A very warm welcome youre watching r. T. International with me nic aaron 1st the breaking news from the middle east the United States has assassinated a wrongs top military commander and a drone strike in iraq has some solomonic lead the revolutionary guards elite kids force them was killed following a direct order from u. S. President donald trump the iranian Supreme Leader is vowing a harsh retaliation against washington while the iraqi Prime Minister has condemned the u. S. Strike as aggression i got an update earlier from our senior correspondent. This is unprecedented in how how tense things are how both countries with this is this is the abbotts this is the obvious to kill assassinate the man who is referred to as the 2nd most powerful man in iran a potential successor to the Supreme Leader he was killed after arriving at the airport in baghdad the u. S. As he was he was targeted i mean this operation was preplanned they knew he was coming they knew where to strike the they were targeting him and the fallout has been global weve had leaders all over the world officials come out. Against you know carmen deescalation and the arena is convening National Security and they have one message the entire hierarchy that there will be consequences retaliation. The u. S. Act of International Terrorism targeting and assassinating general saloon money the most effective force fighting dies shy says al qaeda at home is extremely dangerous and a foolish escalation the u. S. Bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism there is as of yet no indication how exactly the iranians will respond to it respond to this but they havent launched any missiles yet and you know the they are stupid theyre intelligent people they probably understand a war with the United States is the last thing they need but i doubt that the leave this you know without without an answer and so how is the u. S. Justifying the myth while the United States is saying that he was the ultimate bad guy this is this is from the state department this is in American Press that we just killed the worlds number one bad guy this is this is simpson in modeling he was at the forefront of the fight against isis in iraq when it seemed like isis the jihad this would go to take the whole country it was he who helped organize the p. M. S. The Popular Mobilization forces the iraqi civilians banding together to resist ties and successfully while the army was in shambles as they got their things in order help by the coalition but they defeated isis what the United States has been saying is that he is responsible for the deaths of 517 americans over the years that he was complicit that he had a rule to play in recent in the recent spate of attacks on u. S. Bases culminated in a u. S. Led air strike against syrian and iraq he units military units that again led to this siege of the u. S. Embassy again unprecedented in the green zone a fortified embassy that was that was besieged in. By the way to reign in. Bring him back proxies as they were referred to that urge protesters to withdraw or to leave the embassy a little nevertheless the United States said that the threat presented by him was continuing that he had done plenty of bad things and that this was the United States this saying defending themselves at the direction of the president the u. S. Military has taken decisive defensive action to protect u. S. Personnel abroad to buy killing kassim 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 reaction is very polarized to this both among us Public Society people are split some are saying this was a stupid escalation that you know pushed america and iran to the brink of war others are saying 3 that they support president trumps decision to carry out this attack in the press theres a lot of competing messages messages that contradict each other as well american politicians likewise split youve had president ial candidates coming out and saying that was this was this is a stupid thing to do it was a needless escalation and you have others coming out and saying look the rockies some of them celebrated. Iraqis iraqis dancin in the street for freedom thanks for the general for you moneys no more. American iran should solve their problems outside iraq we do not want them to solve it here we do not celebrate the killing of so the money or anyone else because this will not service at the end of the day. And tell us more about the reaction in the us because apparently trump has acted unilaterally hair i understand it leading democrats so furious that trump has acted without seeking their permission from congress 1st that is something that they have been talking about he didnt notify anyone in congress in the house in the senate they were going to carry out this assassination so he didnt seek any authorize ation we he doesnt have to if theres a imminent threat that is you know. An attack that is going to happen theres no type but in this case there was no evidence presented of an attack and some people in congress are saying why werent we told. Their administration has conducted tonight strikes in iraq targeting high level Iranian Military officials and killing Iranian Quds Force commander custom silly money without in the thirtys ation for use of military force against iran further this action was taken without the consultation of the congress. Trumps immediate comment on this assassination was to tweet an American Flag just just an American Flag and interesting thing one of the one of the 1st responses is a real tweet of his he accused president barack obama of attempting to start a war provoking a war with iran to boost his ratings to boost his poll numbers and now were in a situation where trump is accused of doing so especially with impeachment just around the corner but ultimately well have to wait and see how this all ends whether this will continue to escalate in the lab hinges on irans reaction to this brazen assassination. The u. S. Is now urging american citizens to leave iraq immediately and to not approach the embassy in baghdad the security green zone where the American Embassy and iraq to government all ok cities on lockdown right now politics professor science Mohammad Marandi from Tehran University says the attack is far more than a question. Of this was an act of war the americans killed a high ranking iranian official that wasnt for a general soleimani there probably wouldnt be a syria today and there would be black flags over the mask us thanks to the United States and its allies and if it wasnt for general stolen money probably there wouldnt be in iraq today and the capital over the capital we would have had the black sides of isis iraqis except for those bathurst who supported Saddam Hussein in isis supporters who are celebrating the overwhelming majority of iraqis supports general salomone and are grateful to him for helping save the country wherever the United States goes and destroys its all for its all to defend democracy and freedom and the American People which is all nonsense this is the language of a racist euro centric heritage that weve weve been seeing for the last few centuries the same language that we that existed in the 19th the 20th century to justify hate germany plunder death and destruction is being used today but in the in a different way they disregard sovereignty to disregard the government they disregard the people of iraq they are their utter arrogant behavior is what has made the whole region outraged and then they wonder why people hate america. Several countries have condemned the Turkish Parliament decision to send troops to libya theres deep concern from israel greece and 5 per se over a possible escalation of the conflict in the region theyre calling turkeys move reckless the turkish decision to deploy troops in libya 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 us president raised concerns that foreign interference could further complicate the situation in libya but both agreed to maintain their diplomatic cooperation libya is currently in a deal power regime theres a un backed government of National Accord is headquartered in the capital tripoli and theres the alternative socalled eastern cabinets headed by general hurley for hafter a 3rd region is controlled by local tribes and militias. Libya has been in a state of war since an uprising in 2011 for the ousting and killing of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in recent months the un backed government of National Accord has been losing ground to the rival administration of general hurley for hafter who leads the selfstyled Libyan National army general have those forces currently control most of libyas territory including crucial oil and Gas Resources the un backed government formally requested military aid from turkey last month. Libyas neighbors also have major reservations the Egyptian Foreign Ministry is calling on the International Community to respond urgently weve been hearing analysis from turkey and beyond on anchors military plan and its 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 turkeys 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. Of course are very disappointed by this decision but turkeys strategic move will. Bring some. Advantages strategic advantages for turkey we will see the methods the manner of how turkey is dealing with this problem and challenges in the coming days if turkey sends 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. On how the 29000. 00 done and dusted times take stock of some of the defining events of the year. And aprilaire blaze taught 3 not to not true don cathedral in paris nearly destroying the 850 year old landmark so it depends kara pause 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 what ching they sang trees old cathedral. My heart just dropped like. Are you kidding me it was completely shocking and i was just constantly like ok the couple when he would say the tears everything just complete just. Just refreshing closely 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 it 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 and leak it if you want to be in fact in this story about lead has been around for a long time and its causing inundation a problem for the not true don destry has isolated knocking down from the tourists travel agents across the world were forbidden in a certain way to come to paris because of the risk of contamination which didnt exist 8 months old and this is what surrounds. A huge perimeter fence safeguarding the sites tourist numbers through here though 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 saddam and with the level of security is because the building is still not secure and we suffer from all these how the businesses here have seen their sales figures drop at least by 80 percent during certain periods currently in the month of december an 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 too just like much of not in 2019. Paris. Still to come putting their faith in. Food for the british man who wants a vegan is a legally recognized as an ethical belief we tell you why on terror reaction after the break. Theres a lot of it here is the economy where china has caught up or surpassed us you know the mobile Payments Market 50 times the size of the u. S. Or over here still writing checks our Banking System is not innovated 5 g. Weve kind of recently walking up the last couple years and go wow we dont even have a company that can make 5 year quitman its been a win win for china and its been a lose lose for the u. S. Is your media a reflection of reality. In a world transformed. What will make you feel safe. Isolation community. Are you going the right way or are you being led. By. What is true. Is faith. In the world corrupted you need to descend. To join us in the depths. Or inmate in the shallowness. Welcome back well being a vegan that could be said to make the leap from dietary choice to religious belief under british law a Court Hearing claims that a man was sacked by the charity he worked for because of his ethical vacant is that jordy casa met john a claims that he was fired after accusing the beleaguered against cruel sports of investing in. Animal testing with his pension fund something it denies before challenging his dismissal he is taking legal action to try and prove that ethical reaganism is a philosophical belief that would mean similar to a religion it should be protected from discrimination under the ukase equality act this case if successful will establish the belief in titles ethical vegans to protection from discrimination the case were prepared sets out how the belief in principle and how juries particular interpretations of it meet the required legal test just 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 or to consummate john his former employer says in principle its not against faking as im becoming an official belief. The league against cruel sports 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 Protection should extend with a representative from britains Vegan Society and 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 a nice trying to. Have a choice to invest in an eco engine and hes not saying everybody hes just saying hes toys r us and i dont rise and our ancient i think the concern is the very real Health Dangers of if he can die when you are a child. It will all a just a nice status in clinic in bags children pregnant and breastfeeding women for their people as well doesnt want to do it because under this in the future i believe its better for the animals for the planet or help so its something all of us can do to help combat Climate Change and be kinder into the animals that we should spend this but this is the very socratic 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 their it im jealous of people who want to demonize you for being evil can find go and get a job and they are exemplary quite well level and i have a choice where not what if i go into work and say that is my folly but i shouldnt look search im praying every day and by the way im extremely chain sounds fairly state lobster and champagne every day i have a moral and philosophical belief that my lifestyle will be back such things like that slows down to is that i have a fair amount of respect your your life sounds you have no respect for my fil it state lobster and champagne lifestyle and your you were shopping malls protected in law and you wish to observe you dont wish for example in iraq which i. I think its really the problem its about trying to do your best to avoid an expression you can compare to some ridiculous thing that this is and i think all the needs that the held and for many people that dictates how they need lives i genuinely do not see why just because you refuse to reach a sentient being you should have the rights reaches an uncensored point i. E. You are still killing the carrots just as youre killing a rabbit and thats all it would have to in minds youd say that if you have no right to kill anything. Then why would you have the right to kill a plant so everyone knows how to chop all the dogs for it and tell them all the elements. Everybody knows that buns dont have essential knows not to. Be and you want a lot thats even better ive lost your life we have no right to take away their lives on a reason. Well if youd like to say you were thoughts on this story oh anything else then do get in touch by following guys on social media i call a kevin and will be here it with more in just over 30 minutes. Im going to fulfill the repeated promises oh politics to the people come on you know weve all pots to. Be really really really. Really really. Are you want to work. On no. For. Financial Survival Guide i dont buy any i pods on a few. Things its not the most fun. As a summer science of the future so crocker was kaiser. Thousands of american men and women choose to serve in the countrys military and the decision that has shattered lives every young came to a complete. The day that im afraid ill be instructive he told me you know all the sort of what they kill me and i see how destroyed my life any sky. Come in and you graham my own. If you take into account that women dont report because of the extreme retaliation its probably somewhere near about half a 1000000 women have now been sexually assaulted in the us military rape is a very very traumatizing thing tat happen but ive never seen trauma like ive seen from women who are veterans who have suffered military sexual trauma reporting really is more likely to get the victim punished the offender and almost 10 year career which shows very invested in and i give a sex offender who was not even put to justice or put on the registry this is simply an issue of power and violence male sexual predators for the large part of whoever is there to prey upon whether thats a man or woman. Who lives a brood box broadcasting around the world and covering all aspects of our Global Economy in the 21st century and im christy i watching 10 about special show focusing on the Energy Sector and heres what we have coming out of the north into a pipeline which is set to transport natural gas from russia to germany its a think tank from the us. Will break it down for us and Oil Bankruptcies are out and prices are moving what the forecast looks like for 2020 while break it down well to take a look at the state of the clean Energy Sector and world will go in 2020 with tyson slocum from Public Citizen so much to get you on the road so lets get right to. Germany has been critical of washingtons decision to sanction companies in europes north korean to gas pipeline project as unacceptable chancellor Angela Merkel says that germany is against any extra territorial sanctions the men. May prove to be a major setback for the Transatlantic Relations meanwhile in russia the movie scene as an attempt to counter the countrys Energy Project and promote americas own economic interests r. T. Only a shot of all of our reports from moscow on tuesday the Us Senate Approved the National Defense authorization act for next year its a record 768000000000. 00 military budget more than 700000000. 00 has been allocated to contain russia among other things its obliges that ministration to impose sanctions on russias north stream to stream Gas Pipelines and approves military aid to ukraine the white house opposes the construction of north stream to believing that the project will give russia leverage over the Foreign Policy of European Countries plus it promotes its liquefied natural gas in the 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 on Russian Military aggression but even in the u. S. Then to stand that the sanctions will not be able to stop north streams construction as its already near completion germany is already preparing to tell a true measures top officials slammed the bill congress has indeed decided to impose sanctions we are against extraterritorial sanctions not all of those docked yesterday but we also have the same problem with the sanctions against iran theres no other option left for us but to hold very decisive talks to show that we are not accepting these sanctions we believe that is unacceptable