. >> rosalind jordan looks at this subject and looks whether u.s. foreign aid helps or hurts. >> the united states says 2014 was a very violent year. thanks to what it calls increased acts of terrorism. >> the number of terrorist attacks in 2014 increased 35%. and total fatalities increased 81% compared to 2013, largely due to activity in afghanistan and nigeria. >> i.s.i.l.'s takeover of iraq and northern syria in 2014 created response, obama administration created a multinational affairs which blew up i.s.i.l. buildings and killed i.s.i.l. fighters. in nigeria, boko haram continued its attacks on the government and civilians most notably kidnapping some 300 schoolgirl school school girls from the town of chibok. much more difficult problem of lone wolves. people inspired by these groups who then attack civilians. the shootings in ottawa and quebec and a hostage crisis in sydney are three of the more serious incidents this year. one analyst says it's really a balancing act. >> i they think that we are articulating this idea that americans need to b

rosalind jordan looks at what the report reveals and what it wasn't. >> reporter: political rivals arrested and gaoled in rush e. government opponents subject to brutal punishment in saudi arabia. crackdowns on the freedom of expression and rite of assembly in ethiopia. these are some of the abuses highlighted in the u.s. state determinate human rites report for 2014. >> my advice to any leader upset by the findings is to is to examine them. to look at the practices of their country. >> reporter: what's more, u.s. officials say government human rights violations made it easier for groups like i.s.i.l., boko haram, and al-shabab to commit their own abuses. >> yes, you have a right and a duty to do everything you can to defeat organizations like i.s.i.l., you have to do it in a way that respects human rights. otherwise not only are you committing injustices, you'll undermine the shared fight. >> human rights activists say the reports are valuable. they spell out the sins fo allies and enemies, saudi arabia - is a case in point. the u.s. supports the air war. saudi denies women the right to dr

rosalind jordan looks at a new report on counterterrorism asking whether u.s. foreign policy helps or hurts. >> from the many al-shabab attacks on government facilities in mogadishu to the thousands of people that left their homes to fight along side i.s.i.l. the united states says 2014 was a violent year thanks to what it called increased acts of terrorism. >> the number of terrorism attacks in 2014 increased 25%, and total fatalities increased 81% compared to 2013. largely do to activities in iraq, afghanistan and syria. >> reporter: i.s.i.l.'s takeover in 2014 consumed much of the world's attention. in response the obama administration created a multinational air force, blowing up buildings and killed with fighters. in nigeria boko haram continued its attacks on the government and civilians. notably kidnapping 300 schoolgirls. the girls are missing. while these groups face economic sanctions and travel bands, the report notes a difficult problem of so-called loan wolves. people inspired by the groups who attacked civilians. the shooting in ottawa and quebec

. >> louis jordon has more from br -- rosalind jordan has more. >> the president said the administration doesn't have a complete strategy for dealing with i.s.i.l. in iraq and syria, officials are telling reporters that the situation is this - the fight against i.s.i.l. in iraq is led by the iraqi government, not the obama administration so it would be inappropriate for the administration to try to tick date how the i.s.i.l. fighters should be taken on particularly right now in anbar province one thing that is stressed by u.s. official is that the u.s. is basically trying to look at how to train fighters. it's trined more than 89 fighters in the iraqi military. however, they say that one of the big problems is that prime minister haider al-abadi has not provided enough recruits for additional training saying as long as he is providing enough proof from the sunni majority population, it will be difficult to take on i.s.i.l. in any xreps iway. that said it was committed to coming up with a strategy, and is doing so as quickly as possible. they are stressing it comes down to the government

rosalind jordan has the details. >> reporter: at every opportunity in the last three days u.s. officials say they raised the question of cyber security with counterparts. on wednesday secretary of state john kerry said finally both companies came up with a form of action to deal with the problem. >> we beleave that the united states and china should be working together to develop and implement a shared understanding of appropriate state behaviour in cyber space. i'm pleased to say that china agrees that we must work together to complete a code of conduct recording the cyber activities. >> reporter: chinese officials are bris lipping at the suggestion that they or people working at their behest may have been hacking into u.s. government computers, one saying the u.s. should be careful, and only bring up matters with the facts, and not innuendo >>> france announced plans for a widespread surveillance law. the government voting to legalize large-scale monitoring of extremists and critics say the law will allow authorities to collect massive amounts of data. secretary of state john

our state don't correspondent rosalind jordan reports. >> reporter: small victories in the year-long war against i.s.i.l. residents of tikrit returning to the homes they fled when i.s.i.l. fighters moved in. the kurdish flag flying over syria, after kurdish forces and syrian opposition wound back the border town from i.s.i.l. u.s. military leaders say the war against the group is over in part because of a lack of iraqi manpower. the defense secretary says it's unlikely the goal of training 24,000 military recruits will be reached by the end of the year. now, u.s. advisors trained 7,000. >> we have had unused capacity in our train and equip sites in parts of iraq because the iraqi government has not furnished us with paid recruits. that is turning around. it has to stay turned around for us to have success. >> carter and the chairman. joint chiefs of staff said the situation is difficult. especially in light of the recent fall of ramadi to end the capital to i.s.i.l. forces. develop si suggested it might be ending sooner rather than later, and the u.s. was talking with allies about ho