i think. the head of nato calls for a deescalation of tensions in the middle east and say. did you know one of assassinated a powerful general. a 1000000 are filling the streets for rides for the funeral procession of the country's slain general. these are live pictures right now from the islamic republic where flags are. covered with flags they are very sad and. also ahead turkish armed forces head to libya to bolster the. government in tripoli a move rejected by libya's powerful rival administration the u.n.

this meeting behind closed doors in the sky the deployment. a very warm welcome to our to international just after 8 pm here in moscow on this the 1st monday of the year and welcome to the program the head of nato sais the alliance was not informed of u.s. plans to assassinate iran's most powerful general. yen stoltenberg ses it was a unilateral by washington. this is a u.s. decision it is not a decision taken by neither do global coalition nor nato but all allies are concerned about iran's destabilizing or 2 beauties in the region iran support 2 different terrorist groups. were joined by r t s peter all of her to fill in what was spoken about there peter what indeed house

come out of today's emergency nato gathering where un stoltenberg spoke briefly to the press he said the nato training mission for troops in iraq would be suspended with immediate effect after this meeting is taking place he was also very keen to stress the deescalation was the main word coming out from nato allies. all of them coming together is he said to say that this whole situation needed to calm down. i think the important thing now is to really try to deescalate and to avoid further increase increased tensions in the region. before i started start to speculate on how we will react. not help to deescalate it will actually do the opposite well the statements from stoltenberg 'd as the iraqi prime minister. is

cast doubts on the u.s. claims that he was in baghdad in order to plan attacks against u.s. diplomats the iraqi pm suggesting he was there for diplomatic talks in which the prime minister would have been taking part of what we have heard coming out following the killing of the money is out of european capitals out of leading nato members as well. that again the escalation being the watchword is world capitals come together to say that everything in that region needs to calm down right now. we are looking to deescalate and stabilize a situation that the u.s. will take very operational judgment call but they've got the right of self defense if you look at what general sort of man he was doing he wasn't victim in this scenario he was a regional menace they were saying that we had a conversation with trump about developments in the region and we were shocked when

we got the news at that point i especially had suggested to him that tensions with iran should not be heightened. and we can just focused and the american action is a reaction to a whole series of military provocations through which iran bears responsibility we are in a dangerous escalation point now we have to contribute to deescalation with prudence and restraint. or prudence in restraint being called for there but from the state department in washington they've doubled down saying that they would definitely write in order to target and there to his killing was the best thing for the region and for peace in the area american people should know the president trusts decision to remove cost and so the money from the battlefield saved american lives there's no doubt about that we made the right decision to take out this terrorist american people should know their present terrible never shy away from protecting and defending america is what we've done over these past weeks president made the

decision this was the time to stop this reign of terror from this guy who was the globe well yeah and stoltenberg the nato secretary general didn't seem to want to take too many questions from journalists during his very short press conference in brussels deescalation the watchword throughout what he had to say while making it very clear that this was a united states action to target salomone it was not a nato action thanks for bringing us right up the dates of our very rapidly escalating situation artie's peter all over. well right now in iran millions of mourners have turned out for the funeral of kassam salmoni the country's most powerful general was assassinated in a us or a raid on its side by god or a port in iraq on friday a huge i pouring of grief right across the middle east and beyond and date iran's supreme leader earlier wept as he said prayers over the slain commanders call for

some mourners red flags associated with on just bloodshed and revenge one of the 1st repercussions for the united states came from iraq in peace who voted on sunday to expel foreign forces from their country for conducting the killing on their soil but all trump then warned iraq to brace itself for heavy sanctions if it takes american troops. we have a very extraordinary leeks pensive ear piece that's there it caused billions of dollars to build long before my time we're not leaving unless they pay as back for it they do ask us to leave if we don't do it in a very friendly basis will charge them sanctions like they've never seen before and for. the iraqi lawmakers resolution not only calls on u.s. troops to leave the country at all so the government to poll box from military assistance for the u.s. led i still coalition plus a dirge for a formal complaint to be raised that the u.n.

against washington for violating iraqi sovereignty which we've just heard is being filed. although a reunion leaders are vowing to avenge solmonese death our senior correspondent has been looking at how it might be a better move to play the long game. on the face of it trump and iran they always wanted the same thing iran knew secret always wanted the us to get the hell away from it out of iraq out of the middle east and trump well he won the election promising to end america's wars we want to bring our troops back home and i got elected on that if you go back and look at our speeches i would say we want to bring our troops back home from these endless wars what a man wouldn't say to get elected in reality he escalated conflict if the conflict where there was a scratch trumps policies would tear it open into a wound and the trump of america went from a full with iran having

a nuclear deal to assassinating iran's 2nd most powerful official i don't think trump expected this not neatly in mourning a man that the u.s. claimed was a terrorist and i highly doubt he expected to have all his embassies go in lockdown with crowds demanding death at the gates. i was due to meet a general solution 8 30 am on the morning he was killed as he left baghdad international airport mr abdul mahdi said the general saloon money was carrying iran some response to a message iraq has conveyed on behalf of saudi arabia aimed at easing tensions between the 2 countries in the region so the money was apparently on

a peace mission carrying proposals on how to reduce tensions in the region this is from the mouth of the u.s. backed iraqi prime minister versus him we have the state department it's sure and says that he was actually evil and take our word for it he was. organizing imminent attacks on u.s. bases take our word for it is there any surprise that iraqis voted to remove american soldiers from their country the iraqis don't want foreign troops murdering who they will when they will the parliament has decided to ask the us to leave once the prime minister signs off iraq will withdraw its request for assistance which they followed with the us led coalition when isis was ascendant if the us refuses to pull out if it keeps its troops it will no longer be a friend it will be an occupier essentially in death sulaimani achieved exactly

what he wanted for iraqis to expel america and if parliament doesn't do it we will take greater our action the white house is in panic trying to justify what it did the vice president telling fairy tales trying to tie sulaimani to 911 of all things trump threatening to bomb iranian cultural targets which would be a textbook example of a war crime that again i doubt he cares much in iran millions burn the american flag in america they're burning the book on international law and order. ok moving on to more world news this hour turkish soldiers are on their way to libya according to president on the turkish parliament voted back on thursday to the un recognized government in tripoli giving the green light to the deployment and close to un security council meeting is underway now at the moment in new york

the scots in the situation libya's rival administration based in the east of the country voted against a deal with on. it was decided to cut ties between the turkish regime and the states of libya and also in today's session a unanimous vote was passed in the general command authorizing be armed forces to disable all airports ports and ports under the militias control due to the danger they pose to the country's national security by bringing the colonists to our country. most of libya is controlled by general huffed and the libyan national army while the un government is in charge of the capital along with small pockets of the war torn country last month it requested military aid from anchorage to counter the general's forces the country's been in a spate of war since protests in 2011 on the ice thing of the country's leader moammar gadhafi. viewpoint africa founder believes that even with turkey support it

will be difficult for the un backed government to states right. i'm afraid libya has been a bit of a mess since gadhafi went many people are saying that is very much like syria number 2 mr have to who controls large swathes of the country or protect a period of time has the swing of the pendulum but on the other hand when you have a government which has been supported by the united nations a government that's supported by the state i think. has a faction or an opportunity of winning but it's going to be very difficult i can't see physically how which is why he's been propped up and supported by the turks who are who are already expressed to send their military might to support him there are too many actors playing and supporting a competing factions which for we know we're not sure exactly who's going to succeed in the why the actual let's get too into. the race is on to

evacuate stricken residents in australia as the most for. roche's wildfires and decades robert swades of the south east of least $25.00 people are not known to have died thousands to abandon their homes and be relocated there's been a brief respite from the record breaking heat wave but emergency services are braced for hostages conditions to return in a few days. well i'm greedy australians are directing their fury of prime minister scott morrison

over his handling of the crisis on for suggesting there's no direct link between the fires and climate change the spike many seeing it as a root cause of the unprecedented destruction. that's become hard of the process and so the longer the rival lepping between starts this is driven by climate chimes scientific brain very clear that the 10 or 20 years now that climate change is leading to more frequent and more severe bush and trout and hate why we're already seeing catastrophic impacts you could imagine how much worse it will be if we allow the planet to continue to warm if we allow the continent of australia to continue to dry out this is just a taste of what's to come if we don't act there's no argument about the links between in my view in the government's view and any government in this country about the links between broader issues of global climate change and and weather events around the world but i'm sure people equally with to acknowledge that the

direct connection to any single farmer event it's not a credible suggestion to mike that link. we're casting and i panic over 2019 after the break including the people power that filled the streets of nations worldwide and high figures grew of a global new arms race after washington walked away from a landmark arms treaty. leg. length.

leg. join me every thursday on the alex simon chill and i'll be speaking to us from the world of politics or business i'm showbusiness i'll see if. i can the new year in scotland is a much celebrated event with the capital drawing thought of visitors for hogmanay but the residents who live there full time say they're increasingly being the

shuttle itself their own city to make way for tourists their numbers have grown rapidly in recent years but it's proving to be a double edged sword for edinburgh the city council says the new year celebration influx calls as an increase in noise pollution and overcrowding on the streets residents who live in the center even have to wear id response to enter and exit their own streets they also have to get permits for visitors to their own homes during the hogmanay festivities. yours bent organizers have worked with the edinburgh city council to try and make the most of the rising number of visitors the city's german theme christmas market also caused upset when it was revealed that it had received permission from the last 2 years but went ahead anyway here's what people in edinburgh have been telling. so it's become a bit issue because firstly it's. the same people so. it's sort of bars service you know they're good for college students it's just going to become

more difficult service i think we have plenty and i think they need to see that the people in. the. city. pushcart to this the. story look this if you get into city that means people love the look of this coming that is going to be like any of them or the city. taking stock of 2019 next stars who reflect on more of the events that marked the year just gone. well we saw for a bit of political maneuvering and we are dealing over weaponry now as the iran nuclear deal on rival nations boosted their defense budget to get tooled up on a new arms race weighted in the wings the u.s. withdrew from the in after the on limiting ballistic missiles and 28 day russia

then took what it described as a symmetrical response in 2900. hour all developed. an arms race cold war a nuclear crisis it seemed all these things both sparked and faded out of historical relevance in the past millennium but 2019 saw all of them make a comeback the united states is officially withdrawing from the intermediate range nuclear forces treaty or i.n.f. treaty the us unilaterally demolished a pillar of international stability crushing its i.n.f. treaty with russia.

fears of the past century resurrected immediately the us is pulling out. of a decades long nuclear treaty with russia sparking fears of a new arms race we thought was confined to the cold war now there's concern a pullout could lead to a new arms race it's clear that the threat of a new arms race is real we go into a nuclear arms race like we saw in the 1960 s. only more expensive and more dangerous it seemed the 2 countries were again trying to outpace each other on the military speed track with a nuclear winter right past the finishing line washington no longer bound by the iron of shackles started the messala tests right away 2 weeks after the pullout and then again in december this in turn kicked russia's military into action too as it

accused the us of premeditating their withdrawal national beacon for us plans had to be honest and straightforward with us they should not have used trumped up accusations and allegations to unilaterally withdraw from it like they did in 2002 they violate everything and find excuses to put the blame someone russia does not pose a threat to anyone any actions we take are retaliatory that is to say in defense we never seek confrontation we do not want it is specially with a global power like the us both sides have been accusing each other of violating the i never deal but more school has also insisted that it has been unprecedentedly transparent in attempts to demonstrate compliance paraded the very message washington claims violated the i.m.f. russia invited international experts to come and be judge and jury what the rocket could and couldn't do the americans didn't come despite an almost personal

invitation. for many years we've proposed to some talks but our initiatives have not found the support of our partners in fact they always find pretexts. for dismantling the global security system. russia says it still tries with the i.m.f. deal flatlined it suggests that arms control can be achieved through expanding another deal start and response washington talks at length about its gargantuan plans to include china and other nuclear powers in a new deal just some new deal even the us seems to have little idea about we're through that do you really start expires february the 5th 2021 we have until then to resolve the situation proposals is still on the tables will be heard i understand that now it's up to washington to decide i hope that we're able to get

everybody in a very 'd big and beautiful room and you are literally that would be much better all the while as nuclear parity hangs in the balance purely on the good faith of a few individuals. in our farewell 29000 saw governments in many countries left in no diets about how just widespread public dissatisfaction against them reached from the yellow vests in paris to the political turmoil in latin america crowds turned out regularly and in large numbers in spain it was the simmering independence row over the wealthy council only a region that led to violent demonstrations protesters said roadblocks and clashed with police for weeks after 9 separatist leaders were sentenced to jail for sedition they'd pushed ahead with an independence referendum in 2014 despite a ban from madrid medina cuts number of ports now from the on rest in the catalan capital barcelona during the height of autumn's on. 2

the streets of barcelona are again on fire we're standing right now between the berry cases that were built by protesters yes you can see the violence is own the growing on the streets of the cattle lonny and capital. protesters have built as these barry kates using garbage share and appliances that were standing by the cafeterias as well as some of the furniture that they could a science so they build those very case now they set them on fire and right now they're shouting slogans and happening. and as you can see tensions our own me increasing here at this is happening right in the center of barcelona and the streets so far so on there are again on fire if we remember what happened just on

friday a police forces responded with a rubber bullets and tear gas. thanks. thanks. thanks thanks. for isilon a is protesting sense monday and this saturday to show that people are not tired this violence to show that they're ready to take it to the streets. i review of the year that was all right just a reminder for up to the minute quite literally developments this month very twitter as you cover an r.t. well worth some of your scrolling time l.c.s. above.

but if she warned you i did the dishes at the bazemore those jeans nudist beach and see me. blue true she's. in the news i mean guys are that infants involved. a lot of. fuzzy fights about 2 kids each other both hard. as a fire truck. here in cherokee full staff cabinet 5 of them days doing lisa.

english lady a different people who simply knew she would include in the. same wrong. roles just don't all. get to shape out just a conflict as a kid and in detroit equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart when she's to look for common ground.

hello and welcome to cross talk where all things are considered i'm peter lavelle up until recently politics were about policy preferences and ways to implement them that is not the case today your political views are now what define you as a person and there is a moral dimension bias against those who are not politically correct is the last acceptable form of discrimination this is the end of politics. cross-linking political intolerance i'm joined by my guest kevin chavez in washington he's the managing partner of the chavez group as well as former president of d.c. young democrats also in washington we have christopher and i we he's a political analyst and iraq war veteran also in raleigh we cross to ryan he is the national co-chair and founder of students for trump all right gentlemen crosstalk

rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate ok kevin i'm going to go to you 1st because you're on the odd man out i want to make that clear i'm going to make sure that you get equal time on this program because i always welcome different opinions have any in in my introduction here i said that you know the last bias that is politically that is acceptable is discrimination against people because of their political views i mean that is on steroids right now and i think that is very it's terrible for our political discourse i'm sure i would disagree with you on many many points but i'm welcoming you on this program and i'm i actually i'm very interested in what you have to say because i don't see that in the national media much anymore go ahead kevin why is this the case where i think you know what you're referring to. is the fact that people who are so used to consuming the media that they want to consume or they're sort of validates their personal beliefs that they're not really open to hearing other sides but i think when we call it discrimination i think that is probably not

the right word because in what way is a stopping you from from living a certain quality of life it's not like racial discrimination or gender based discrimination or something like that so i would use that term to describe the fact that people are so polarized that i have no question that don't you think kevin has gotten worse how many liberals are work for it work for c.n.n. i mean that's the bias i'm talking about let me go to chris now in washington that is biased against people and that creates this polarization and to be fair on the other side there is a lot of conservatives that work for fox and let's be fair here go ahead chris that's that's true peter but i think fox has actually gotten a little more balanced with having liberal hosts and having a lot of liberals on the network with very strong different points of view but i think i mean i agree about the word we're discrimination but let's not lose sight of the point how is it infringing on people's life i mean kevin if you've been watching people blocking traffic getting crazy spitting on veterans outside of the inauguration which i.