Denounced saudi arabias handling of the Jamal Khashoggi murder case saying it makes a mockery of justice 5 people have been sentenced to death for killing the journalist and 3 others have been given prison terms but a un appointed rights investigator believes that the people actually behind the assassination have been left on touched while a spokesperson for the un secretary general has also stressed the need for a further probe. The secretary general continues to stress the need for an independent and impartial investigation into the murder to ensure full examination of any accountability for Human Rights Violations committed in the case. Jamal khashoggi it was last seen entering the saudi consulate in istanbul in turkey in october 2018 where he was murdered a un report said his death was almost certainly a state planned execution but the saudis insist it was the result of a rogue operation arties came up and has more because the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi shocked the world and drew massive condemnation a saudi court recently sentenced 5 people to death and 3 more to jail over that killing however if you thought that this ruling would draw a line under the case think again this is what the Washington Post workers showed you work had to say the complete lack of transparency on the saudi governments refusal to cooperate with the independent investigate says suggests that this was merely a sham trial now immediately after the killing last october many pointed a finger directly at the saudi monarchy among them are u. S. Senators austria the netherlands denmark and finland immediately banned the sales of weapons to the saudi monarchy however donald trump immediately ruled out any such ban in the United States and he made no secret about his reasons but as to whether or not we should stop 110000000000. 00 from being spent in this country knowing they have 4 of 5 alternatives 2 very good alternatives that would not be acceptable to break for the past 2 years democrats and republicans have called for the u. S. Flow of arms to saudi arabia to stop those same arms have been used to lay waste to yemen sense 2015. But now it seems the battle to stop those arms exports is over on friday donald trump was presented with a congressional defense spending bill by the u. S. Congress and that bill contained no anti saudi measures some democrats are furious votes this would be a pool tonight that instead of seizing the opportunity to and illegal u. S. Participation in the horrific saudi led bombings of Yemen Congress will continue to fund trumps unconstitutional will the blame game is now in full swing with congressman denying that they capitulated by letting the bill pass i wasnt cavan i was fighting to the last conceivable minute the u. S. Can talk all it wants about human rights and condemn the pointless slaughter of civilians abroad however when it comes to the u. S. Relationship with saudi arabia the deep financial and military interests are just too important to sidestep and its almost musing that the saudi regime thinks that it would be a good Public Relations move to send inspired low level participants to death in a secretive process that just continues to make them look like a very backwards state where justice is not served in the house and senate have now repeatedly voted in multiple votes on amendments to end in bipartisan fashion to end the u. S. Involvement in this horrific horrific war in yemen democrats could have very easily negotiated. Arder and said if this provision was not in that they would have voted it down and they chose not to do that i think trumps covering for the saudi regime is starting to look very peculiar i think even to number of his supporters some of his more very far right wing republican supporters in congress and have armed together with progressive democrats on this issue. The Guardian Newspaper has been forced to to amend an article and published last year about russias role in an alleged plot to extract to join a sign from the Ecuadorian Embassy in london arties me if national has the. The crime and the punishment the Guardian Newspaper gave a misleading pression to readers and was forced to clarify that its article was well something that you might be tempted to call fake news the piece in question published in september last year claimed that russia had a secret christmas plot to smuggle Julian Assange out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in london to moscow a tentative plan was devised that would have seen that we call expounder taken out of London Embassy in a diplomatic biko and transported to another country one ultimate destination multiple sources have said was russian the involvement of russian officials in hatching what was described as a basic plan raises new questions about a san just ties to the kremlin but they investigate which was led by a high Profile Panel of academics and journalists and last 13 months found that the authors got carried away with some of their claims the plan in relation to mr sanders ability to be able to leave they could door an embassy was not devised instigated by russia there was nothing illicit about the plan as described in the article the investigation was triggered by a formal complaint from the former consul of ecuador 3 theyll not a virus or describe several of the papers assertions as falls and defamatory r. T. Talked to him they talk about secret talks of Russian Diplomats in london and they have trained me us this past contact me in. The kremlin in order to execute some kind of plot thats why i feel that their articles needed to be challenge. And i myself. Need to help an apology from the guardian ology there happen but their review panel has. Decide. And has ruled that the article was indeed misleading reaching the heart of conduct of the press in the United Kingdom but im not completely satisfied with the correction the other thing is that they have not being. Amend it but as the article still says that Russian Diplomats. Secret talks in london in order to. Flee the embassy thats not true finally enough one of the journalists who penned the piece luke harding was behind another controversial article published by their guarding that piece also published last year claimed that the old transcom pain manager paul mann a ford had held secret talks with a son to an Ecuadorian Embassy somehow one of the most surveyed places on earth didnt manage to capture any evidence of that alleged high profile visit the guardian didnt attract the story but detained the headline shift in the responsibility to its sources mr no rise has called the latest corrections he story journalistic fiasco for the guardian for again publishing false information thats not the only article does a pattern by the same outfit that the same outfit theres a pattern they have accused of buying into the embassy they have. Several articles which i mentioning in my complaint. As a pattern from the same journalese which have disgraced the newspaper and his complaint mr not a virus accuses journalists of hiding behind Confidential Sources the article indeed cited various sources and it seems by sources they probably meant their imagination. It is now Christmas Day in most of europe but with travel warnings and armed guards policing the festive markets some feel part of the Christmas Spirit has been lost arties bitter over reports from berlin. Christmas in europe what a wonderful time of the year Christmas Markets in full swing perfect for those last minute gifts the smell of sweet treats teasing you nostrils and on an evening walking in a movie in the list streets perhaps not cold with a special someone to keep you from the wind to chill not a care in the world but goodwill to all thought in recent times thats also come with increased security travel warnings and with some traditions now deemed woke what could be called the whole whole whole marginalization of the Christmas Period the terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in germany you should be vigilant and follow the advice of local authorities security is of course power amounts at all major of the sun Christmas Markets on different terra at times the market in strands last year and here in berlin and 2016 are still fresh in the memory. You can run them opus festively as you like but these balls in the bar is to try and stop Christmas Markets becoming a target again. This also beat a number of questions raised over the inclusive or to have some christmas traditions with one person being publicly shamed for the sake of the christmas instead of sunset. Ive just been shamed on a Facebook Group for using the name father christmas until that fantasia is now seen as gender neutral its a common trope in the press to say christmas is being done away with this year it does seem quite difficult to do christmas without upsetting someone a good chunk of people polled say they boxed a gender neutral santa christianity is pretty central to the Christmas Celebration christ after all is in the name the one school in the u. K. Decided to change the words to the carol away in a manger from little lord jesus to baby boy jesus prompting a pro from parents and National Newspapers alike saying this was inclusive its gone too far in france theres a ban on the tiffany scenes under their religious imagery laws the mayor of bessie is rebels and faced backlash once the go to seasonal salutation only really in north america happy holidays is the right way to wish people well were told with Merry Christmas deemed inappropriate by some even if you avoid the causing offense minefield you can still fall down on the Environmental Impact of christmas 57 percent of those polled here in germany said they would i the myth that you solved all abundant entirely Christmas Lights over Environmental Concerns if you prefer a Real Christmas tree good luck finding one in some parts of the usa where over the last 5 years Christmas Tree shortages have been reported with changes in temperature and rainfall cited among the reasons theres even been advice published over how to correctly argue with your Climate Change denying relatives over the Christmas Period what do people in europe those think of christmas 29 teens. Do and donts. The family getting i want to tell you boy and eating each other so often dust the spirit of christmas the question is whether tradition this is not the same as why wouldnt tradition be you inclusive she writes i think santa should just be what hes always been and thats a big man with a big big big. Think that would be wonderful just to have a female presence as a father christmas im big on tradition so i think theres always been santa i dont think theres any real issue with it for some population Merry Christmas means something religious. With a matter of christmas for me i think happy holidays is fine i think everybody should celebrate his own hold of it but he read it to accept friends or relatives some form of was their own and wishing you all a very happy holidays in the hope that gender neutral sun brings you a sense of Security Control of a building. Aside from Christmas Markets and seasonal ice rinks have become a popular tradition but they come with a high energy price tag as well as dubinsky explains. With the Festive Season in full swing what could be more typical of a Winter Wonderland than an ice skating rink across the world to thousands of temporary ones are directed every year and for many skittering across the ice is a Magical Experience but it seems not everyone is in or in the future of rinks could be on thin ice as the traditional ice rink has become the latest battleground for Climate Change french city wren has canceled its one citing concerns over the Carbon Footprint needed to maintain it in a few years it is not certain that there will still be snow at christmas but it is certain that there will no longer be an open air ice rink this is good news for the planets meanwhile in bordeaux rising costs financially and environmentally mean the outdoor skating rink was cancelled for the 3rd year running the outdoor skating rink is absolutely not in she with the times keeping an outdoor ice rink cold consumes a lot of electricity open for a little over a month the city hall skating rink cost 70000. 00 euros frances 1st indoor ice skating rink opened in paris an 8 176. 00 it was an immediate hit and the idea has remained popular ever since but now with concerns about Climate Change is it time for us to rethink some of our traditions we asked people here in paris has this popular activity weighs up against the cost to the environment since i just saw its a tradition to have an open air skating ring like this its magical it brings Christmas Spirit and theres not much snow its good to have the rain at the national depends when its cold enough and. Its possible. But when its not cold enough it doesnt have to pee you. Know weve seen many changes in the climate so i think its rated a very good of some its a citizen of france to do that but i agree the thais rings are not good for Global Warming but this is only for winter its not true that the mad. Notes of the day isnt often said that could keep everyone happy and its in the most unlikely of places mexico in a bid to keep a wind to feel to the holidays an eco friendly artificial ice rink has been installed and with options like that it seems that there is no longer a reason to skate around the issue charlotte even ski. Paris. By the mirror putin has outlined a plan for bolstering russias military 2020 that story and more still to come this hour on march international. Same hammer i can use to smash someones head is the same hammer i can use to build them a home but thats a human choosing what to do with thats me expressing my values for the tool and thats what we need to do with Artificial Intelligence as well. Join me every thursday on the alex simon show and ill be speaking to guest of the world of politics sports business im showbusiness ill see that. One else seems wrong. Why dont we all just dont call. Me you call me yet to say proud disdain become educated and gain from it because betrayal. When so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground. Welcome back this is international and Syrian Government forces have recaptured a key Battle Ground in the province after a long week or week long offensive against terrorist art hes been out because of comments its been a while since asaad made Headline News its been everyone but him america selling out its allies and pilfering syrian oil. Bullying claims of bias that the u. P. C. W. But no last until now. Thousands of syrians forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives as hundreds of ground and air strikes hit the region of it live overnight something as they part of a new ground offensive by Syrian Government forces. Russian backed Government Forces up intensified the Bombing Campaign well of all out i will go to the camps near the Turkish Border to escape from us and rockets the Syrian Military has been a bit of a role capturing a slew of villages and towns and media days of course whenever that happens the media his opponents exploded an outrage same thing every time we want a peaceful resolution we want talks we want. We want we want we want with do with al qaida. It is ruled by at the shop an offshoot of al qaida h. G. S. Feeds on war and drinks violence it turned deadly into a cesspool of zealots and fanatics mercenaries and foreign jihad just on a world tour i mean the fact that it was where they found the founder of isis its the safest place you could find qana gives it away and h. T. S. Refuses any negotiation with the Syrian Government are you seeing the issue here how do you get a peaceful resolution when one of the biliteral is a homicidal maniac that just wants to cut your head off in the name of god or interest lies in killing the terrorist in order to protect the civilians not leaving those civilians. Under the supervision of the terrorist and being killed by a bit of the issue here is refugees for now civilians have fled from the immediate war zone but they have to do somewhere in the safest place for now is north. Look 50000 people are once again coming from egypt to our lands we already have 4000000 people and now another 50000 are coming and this main crease even further russian and turkish diplomats are in overdrive trying to manage whats happening and prepare for whats to come it is absolutely clear that the status quo is over america selling out its allies and camping out in oil fields turkey diluting kurdish territories