the body of assassinated spring in general. has returned home as the 10s of thousands lined the streets is killing us but world war alert off the relations between the u.s. and iran the lowest in years. founder julian assange claims he's dying in prison in london plied with sedatives and subjected to 23 hours a day of solitary confinement he made those allegations in a christmas phone call to a friend. rang need because he spent christmas with me and my family in 2010 wombat you know what time of good. will and he said to me i'm slowly dying here i.

new year new protests for hong kong offer a massive turnout for 20 twentieth's 1st the rally plans violence with the riot police the boys dispersed protests. live from moscow thanks for joining us in the weekly rundown of top headlines here on r.t. international hawkins' welcome to the program. this week and the new year got off to a troubling start with tension is skyrocketing in the middle east following the united states assassination of iran's most senior commander. body has now arrived in iran in the southwestern city of. throngs of mourners on saturday thousands turned out in the iraqi capital for the general's funeral for. session rallies have been

ongoing since friday's deadly u.s. air strike on baghdad airport iran swiftly valid to avenge his death as well ations of the united states plunged to new lows trump has also threatened to retaliate without hesitation if iran attacks american bases. the attacked us and we had back if the it's again which i strongly advise them not to do we will hit them harder than they have ever been before iran has responded to that warning saying the u.s. doesn't have the courage for a full blown military confrontation the latest exchange of threats comes after several rocket attacks took place in iraq on saturday evening close to both the american embassy in baghdad and a military base near the capital iraqi security forces saying no one was hurt no one has so far claimed responsibility and here's a look back at how 2020 opened with the turbulence and terrifying 1st week.

to get. some. sort of monies assassination polarized the reaction worldwide and within the us to

our senior correspondent rod as they have takes a closer look at the consequences you can imagine how trump agreed to it then he was playing golf and up comes an agent smith holding a folder he says was the 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 cassim sula monny former general in iran's revolutionary guard or the commander of the could force has been killed in a rocket attack apparently initiated by the united states. this is the u.s. at our allies on alert at the petra matic attack iran's top military command here and. salim

80 has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the middle east for the last 20 years 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 silly monica monda 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 takeover of iraq and syria who inspired and mobilized tens of thousands of people multiple countries to fight the blight that is isis while qaida you know enough the americans are not aware what a great mistake they've committed they will face the consequences of this criminal

act not only today but also in coming years there is no doubt that the u.s. is now more hated among iranians in iraqis 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 in lockdown troops have been put in combat readiness and now now middle eastern the red lert they claim that they only want peace that was the time to take this action so that we could disrupt the spot 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 us 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 are 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 us to anyone but they didn't trump told no one not even his own federal government not the house of representatives and not the senate 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 or rather he did tell someone apparently what trump kept from his own nation from his own people he told the

israelis our assessment is that the united states informed israel about this operation in iraq apparently a few days ago the murder of a mani was an act of war by any measure by any book on law social media world war 3 was the top trend people are genuinely afraid the us football team has cancel plans to train in cata ahead of the world cup out of security concerns and judging by means being spread appropriate or otherwise no one in particular is enthusiastic to go to war all 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 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 have been hearing reaction from analysts in the united states questioning donald trump's decision to kill general 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 quickly as you can you know so obviously it's not making us safer the idea that now pompei would say oh we need to decide deescalate we don't want war what you've already create you already made an act of war on iran and over one. there's no justification under international law

and 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 it's morally wrong and if they're 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 so 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 claims he's slowly dying in the british jail

he's in cos right that in and alleges he was trying them kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day he made those the stubbing claims in a phone call to his friend vaughan's smith on christmas eve. he sounded all full and it was diarrhea searching to head the idea of him being sedated is come from several people who visited you claim to be on the british government's i'm being asked about it and they refuse to address that much what they say is that 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 served that time all the bail charge and he served his time too 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 violent threat to society i think we need some armchairs from from the british government why are they treating him like this why can't we have some

independent assessment $100.00 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 u.n. route which are on torture has been very clear about asylum just mistreatment and describes it in the most of all human terms and yet it's claims very recently in november that the british government of completely ignored his request to see julian problem his health properly assess. the science he was arrested in april and since then medics and un observers have warned about the climbing physical and mental health hearing in february will decide on his extradition to the united states to use their of publishing classified military documents and faces 175 years in jail. the british home office has refuted a scientist claims calling them unfounded and false it's all spurred some

politicians activists and celebrities though to further draw attention to his plight. now the headlines china has said it's sacked its top official who dealt with relations with hong kong state media say wings humans being would replaced as beijing's chief ways are they have in months of violence anti-government protests in hong kong which took on a renewed energy over the new year. our particular aspect of the unrest violence and brutality when perpetrated by the hong kong protesters has gone largely without comment from the west artie's

saskatoon or asks why. hong kong has gone from being the economic pole 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 rest themselves from beijing all the while coming down hard on those aggressive does spots in china you have a chinese government that's getting increasingly aggressive increasingly repressive

it's disgusting what they're doing in hong kong they're taking away basic rights trying to stream trampling the most basic human rights of its own citizens beijing 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 but only god i am. i think. scenes 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 acts are one step closer to the acts of terrorism china is treading kathleen refusing to send in troops to shut down the protests and 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 chance of the 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's the internet to war at home people are willing to engage you there's also an organization funded by the u.s. congress which has been distributing money to groups it claims of preserving democratic rights then of course as the incendiary legislation washington's passed the human rights and democracy act in clearance i'm going to stay 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 then 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 musts 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 the fallout of all this has a little impact on washington of course it's the average hong kong or who find his pocket that little bit lighter on his home but little less popular the violence in hong kong has spooked foreign investors shoppers appetite has also soured in the wake of all the violence with the retail sales in freefall 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 topping any tourists the wish list because hong kong saw its lowest number of visitors since 2003 the major. is really the truth in the retail sector because. foreign tourists away nobody's coming to. tolbert tourism. by 50 percent more. is drop by 50 per se as far as as fare rises and as prosperity fades it seems this fight for freedom is costing hong kong more dearly than many could have imagined. and we're taking stock of 2019 next as reflected on more of the signature

of events of the year just go. i. so what were the highlights while among some of the people languishing behind bars but of a technical glitch there sorry for some it was questionable reasons that they were perhaps politically motivated. let's remind you what happened to maria buton a russian national and gun rights advocates who spent more than a year in a u.s. jail for being an unregistered for on now to federal prosecutors and indeed the media own 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 as a spy and she was also wrongly accused of trading sex for political gain in a discuss the real deal with us when she returned to moscow.

just when you think it would have happened if the political climate had been more sets of the trump became president it's going to. be this long political and taught us it 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 but it's look if i belong to any other ethnic group number i should there be no keys 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 today let me cut school but maybe to no i knew absolutely absolutely they just took some hollywood cliches and made me the scapegoat the color of my hair in my feature 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 are 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 defendants guilty to a win 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 will present it with the decided 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 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. 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 quite high besides who would have been judging me but i would have faced a jury washington people who watch c.n.n. and people who already have been fat this narrative and we dose people you wouldn't have mattered what i was being accused of i would have been on trial for being rushed out of been sentenced to 15 years so i believe i made the only right decision there was no other way to signal strong. scene was also a year of information overload and new ways to block out things we didn't like with things that went much further than just the simple face paul. culture it's full speed on one of the water repercussions though because of saw it's a voice is even people taking a big hit to their career is. how the power of the public backlash became

weaponized on the web. us this site 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 to see make america great again around singing in need of america announcer in washington a troubling incident at the foot of the lincoln memorial disturbing viral video has sparked outrage toward covington catholic high school america great again hat is just as maddening and frustrating and triggering for me to look at as a k.k.k. hood as to avoid this cat also. who the president. supports trying to get your honk if you do your home my hand i don't. like them because 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 conservative which i think is very hard if you know it. 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 so it would seem an eye for the front running coming up next an alternate actual criminal bring you the weekly update next hour so you brooke.

is your media a reflection of reality. in a world transformed. what will make you feel safe from. high salacious community. are you going the right way or are you being led so. what is true what is faith. in the world corrupted you need to descend. to join us in the depths. or a maid in the shallows. time after time called her ration to repeat the same mantra sustainability it's very important to excel or a transition to sustainable transport sustainability stay number man on

a more equitable and sustainable well. they claim their production is completely hamas. it. companies want us to feel good about buying their products while the damage is being done far away this is 2nd eldest that's the point any minute i need money. and you missed me didn't anyone and i'm stunned. understood. it is physics this exist nothing but the harmony who can create on vibrating strings that is chemistry chemistry is a mellow. the melodies you can play on strings one is the universe the universe is a symphony of strains. join me every thursday on the alex simon show and i'll be speaking to guest of the world

the politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. welcome to front running 20 twentieth's with me max foster and stacy herbert as we look ahead to the 2020 lecture looking at all the policies and. today we have to take a deep dive in to china and china is it forcing us into

a sputnik moment now of course donald trump ran in 2016 on make america great again and part of that is now a clash with china joining us to discuss this issue is dan collins and marshall our back now according to the i.m.f. using purchasing power parity china is already 25 percent larger economy than the united states down cons of course you live there for 20 years what did you see here you're in brooklyn as you can hear around us we're across the river from manhattan and you're seeing a construction boom here by u.s. standards but put this into context of our competitor nation as trump calls it what's going on there component here china has a distribution economically of course and sort of we're right the economy in brooklyn where we're going to be different than little rock arkansas trying to do they passed us on a p.p.p. basis on the g.d.p. back in 2016 so it's been a few years already the way i like to look.