A very warm welcome youre watching r. T. International with me. Well firstly overnight breaking news from the middle east the United States has killed one of irans most senior generals because some solomonic let the revolutionary guard elite kurds force and was assassinated in a drone strike in the iraqi capital in an op function by donald trump Senior Correspondent joins me in the studio now now the wrong us when i was elevated to from a war of words to open conflict and this is a Serious Development isnt it a lot of news outlets around the world will be focusing on this can you tell us more about what happened. Just wasnt just one of irans senior generals use were moved cd officials period he was sometimes called the 2nd most powerful man in iran a potential successor to the Supreme Leader and. For his death to come so suddenly and in such an. The hands of United States as strike it is deeply shocked uranium that it is deeply shocked the world i mean the hash tag world war 3 is trending on twitter the situation is on the knife said it is incredibly dangerous tensions of as it is come to a head now he was killed just outside of Baghdad Airport several others were killed along with him and several vehicles the United States said that this this was a preemptive defensive action cited some sort of big threat. What we know so far is that iran is going to retaliate and it is deciding now how to retaliate this act of terrorism. So you have sect of International Terrorism targeting and assassinating general salim ani the most effective force fighting dyess isis alqaeda and how is extremely dangerous and foolish escalation the u. S. Bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism. Just to bring everyone up to speed kassim sulaimani he played a decisive role in stopping isis he was behind one of the one of the people behind who form the p. M. S. The Popular Mobilization forces in iraq these are the units that when the iraqi army collapsed but it seemed like isis was going to take all of iraq these are the men and woman who stood up who stood up and food back before the army managed to manage to find its feet he did the same in syria he helped stop the fight islamism i says there back in the day the u. S. War in afghanistan he helped the United States fight the taliban fight. But that is ancient history lately the United States has been accusing him of organizing a spate of attacks of kuku dating a spate of attacks on u. S. Bases rocket attacks that wound up in the end killing a u. S. Contractor in the aftermath of that particular killing the United States carried out air strikes against iraq and Syrian Military units that resulted in huge protests in baghdad the United States embassy there precedented almost on the scene by protesters the United States again blamed kasim sulaimani for denies in that sort of prodding people to besiege the United States embassy. One thing led to another led to another they made quickly threats and they were would take preemptive defensive action which by the way already the un has come out un official saying you know that this is illegal this is a violation of International Law you cant go killing someone in a preemptive defense defensive action unless theres a specific credible threat not of not a vague you know they may be planning something nevertheless the United States stands by what it is. Don saying that what they did is use in the defense of american troops and american blood. Direction of the president the us military has taken decisive defensive action to protect u. S. Personnel abroad to buy killing costumes so in money this strike was aimed at deterring future iranian attack plans the United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world ironically enough it seems american troops american lives were much more safer just a few hours ago before they carried out this strike iran is Still Deciding on how it will respond howard will retaliate well tally that is as promised consequences for the United States. Theyre deciding now the rainy and National Security council is apparently meeting and whatever you know of the its anyones guess what their response will be true trump on his part tweeted a giant flag of the United States on twitter babsy sees this as you know what he did is the american thing to do i wrote it clear enough the 1st response i saw to his tweet was a retreat of his for dating back to 2012 where he accused barack obama of starting of wanting to start a war with iran to boost his raisings to boost his poll numbers you know theres a tweet from the tweet about everything as they say. We should expect a response very soon we know that the swiss ambassador who represents the interests of the United States in iran he has been summoned. For a chat with the rain in the fortys with the government. Again as i say where situations on a knifes edge where were right on the obvious this is this is as hot as it is ever be between the United States and iran and just just the. Just to remind you what what iran could do very easily right now close down the strait of hormuz fit 21 percent of our daily will the worlds global oil travels through that strait every day wrong could could shut it down already will is surging so incredibly dangerous situation and. Have a feeling that it will get worse yet will stay the course the choice and for us our Senior Correspondent mike got to have thanks for coming in. Ok joining us live john avlon who is an expert on takes and geostrategic issues welcome to the program its great to have you with us now the u. S. As openly as openly says as fascinated an iranian general is this a point of no return for the u. S. And iran. Well all of a President Donald Trump has been saying that he doesnt he doesnt want a new war and i think it is assassination often in general that indicates that perhaps intentionally or unintentionally alter your miscalculation the United States has done something which can possibly call from a direct conflict that it up which is not going to bode fell well for the American Interest in the middle east and elsewhere in the muslim world because to begin with i think that indians need will fire some sort of in such an attack that they have the proxies inside out that they have to proxies in syria in yemen and elsewhere in the middle east and talk to some so i think the Diplomatic Missions in the muslim world they had going to be undetected as we speak and that is just one small a bit of what can possibly happen and then the stepped up almost can be potentially attempted on war in coming days and weeks but it really depends at what skill did on washington big this conflict because this is the biggest loss to the government something well be given market expecting the present dollar dumpings there to he candlestick himself by is strikes by targeting indians interest in iraq and syria and iran would not go. Dipping why into it it can directly hit American Interests i think since a the battle has always been that iran has been very meaningfully the italia thing against American Interest whenever its interest what so no we have to see the scale at which it out iran can win the gulf war so we need to see that these are at least israel is the biggest ally of the of the u. S. In the middle east and i think there will be possibly attacks from the lebanons borders from the borders of israel i foresee it was in was conducting a strikes on a lot of on limbs these split in yemen militias into. Inside you know it is a medical school a school i think you want to be having a bit of the israeli has successfully use American Military sure Good Good Good even in iraq but again the situation in iraq isnt very rarely really expose them. What to what usa has done they have killed the Top Commander of the and then more importantly the broad militias commanders has also been assessing entered that is that is an indicator that the ball the relationship of the american of the u. S. Government with a docking government that is going to foot the jeopardized because 1st the pretty 5 members of were at it in militias in the south in c. D. s be able to also. Theres a brownout a medical strike about to strike did. And rather is that there will be more fighting against ice the lid generally has been killed how did the elite iranian extraterritorial forces involved in the fight so how will his death affect security in the region to you think. I think it is going to certainly affect the security in the region. That is still there in the middle east and particularly in iraq and more importantly i think the confrontation of this conflict is going to be between and between iran and the u. S. And it would also doing wall. Insulin a little you would see that happening and i foresee the insurgent attacks on u. S. Military bases in the middle east as u. S. Diplomatic missions in the in the middle east and elsewhere in the muslim world that is that is a most likely snotty oh and i think that it was bit more pressure on that Iraqi Government. American military soldiers advise us to leave leave it up because it has become difficult for of the Iraqi Government to put up with the situation early on did want to protest against opinions in iraq and no then did was it a television from the role it in a militia you merely call that the equity is there are 25000 brought in a militia inside inside iraq they get it on the it they have the weapons they have the cleanings and the medicals are going to handle the situation with 702100 members of its military force that will be difficult day out of will hugely focus on is strikes if there is a bigger conflict that is strike means that it will be possibly more civilian casualties which means more the public isnt against americans and it would be very difficult for a fight americans now to stay in iraq so what do you make of the pentagon claims that they asked what the defensive action to defend American Interests in the region. Well it is not defensive action i see it is a more offensive action because the medic and see the things with the preferred perspective which are probably deep as reading the words people are going to see that then comes out killing one of the Top Commanders and even commanders who was in charge of the died in so doing operations in syria in yemen in iraq obviously this is going to have a delegation from iran and there will be offensive action if not that if you or certainly it is going to be indicted me from the government in iran because this has send them as a sort of a setback and people in it on the morning and obviously some sort of reaction is expected all much time which we did see that this time with the action is going to be a bit different than we have previously seen but certainly part of that. Would be the insurgent attacks through different proxies in the middle east and elsewhere level headed ronna politics and yesterday to expect thank you joining us now to. Have several countries have condemned the text parliaments decision to send troops to libya theres deep concern from its well increased and 5 plus a for a possible escalation of the conflict in the region calling techies move let less took his decision to deploy troops alleviate presents a dangerous threat to regional stability the repercussions of such reckless move will be dire for the stability and peace of the entire region. In a phone call with the turkish leader the u. S. President raised concerns that foreign interference could further complicate situation in libya but both agreed to maintain their Diplomatic Corp libya is currently in a deal power regime theres a un backed government of National Accord thats headquartered in the capital tripoli and there is the alternative socalled eastern cabinet headed by general hurley for customer a 3rd region is controlled by local tribes and militias libya has been in a state of war since an uprising in 2011 so the ousting and killing of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi in recent months the un backed government of National Accord has been losing grounds to the rival administration of general Khalifa Haftar who leads the Libyan National army general half those forces currently control most of libyas territory including crucial well and Gas Resources the un backed government formally requested military aid from turkey last month. Libyas neighbor also has major reservations the Egyptian Foreign Ministry is calling on the International Community to urgently respond weve been hearing analysis from turkey and beyond on anchors military plans as possible repercussions. We see a very soft announcement by the arab league we can see that theyre unified only by name were seeing turkey become more and more now the major player in not only libya in the north africa and the east and the middle east turkey showing that its not going to shy away in present add one is willing to use his military muscle to get the results he wants at the diplomatic table as well turkey made a very important chess move. Greeks. Egyptians. Of course are very disappointed by this decision by. Turkeys strategic move will. Bring some. Advantages strategic advantages for turkey we will see the method the manner of how turkey is dealing with this problem and challenges in the coming days if turkey sent more troops then general haftar will also look at more support from the governments hes already there are already backing including and especially egypt the United Arab Emirates they will send their own proxies or troops or more weapons so in that sense the situation could definitely escalate in a military sense. And i 2019 done and dusted time to take stock at some of the defining events of the year. In april a blaze tore through a not true don cathedral in paradise nearly destroying the 850 year old landmark reports on just how deeply that was felt in france and how the scars will remain for decades to come. Fronts was shaking to its core in april fully a ravaged the jewel of paris not to dumb. Across the world they was show too with blanket coverage over the place and harry in paris thousands came out to the streets Standing Shoulder to shoulder watching this centuries old cathedral. My heart just drop like. Are you kidding me it was completely shocking and i was just constantly away like ok to help with what he would say the tears everything just complete just. Just refreshing causally looking for any sort of update and i thought it was gone i thought there was no way you know they were going to put it out at all with. Everyone at work we just kept refreshing the page and seeing what caused it what had happened we couldnt believe that notre dame was on fire we were at home in seattle and we had literally booked our plane tickets to france the night before and was going to be one of the highlights of course it was it was a little bit of a blow really came in the early hours that could be saved but it was. That cost was being counted with a price tag potentially reaching billions of euros money polled in from wealthy benefactors and people chipping in what they could but that provoked anger itself many frustrated that the money was so forthcoming for a building when people were struggling to make ends meet the outrage intensified when the authorities were accused of not being completely upfront about lead contamination in the area following the fire some 450 tons of lead in the roof and the steeple melted during the blaze schools were closed for decontamination but many accuse the state of putting the reconstruction of the cathedral ahead of Peoples Health and Environmental Defense association decided to take matters into its own hands it accused the authorities of having lacked in their response and in transparency it is a question of establishing who is responsible for this miscommunication which has left the population uninformed on the dangers to which it is exposed in our opinion peoples lives have been in danger since the night of the disaster because the environmental code requires elected officials to provide precautionary information in real time on public airwaves unfortunately. We never heard this advice and people and journalists stayed around the cathedral on the forecourt and whole families stayed on the ground on the terraces with all the windows open watching this disturbing show without knowing that the plumes hitting them consisted of extremely toxic lead dust and were dangerous to health but officials claimed there was no risk and somewhat angry about the coverage of the contamination at the site saying that all Old Buildings were built using leds and there was too much fear mongering dont. You really have to lie on the ground if you want to mean the fact is this story about lead has been around for a long time thats causing an additional problem for the not true don destroy those isolated from the tourists travel agents across the world were forbidden in a certain way to come to america because of the risk of contamination which didnt exist 8 months old and this is what surrounds not a huge perimeter fence safeguarding the sites tourist numbers through here though are more of a trickle than the flood that they used to be and that has hit the businesses around the cathedral halt to at least we have lost tourists we have lost the pilgrims we have problems with the restoration work or not and with the level of security that is because the building is still not secure and we suffer from all these houses the businesses here have seen their sales figures drop at least by 80 percent during certain periods currently let me the month of december average 70 percent trade is hey want to return to the status quo but the work to secure this so i can restore it to its former glory is expected to take years in the meantime some businesses fear that they may end up on the cheap to just like much of not to dome in 2019. Auti paris. And. Could be said to make the leap from dietary choice to religious belief under british law a court tearing claims that a man was sacked by the charity he worked for because of his ethical veganism jordi cousin john there claims he was fired after accusing the league against cruel sports of investing in animal testing with its pension fund something it denies before challenging his dismissal hes taking legal action to try and prove that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief that would mean similar to a religion it should be protected from discrimination under the u. K. s equality act this case if successful will establish the belief in title to protection from discrimination because were prepared says how the belief in principle and how juries particular interpretations of it meet the required legal test to break this down an ethical vegan is defined by not just excluding animal products from males but also by choosing a particular lifestyle they avoid all things that lead to animal suffering because limit john as former employer says in principle its not against veganism becoming an official belief believe you can screw spirits is an inclusive employer and this is a hearing to decide whether veganism should be a protected status something which the league does not contest it would be inappropriate to comment further we discussed how far Legal Protections should extend with a representative from britains Vegan Society political commentator andrea walker. I would like to say my pen should be a damaged and undermined by somebody who insists that you call impacts in war normal to compensate we should not be the lowest common denominator if something is ridiculous we should be allowed to call it ridiculous if you want to criticize something we should be able to criticize it as an instrumental instance and but arent and you have a choice to invest in ethical action and hes not saying everybody hes just saying he was born in power and i dont rise and are ancient i think the consent and the very real Health Dangers of if he can die to kill you when you are a child. It will only just a nice status in clinic in bags children pregnant and breastfeeding women for their people as well doesnt want to do it because somebody is the future and i believe its better for the animals for the planet for help so its something that all of us can do to help combat Climate Change and be kinder to the animals that we should spend it but this is the parent who support the problem is that because obviously there is no financial motive and this is whats been going except on the support for the Climate Change are in my view effectively taken religions they have the reason im jealous of people who want to demonize you for being evoked if i go and get a job and they are example require me to wear leather shoes and i have a choice to wear not what if i go into work and say that is my folly but i shouldnt look search im praying every day but by the way im extremely cape town fairly state lobstering shangri and every day i have a moral and philosophical belief that my lifestyle will be back such as i eat and that this boils down to is that i have a fair amount of respect your for your life sounds you have no respect for my fil it stage lopes and champagne lifestyle and you all you were shopping malls protected in law and you wish to observe you dont wish to upset in iraq which i think is really the problem here is about trying to do your best to avoid imax 3 days and you can compare it is that ridiculous feeling that this is an ethical. Values that the held and for many people that dictates how they lives i genuinely do not see why just because you refuse to reach a sense you you should have the rights. Shut your eyes you are still killing or carrots just as youre killing a rabbit and thats all it would cost to say that if you have no right to kill another then why would you have the right to kill a plant and im not. Sure what and more go on its. Everybody knows that bums dont have essential there was not to. You and you want to respect. Your life we have no right to take away their lives on a reason. I dont mind an hour of our breaking news this hour the United States has assassinated a top Iranian Revolutionary guard commander in a drone strike in iraq because. The lead could force unit to conduct an anti terror operations in iraq in syria but washington claims he was planning attacks on u. S. Citizens and interests the iranian Supreme Leader has warned of a harsh retaliate against the u. S. For the killing well update you on developments and reaction in our next bulletin in just over half an hour. As always we have to hear your views on our story so do get in touch by following us on social media dont forget the top of the hour. Join me every thursday on the excitement and ill be speaking to us of the world of politics sports business im sure both of those ill see you then. So what weve got to do is identify the threats that we have its crazy for them to you shouldnt let it be an arms race on all sides very dramatic developments only really engaging resists i dont see how that strategy will be successful very critical time to sit down and talk. Alone welcome to worlds of the limits of my language mean the limits of my world the loss of our little bit with conspired sad that in 922 why then the following century of booming linguistic studies have only confirmed that if our language is indeed shapeless as much as we think we shape them do we ever really speak our mind well to discuss that im now joined by letter but i didnt ski associate professor of cognitive science at the university of california san diego professor martin its a pleasure and honor to talk to thank you very much for your time thanks so much for having me now i know that youve long been studying the relationship with the brand the mind the language and the world around us and i think you come to some very humbling conclusions that as. Israel like to see ourselves as the masters of our thought and our boards it works in the opposite direction to our language shape our experience in some very profound ways how does it work well of course we all have many years of experience speaking a language and we absorb so many habits and so many important structures from the language each human language is exquisitely structured there are about 7000 languages and all of that experience of speaking the language hearing the language around you trains your mind to focus on something