the iraqi capital is hit by several blasts hours after thousands turned out for the funeral processions of iran's top general in iraq shia militia commander killed while the united states. we can leaks co-founder julian assange claims he's dying in prison in london plied with sedatives and subjected to 23 hours a day of solitary confinement made those allegations in a christmas phone call to a friend. rang me because he spent christmas with me and my family in 2010 while on bail what time it did. he said to me but

i'm slowly dying. i feel i. have a headline this new year new protests for hong kong after a massive turnout for 2021st rally turns violent police lawyers to disperse protesters. from moscow welcomes the weekly on r.t. international i'm daniel hawkins thanks for joining us on the program. this week and the year got off to a troubling start with tensions skyrocketing over the middle east south that i saw massive rallies and thousands turned out for the funeral procession of iran's most senior general who was killed in a u.s. airstrike in baghdad on friday iran swiftly vowed to avenge the death of. relations

with the united states plunged to a new low in both countries exchanged threats. the st of hormuz is a vital point for the west and a large number of american destroyers and warships cross their crucial american targets in the region have been identified by iran some 35 u.s. targets in the region as well as to leave are within our reach let this serve as a warning that if iran strikes any americans or american assets we have targeted 52 iranian sites and those targets and iran itself will be hit very fast and very hard the usa wants no more threats on saturday evening the united states confirmed that several rocket attacks took place in iraq some close to the american embassy in baghdad a military base as well near the capital iraqi security forces saying no one was hurt in those attacks and no one has admitted carrying them out is

a look at how 2020 open with a turbulent and terrifying 1st week. draw some indications that they may be planning additional attacks if that happens act and by the way we get word of attacks or some type of indication we'll take preemptive action as well to protect american forces to protect american lives. in iraq says it will now limit the american forces actions in the country after friday's events from now on the united states will only be able to conduct military

operations with iraqi consent and sunday morning this assassination of course polarized reaction across the world and also within the united states as well senior correspondent broadcast if takes a closer look at what the consequences could. you can imagine how trump agreed to it they he was playing golf and up comes an agent smith holding a folder he says mr president you remember when we killed baghdad yes the eyes the sky yes the media did love it how how would you like to do it again. oh yeah. the rocky television has just confirmed that to seem so with mani former general in iran's revolutionary guard the commander of the clips force has been killed in a rocket attack apparently decided by the united states. to settle for the u.s.

at our allies at alert after the tragic attack iran's top military commander of. u.s. drone strikes in baghdad killed the country's top general qassim soul among selami he has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the middle east for the last 20 years what the united states did yesterday should have been done long ago one gets the impression that the agent that came up to trump didn't exactly brief the president and potential consequences of killing the 2nd most powerful man in iran general seems to name on the command of iran's quds force we took action last night to stop a war we did not. take action to start a war then you probably shouldn't have killed him general sulaimani was considered an icon in iran and iraq a man who helped prevent isis

a takeover of iraq and syria who inspired and mobilized tens of thousands of people multiple countries to fight the blight that is isis. you know enough the americans are not aware what a great mistake they've committed they will face the consequences of discriminant not only today but also in coming years there is no doubt the us is now more hated among iranians in iraqis is an act of aggression by the us i mean they should they should expect anything as it is all of this is a question hundreds of thousands have joined the funeral processions and protests condemning his murder rage is in the air iran has promised revenge american civilians are being evacuated from the entire region u.s. embassies and bases in this slew of countries are knocked out troops have been put in combat readiness and now now middle east in the red lert they claim that they

only want peace that was the time to take this action so that we could disrupt this plot deter further aggression from qassam salami in the iranian regime as well as to attempt to deescalate the situation trump asked no one europe woke up to a world that was a heck of a lot more dangerous than when they went to sleep germany claimed tensions that only god up stating the obvious the british called for everyone to come down from doesn't last for permission frankly the europeans haven't been as helpful as i wish that they could be the brits the french the germans all need to understand that what we did what the americans did saved lives in europe as well at best he's right chances on. he's wrong and at worst what america did is going to kill a heck of a lot more people than would have died otherwise which they may have thought of the

fed asked anyone but they didn't trump told no one not even his own federal government not the house of representatives and not the senate the risk of a much longer military engagement in the middle east is acute. and immediately this action may well have brought our nation closer to another endless war exactly the kind of endless war the president promised he would not drag us into i have profound concerns about the prospects for a serious escalation of this conflict with iran this is how you. when nobody seeks war end up in a war or rather he did tell someone apparently what trump kept from his own nation from his own people he told the israeli's assessment that the united states informed israel disappear ation in iraq apparently if you days ago the mud

a day money was an act of war by any measure by any book on law social media willed war 3 was the top trend people are genuinely afraid the us football team is council plans to train them katha ahead of the world cup out of security concerns the website of the u.s. agency the tracks people eligible to be drafted crashed under heavy load because of fear is that the nationwide drop to go fight trumps iran war and judging by means being spread appropriate or otherwise no one in particular is enthusiastic to go to war.

black humor aside any escalation would be disastrous for all of us human lives 1st and economy 2nd a 5th of the world's oil passes by iran every day in the event of war that would stop we don't yet know how much of a blunder sulaimani is murder was what we do know is that the world now is a more dangerous place millions will hate america for this and that hate will last for generations just remarkable isn't it how many people more and more keep having

to die so trump and the pentagon can feel safe we've been hearing reaction from across the united states questioning donald trump's the citizen to assassinate same solomonic. if this action this assassination this drive by shooting in gangland style makes americans safer then why was the 1st thing the state department said is for all americans to get out of iraq as quick as you can you know so obviously it's not making us safer the idea that now pompei would say oh we need to just deescalate we don't want war where you've already. made an act of war on iran and over if you look at the stock exchange you'll find it's been reported that walkies martin and the other 4 machine stocks are going up so everyone's going to make money off the war except the poor working americans who are losing money the middle class who's dying the working class who's losing money and having to pay for these absurd wars

that enrich the elites. there's no justification under international law moral law our constitution is just aggravation and the fact that we're there in a way as a gas then have an embassy there we've never had been given any authority to do what we did i think is morally wrong and if they are doing this to make us safer they said that we had they had to do this to make american safe complete nonsense i feel less safe because there will be retaliation expansion and who knows what is going to lead to. the fact that he's a high state official in a government that we're not at war with we've crossed the rubicon not only in tehran but in moscow beijing pyongyang caracas they ought to sit there and say to themselves all right the americans now feel entitled to kill anybody and our government because of what over what disagreements over syria or whatever else.

we can leaks founder julian assange is claims he's slowly dying in the british jail he's in cause a very thin legacies tranquilize them kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day he made a disturbing claims in a phone call to his friend smith on christmas eve. he sounded. and it was very upsetting to head the idea of him being sedated has come from several people who visited him who clearly been told and the british government has been asked about it and they refused to address that matter what they say is they're not mistreating him but clearly he's being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day he sounded awful and he said to me that i'm slowly dying you know please remember he's served that time all the bail charge and he served his time to that he's now on remand it's highly unusual to put a man prisoner in belmarsh when they're not a threat of

a physical violence threat to society i think we need to arm to those from from the british government why are they treating him like this why can't we have some independent assessment 100 international got to those and asked to arrange a visit at least to send some representatives to check on him but that hasn't been allowed and those melts that the un rocketeer on torture has been very clear about asylum just mistreatment and describes it in the most of all human terms and yet it is cases very recently in november that the british government are completely ignored his request to see julian probably his health properly assess. their sons' shores a respite in april and since then medics and un observers are warned about is the climbing physical and mental health hearing in february will decide on his extradition to the united states there of publishing classified military documents and could face a 175 year jail sentence. for it well the british show office

has refuted assad's claims calling them unfounded and false it's still spurred some politicians there activists and celebrities as well to further draw attention to his plight. you know. he had been exposed to psychological torture for a prolonged period of time that's a medical assessment and. asked for in the states to investigate this case. 15 killings. in.

the medical situation is that by urgent there is no time to. china says it sacked its top official who dealt with the relations with hong kong state media say when remains been replaced there have been months of violent and the government protests in hong kong which took on a renewed energy over the new year. i. was. i. i. i i a particular aspect of the unrest violence and brutality when perpetrated by the

hong kong protesters has gone largely without comment from the west r.t. saskia taylor asks why. hong kong has gone from being the economic power of the orient to the face of the fight for democracy and boy does that fight fire. an amendment to a preexisting law that would allow the extradition of criminal suspects from hong kong to mainland china has brought the financial haven to its knees as a protest accent into the 7th month violence on both sides has escalated but all the wild over politicians and john continue to hail the peaceful aspirations of those fighting to wrest themselves from beijing all the while coming down hard on those aggressive dust spots in china you have

a chinese government that's getting increasingly aggressive increasingly repressive it's disgusting what they're doing it on kong they're taking away basic rights trying to seem trampling the most basic human rights of its own citizens is increased its interventions in hong kong and engaged in actions to curtail the rights. and liberties. of its people but it seems so many incidents have managed to escape the scrutiny of western media all over the lot. and it. seems like that combined with the discovery of 10000 petrol bombs packed with high explosives and shrapnel make it harder to see is peaceful what appears to be

a slippery slope into the territory of terrorists methods you can all fight for freedom of speech by silencing people who disagree with you. you cannot fight for democracy by terrorizing the public to force others to support you. you cannot condemn brutality by brutalizing people who hold different views to yours deval and x. are one step closer to the actual terrorism china is treading kathleen refusing to send in troops to shut down the protests the local elections were held in which pro democracy candidates won in a landslide hong kong authorities conceded defeat the extradition built has been withdrawn but still the barricades on signing the flames according to china washington. china urges the us to correct its mistakes and stop interfering in our internal affairs we will take further steps if necessary to uphold hong kong stability and prosperity as well as china's sovereignty. some have chalked down

beijing's words to paranoia but let's take a look joshua was widely billed as the face of the protest movement was snapped speaking to an official at the u.s. consulate oh when i forgot to mention he's not big on compromise so there's no end game there is to infinity ward at home people are willing to engage there's also an organization funded by the u.s. congress which has been distributing money to groups it claims are preserving democratic rights then of course there's the in century legislation washington's past the human rights and democracy out it includes amnesty for those arrested up protests and will monitor hong kong to ensure that in the eyes of the u.s. of course an appropriate level of autonomy from mainland china is. these 2 bills the noblest intervention of hong kong some turn north further than necessary and without groans they will also harm the relationship and interests between hong kong

and the u.s. all of this on top of the protest as mass waving of the star-spangled banner have sparked concern that the u.s. might be lending more than just a supportive hand leading many to ask the question if the protest as a calling for self-determination is appealing to a foreign power to shape the future the best way to go about it especially when that foreign power might want to contain a rising star they're reaching. for and using methods that have created challenges for the united states and for the world. and we collectively all of us need to confront these challenges from the p.r.c. head on and on each of the many facets of the fallout of all this has a little impact on washington of course it's the average hong kong who find his pocket that little bit lighter on his home that little less popular the violence in hong kong has spooked foreign investors shoppers appetite has also soured in the

wake of all the fire. it's where the retail sells in sri fall and hong kong facing its 1st recession in a decade bombed apparently being caught in the middle of tear gas and rubber bullets isn't talking any tourists the wish lists because hong kong saw its lowest number of visitors since 2003 the major. is really the truth in the real. because. nobody is coming to call. tolbert who's number 0 for. more. it's dropped by 50 percent as far as as fear rises and as prosperity fades it seems this fight for freedom is costing hong kong more dearly than many could have

imagined. taking stock of 2019 next as we reflect on more of the signature events of the year just gone. but among the people who were languishing behind bars during 2019 for some it was for questionable reasons that they were perhaps politically motivated next that let's remind you of what happened to. the russian national on gun rights advocate spent more than a year in a u.s. jail for being an unregistered foreign lobbyist now out to federal prosecutors and the media her involvement with the american gun lobby and mingling in republican circles seemed proof enough that moscow was sending agents to meddle in the united states news coverage smeared her as a spy and she was so wrongly accused of trading sex for political gain bruce and i discussed her ordeal with us when she returned to moscow.

do you think it would have happened if the critics who claim they had been more sets of the trump became president it's going to. be. certainly political climate is one thing thing is rhesus monkey to our great to see it but there is racism in us and it's getting stronger look if i belong to any other ethnic group number i shouldn't there be no peace today however if you are russian and you are and us there is reason to be worried and i am living proof. that they still agree it was done on purpose to create an image for the us audience the public is familiar with. absolutely absolutely they just took some hollywood cliches and made me the scapegoat the color of my hair and my features served as proof of guilt that's the way it should be because we see this in the movies only

it was quick bait it made for good headlines on t.v. if you're moved to sex for money hype the piece itself is pretty boring for an agent or not that's how bureaucratic really exciting he added flames to the story i saw with my own eyes that there is no justice in the us some more than 90 percent of the fan and pleaded guilty to a way jury because they know they'll be convicted what kind of justice are we talking about the. money to decide to play do we were watching the case very closely just like all russia some noise said the prosecutors might not have enough evidence to prove. why then take a plea bargain with his mother you know with that beside that yellow. imagine you are in a foreign country away from your parents you have no contact with your family you're locked up in solitary confinement it's very cold and you sit on the floor so you might be facing a 15 year sentence i thought about how old i was. going to be and whether my

parents were going to be alive when that day came and then you find out that according to statistics and you was about 90 percent of the friends who face the jury get convicted of the chance of you losing is while quite high start besides who would have been judging me and i would have faced a jury in washington or the people who watch c.n.n. and people who already have been fat this narrative and with those people you would have mattered what i was being accused of i would have been on trial for being russian out have been sentenced to 15 years so i believe i made the only right decision there was no other way to civil stronger meaning so do you know 2019 was also a year of information overload a new ways to block out what we didn't like things though went much further than a simple fix paul council culture full speed online but the water repercussions though meant that collective saw at sing of voices or even people taking

a big hit on their careers more pain looks at how the power of the public backlash became weaponized on the web. us deciding is said to be the freest in the entire world never before have people been so free to be who they want to be identified however they want to identify and you can say whatever you want yes americans have total freedom of speech just so long as what they say doesn't go against the mainstream media narrative if that happens you get cancelled. so how do you avoid getting canceled well be careful when making jokes or better yet avoid humor altogether a comedian lost his dream spot on saturday night live after making a joke that was offensive to chinese americans and even if you're offensive joke is decades old it could still hurt you kevin hart lost his gig hosting the oscars after his tweets resurfaced and were discovered.

facial expressions can be important also this young man smirked at the wrong time though he was also wearing a hat that has been deemed to be offensive. just to avoid this cat also. who the president. supports and get your honk if you through your right hand i don't want. them to kill people like you and the political views that this hat is associated with can also land you in hot water like former miss michigan after 18 now as the age he served it was i think it's very hard if you know he is harder than becoming our eyes on him again. it's not just from supporters liberal star scarlett johansson faced a huge amount of backlash after she tweeted out that as an actor she can play any

person any tree or any animal such insensitivity the term cancel culture has recently been added to dictionaries so there is no escape best to apologize in advance for your past jokes your political views or for your religion. are to new york. cold dogs coming up next on our documentary channel are back in 30 minutes time with the latest global news updates. what politicians do something. they put themselves on the line and they get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president or injury. or something i want to. let you go right to be close this is like the 43 in the morning can't

be good. i'm interested always in the waters in the. city. in a world of big partisan movie lot and conspiracy it's time to wake up to dig deeper to hit the stories that mainstream media refuses to tell more than ever we need to be smarter we need to stop slamming the door on the bats 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 we're watching closely watching the hawks.