9 from moscow news headquarters where its just past 4 in the morning queue watching r. T. International welcome to the program. Now the head of nato says the alliance was not informed of u. S. Plans to assassinate irans most powerful general kassim salim money he installed a black says it was a unilateral act by america but he stopped short of criticizing washington for the killing. This is a u. S. Decision it is not a decision taken by neither do Global Coalition nor nato but all allies are concerned about irans destabilizing activities in the region iran support 2 different terrorist groups a un stoltenberg didnt have too much time to talk to the press on monday afternoon in brussels what he did say though was that the nato military Training Mission that was operating in iraq will be suspended with immediate effect then well deescalation more than once was the words uttered by the nato secretary general he said that this was the message that had come out of the meeting from the other the ambassadors of those allies that make up nato saying every single one of them had been putting forward well basically the same words and that word deescalation at the meeting today. Called for restraint and deescalation. A new conflict would be in no ones interest. So we are on must refrain from further violence and provocations well this latest from the nato secretary general comes as the Prime Minister of iraq. Hardy discuss doubts over the claims by the us that he was in baghdad in order to plan attacks against u. S. Diplomats the iraqi Prime Minister says that solomon he was there as part of a diplomatic reports more and at least an attempt to to create a diplomatic reports more talks in which the iraqi Prime Minister was intending to be asked well as all of this news comes out the words coming from european capitals and also capitals of other nato Member States has been one that echoes that word again we heard from the secretary general deescalation and calming things down we are looking to deescalate and stabilize the situation while the u. S. Will take operational judgment call but theyve got the right of selfdefense if you look at what general sort of man he was doing he wasnt is not victim in this scenario he was a regional menace. That we had a conversation with trump about developments in the region and we will show the news at that point i especially have suggested to him that tensions with iran and its should not be heightened. Forgiveness and the American Action is a reaction to a whole series of military provocations through which iran bears the responsibility we are in a dangerous escalation point now we have to contribute to deescalation with prudence and restraint while our nations are calling for a calming down of events in a deescalation the what were hearing coming out of the state department is that they did the right thing in targeting a solemn army with mike pompei you know the secretary of state saying the region is safer because hes no longer there American People should know. The president trusts decision to remove kassam so the body from the battlefield saved american lives theres no doubt about that we made the right decision to take out this terrorist American People should know the present terrible never shy away from protecting and defending america is what weve done over these past weeks president made the decision this was the time to stop this reign of terror from this guy who was the globe it certainly wasnt the longest of press conferences from u. N. Stoltenberg the nato secretary general in brussels didnt seem comfortable taking too many questions from journalists on the subject wanted to get out there was soon as possible deescalation the watchword throughout his press conference but he was also very keen to stress that the targeting of saddam ali was a u. S. Decision not a nato decision well meanwhile in iran millions of mourners are turning out for the funeral of kassam soldier money theres been a huge outpouring of grief across the middle east and beyond in iran supremely the only aware as he said prayers over the slain commanders coffin in tehran some mourners carried red flags associated with unjust bloodshed and revenge while irans foreign minister stated the u. S. Cannot break the will of his nation to go on you know what have you ever seen such a sea of humanity in your life donald trump do you still want to listen to the clowns advising you want to a region do you still imagine you can break the will of this great nation and its people and of malign u. S. Presence in west asia has begun well the u. S. Strike also killed 100 s. He was the Deputy Commander of Iraqs Popular Mobilization forces and one of the most important military figures in the country r. T. Spoke to hundreds back in 2017 and heres what he had to say then. This is curious here for ages countries is a unified system and it is in our interests that iran remains say that iraq remains say the new administration is trying to start a war in the region and this is madness our whole region will go out against it by using every means we have we are in charge of our lives we resist it saddam who was supported by the americans we fought against the u. S. Invasion in iraq and we will oppose any kind of american aggression in the region. Or one of the 1st repercussions for the United States came from iraq m. P. s who voted on sunday to expel Foreign Forces for conducting the killing on their soil the iraqi lawmakers resolution not only calls on u. S. Troops to leave the country it also asked the Government Back for military assistance for the u. S. Led Coalition Plus it urged for a formal complaint to be raised to the u. N. Against washington for violating iraqi sobriety which as we have heard has already been filed well donald trump is now warning iraq to brace itself the heavy sanctions if baghdad kicks the troops out we have a very extraordinarily expensive very base thats there it costs billions of dollars to build long before my time were not living unless they pay us back for it if they do ask us to leave if we dont do it in a very friendly basis will charge them sanctions like theyve never seen before ever. Although iranian leaders all vowing to avenge solomon his death our Senior Correspondent word goes dave has been looking at how much be a better move to play the long. On the face of it trump and iran they always wanted the same thing iran knew secret always wanted the us to get the hell away from it out of iraq out of the middle east and trump well he won the election promising to end americas wars we want to bring our troops back home and i got elected on that if you go back and look at our speeches i would say we want to bring our troops back home from these endless wars what a man wouldnt say to get elected in reality he escalated conflict if the conflict where there was a scratch trumps policies would tear it open into a wound on the trump of america went from a fool with iran having a nuclear deal to assassinating irans 2nd most powerful official i dont think trump expected this not merely in mourning a man that the u. S. Claimed was a terrorist and i highly doubt he expected to have all his embassies go in lockdown with crowds demanding death at the gates. I was due to meet and you know mommy 8 30 am in the morning he was killed as he left Baghdad International airport im still marty said the general salute mani was carrying in iran some response to a message iraq is too great for on behalf of saudi arabia easing tensions between the 2 countries in the region so the money was apparently on a Peace Mission carrying proposals on how to reduce tensions in the region this is from the mouth of the u. S. Backed iraqi Prime Minister versus him we have the state department its sure and says that he was actually evil and take our word for it he was. Organizing imminent attacks on u. S. Bases take our word for it is there any surprise that iraqis voted to remove american soldiers from their country the iraqis dont want foreign troops murdering who they will when they will the parliament has decided to ask the us to leave once a Prime Minister signs off iraq will withdraw its request for assistance which they followed with the Us Led Coalition when isis was ascendant if the us refuses to pull out if it keeps its troops it will no longer be a friend it will be an occupier essentially in death sulaimani achieved exactly what he wanted for iraqis to expel america and if parliament doesnt do it we will take greater our action the white house is in panic trying to justify what it did the Vice President telling fairy tales trying to tie sulaimani to 911 of all things trump threatening to bomb iranian cultural targets which would be a textbook example of a war crime that again i doubt he cares much in iran millions burned the American Flag in america theyre burning the book on International Law and order if the americans think about putting iraq under sanctions definitely iraq will look into other sources into either selling its Oil Financing its projects and finding more suitable partners than partner who comes to iraq iraq he citizen use iraqi airspace iraqi ground to kill iraqi officials and that is definitely not the way that we are looking into our allies. Another news the south thousands of worshippers have filled central moscows christ the savior this Tuesday Morning and eastern Orthodox Christians around the world celebrate Christmas Nicky aaron reports from outside the iconic church. Its been almost 2 weeks since the west liberated christmas but the big day has finally arrived for Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day on january the 7th so we started starting here on Christmas Eve and now its Christmas Day and its a pretty big deal for people here in russia thats because russia is home to over 39 percent of the docs kristie and its not just people here in russia theyre going to be marking this day of course people all around the world will be people in macedonia it is rarely ethiopia thats just naming a few places but to people here in moscow is only one place to be on Christmas Eve going into Christmas Day and thats right here at tryst the state of year 50 jewel its not only majestic on the outside it is also beautiful on the inside to and heres a fact for you its the tallest in Eastern Orthodox Church in the entire world so last year we saw several thousands of people attend the services here on Christmas Eve this year might be even more it is fairly mild for this time of the year old although i have to say im fairly sure least on the outside here without further ado its a vase just form crystal ball oh Merry Christmas from here in central moscow. The race is on to evacuate stricken residents in australia the most ferocious wildfires in decades ravaged swathes of the southeast at least 25 people are now known to have died and many thousands of had to abandon their homes relocated theres been a break 1st bite from the record breaking heat wave but Emergency Services are braced for hazards conditions to return in a few days the fires have been burning with such intensity that plumes of smoke have even reportedly made their way across the Pacific Ocean to chile. Well angry australians are directing their fear it Prime MinisterScott Morrison over his handling of the crisis and for suggesting theres no direct link between the fires and Climate Change despite many seeing it as a root cause of the unprecedented destruction. Its become harder fire seasons and longer the rival lepping between states this is driven by Climate Change scientists the brain very clear that paints a potential 20 years now that Climate Change is leading to more frequent and more severe bushfires and drought and heat waves were already seeing catastrophic impacts you can imagine how much worse it will be if we allow the planet to continue to warm if we allow the continent of australia to continue to dry out this is just a taste of whats to come if we dont act theres no argument about the links between in my view in the governments view and in any government in this country about the links between broader issues of global Climate Change and and weather events around the world but im sure people equally with knowledge that the direct connection to any single fire event its not a credible suggestion to make that link. At least 30 people are reported to have been killed and dozens more injured in a bomb blast in northeastern nigeria the explosion took place on a busy bridge in the town of gamble grew close to the border with cameroon its believed to been caused by an improvised explosive device no one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet although local Islamic State affiliates active across the region and have committed a string of atrocities in recent weeks or were casting an eye back over 2019 after the break including the people power that filled the streets of nations worldwide and how fears groove a global new arms race after washington walked away from a landmark arms treaty. Join me every thursday simon show and ill be speaking to guests of the world the politics sports business im sure ill see you then. Lead. Welcome back now the new year in scotland is a much celebrated event with the capital drawing thousands for visitors for hawkman day but the residents who live there full time say they are increasingly being shut out of their own city to make way for tourists to his numbers have grown rapidly in recent years but is proving to be a double edged sword for edinburgh the city council says the new year celebration in flats causes an increase in Noise Pollution and overcrowding on the streets residents who live in the center even have to wear id response to enter and exit their own streets and they also have to get permits for visitors to the own homes too in the hope in a festivities but in recent years event organizers have worked with adversity council to try and make the most of the rising number of visitors the citys german think Christmas Market also caused upset when it was revealed that it hadnt received planning permission for the last 2 years but where to head anyway heres what people in edinburgh have been telling us. 3 has become an issue because firstly its build up of the same people so the sort of Workers Service though they could see how to do this its just going to become more difficult service i think we would have plenty and i think they need to seeing that the people also want to listen to the city need to live here and not have to be pushed out if theyre still in. The stores look this if you that didnt disagree that that means people a member of this i mean that is going to be like any other morgan city well we continue continue taking stock of 2900 now as we reflect on more of the events that mark the year just god. Well we did see a fair bit of political maneuvering of what might be called we live dealer ing over weaponry the Iran Nuclear Deal on ravelled nations boosted their Defense Budgets to get tooled up and a new arms race or waited in the wings well the u. S. Withdrew from the i. N. F. Treaty limiting Ballistic Missiles in 2018 russia then to what it described as a symmetrical response in 2019 it goes down of takes a look at how it all developed. An arms race cold war a Nuclear Crisis it seemed all these things both sparked and faded out of historical relevance in the past millennium but 2019 saw all of them make a comeback the United States is officially withdrawing from the intermediate range Nuclear Forces treaty or i. N. F. Treaty the us unilaterally demolished a pillar of International Stability crushing its i. N. F. Treaty with russia. Fears of the past century resurrected immediately the u. S. Is pulling out of a decades long Nuclear Treaty with russia sparking fears of a new arms race we thought was confined to the cold war now theres concern a pullout could lead to a new arms race its clear that the threat of a new arms race is real we go into a Nuclear Arms Race like we saw in the 1960 s. Only more expensive and more dangerous it seemed the 2 countries were again trying to outpace each other on the military speed track with a Nuclear Winter right past the finishing line washington no longer bound by the iron of shackles started the messala tests right away 2 weeks after the pullout and then again in december this in turn kicked russias military into action too as