Independence referendum after the Scottish National party made big gains in the his recent general election. A very warm welcome to the program from all of us here at r t h q in moscow thanks for joining us this hour. There are still no official statement on the identity of the attacker who opened fire outside the federal Security Service building in central moscow on thursday night local media though have named a suspect the Russian Investigative Committee has reportedly searched the home of that suspect and interviewed his friends and family killed in f. S. B. Officer before being shot dead himself 5 other people were injured in the attack. It was using the media to the end with her and 3 sounds we needed him to realize that we should hide then we heard someone in the street shouting go back go back. Go signals and youll listen when the mom wasnt shooting randomly and i think we heard him shout out something but we didnt manage to make out what he was shouting. And. What im looking for sitting in a basement were watching now when a guy came out with just going outside and he told us there was a shooting alchemy 7 inches possible he told us the injured party had been dragged into the cafe. But wasnt calm last night and the f. S. B. Building is just to the left of me and the whole thing happened at around half past 6 in the evening right on the opposite side of this main f. S. B. Building of this f. S. B. Had quarter according to an unconfirmed video which we can show you right now the alleged shooter took his position between behind one of the columns right again on the opposite side of this building he took aim armed with an Assault Rifle and he opened fire it seemed that he was specifically targeting f. S. B. Offices coming out of the building one of his b. Officer has been shot dead 4 of them wounded and one wounded was a civilian all those 5 people right now right now receiving medical treatment and medical care now just to give you an idea as to how busy it was here last night what youre seeing right now is putting my. Ation compared to that because this is the heart of moscow its the very center of the russian capital its a trendy and hip area with plenty of bars cafes and restaurants so at 6 oclock it wasnt just the end of the work shift it wasnt just the end of the word they wasnt just people leaving their offices offices out on the streets but also plenty of people just out and about plenty of tourists i mean if you just look over there Christmas Decorations are already up here so people were doing their Christmas Shopping theres a St Regis Hotel right across the street from me so there were literally hundreds of people out and about on the square and they were terrified by the shooting but initially many of them were confused because with christmas right around the corner many of them mistook the 1st burst of fire with well fireworks. I was sitting with my friends at a bar when the shooting began and it was the sound of a kalashnikov Assault Rifle i know what it sounds like my friends were like oh it must be firecrackers but i told them no way its not firecrackers and then we saw people running down the street it was scary at 5 or 10 minutes past 6 the gunfire began and it was not just a few shots it came in bursts we saw officers taking cover behind the cars because you all shes left work met up with my girlfriend and when we heard some dull sounds in the distance i thought at 1st it was fireworks or some firecrackers but as the sound continued we realized something was wrong Traffic Police who were in the business could bridge as usual began evacuating people they barely got on to what was going on people started running we heard the gunfire while the Security Services right now looking to establish the identity of the shooter as well as his motives but the timing i should say the timing of the attack is well its suggestive not only did it coincide with latimer putins main Media Conference annual. And of the Media Conference but also how the Security Services state the official Security Services day there was a celebration over they the kremlin and there were plenty of members of Security Services there and Vladimir Putin the russian president he was there to to congratulate them on their official on their official day so again plenty of details are missing right now no more official information as of yet we do know that the russian president is being kept in the loop of this attack right here in the heart of moscow Charles Shoebridge a security analyst and former British Army Officer gave us his appraisal of the situation and told us where things could go from here. Well the police in the Security Services will be looking really to establish 2 aspects of this is an absolute priority the 1st of course is the identity of this person and they may well already know that and of course will give a very good and a very strong indication i think of what they were to vacation in this case was what it was political or personal or indeed some other aspect that was driving the motivation here and 2nd of course even though theyve said its from according to reports that nobody else was involved in this attack they will want to be sure that nobody else was actually involved in any planning aspects or in terms of assisting the government and that might take some time for example the examination of mobile phone records of any c. C. T. V. Records and of course any. Communications and so on that might be held on the suspects computers and elsewhere and of course that would require house searches and so on but the fact is i think. Even if you were going to have the most benign government the most benign state in any country to what you will get some people will react violently and i assume the policies of that will have on it because of policy because of instance or background or the circumstances of their own personal lives. U. S. Senators have resorted to bullying tactics threatening a Swiss Company with sanctions that could cripple its business if it doesnt stop working on the construction of the north stream to pipeline europe is livid with washington over its last minute attempts to disrupt russian gas supplies to europe looks at how the u. S. Is trying to blackmail its allies when it comes to Energy Policy. They say politics is a dutch game and its players can be selfish greedy and unethical but for the most part they do is pretend theyre in it for the right reasons and of playing by the rules i think someone might have forgotten to tell ted cruz you fisa binary choice stop now and leave the pipeline unfinished the express intention of the sanctions legislation which we all thought were make a foolish attempt to rush to complete the pipeline and reese putting your company out of the business forever so whats called an elected u. S. Senator so riled up that hes sending out letters with the distinct whiff of blackmail to them how did you guess its russia almost specifically north stream to the 1225 kilometer pipeline running from russia to germany thats on the brink of completion the us though is in its greatest fan the United States commands all our European Partners who have taken a strong stand against north stream to. And we commend others to do the same germany is totally controlled by russia because they were getting from 60 to 70 percent of their energy from russia and a new pipeline this pipeline if completed would make europe even more dependent on Russian Energy would generate billions of dollars for putin billions of dollars that would follow and the Russian Military aggression. We dont want your Energy Supplies to be defended. But america couldnt risk letting people make the decisions times running out of to rule they decided to get it down in writing and possibile which will require dont try to impose sanctions on any Foreign Companies and individuals who are lending a helping hand in building the pipeline like the lucky recipient of cruises lets all see is a company of a 6000 kilometers away from washington in switzerland and like youd expect from a politician at that level the latter is filled with all the signposts of a moderate person whos just ready to sit down and reach a compromise for the next decade your company and personnel will be entirely barred from the United States any transactions will be blocked all property will be frozen now clearly this is a matter very close to cruzs heart because earlier this month he introduced another piece of legislation protecting Europes Energy Security act thats despite some in europe not actually wanting any protection European Energy policy must be decided in europe not the us we fundamentally reject outside intervention and sanctions with extra territorial effect but cruise thinks he knows better he needs to save poor europe from falling victim to those devious forces in moscow it would make europe even more dependent on Russian Energy and that makes europe susceptible to economic blackmail europe depended on russia is not good for europe its not good for america i wont waste time in pointing out the irony and its not even a cheeky one off blackmail kind of thing earlier this year u. S. Ambassador to germany Richard Grinnell previously described by a german politician as acting like the high commissioner of an occupying power and persona nongrata also thought hed flex his muscles we emphasize that Companies Involved in Russian Energy exports are taking part in something that. Prompt a significant risk of sanctions now does not being a fine of something and then theres going to these kinds of lengths and causing diplomatic disputes its almost as if the us has something to lose from nordstrom to going ahead it helps american jobs much better for European Energy needs to be satisfied by American Natural Gas that creates jobs here in america rather than fueling putins military how much and that we have it americans who propounded the virtues of the free market and happy about some healthy competition especially when the competition is providing a cheaper and faster alternative though ill admit it does have one thing missing with the us in another year of record setting natural Gas Production im pleased that the department of energy is doing what account to promote an efficient regulatory system that allows for molecules of u. S. Freedom to be exported to the world and does cruisin like his freedom gas in fact last year alone he liked 765000. 00 of it thats how much in donations he got from the oil and gas lobby making him the sectors top recipient in all of congress but really thats just by the by. We spoke to the most in the executive director of the Eurasia Center about this he told us the u. S. Is trying to pressure its allies into buying liquefied natural gas from america. Its an economic issue more than any type of security issue i mean i find it interesting that that the u. S. Theyre trying to dictate. Economic development Energy Policy to europe and europe needs this energy both from reducing their coal and nuclear or percentage of power as well as well to provide an engine for their Economic Growth and you know russia its been a very reliable and i think its i think its basically an economic way to get back at russia but also theyre going to be sanctioning their own allies to trying to twist their arms to buy more u. S. But europe does not make them competitive to pay anywhere from 50 percent to twice the amount for for energy and the elegy is not reliable youve got weather conditions youve got shipping condition to get Everything Else so from a european perspective the most secure way to ensure an independent Energy Policy and Energy Security from my perspective is completion of north korean to. You could government has rejected demands for a new Scottish Independence referendum thats after 1st minister nicolas sturgeon made a formal request to hold a nother vote with a new house of commons currently debating Prime MinisterBoris Johnsons bracks it deal the leader of the Scottish NationalParty Faction there has reiterated calls to go it alone. To decisively to risk it breaks it gives scotland its choice to try to choose its own future it is tight for Scottish Independence yet a very are 2 things alan has more on how the u. K. Election has revitalized scotlands bid for independence. Boris johnson the british Prime Minister took his place in parliament once more following the events election victory last week a very convincing one for Boris Johnson winning a strong parliamentary majority and as a result of that he was able to lay out his legislative agenda Going Forward over the next parliament now one of those issues which is arisen because of that election is the question of Scottish Independence and the British Government saying. Theyre not going to even entertain it as they of course want to maintain the union we should resist because of those who would break up the United Kingdom we should politely politely and respectfully. Partnership and you know all of this has been brought into closer focus following last weeks general election the s. N. P. Doing very well winning 48 seats pretty much a very overwhelming majority almost all of the seats in scotland while the tories won a majority south of the border and elsewhere and so as far as the s. N. P. A concern what happened off the braggs it and the results of the election are a clear indication that the scottish people want to have another say when it comes to Scottish Independence he must have the right to consider the alternative of independence the question of independence must be to say good by the people i know it by politicians scotland made very clear last week that it does not warrant a tool the government led by Boris Johnson teaching is 8 of europe and path that we havent chosen. But that is the future we fiefs if we dont have the opportunity to consider the tentative of independence now 5 years ago there was a Scottish Independence referendum the scottish people voted by 55 percent to 45 percent to remain in the union with the rest of the United Kingdom and so the u. K. Government borrows johnson say thats it its a once in a lifetime generation vote you dont get another say but for scotland the concern breaks it changed everything the scottish people voted overwhelmingly by around 2 thirds of the population to remain in the e. U. And with the u. K. Looking to leave the European Union by the end of next january moods are strengthening north of the border former scottish m. P. s Tommy Sheridan believes that the recent u. K. Election shows that only scotland can determine its political future. Do things number one as at a junction of the tories clearly out of jackson and have been rejected no keith this is very important to bear this in mind that have been 17 general elections of the last 60 years the charities in scotland of last every one of them they havent won an election in scotland and and since 1955 so the tories despised in scotland however what the selection wasnt endorsement of was scotlands rate to choose it would be wrong and no one is saying this that the law says it was for independence lose a vote leave. Voting for school and rate choose the tell you mean of the next referendum the utopian union would find a friendship i welcome in hand to the people of scotland 2020 is the year of scotlands democracy democracy day starts on january 11th were going to be much in England School and were going to be seeing the looting clear join since you have new monday and scotland you know prevent us from having the right to choose. Still to come for activists could face jail time for trying to prevent venezuelan opposition from taking control of the countrys embassy and washington d. C. Thats far and more after this. Join me every socially on the alex salmond show and ill be speaking to us from the world of politics or business im show business ill see you then. Welcome back dozens of former french soldiers sometimes from elite units have joined jihadi groups in the middle east since 2012 thats according to a new report by the center for the analysis of terrorism charlotte explains. This new Study Released the lid to what seems to be a very problem in the French Forces it talks about former military personnel who have gone along to join the terror groups in areas like iraq and syria the center identified around 30 former french soldiers who had been in syria or iraq or who had taken part in attacks in france after training for several months sometimes years these excel just made the choice to abandon the french flag and fight instead under the banner of a terrorist group now it talks about the numbers it says around 35 have been logical eyes in the last 8 years while that number doesnt seem to be huge it does point to a very worrying problem french. A Strategic Point with ground for terror groups because they are looking to pick up people with specialists military and tactical and also weapons expertise during their time in the french army they learned how to handle weapons and explosives skills that enabled some of them to take up strategic roles within terrorist groups others having failed to reach combat zones determined to take up arms against france by planning attacks on different Strategic Sites typically of a military kind but the reality is this isnt a new issue in france back in the 1990 s. And even in the early 2000 they were cases of former french soldiers who went and made jihad going to countries such as pows and afghanistan to join up with groups to fight this report also goes on to talk about why these soldiers or these former soldiers the scene is being so important not just because of that military knowledge but because they can pass the knowledge on to nobis jihad the freaks so it may only be 30 individuals over the last few years but those 30 individuals could have trained hundreds if not thousands of others passing on that expertise knowledge. Is what the real concern is about this there was even some examples in this study of some individuals who had already decided they would going to make jihad and had decided to join the military off to that so they could glean specialist information that could be used for terror groups in the future now the report does conclude that the french ilmi has taken measures to try and prevent radicalization its also got measures in place trying to text but equalization that might be taking place thats all well and said for those who are still in the old me but it doesnt address the problem of form of french soldiers who left the army on a no prime targets for terrorists groups to make them but declined. For activists who could face jail over a protest at the Venezuelan Embassy in washington d. C. Fear they wont get a fair trial after the judge refused to admit some of their evidence activists were arrested in may after occupying the embassy for over 5 weeks they claim they were defending it from being taken over by opponents of elected venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro that was after washington recognize Opposition Leader as the countrys image of the present a crisis was triggered in journey wary when urged on by the us he declared himself and as well as interim president president maduro accuses america of orchestrating a coup. 2 of the activists are kevin zeese and American Lawyer and also ager and pine an academic at the American University earlier my colleague Rosanna Lockwood spoke to them. Whats being claimed here is that the u. S. Is not recognizing majeure as venezuelas leader and this is somehow playing a part in a trial how could this happen in a trial in the United States and all the u. S. Is sort of very strange rules in their courts one is that if the president says somebody is the president and the other country that person is a president a matter what is the facts are so if the president from said mickey mouse was the president of venezuela and is a bastard it was donald duck and donald duck were just to leave and that was an order that we had the court will accept its a very bizarre thing every sentence everybody in that courtroom. And in the government knows that in the dural is the president and has always been the president use aleck to the president and he still the president come back to niger and why is it that you have lost face in this trial well its clear that its that the conditions of the trial are unfair we are not going to be allowed to defend ourselves it has been narrowed to such a degree that the only question is did we are did we not yet so day in order of the elites but the question of whether or not we were there regally is not even being addressed and that is really at the core of the matter because if the order itself was illegal then we did nothing wrong if those facts were allowed into evidence then it would be clear that we have not violated the law that we have in fact protected it so if these facts havent been allowed into evidence and what youre claiming is that this child is being punished then kevin who is it being politicized by well i mean obviously the judge is making the decisions and she is reading the law in a way that restricts what gets can be considered. What we have the right to a jury trial and a jury will be able to hear at least some evidence to make an effort to. Why we were in the embassy and why were there legally and how we were actually protecting the embassy and not interfering with the protective function we hope to get all those facts before the jury were not giving up that effort the discovery motions that the judge ruled on last week certainly make it more difficult but were going to continue to pursue as much of a jury trial as we can we think its important for us jury to rule that we were in the embassy legally and that recognize their president you girl is in fact the president of venezuela. Over a 100 doctors have made an impassioned plea to the Australian Government to intervene in the case of western blower songe claiming the imprisoned australian Nationals Health is in grave danger and an open letter to the countrys foreign minister they urged him to put pressure on the u. K. Where a sound is being held and could face extradition to the us for leaking state secrets they want us all to be returned to australia for urgent treatment should mr sloans die in a british prison people want to know what you did to prevent his death it is an extremely serious matter for an estrangement citizen survival to be endangered by a Foreign Government obstructing his human rights to health it is an even more serious matter for the citizens own government to refuse to intervene against historical precedents and numerous converging lines of medical advice last month a doctor sent their 1st letter to the British Home Office after joining us on appeared in court there the whistleblower struggled to recall his date of birth claiming that included think properly a song also complained about the prison conditions the doctors warn that if nothing is done soon songe might die in prison or the lot or has fallen on deaf ears. We sent a request to the u. K. Home office for comment on the doctors warning so far no response sondra peered at a london court via video link on thursday from a maximum security prison where hes being held we spoke to one of the authors of the open letter dr mark. Strong to shave big. Time. Drilling. Quickly treated like. Under the same harsh punitive conditions. She has changed course. And you should. Be kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day he was humiliating percentage you carry with you sure that prolonged states and maybe lead to severe. Brain drain which. People in new delhi have ignored a police ban and come out to demonstrate their im happy about indias new citizenship law claiming its anti muslim previous protests are the same as you have left dad with more than 1200 arrested. Thats a global news update for this hour dont forget you can always had to our website r. T. Dot com for the details on all those stories and many more. All of us will hoops it has been absolutely true of babies but since a behavior that appears even in deaf and blind babies even if youve never heard of seen loves you will love tickles by your parents. And then we learn how to use this in a more complex way im one of the things that we learn how to join in would love to contagiously to love even if you dont know what they love think. Understanding of shell its a money loser from day one but it doesnt matter in the u. S. Because all the creditors to lend money into the shell industry are constantly being bailed out by the central bank that prints money thats why they do it for the fees its great for the banks but its not an energy play in a lot of business its a sinkhole but here as you point out in argentina so they cant just print their way out of a losing situation and the economy is already a bit fragile you dont want to add another loser into the mix like shale drilling voided completely. Right now the family of mit and im. Getting more and more have every right to that is for the last few years