and also within the eu. this was all within the name of obtaining vital information to continue the fight against terrorism, but again, this is far from the truth. torture is not a way to fight criminal acts, it is a critical -- criminal act. it undermines our values. it is human dignity which hangs in the balance. and we must, when it comes to the prevention and coming to terms with what took place, find a different discourse, a different language, otherwise we will face nothing but hatred and violence in reaction. this is a matter of international humanitarian law. torture can never be allowed to happen and must be prosecuted. it is a shame on europe that we close our eyes to illegal rendition of prisoners or illegal prisons being operated even back in 2007. the parliament called for clarification and nothing has come of this request. who authorized people being taken away and transferred to facilities in secret to be tortured elsewhere? this is something that only became public knowledge last week, when w

this is an eu bought and paid for by you money?cessing information that may have came from third countries? processing information that may have come from torture? we should know. should finally get answers on the nature and activities. answers we have asked for many times. thank you, chair. thank you very much. [applause] do you accept a blue card? >> mister president, thank you. and i am obliged to my college for accepting my question. would you agree with me that heard rd that we have it m counsel today, while sounds very sweet, are in fact too little, too late? back in 2005, i stood in the spirit chamber. and i raised with council presidency on a day the fact that illegal detention centers were operating in europe. we do not receive any word at that time that they would be investigated. amir sidestepped by the minister of the british government. would you, therefore, agree that further inquiries today should be conducted as to whether it is appropriate if any government a minister who has knowledge to simply hide behind -- >> t

eu companies and eu citizens will no longer be operated -- allowed to operate in crimea. they will not be allowed to buy properties, hold sales restaurants in the crimean peninsula. to talk about the sanctions more broadly, as you said in your introduction, among the 28th member states, the official line from the european union, from the new eu diplomatic chief is that europe needs to keep up the pressure, and they are calling on vladimir putin to radically change his attitude. upon arrival here, the french president, francois hollande, floated the prospect of maybe scaling down the sanctions. if we are getting the right gestures, he said if, which is not the case at the moment europe could well be tempted to scale down the sanctions. different messages. we are in a wait and see situation in brussels. the dramatic event in moscow, with the ruble plummeting, is changing the picture. the eu wants to see beyond the press conference, what mr. putin has in store. >> the other aim of the summit is to boost investment in the struggling eurozone. has any progress been made there?

-eu debate. moving to a place conservatives are headed in the polls and make a referendum on the u.k. membership more likely and therefore conservatives -- conservatives ahead and you punish sterling, is that where you are going? >> i was pointing out the alternative. be fiscal plans would supportive for sterling. looking at this change in u.k. politics and what this new government is going to look like and the choice seems to be a type of the regular conservative government taking our negative attitude concerning europe and a labor government taking a negative attitude concerning business. these two factors are equally negative so i would not point any preference to a political party. , if a's talk timing conservative led government is bad for the pound and a labor lead government is bad for the pound, when does this really start to enter the market psyche? >> i guess it has already started and we look in july we were trading at levels above 1.170, we got into the debate and saw this weakening o

the eu and the u.s. agree on the need to coordinate sanctions and to reaffirm that energy must not be used as a political tool. so we'll keep you updated on any news that breaks there. but again, some interesting news coming out given the price of oil, how that impacts global economies. >>> another big story, get more on the current and future oil prices straight from the front office of the world's biggest energy economy, exxon mobil chairman and ceo rex tillerson will be on "squawk box" today at 6:30 a.m. eastern. it's an exclusive interview from the business round table meeting in washington. >> let's have a look at markets. a nice big show of green and red, the christmas colors wind me. will we see a santa rally for the rest of december? that's what we're asking you today. get in touch and let us know your thoughts. so far today, a little bit of a rally. up 0.25% on the stoxx 6 hurn. let's have a look at the stoxx 50. continental europe is up 0.7%. let's dive into the individual markets. the ftse 100

and also within the eu. this was all within the name of toaining vital information continue the fight against terrorism, but again, this is far from the truth. torture is not a way to fight criminal at, it is a critical act. it undermines our values. it is human dignity which hangs in the balance. we must, when it comes to the termstion and coming to with what the place, find a different discourse, a different language, otherwise we will spread nothing but hatred and violence in reaction. this is a matter of international humanitarian law. worker can never be allowed to happen -- torture can never be allowed to happen in must be prosecuted. it is a shame on europe that we close our eyes to illegal rendition of prisoners or illegal prisons operated even back in 2007. the parliament called for clarification and nothing has come of this request. beingthorized people taken away and transferred to facilities in secret to be tortured elsewhere? this is something that only became public knowledge last had, when we

and his disdain for the eu's opinions is reinforced by the fact that for his voters, eu membership isot so important. if they get into the eu, it will be nice. if they don't, well, they won't vote for somebody else if they don't. and many voters of erdogan would applaud his comments today, thinking he has put europe in its place. >> we will have to leave it there. thank you very much, reporting from ankara. belgium ground to a halt this monday with train routes disrupted. unions are fighting the austerity policy of the new center-right coalition. >> smoke rises on stanfill rush-hour traffic in antwerp as protesters blocked the roads. meanwhile, passengers discovered all flights are canceled for the day. >> this means 600 flights are canceled. the impact is huge, because we expected 60,000 passengers and today we cannot fly. >> the nationwide strike has closed schools and businesses and halted trains and other transport. it is the climax of a month of protest action that saw over 100,000 mark in the capital. they are rallying a government -- against the government decision to court a w

our defense budget is the biggest in the eu. . it's the second largest in the nato. we meet the 2% guideline of g.d.p. because of the success of our economic plan, we're able to mmit to over 160 billion pounds over the next 10 years. that's why you're going to see the aircraft carriers, the a-400 ms, the submarines with incredible equipment rolling off the proiks lines in our country to help keep us safe. >> and nigel north. >> the terrible slaughter of the innocents in pakistan yesterday shocked the world. it's another example of obscene atrocities being visited upon children in various parts of the world by these barbaric forces. another example was the attack on 200 school children abducted in northwest nigeria. at the time other governments pledged their support to assist in the hunt for those children, what can the prime minister offer in that regard? >> what we do in all these cases is see what expertise and assets that we have that we can help bring to play too help the governments trying to combat these problems. in nigeria, we did for a period lend the exper

russia and pushed for hundreds of billions of euros to stimulate economic growth in the du -- in the eu. cubans hope for a better future after the united states and their government move to restore normal relations. when you are russian president vladimir putin and a thousand journalists ask about your teetering economy what do you do? well, you blame the outside. at his into the year marathon press conference today, he accused the united states and saudi arabia pushing oil prices down in an attempt to put russia back in a box. >> but couldn't still enjoys high popularity numbers at home. he said he will not allow the rest -- the west to turn the russian bear into a stuffed animal. he promised a return to growth in two years time. we start with this report from moscow. >> the images of the beginning of his media extravaganza show him relaxed and confident. but when the talk turned to the currency crisis, vladimir putin started to look tense, despite his upbeat message. >> i give it two years. after that, our economy will definite grow because the global economy will also expand and more

leaving the eu? it's a real risk.o a there is little or no prospect of getting reform at a time when the eurozone is still in a sluggish state, that is a dangerous thing to be doing. we want to win the argument with the public. being in europe is good for jobs and investment. we need reforms to make that happen. reforms are across a wide range of area. cameron'sat david proposal for 2017 referendum speaks more to his weakness and division in the conservative party than anything with the british national interest. business and labor are on the same side. they say that it is dangerous for written's future and the economy. >> what do the other leaders say? the guests we have on here think this is a huge risk. why would you put yourself through this? >> i think europe wants to stay. they have their own problems to deal with in the eurozone. they've shown through the years that they want to find solutions for all of europe, including britain. they don't want us to leave. they need reform. they are hugely frustrated. we loo

the eu says a u.s. on transatlantic licenses for norwegian air could reach the aviation deal that was struck with washington. that is according to the wall street journal. for more, we are joined by the ceo of norwegian, bjoern kjos. he joins us on the phone. good morning, thanks for taking the time to join us today. we've been hearing reports that brussels will object to how washington is treating you. are you hearing confirmation of that as well? , good morning to everybody. we have just read that in the newspaper. source.is also our but we expect, actually, eu to stand up and do something about it. to us, it is a clear breach of the open sky agreement. >> wendy you think that is going to happen? this sideg to happen of christmas or do we expect it to happen at the beginning of next year? should actually execute this as soon as possible. overdue.ong time they should have acted actually yesterday. it to happen very soon. >> very soon. there will be some watching this program who haven't followed the no

the eu member states are bound by the european convention on human rights.fundamental rights. steps taken to combat terrorism are monitored by the european court of human rights in strasbourg. , it ishe lisbon treaty competent to re-examine eu legislation on internal security matters. robustovides a legislative context which provides guarantees within the framework of which we can and the scourge of terrorism. thank you for your attention to --. >> thank you very much for your statement. on behalf of the european , commissioner laputa's. >> thank you. president of the council, honorable members of the european parliament, the commission i represent here today for this matter is appalled by the findings of the senate select committee on intelligence study of the cia detention and interrogation program. part of which was released on the ninth of december. as you know, most of the inquiry remains classified. this report raises important questions in regard to serious violations of fundamental rights by the u.s. authorities and by other persons at the service of

and eu court rules that palestinian group hamas must be removed from the terror blacklist, however it still considered -- it is still considered a terrorist group. this as parliament backs a palestinian state in principle. and the white house prepares to slap new sanctions on russia but says there are no guarantees it will promote any change over ukraine. also coming up this hour in business, we will see how russian can tumors are dealing with a plunging value of their current as retailers raise prices, or in the case of apple iphones and ipads, pull their products. and in the run-up to round two of the presidential vote in tunisia, one is mining in the election for comedic polls. ♪ img got gillette in paris. first, in pakistan, the funerals of many of the victims of the attack on the school have already taken place. at least 141 were killed when taliban gunmen stormed the school in cash or -- in peshawar . most of the victims were children. >> by nightfall on tuesday dozens of grief stricken mourners buried their relatives. at least 140 schoolchildren and teachers killed in a brazen

. >> a very difficult issue, and particularly controversial because eu countries do not have the death penalty. now in belgium at least, the state is allowed to put certain prisoners to death if they request it. let me know what you think about that or any of our other stories. now to prompt -- prague where he knew tunnel is opening. the aim is to get traffic out of the historic city center, but the building work has been controversial and taken so long that the site has been used for something very different. >> grabs, flips, grinds -- those are tricks skateboarders like to do, usually outside, often in parks, but in prague, these days, the place to skate is the tunnel. when darkness falls, skaters climb over the spence, try not to get caught by the security guards, and then they can really shred. >> a tunnel like this is great for us skaters. it's dry and warm. what more could you want? we need more things like this. >> the skaters raced through the tunnel at speeds of up to 40 kilometers an hour. no cars, no pedestrians, and because a lack of proper safety installations has repeated

. >> translator: maybe the eu and the u.s.ering right now because mathematically the government won, maybe they can form a majority but this majority is a luxury, most citizens voted against the government and against european integration. >> unification they shout, activists who dream living under the umbrella of a european country and union and there is another one with a russian soul and this unity may increasingly be the reality, i'm with al jazeera. >>> it's 30 years since the world's worst industrial accident at india, a leak of deadly gas from a pesticide factory killed and injured thousands of people, in total as many as 25,000 may have died. as we report many of the women who were made widows are still struggling to make end meet. >> reporter: for 30 years she has struggled to do basic chores like cooking. she can't breathe prorly and suffers from debilitating headaches because of toxic fumes she inhaled. and she says this pressure box of medicines keeps her alive. >> translator: we were running from the gas i gathere

eu countries bombed us in 1999. they grabbed kosovo from us.sia throughout history has never attacked us. >> from the start, obstacles and delays have beset seshel's trial. but the biggest delay was caused by the hague itself. delays forced the replacement of one of the judges. setting back the process by months. after all the court proceedings were finished and as they were reaching an agreement on the verdict, the entire process was trowrnd squarreturned to square. this is unacceptable. >> seshel says he will not return. >> in my mind, never. if they arrest me, and bring me to account, what i could do? >> this is seshel at a recent internationalist rally, as the citizen return of the most unrepentant nationalist threaten is. >> neave barker, al jazeera, belgrade. >> manufacturer airbus delivered the plane to qatar airways, which becomes the first airlines to fly the carbon composite airplane. >> they have waited eight years, and it would not happen again in another decade. the unveiling of a new airplane, the a-350 picks up on something that

the eu initially wanted to keep the bailout in place for another six months.ow greece will only have to bear the observers and their tough conditions for another two months. now within the extra two-month period, the eu and greece will still have to negotiate a deal and still have to find a way to put further o'sterity measures in place if greece wants to receive the last installment of the current rescue program. once that is settled and agreed, there is a possibility that greece will receive a so-called safety credit line for the future with less tough conditions attached. >> i doubt that is going down well with many in greece this . weekend saw violent protests at times. athens and a number of other cities. is there a concern that more o'sterity will mean less stability in greece? >> absolutely. that is this is why time suggest crucial and why the finance ministers agreed to if you want to postpone the problem by two months. two months is a crucial period. the prime minister of greece is facing crucial presidential elections. and he will be able in february

the eu has two months to decide whether to appeal the ruling. >>> policymakers at the u.s. federal reserve have sat around the table from each other to discuss the economy and released a statement. to the business desk. >> they choose their words carefully. they know one phrase, one word, can move markets. they introduced new wording this time that they can be patient about a rate hike, but they also maintained what's become a standard phrase for them, which is that they will keep rates low for considerable time. they're indicating they are movinging toward a hike, but they're not saying when. the policymakers ended their two-day meeting on wednesday. they decided in october to end quantitative easing, under which the fed pumped a massive amount of money into the financial markets. since then, investors have focused on when the central bank would raise the spres rate. the statement says economic activity is expanding at a moderate pace and conditions have improved further. policymakers viewed that the plunge in crude oil prices will have a temporary impact on commodity pric

. >> and the eu's latest scandal involves the government of luxembourg and top companies like walt disney, microsoft, and skype. collects welcome to the program. the european union and the united nations are calling for a transparent investigationinto the death of the palestinian authority minister during a west bank protest. he is the first palestinian cabinet members to die during a protest and his death is likely to stoke simmering temp -- tension over jerusalem and the west bank. >> seen here in the brown coat shortly before his death. this footage captures just before is security forces grabbed him and make chokehold. moments do, he keeled over. the altercation took lace after israeli soldiers fired tear gas at demonstrators protesting israeli settlements. he was filming the is really soldiers, accusing them of using excessive force. this is an occupation of terror, he said. some say he was hit in the chest with a tear gas canister. others say he died of exposure to teargas. despite the cause, it is clear who is to blame. >> will do not have to remain silent. we have to bring his kil

we include what we spend bilaterally and what the eu spends. things like the donations to the world food program and others. obviously, any fund would give money to, we should work as hard as we can to make sure it does not waste money and is spent in the right way. i think the contribution to the green climate fund is indicative of the. >> but could we use it more effectively if we challenged other countries to match what we are doing? because the targets of the green fund has been reduced to 10 billion. the u.k. has pledged 12% of the. doesn't that make it easier for other countries to sit back? wouldn't it be better for us to work with other countries to say will you match us? >> i was criticized for holding back on the green climate fund because i wanted to do exactly that. inent to the conference september and said i would try and deliver an eu deal on climate change and carbon reductions. i want to see the color of other people's money before i put our in.y and -- i think sometimes it is the right decision to lead, other times you want to

that's because eu law states that refugees must seek asylum in the eu country in which they were firstregistered. and, for him, that's bulgaria. shaikh tajuddin serves the tea. families are allotted the biggest rooms in the hostel. imad al-mustafa's family was torn apart when they fled syria. he only found his wife, mary, two months later. >> at home we heard that the germans are very friendly and have sympathy for war refugees. >> al-mustafa says they're still waiting to be reunited with two of their children, who have been located in a refugee camp in turkey. they envision what their future might look like in germany. but they'll only be allowed to work if and when they're granted asylum. shaikh tajuddin had his own business in pakistan. he tells us he can't stand sitting around with nothing to do. >> i am very useful myself. i am good for the community, good for the people and i have so much to give you back to this society. >> and, a few days a month, he's able to do just that. then tajuddin whips up pakistani dishes as part of an initative in which refugees and germans cook and ea

are arguing -- do we use money that is in the eu? i would agree. if -- obviously any fun we give money to, we should work as as we can to make sure that it does not waste that the y and they spent in right way. i think the contribution we climate fund n will do that. we literally target screen one with 16 million, it's been reduced to 10. do we need other countries to sit back and say, in the u.k. does the heavy lifting? would it be easier for us to work with other countries to say why don't you match us? >> i was criticized for holding back on the green climate fund. exactly that -- i went to ban ki-moon's conference in i would r and said that deliver, trying to deliver an eu deal on climate change. but, i held back on making a contribution to the green fund. i said i wanted to see other people's money before we put our money and. i think it is a mixture likely. i think sometimes it is worth other times worth holding back. it can work to leave earned money to say we were only given will be matched by others. i think we should do all those methods.

putin says the project is being ditched basically due to the eu's reluctance to support it. now, the south stream pipeline planned to -- let's show you here. planned to supply 63 billion cubic meters of gas, natural gas a year. that's equivalent to more than 10% of european demand, from russia via the black sea into, of course, the eu, the european union. it was planned to be up and running by the end of this decade. certainly cementing russia's role as the region's dominant supplier. but it's come under increasing fire this year. of course, the crisis over ukraine led to brussels freezing its approval process and the pipeline had trouble over weaker european gas decline and the falls in energy prices. president putin, he has now proposed building a new pipeline through turkey instead, offering turkey gas at a discounted rate. let's get more on this. an associate fellow at the russian and eurasian program joins us. great to have you with us. we understand, of course, these western sanctions against russia, but some may be wondering why the eu was so reluctant so have a new g

this is the first major eu power to say it publicly. the u.s.alk about de-escalation in march. even if hollande got his way, these are in place until july. in july, all 28 countries have to agree to extend them if they are to be extended. you can understand the french, from an economic perspective. they have had to forgo a $1.5 billion deal of warships to russia, helicopter carriers. austria has also expressed concern. one of their biggest bank yesterday was down more than 6%. turmoil ever since the sections really kicked in and the currency collapse went into hyperspeed. the germans have also been suffering. you look at basf yesterday. world's largest chemical maker had to cancel an asset swap that it had arranged with gazprom. the german chancellor says they still have to stay the course. the reasons why the sections on the reason why the sanctions are there, the problems persist. >> different, the relationship between europe and russia. how is the turmoil as it unfolds so close to european borders? >> the agenda at the european union went fro

the proposals that eu leaders fear could jeopardize years of austerity sacrifices. future political turmoil raises questions about its ability to be financially independent. >> let's take a look at how the situation shaped trading this monday. the ftse and dax ended above the flatline. it was a different picture and referral europe with the indices in spain and angeli ending down -- and italy ending down. in the united states, the indices are mixed. they are actually trading above the flatline right now. the nasdaq ever so slightly. energy shares are in the spotlight this session as we have seen oil prices fluctuate. first they were down and now they are up. i should say the opposite. first they were up and now they are down. a few other stories we are watching for you shares of airasia dropped after the disappearance of the flight 850 1. investors fear some may turn away from the carrier. even a small drop in sales could have a big impact on profitability. the russian ruble has come under pressure against the dollar and the euros. the russian economy shrank by 0.5%

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are arguing -- do we use money that is in the eu? i would agree. if -- obviously any fun we give money to, we should work as as we can to make sure that it does not waste that the y and they spent in right way. i think the contribution we climate fund n will do that. we literally target screen one with 16 million, it's been reduced to 10. do we need other countries to sit back and say, in the u.k. does the heavy lifting? would it be easier for us to work with other countries to say why don't you match us? >> i was criticized for holding back on the green climate fund. exactly that -- i went to ban ki-moon's conference in i would r and said that deliver, trying to deliver an eu deal on climate change. but, i held back on making a contribution to the green fund. i said i wanted to see other people's money before we put our money and. i think it is a mixture likely. i think sometimes it is worth other times worth holding back. it can work to leave earned money to say we were only given will be matched by others. i think we should do all those methods.

>> yes, and we've cut immigration from outside the eu by 24%. but with immigration every single step we've taken was opposed by the labour party. they put immigration up as a deliberate act of policy. this government made promises to our tensioners, promises kept, promises on our nhs, promises kept. above all, he promised to turn our economy around from the mess left by those two. [shouting] >> throw him out because he broke his promise. [shouting] now, what he ought to be saying that dares is he made a solemn promise and he broke it. let's turn to another one of those big solemn promises. this is what he said to the nurses conference just before the last election, and i quote. i want to tell you what we are not going to do. there will be no more of those pointless we organizations -- [laughter] but instead bring chaos. mr. speaker, when he said it did he mean it's? >> what we have done is to see more doctors, more nurses, more patients treated. but i have -- if we are on promises, mr. speaker, i have a little list. i have a list of his promises

where the eu goes they tell you nato will follow. peter sharp, al jazeera, moscow. >> stay with us for the al jazeera news hour, coming up in a short while. charging the barricades, the most violent confrontation so far between police and protesters in hong kong. it is world aids day and scientists concerned about the drugs used by patients to keep the virus at bay. in sports, one of europe's most highly prized football coaches has hit rock bottom. stay with us. go where technology meets humanity... >> sharks like affection >> tech know, only on al jazeera america >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really committed is journalism... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new

where the eu goes they tell you, nato will follow. peter sharp, al jazeera, moscow. >>> more than 1.7 million syrian refugees could go hungry this winter. the u.n. food program says it needs more than $64 million to finance the aid needed through december. >>> two sisters are being held as heroes in india after beating up men who were sexually harassing them on a bus. the video shows them beating the men with belts. >>> reuben dario azate has been released on monday. announced his resignation after 33 years in the military. >>> president obama has pledged stop police building a militarized culture. this after more protests over the michael brown shooting. shia britanzi reports. >>> walking out of businesses, offices and campuses aat lunch time. >> classes are participant, schools are important but justice is more important. >>> the expression of outrage of unarmed teenage are michael brown by a police officer. it's been clear for some time that this is no longer just about ferguson. and in washington, president obama was keen to show

>> yes, and we have cut immigration from outside the eu by 24%.ith immigration, every single step we have taken in the past four years was opposed by the labour party for the last four years. what did they do for 13 years in government? they put immigration up as a deliberate act of policy. this government made promises to our pensionerspromises kept; promises on our nhspromises kept; and above all, a promise to turn our economy around from the mess left by those two. >> so he did mean it: throw him out because he broke his promise. what he ought to be saying, but dare not say, is that he made a solemn promise, and he broke it. let us turn to another one of those big, solemn promises. this is what he said to the nurses' conference just before the last election. "i want to tell you what we're not going to do. there will be no more of those pointless reorganizations that aim for change but instead bring chaos." when he said it, did he mean it? >> what we have done is seen more doctors, more nurses, more patients treated. but if we are on promises, m

i don't think it will the eu.ventually, if the relationship gets there, it could become a concern. >> thank you so much, atilla yesilda, turkey advisor at global source partners in istanbul. coming up, we take a look at what moody's ratings cut means for japan and for prime minister s election campaign. ♪ >> welcome back to "the pulse." back to the news this morning that moody's has cut japan's credit rating. they cut it by one level to a 1. this comes a day before shinzo abe begins campaigning for election. joining us from tokyo is andy sharp. what were the reasons moody's gave for the downgrade? >> basically, looking at the , they are citing the heightened uncertainty of the capability of japan's fiscal reduction goals. japan has the world's biggest debt to gdp ratio. the trigger for this may well have been mr. abe delaying a sales tax increase. again, heightening concerns among people at the ratings company about japan's commitment to achieving its fiscal goal. >> just give us a sense of the reaction in japan.

eu officials agreeing to tighten attention sanctions on crimea in time for the eu leader summit whicheen taking place 18th to 19th of december. the new sanctions are reportedly going to include forbidding eu firms from investing in the region and from prohibiting the trade of eu oil and gas exploration technologies. on another note, kremlin aid is saying only word nated action of government and central bank can help the ruble. of course, that's been another big concern for investors is the free fall that we have been seeing in the russian ruble. the kremlin saying the impact of central bank action depends on the price of oil and how it moves given that russia's government relies 50% of its revenue comes from oil services. a major blow to the economy. >>> the russian central bank investigating a possible manipulation of fx markets. geoff cutmore is live in moscow. how are you reading and digesting these headlines, geoff? >> this always tends to happen when central banks and finance ministeres and governments become uncomfortable with the direction their currencies are taking and the pa

the return comes at a tentative time for serbia going to eu membership and people are concerned thathip of eu will have a loss of sovereignty for the country and damaging to the close ties with russia and no secret of desire to unite russia and serbi and and interrupting the interview is his mobile phone. ♪ the russian national and them, his ring tone of choice. >> translator: all of our traditional enemies are members, russia is our traditional friend and ally and eu countries bombed us in 1999 and grabbed cosovo from us and russia through the history has never attacked us. >> reporter: from the start obstacles and delays set off the trial and the resent upset was caused by the hague itself. in fighting between officials forced replacement of one of the presiding judges setting the verdict back by months and prosecutors accused the hague of being irresponsible. >> translator: after all the court proceedings were finished and as we were reaching agreement on the verdict the entire process was returned to square one, this is un acceacc e unacceptable. >> reporter: and a new verdict is

coming up, the eu summit is underway in brussels. we will take a look at why the president of france is going against other european union leaders in proposing sanctions relief for russia. stay with us, bottom line on bloomer television continues in just a moment. ♪ >> welcome back. stocks are rising after the biggest jump of the year for the s&p 500 of global equities rallied on the federal reserve -- federal reserve saying to be patient on increases. the dow jones industrial is rising at this hour, up 1.6% at 17,461. , it is on the rise as well. the s&p is up at 1.6% as well, at 2045. >> it is not so much the volatility is spiking or going back to normal. that is the key word here, is the big going back to that 20 range echoed that is where it used to be. we have had an unusual time of a function ofrtly accommodation. as the fed normalizes, volatility should as well. >> the nasdaq composite index this hour, it is at 4728. let's take a look at crude oil on this thursday. crude continuing its live. intraday, down nearly 3.5% at 54.53

it was asked to decide whether obesity was covered by eu rules. excess weight itself could not be considered a disability. however, it also said that if obesity caused long-term problems, which prevented an individual from taking part in professional life, then that person could be classed as disabled. and that means they would be covered by legislation designed to prevent discrimination. a finding which is likely to have wide-ranging effects for employers. >> this means that when an employer has someone who is disabled through obesity, they'll have to make adjustments to accommodate that person's obesity in the workplace and also protect that obese person from verbal harassment. >> reporter: the situation is still unclear. his case has been sent back to the court in denmark to decide whether or not he himself could be considered disabled. theo leggett, bbc news. >> interesting story. let me just quickly give you a flash of the markets after president putin's been speaking. we've seen the russian market up higher today, just over 14%. the ruble at

by handing that out many the eu pressures countries like morocco to do their dirty job. many like soko kruma were immediately sent back. rights groups such as amnesty international. >> i lived for one year hiding in the forest. each month i tried who two or three times to cross over into spain. now it's not possible and i'm stuck here. >> reporter: recently the government has adopted a policy paving its way to settle in morocco and stop the massive deportimmigration to europe. their dream is still to make it one day to europe. al jazeera rabat. >> new year will issue in a new law. the u.k. is tightening up its smoking ban. lighting up in public places has been illegal since 2007, and smoking in cars will be banned in tbrean. in 2015. the new law will allow women to run in municipal elections. in california, life will be easier for undocumented migrants. as rob reynolds reports advocates believe it will make it safer for everyone who travel on california's highways. >> living and working in southern california's cities, it is hard to get around without a car. but undocume

. >> honestly, as i had said to the eu, these operations are not enough.en is capabilities by 70% or 80% with more airstrikes. >> this is one victory that comes after a string of defeats. the airstrikes are making a difference. they are back in the fight. , in northernji iraq. western countries have promised to increase to 100,000 the number of syrian refugees they will except for resettlement. germany is among one of the countries that may be overwhelmed. >> in a single room shared with strangers, a family tries to settle in. they have just arrived from syria. tellwould have died, they us, if they had stayed, but leaving nearly killed them, too. "we took a small boat to literally -- italy. the waves were high. we ran out of water. it was a horrible situation." refugee camps have been overwhelmed. this year alone, it is thought people will claim asylum here, and they just keep coming. takes more for asylum than any other country in the european union, and even the government admits it cannot go on like this. imagine crossing the mountains on foot. it is ho

leaving the eu? >> it is a real risk, if you have a conservative government in 2015 when there is little or no prospect of reform at a time when the eurozone is in a sluggish state that is a dangerous thing to be doing. withnt to win the argument the public that being in europe is good for jobs and investment. we need reform to make that happen. that david cameron proposal has spoken more to his weakness and division than anything to do with the british national interest and i think business and labor here are on the same side saying that would be really dangerous for britain's future as an economy what do they say, the guests we have on here seem to say this is a huge risk and why would you put yourself through this? >> our partners in europe want to stay and i think they have their own problems to deal with at the moment but they have also shown that they want to find solutions which work for all of europe including britain. they know we and they need reform. and i am hugely frustrated because it a

the 3.6 billion euros in savings will come partly from the fact that france's contribution to the eu budget is less than expected. with new, record low borrowing costs, interest payments are also lower. the rest of the savings come from measures announced in october, including cracking down on companies and intervals -- and individuals that avoid paying sales tax, the government also scrapping a system of -- local authorities will be able to raise taxes on some second homes. french finance minister -- the french finance minister reiterated the government's pledge that there will be no new tax hikes before 2017. a welcome announcement, and one of hollande's campaign promises he is vowing to keep. >> latest on russia scrapping plans to build a pipeline. >> they have rejected claims of -- that eu objections were behind the project falling through. the pipeline would have brought russian gas to europe viable gary instead of ukraine -- via bulgaria instead of ukraine. the commissioner says that russia did not want to follow the rules. >> i think that our russian partners know very well th

those people are eager to join the eu. but the turkish government is far away from the eu. >> 2015 is to become the year of his complete takeover, whether by elections or a referendum. he wants to create a presidential system stamped by a greater role of islam. the opposition is powerless and at odds will stop the internal political divisions in turkey are getting deeper will stop then there's the violence on the southeastern border of turkey. >> turkey has taken over a million syrian refugees and more a ride every day. yet a have then hesitant to pull out all the stops against islamic state. a disappointment to the kurds inside and outside turkey and western and arab nations fighting the extremists. >> to neighboring greece where voters have started the countdown to next month's early elections. they are due on january 25. >> the outgoing premise or has asked the president to his -- to dissolve element. they have warned greeks they will decide whether the country remains part of the eurozone. he accuses the opposition lef

has been -- and to create structural reforms that the eu has been calling for. >> what do they haveo say about trading? >> this issue has completely divided anyone who has heard about it. some people on one side have said it is not going to do enough to create any durable jobs to really make a difference. on the other side, the less -- the more left-leaning side, they are saying it is going against the party principles, everything the party stands for. what we heard from the prime minister and the economy minister was their assist -- their insistence that they are not trying to change the fundamentals of society. really, they are just trying to give the business as an option of staying open 12 rather than five sundays. the idea of sunday rest will remain the rule in france. and they are insisting that it is important for social and family life here, and that it is an opportunity for businesses to try to stay open and do more business. judging from the controversy that this has already generated we have not heard the end of this particular question. this idf sundays, i think it will