clear under international law so in that sense makes it go it's great where he's breaking the law he did not we were trying to put pressure on any country that would support evo morales that's the point of the garment. to be or prevent any possibility that the rally supporters not only going to win the next election but any possibility of

more lives coming bug big trickle supported morale is because they are on the say we're all related in relation to most what is really a democracy morales stopped being a precedent because we called it our mexico he's against that could it entirely. that's all from me you've had quite enough for me i'm sure much more on these stories that ought to dot com so check it out and don't go anywhere quite yet there because up next it's political. same camera can use to snare 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.

in brazil. it's awesome it's beautiful it's gorgeous i think if you were running a country. rain forest what would you do it. how's donald trump's impeachment drama playing overseas we'll have a provocative one on one with russian studies expert stephen cohen on this edition of. the politics. donald trump student teacher and drama has dominated politics in the

united states how is it being received around the world especially in russia stephen cohen is a russia scholar who advised president george h.w. bush on the former soviet union and his top russian studies at princeton and n.y.u. some critics have called him putin's number one american apologist he contends he's a patriot of american national security and his latest book is war with russia from putin and ukraine to trump and russia gate he joins me from new york thankful 1st to call on all right thank you very hows all this politicking thing this debate this. was was going on the united states how's it playing in russia. well they may be right they may be wrong it's something to discuss but what we are calling russia gate and i guess now ukraine gate that is these charges against

trump that he has some nefarious ties to the kremlin in russia itself in the and i'm speaking now the people me very the people in russia who study the united states they're my counterparts russia they study the united states they interpret these charges against trump as being logged because trump ran and he was elected on a program of quote cooperating with russia in fact i recall vividly you and i doing an interview together and we were both struck by trump's promise that he would cooperate with russia at that time i guess it was 216 the cold war was heating up and that was unusual and i took the position with you know i was not a trump person that that was a good thing but in russia today and i.