senior economy take on the genie penal salvador is about to explode higher and that whole raisins about to go fully. good going. i pointed ation and that's going to filter up to some bigger countries. it's going to go global, and we're all living to something that is absolutely remarkable. the us secretary of state antony blinking comes under intense scrutiny from congress over biden's disastrous withdraw from it from afghanistan. i can summarize this in one word, betrayal, the worst foreign affairs disaster in american history, american families have never been a greater risk of attack at home than today. our t looks at the lasting impact of the us led war on terror. we hear from afghans forced to leave their homes following to decades, failed american, probably a friends, gender fighter, who before transitioning,

served in the us special forces destroys a female opponent, leaving feminists and sports experts. the gas that what they call a clearly unfair fight, the ad russia head. so the polls on friday for the general election and all the parties, the candidates, and what's at stake is in our key special coverage this hour and throughout the week ah, broadcasting live from the russian capital. this is our t internet tional. my name is donald quarter. welcome to the program. us secretary of state entity, blink, and has been testifying to congress about recent events in afghan, a stand and faithful decisions by the biden administration. americans lead america's leadership has come under scathing criticism over the afghanistan debacle as at least $100.00. the us citizens remain stranded in the war torn country,

which is now controlled by the taliban. with more details. here's our correspondent, caleb martin. anthony blank in the us secretary of state is testifying before the congressional committee and they are giving him quite a grilling people have looked on at the u. s. pull out of afghanistan, and the chaos that has followed with quite a bit of disapproval. now interestingly, representative gregory, who was the chair of the committee. when he spoke, he began by saying the united states should have withdrawn from afghanistan 19 years ago, but remained in the country due to quote hubris and a desire to remake afghanistan. now needless to say, when we've got a situation where the taliban is in power and there's approximately 100 americans still stuck in afghanistan and there were some tough questions that were asked of the secretary of state. here's some of what we heard people situation we find ourselves in is far worse, in my judgement. as

a former chairman of homeland security committee, far worse than pre $911.00. to make matters worse, we abandon americans behind enemy lines. i can summarize this in one word, the trail. this administration's bungle pull out from afghanistan just may be the worst of foreign affairs disaster in american history. and american history. american families have never been a greater risk of attack at home than today. as the global war and terrorism is not over, it has been moved from abroad to american home. now we also heard from democrats who stepped up to defend antony blinking. and they stepped in and they accused their colleagues in the republican party of taking sheep shots at the new administration of yes, well overlooking some of the very big errors of previous presidents and previous administrations when it came to africa, ghana, stan,

now it's also interesting to note that when anton blanket was creaking, who did try to present the chaotic events we witnessed over the past few weeks as if they were somehow a success. echoing his boss, the president joe biden, which of those back as long ago, a song that was killed in 2011 a decade ago. ok, this capabilities were degraded significantly. we completed one of the biggest air lists and history. much of the equipment that was left behind, including in the hands of the afghan forces that then fell to the taliban. much of it, based on what i understand from my colleagues at b, o. d is an operable or soon will become an operable because it has to be maintain. it's not of any great strategic value in terms of threatening us. now when it came to questions about whether or not the united states would recognize the taliban, antony blanket and said that the taliban has failed to live up to the expectations of the international community. and before the united states would confer

recognition on the taliban government, it would need to allow more freedom for its population, most especially the freedom of movement, allowing people who want to leave the country to leave. now it's important to note that we also heard blink and talk about how the taliban government should be as inclusive as possible. saying that he fears that if the telegraph band didn't represent certain ethnic cities, if there wasn't a certain individuals and it was not an inclusive government. the result could be the breakdown of afghanistan as a country into several different countries in the fracturing of the country. in the aftermath of the united states withdrawing and the rule of the taliban. but with all that's going on in afghan of san in the last few weeks and all the questions and outrage that's been curled at the biden administration. things certainly did get a little heated in the halls of congress. here are some of the more interesting moments of what took place today during blinking testimony on capitol hill. on august 16th,

mister secretary, president biden said that the administration had considered every contingency and was executing the evacuation. according to your plan was a part of your plan to rely on the taliban to ensure the safety of americans on a fleet country. because that's what happened. we were not relying on the taliban as you know, what happened was the afghan security forces in the government collapse for the space of 11 days. we certainly relied upon it at the airport. it didn't work out. so mister secretary, president biden has delayed the blame for the evacuation debacle canister on others rather than on himself where it really belongs. he blamed president trump as we've discussed already, to some degree here, basically claiming that he was just following trump's policy. but he hasn't hesitated to disregard every other major trump policy, our southern border, the keystone pipeline, the parasite climate accord, the iran deal,

mexico city policy, and on and on. this was the one trump policy that he had to follow. do you understand why this is pretty hard to fathom? for a lot of people? i think what's the perhaps caution hard to fathom, or people just don't understand is that the agreement reached by the previous administration required all us forces to be out of afghanistan by may 1st. mr. blink and assuming it's not classified, can you tell us where you are? today yes, i'm at the state farm. it could couldn't be bothered to come down here and see congress. right? that's great. karen court koski, a retired us air force. lieutenant colonel, who worked for the pentagon and the essay says, the hearing looks like a political theatre or blank. and of course, he is culpable in many ways. but the, the department of defense is the, is a big player here. a lot of people, americans, and others in afghanistan, particularly in cobble, were not paying close attention to what was going on in the rest of the country.

and what was going on in terms of the united states, the tobacco part. some of the questions in the tone of the questioning today is really political theater. and you can, you can kind of watch it on both sides. it's more entertaining than it is revealing . we blame trump for everything. we don't see signs that i assessed the situation 8 months ago, let's say in january, let's say at the end of january when he took power. it didn't seem like he was really assessing what he had been left by the previous administration. and that's the duty of all presidents as they tread for power. so he can blame trump. i don't think it's, it's really valid. in this case, archie looks into the stories of those who have suffered during the us led war on terror. can our special investigative project on heard voices? in our latest reports, we talk to those, forced to leave afghanistan after the disastrous pentagon pull out the we'll use

all tools at our disposal and killed our children to united states. we're bringing people to watch a site. it was a pointless exercise we hear from both an afghan journalist who fled with his young family and a teenager forced to cross through a treacherous mountain pass to safety. after the taliban started making frequent visit my office in my home. busy and i was forced to leave cobble when i was in afghanistan, things got worse and worse every day. i never thought about coming to turkey. ah, the travel became extremely restricted. cobble became very dangerous. the 2 sided, or the roadside bombs, with sticky bombs. i go to korea and working as an african journalist and as i continued telling the world about a finest thought,

i became very hard broken. there was very little good news that i could tell the world. it was often about violence, hard. busy h instruction, you know, targeted assassinations. and i think that over the years really destroyed me from when i had many dreams and not even one of them could have come true and afghan to stand with the economic problems. the lack of jobs and opportunities are leaders, are politicians, are all traitors and thieves. all of them fled and live and other countries, while the poor people of afghan stand have been left in misery. ah ah. to be honest with you, it was a journey between hope and fear over the last 20 years. and a lot of shit, a lot of sacrifice is a lot of killings. and then result is an epic failure for the international

community for the west, for the one on the americans came and we believed in them. everyone saw another life. but in the end everything happens so fast and we were left all alone. we were abandoned. everyone was trying to survive. i ah, in turkey has no duty responsibility obligation to be europe refugee warehouse. there were problems everywhere on the way to iran. our car flipped over, we crossed into turkey, through the mountains, people di trying to pass through the mountains. i was really scared when we tried to cross the border. soldiers were following us. i came alone. i wanted to bring my family, but i didn't have enough money. i'm here now and my family is in afghanistan. i really worry about dana sans future. i saw someone who fell into the valley.

soldiers were pursuing us at that moment. nobody looks out for one another. i saw him fall, but i kept going. i got injured to, i still have bruises on my feet. we had to go on without him. otherwise they would catch us. i still see that day and my nightmares me, you know, because there's a lot of political bickering. everyone saw the piece plus the milking cow. it was a lot of selfishness are against those too much pride. and as a result, what you have the taliban who are toppled in a matter of weeks by the united states in 2001 literally came back with tory is defeating literally everyone from the americans to near to countries to the africa national security forces into the african government in the thought about have declared themselves as victory, victories me in

. i would want peace jobs, opportunities, and education a peaceful country. i would like simply to live calmly with my family without a war. i wish there wasn't any slavery in our country. now that the taliban is empower, i don't even wanna think about going back. our future is uncertain. i always dreamed of being peaceful. i had no intention of leaving a finest because i have been to the west. i have been all over the world i studied in the u. s. and i came back with a sense of commitment to be living in cobble hoping that my daughter in my family could live the normal life that everyone else is living on will use all tools at our disposal and killed our children to united states was bringing people to

watch the site, it was a pointless exercise the brutal victory of a transgender mixed martial arts fighter and the former us special forces sergeant over a female opponent has split critics with some applauding it as a key step to quality. but others are appalled by what they call a dangerous mismatch between a female and a biological male, kevin, and sat down with r t 's alex say you're a chef key to get the details. atlanta mclaughlin from south carolina is only the 2nd athlete in the history of mixed martial arts to compete being an open transgender. she won her fight last friday against a female opponent. and that ended in a 2nd round with a rear naked choke, which is quite a brutal way too. and, and mixed martial arts about that caused a lot of control. the see among pundits and experts who said that this was an unfair advantage. primarily because atlanta was born,

ryan mclaughlin spend 6 years in the us special forces before starting her transition in 2010. and before that transition, as we can see, ryan was quite a muscular man. so that's why many of the pundits and m a and very renowned pundits as well said that this was unfair, irrespective of how one treats the rights of transgender people, they all said they supported the rights of transgender people. but from a sporting perspective, this was unjust, lend, listen, alonda mclaughlin in transition 5 years ago. which means that she lived 33 years of her life as a man tonight mclaughlin fought in b to buy a logical woman. what a shock this is nonsense. this is a lot of mclaughlin, that female through one or 1st m m a fight against someone born a women. i think people can identify with whatever they like, but i don't think this has a place in combat sports. you all think this is okay and empowering to trans genders. interesting enough, not only am i may bundis will outraged with such fight taking place, but also feminist. a couple of prominent feminist accounts tweeted out that this

looks like basically a woman's abuse from a biological male. let's listen to that as well. male violence against women as a public sport. no, thank you. whether you took it up or chopped it off. take estrogen pills and or die your hair pink. the mail will always be a male and cannot change into a female. this is so hideous. how can anyone bear to watch or even think that this is normal or acceptable? a lot of herself said that she didn't buy any of this criticism, stating, 1st of all, that she was batted for 2 rounds being fought against by a very equal opponent. and also the fact that everything and all the kind of critics is coming her way is just mere transform. yeah, that's what she described. but i have to say, this is not the 1st case of obese, transgender and more. let's go back to the tokyo olympics in 2024. transgender athletes made their debut for the 1st time in the history of lympics. and it's also

the 2nd time in may. there was a fighter of fox fall and retiring into 2014, also a transgender. but as we can see, this issue is still very divisive, especially when it comes to combat sport. idaho state representative barbara earhart believes it would only be fair for athletes who undergo a gender transition to compete against others who have done the same. every sport, every division, whether it's high school collegiate li, internationally view lympics. we're all dealing with this right now because it's increasing in its philosophy and the participation of biological boys and men in our women sports is increasing. even though it's hard to see someone get beat up and to be forced to compete against the biological male. it stories like this that you're covering, that is the will only help our issue moving forward. i would absolutely be supportive in helping to provide opportunities for an entirely new category. and that would be of those who have transitioned from one biological sex to the other.

if they did not want to compete in on the side of their biological sex, because again, let's remember that none of them are being kept from competing on the side of their biological sex. we're literally talking something that seems more demented and completely unfair when we put a biologic biological girl and a biological male in the ring together to bite it. we're not, we're not playing on ethan brown's right now. europe and microstates san marino has sort of coded struggle of its own as the countries foreign minister hazards the you to open its borders to those inoculated with the sputnik. the jab, the blocks medicines watch dog is dragging its feet on approval despite most of san marino's population. already having gotten the russian shot which settled and split neat v d to delays the supply of n mae approved vaccines for more than 2 months. despite pre signed agreements,

and we believe that europe in institutions obliged to recognize the freedom of movement of anyone whose antibodies, dakota, 19, regardless of the type of shot, almost 20000 people. that's 2 thirds of san marino's population have been inoculated with sport and agree. but their inability to move freely is especially problematic as the landlocked nations entirely surrounded by italy. and you remember state at a news conference, russia and san marino's top diplomats railed against the shots. politicized politicization. maps with russia has delivered the sputnik the vaccine to san marino for the vaccination of the population are on the list collaboration and really help you improve epidemiological situation in some marina see, and let me open to these should be no clear validation. the scientists should speak about we are talking about the use of of thank you. nice will san marino health chief says geo politics have no place when it comes to

inoculation. we have some problem to, to. ready the movement in italy, the rece jubilee nichol issues. there is no doubt that to fight coby is necessary to dispose of as many scenes and treatment as possible. 94 percent of people actually nature that with the school has antibodies infection control. we are talking about a positive people to date and we haven't had not death since april. and our next 2 years are currently re ignorance and bad preparation. by boris johnson's government are to blame for a rise and coven fatalities. that's according to the british medical association,

the doctor's union added that covey related deaths and cases have been on the rise since lockdown was scrapped at the end of july. 42000 people have been admitted to hospital with coven, and 5000 have died. many of these infections could undoubtedly have been prevented the simple mandatory measures and would not effect reopening society one jot. absolutely. dr. try and knock for very, he's the chair of the b. m. a council. the british medical association, really scathing, not just on government ministers, but also of n h s. england. and the general medical council, which regulates talk to taking aim at all of them for the handling of the pandemic over the past 18 or so months and saying that doctors and nurses and the frontline and a chest work because i've been sacrificing really with poor working conditions and

poor pay, and also mediocre offers of pay rises all throughout pandemic. many of them losing their lives in the process and only to be treated with at disrespect by those aforementioned organizations and ministries. and also saying that the doctors that he represents and other professionals will refuse to accept the status quo once. and if we get through this pandemic, we will not accept a return to the old pre pandemic days of an in h s. in perpetual crisis. the n h s cannot afford to lose a single doctor where nearly 50000 doctors short compared to e, u averages. and any further reduction in workforce will be catastrophic for the nation's health. now what we've been seeing is a lot of tension in the u. k. in particular, people with huge backlogs and delays to getting the other medical treatments seen to unrelated to covert and of course,

as well tensions to do with how the government have handled locked out measures. and we've seen again clashes between protesters and police and security forces. when it comes to the question of things like locked down and of what bows, protest is anyway, would see as threats to civil liberties. the now over the weekend we've seen the government announcing utah yet another one. people would argue that now scrapping plans for the introduction of vaccine passports in the u. k. or at least in england anyway. now some of the protest as we've seen clash with police would welcome the scrapping of those on civil liberties drives. but we've seen in the past the government making you turns on how

it's handled cove it when it comes to things like the opening and the listing of all restrictions and delays and perhaps justifying. some of the criticisms we've heard from the b may check today, but as far as the government concerned, they've reached this decision off the careful consideration of all the facts. we've looked at it properly and once we should keep it in reserve as a potential option. i'm pleased to say that we will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports. these extraordinary times required necessary but intrusive measures, but i'm determined to get rid of any powers we no longer need because of our vaccine defenses. now one of the main pressure ports on the government with their own, m. p. 's back bench conservative m p 's deeply opposed to many of these locked down measures throughout the pandemic. and also deeply opposed to the introduction of these vaccine. paul sport, it's thought, but that really strong and strenuous protestations to the government was one of the

factors which led to this youth. and now we returned to our t special coverage of russia's parliamentary elections, which are about to take place over the weekend. the welcome back to the heart of moscow and to our thesis special studio well set up here throughout the week to bring you the very best coverage and reporting on the election for the state to do about the russians. loa house for voting itself takes place over 3 days from friday to to the end of sunday. this week we're going to introduce you to the parties involved in the rice and also give you a deeper insight into russian politics and why it matters to beyond the lesson. for the 1st konstantin raj cove explains why the elections are so special this time

around. more duties, more responsibility, more power. the upcoming election marks a new chapter in the history of the state duma. russia's lower house of parliament . the 2020 constitution referendum gave russian legislators new authority hands. whoever grabs these seats now will have greater political weight than their predecessors. the doom is now responsible for approving the countries prime minister, deputy prime minister that most of the cabinet. what remains intact, however, is the duma structure and there are $400.00 and tpc for grabs, which will this time be contested him on the 14th political party, the president can still appoint minister, is responsible for national security and foreign policy without parliament's approval. but even with that floss the new elected m, p 's will gain more influence and play a bigger role, same domestic economic affairs. and this is just a fraction of their newfound authority. the 2020 amendments have also solidified the so called parliamentary control,

a range of legal action. the duma can take the over hold different aspects. the countries governance like finances. for instance, m p 's can now summon russia. central bank chairman who now must report both to the president and the parliament with new powers come new responsibilities. there would be m. p 's, now face tao for scrutiny to be allowed to run. no foreign citizenship and new money, or acids in banks outside of russia. the pandemic has pushed authorities to increase the online balloting 1st tested during the 2020 constitutional referendum. 7 russian regents will provide this option for those who can't. or don't want to go to a polling station. in addition to vote is going to be held for 3 straight days to avoid lines and unnecessary commotion ad ballad boxes. the increased role of the country's main legislative body along with organizational challenges make this election, one of the rushes most significant out of the last decade. for those of the technical. what about the 14 parties? a constantino just mentioned that we're going to take you through some of them.

let's start with a just russia patriot. for truth along title for a party. i know it comes off to adjust. russia recently merged with 2 smaller poppies. it's a social, it's leading policy at 16.2 percent in the previous election that many did pass that 5 percent threshold that all important threshold needed to get some seats in parliament hollywood style stevens ago. he's now called russian citizenship. he's a member of this coffee. the chairman of the party told us what they offer and what they expected was the new socialism. we say that private property is necessary. entrepreneurship to redistribution of wealth is mandatory, as well as state control, health care cation, science and culture. should all be the burden of the state business. it shouldn't finance any of that. why is it in so many countries around 80 percent of government revenue comes from small, medium businesses. but in russia it's less than 10 percent. export to the oil and

gas contribute the lion's share. of course, there should be a different taxation system. say doom election results would be highly influential. but unfortunately people don't get it. they can't say that went off the repeated promises that the retirement age wouldn't be increased. it still happened. that was a decision made by the state duma deputies the people voted for some of them, at least some stayed home 5 years ago and didn't vote. as a result, people in the, in the voted for reforms to trash collection, health care and increase in the retirement age. people need to understand the law of depend on those who will be in the state duma after these upcoming elections. so she will help will be affected this safety when they see justice in the country or not. but people aren't able to connect the dots and see this pretty much. what was it about the journalist mouth and someone says that the ruling coffee is likely to do some support? well, i think the pension sold is clearly going to be a major issue, and it's not just been raised by the pension is party. it's,

it's the major issue between the main policies that, that are likely to fall better than 5 percent. and our suspects which the main thing of interest to our side is, will be that the predominance of the united russia over russian politics is going to be somewhat wednesday removed because they get their undoubtedly going to be the largest party. but i do not think they're going to get the 50 percent of the vote that they had last time. which implies, of course, that we're talking about coalition politics in the russian duma, which of course is normal in other european countries like germany. all right, that's all from our reduction studio for this hour, but our coverage is really only just beginning plenty more for you in the coming days here on our international. because we explained the big issues facing russian versus the people buying to win that ballast this weekend.