hello and a very warm welcome from all of us here in moscow this is r.t. with me you little bubble of thanks for joining is angry greeks have gathered in athens to protest against a new set of government cuts expected to be passed next month the country's parliament has approved a new property tax as part of a strict austerity measures being demanded by the i.m.f. the new year before a vital next bailout installment is granted prime minister george happened dros in germany trying to convince its mainland that greece is on the right track to reduce its crippling debt and has called on german business leaders to help sarah for three ports now from athens for us. the fact that. he kept going off again he said looking like he was going to escalate fantasies that would think see that he. has the right. fishing. it's been a struggle here to get the situation under control for the first time in this

country is seeing people below the poverty line being taxed they simply don't have that money and they're calling on eurozone leaders now to be realistic the talk is certainly turning to that as a greek default analysts here have said to us at the really it's a case of how that happens whether it's a controls to fold the sole greece's turns over the e.u. leaders will again play by their rules and for that benefit really that the greek prime minister george papa j has been having meetings today in berlin he said he thought the country could get out of this crisis and we had the german chancellor saying much the same thing everyone hyping that the situation doesn't once again descend into violence like we've seen happen before but unfortunately that is the level of anger today amongst the greek people people we've been speaking to saying they can't afford their rent they can't afford to support their families the visa

applications the greeks wanting to leave the pros has risen dramatically extremely volatile situation that then played fed up with what they see as i complete and also why evening between what the people are asking for a look at the e.u. leaders are pushing for a year is a needed at the moment is still as yet to decide on whether to provide that eight billion a year a cash injection the greece they desperately needs is still that potentially they will be approving that because they don't want to see greece a thing the year is saying if greece lays then anyone can leave and that really what may save listen. well the end of the year you get. the name and the bring everyone. up to three bites the country does look the pretend. it's not like that but it's easy. on the inside was.

joined by metric a thing is a blog and it can only guess he contributed to metric thank you very much indeed for a time so more and more can't seem to be the only recipe coming from the i.m.f. how do you see these just how you see measures affecting greece and other european economies in the long term. good where you mean. excuse me how do i see them affecting how do i shouldn't be a crime in the long run i do you see it as character measures that have seen greece and other european countries yes in the long term. in the long term must in the long term if you're running a budget deficit you have to close that gap but the way that it's being implemented right now doesn't help greece because there's of the giant debt burden they need to default on their debt if they want their certain measures to work because right now you have austerity with tax increases and a giant that you're not going to get anywhere and the greek economy is contracting

so if it if it continues in this way in the short term long term it just means. because you have this giant debt that's not going to go away if greece defaults however what impact this could this could this how could it cause a chain reaction hating other countries including those deemed too big to fail or needed bailout like spain and italy i mean. well yeah i mean definitely already seeing that greece was the first country to have its bond rating questioned really by the marketplace but then quickly ireland in portugal fall and spain now italy so you can see france conceivably next as far as sovereign debt is concerned but on the other side there's the bank issue now which is more and more in question france and french banks which are most exposed have come under attack and it's as i said before it's not just exactly what effect will a greek default itself have on write downs first pacific banks but what does that do in terms of panic in terms of liquidity european banks have already seen

a harder and harder time getting access to the marketplace in order to get loans in dollars which is why the fed and other central banks have opened up swap lines to the c. b. so you could potentially have a catastrophic effect on the european bank sector mostly because confidence will be shattered if it happens in an uncontrolled way if there's an exit or default unilaterally. and that has said that say it may not be able to help europe. if the crisis worsens so where is it where is all this going and what's going to be the global event from the turmoil in the u.s. that. why i don't think greece can stay in new it certainly can't continue to pay this debt without defaulting on some of it and i think that goes for ireland and portugal and spain as well and perhaps italy but i think that the smartest thing for the e.u. and the i.m.f. to do if they really want a solution would be a structured default of greece of portugal of ireland probably spain as well in some sort of way and to allow some of those currents the countries especially

greece for example for the public sector to issue drachmas again it doesn't mean that you don't have to circulate but it would mean the kind of dual currency system that we'd like we saw in argentina after they exited the dollar peg. that's i think i think that's what i what i would look for i don't expect and i think the i think the long term the euro is not going to survive for reasons that we're already seeing in terms of national policies overriding a pan-european policy i don't think they're going to be able to create a fiscal treasury and fiscal union great europe but in the short term the e.u. may stay stay alive if they allow some of the other countries to begin to issue their own currencies and partially default on their debts janish a that was my next question about the year as a sort on tuesday on the hoods that years and leaders will work out an imaginary plan to handle the crisis do you think what do you think will happen to the euro will they keep that in doubt no could a big crash in the currency be around the corner just let's talk about that in a bit more. you know i don't think you rebounded because of news i think

that it needed to rebound and it needed a breather nothing moves in one direction and definitely current currencies are no exception so i think that if this is just a temporary rally i think that it's still got further to go on the downside. but as far as the the long term prospects for you are if it's going to have a big crash i think that the pens on some sort of on forseen event if they continue to gold this path and i think you'll eventually see it decline further but but if greece were to exit and uncontrolled way and that sparked fears are good but then surely cause a crash of the year i don't see it necessarily breaking parity with the dollar but i do expect to go much further to drop much further. thank you very much for joining us and giving us your views and dimitri kovtun its economic program and he's contributed. so to come here on r t why immigrants in britain are doing a good job for him would be up to ninety percent of vacancies in the countries

beneath him people in the markets. and also russia's finance minister gets his marching orders from the president just hours after giving a controversial interview find out about all signs that cost him his job. in syria government troops bombed by times and helicopters have reportedly stormed a key opposition town after pounding it overnight with heavy machine gun fire in a while at the u.n. russia's foreign minister has once again called on all sides to sit down for talks retracing dialogue is the only possible solution he's also been addressing the u.n. general assembly in new york and it's the situation is that. wrapping up his visit to the united nations general assembly session here in new york the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov has addressed the united nations general assembly with a speech touching up on many different subjects that are most warning for the international community and syria was certainly at the top of that list and one of the most important points he made regarding syria was that it's key to let the

government and the opposition try to carry out talks let them talk before any intervention from the outside world take takes place he has said that the government should be given the opportunity to carry out the reforms that they promised and you know the international community should refrain from taking any action until this opportunities given to let syria deal with its own issues to avoid establishing the region even further because he brought up the latest example of libya he reiterated that russia really believes that russia stands against the use of any kind of force against innocent civilians and libya's example has unfortunately showed that actions from the outside world really should take place within the scope of the international war and going behind the scope can hurt innocent civilians so russia is really speaking out against america's approach to call for the syrian president to step down and for sanctions to be implemented at

the security council when you will but. we cannot support the project that is being pushed through by western countries and it is among other things to do with the libyan experience we will do next try to use how have you calculated your next steps the answer we get is that we haven't thought about it yet but president assad needs to go we need to draw him into a corner with sanctions should go first and then we'll see it's a very simple i believe not very reliable strategy if it could be called a strategy we know that the united states and the european union have implemented unilateral sanctions against syria and have been calling within the united nations security council for the international community including. russia of course to join in but it's been made very clear that russia would not support a resolution against syria until syria is actually given a chance to work some of these things out to many different issues were certainly addressed but all eyes have been on palestine here in new york at the united nations general assembly and the russian foreign minister has reiterated russia's

position really that it supports palestine's official bid for statehood within the united nations security council and within the united nations and he has welcomed expressed russia's welcome feeling for palestine's wish to participate in further negotiations with negotiations with israel as a that we know have been stalled and of course it's to give our viewers a bit of a background like we've been reporting it's been a mean sort of issue of. hard work behind closed doors the united states has been really working hard to try to prevent palestine from placing this official bid to the security council the palestinian leader mahmoud abbas did go ahead with this and this is something that the united nations security council will officially be considering come once a day. israel has advanced plans to build eleven hundred new homes in a disputed area in a century so then the jurors settlements have already been opposed by the u.s. as counterproductive to middle east peace the european union reacted by saying the decision should be revised it's likely to father western relations with the palestinians have abandoned peace talks over the settlements they made in east

quartet. russia and the u.s. have proposed a deadline at the end of the yet for agreement to be reached between israel and the palestinians. co-founder of the israeli kmita against house demolitions told us that israel doesn't need tools so it's not support from the big allies. basically. israel has created facts on the ground over the last forty four years that of really made made its occupation irreversible i mean you've got half a million israelis more than half a million living in the occupied territories so that it's i can't possibly see how you go she asians are going to ending israel's occupation i don't see any pressures to get a half a million people out and i think that's what abbas is saying if you go she is our useless either you get out of our territory period or there or there's no point in

going on with the process i don't think israel has anything to worry about from its point of view there are three countries that matter the other hundred ninety are irrelevant the three countries are the united states britain and germany as long as they're behind israel's policy towards least even if they criticize as long as they prevent saying sions and provide this umbrella for israel israel is nothing to worry about who's going to saying that who's going to force it to get out who's going to put pressures on israel. violence has erupted and they said it cost of a border with several local feds injured an exchange of fire between protesters and native peacekeepers at a dispute at a frantic crossing clashes between broke out after an alternator forces trying to get a wait of barricades had and barricades set out by said nato planes that acted only in response to times by cost of a substance a chance to see as well the bone authentic guys without defense however ports have emerged and said that nato forces that way are bullets that's according to the nice

agency in the country which has shot x. ray images of gunshot wounds and abortion law while they try that seven historian and author says that nato actions were the only western of a tense situation. they started out using rubber bullets and they switched to real live ammunition. nato claims that this was after protesters filled pipe bombs at them serb reports are saying of the use death players that the use of soccer games to drive off nato troops from trying to bodily remove a lorry a truck that was walking one of the middle barricades for the past about eleven days there's been a game of nerves on the barricades with nato setting up barbed wire and fully armed troops and the serbs building barricades of earth trying to block nato and using alternate routes into the province because whenever serbs try to use the albanian manned crossings they would get beaten abused detained and otherwise mistreated just a few days ago after that nato first put in to bear against the local serbs at this

ferry crossing actually gave them food and trying to be sociable there's no reason why they would attack the speaker there's very very many observers that are saying that media was absolutely outside the bounds of it much its mandate it is not supposed to be a law enforcement agency for death for the self-proclaimed government in pristina it is it wasn't supposed to seize these so-called customs posts in the first place and it certainly isn't supposed to be shooting at people they don't peacefully protesting these turn of the turn of events. u.k. the employment rate has had eight percent the highest rate in fifteen years but immigrant workers are beating the brits hands down to over ninety percent of the few jobs available i have a bennett in london reports now what's behind a surprising figure than the government pledges to reduce immigration. jaymes amongst the growing ranks of unemployed he's been trying to find a job in social housing since many competitions fears that fathers it's agencies

now working for each job so you just find that you know looks like is about for you they will get short listed of it as look at salaries slightly less you know maybe going to go back to college and maybe do some parts on unemployment's now it's eight percent the highest for fifteen years but no matter how hard jamie tries the odds are stacked against him job centers like this one helped fill one hundred eighty thousand new vacancies in the last twelve months but only eight percent of those went to british workers with foreign nationals more successful in the job market nine times out of ten reversing that trend was a key election pledge of the new government promising to slash immigration but a year on its only increased migration was nearly a quarter of a million last year up to twenty percent on two thousand and nine and britain second biggest annual total ever way off the government's five figure target i think we're probably over promising given the restrictions that they face it didn't

make sense to promise to bring the number down to an arbitrary level we initially been having a more honest debate with the public about the limits on what they could do the government claims its target can be met by capping nor e.u. immigration but that ignores how most are coming from within the e.u. where restrictions don't apply entry numbers for eastern europeans rose by eight times in the last year alone as they continue to cash in on the open borders it's unlikely that a top of the measures are announced will meet that target and might come close but it is unlikely to me to further measures are necessary for others the problem lies at home pretty patel's an m.p. and from an immigrant family herself she knows what it takes to. succeed here but says most don't i go back to thirty forty years ago when you've seen immigrants come to this country what they wanted to is they want to work hard and get on in

life they really do the families think about except except sure you don't you days gone past we used to have a tremendous british work ethic in this country we really did i think we've effectively lost some of that was it was easy to see that at the job center where most i'm it will migrant workers the problem is that a lot of hit haiti but i got used to not doing the minimum wage jobs and the low paid work so they need to be forced into taking these jobs the government claims it's now doing just that it says we are reforming the welfare system to ensure that we in the benefit dependency which is trap so many people and finally ensure work pays but it was the long term unemployed can be forced to look for jobs there's no guarantee they'll get them coming back to that immigration promise the government simply can't keep either bennett artsy london. just after showing the door to x. finance minister alex a korean president dmitry medvedev has warned that all those questioning

presidential policy will fall in the same direction katrina said he couldn't work in a new government and image that if if the president becomes prime minister in the future shuffle of the top peter all of a takes up the story. well since president medvedev came to power there were certain areas of the country ditties earmarked for spending in improvement things like improvements in the prisons and the armed forces now some of the spending policies says appears to have been in disagreement to what alexi could have been thought and that's why he lost his job on monday now president dmitri medvedev has on tuesday robustly defended his spending policies saying at the defense spending in particular was crucial to the development of russia when you more from the way to use we can do without defense spending and this spending should be worthy of russia we're not some banana republic we're a big country with a permanent member of the un security council and we have nuclear weapons that's why an increase in spending for the defense budget arms and salaries for military

personnel will be the government's top priority and whoever disagrees with that can work out some with probably the will mused well could really clearly did disagree with that and now he will be looking for work elsewhere this all really came to a head the catalyst for it being the announcement that a lot of me and putin will run for the presidency in twenty twelve and then he would put forward dmitri medvedev as his prime minister so this sparked could in to say they see couldn't work with. the trade debt is as prime minister g two spending policies made debt over in turn issued an ultimatum to could do in saying i think get on board or get out and tell your resignation that didn't come and he was dismissed from his post late last night after eleven years. and came across the developments of that story at our feet are calling creating the actual frost exchange between the president and the man who was his treasury chief also online today. the kalashnikov rifle prepares to bite the bullet as rush defense minister

decides that the country's most iconic weapon is outdated. and nascar is in the mood to move there says internet sensation doesn't matter because here's share him before. his drink around the world now he's in russia's capital getting on that feet so washed out and get down by getting on line all our beaches and the ports. and coming out so fish have a now is it me it's one of the world's leading experts on u.s. foreign policy walter russell mead explains how he sees america's future global direction.

walter russell mead thank you very much for being with us today sir good to be here it's a pleasure so i know that you're on a vert democrat you voted for obama has disappointed you in some ways yes in some ways no i have to say when i voted for him i didn't think oh this is the one everything is going to be perfect i thought he would be able to manage our foreign policy. effectively not perfectly no one and i think you have. i think we're in fairly good shape and he's been able to do some of the things that

the bush administration tried to do but without all the trouble and aggravation so moist which is good domestically. i think he made some mistakes at the beginning of this he he thought that the country had elected him to transform the country i think he was actually look to be more like bill clinton and try to keep everything nice and so he's gotten now because he tried to do too much and do some things people didn't expect or want he's now on the defensive and this is a difficult time for him what do you think shapes the values of a promise administration a lot of things i think he's very much a product of the kind of ivy league educational system. because he sees himself i think as part of a new kind of america almost the millennial generation in some ways looking to

build a post racial society i think he does he's he's not as much on the left as some people have thought he is i don't i don't think that's right i think he i would consider more a kind of a technocrat in the in the mold of people like mcgeorge bundy the sort of the great harvard technocrats of the one nine hundred sixty s. and seventy's i think is where he is getting is going to get reelected that's very hard to say but i know that you have described the united states e.u. and japan as financially irresponsible superpowers so i was wondering how do you think the world can afford to be led by responsible superpowers well of course there are a lot of financially irresponsible non superpowers too i think financially they're not superpowers right but what i guess what i'm saying is who else can it be led by that was going to my second question that if united states actually loses their

leadership who would it be well that's partly why i think it may be less likely that the u.s. will lose and in some ways the dollar as a reserve currency it's the chinese are not going to international. so there is for a while the euro is is not really an alternative to the dollar so what is it the swiss franc the south african rand so let me just recap because there's been a lot of talk in the past two years about the world becoming law type color. and european things are going to stay the way they are the world order for a while well i guess what i would say is the whole the goal of american foreign policy is not actually a uni polar world i think people. think that the united states actually is more a gretta garbo and that is we would like to be left alone for example the european union from the united states' point of view is the perfect solution the europeans

aren't going to war with each other they aren't going to war with us they're pretty prosperous they like a lot of the things we do so the europe if the nice is had a dream for europe that would be it it's ok now we have much less power in europe than we did in one thousand nine hundred five when we could decide who ate what's ok but you have much more power in other parts of the world right but again what we want to say is we would like every place to more or less be like your happy rich at peace so that you can be left alone so right so that the world would be the way we want it to be but we wouldn't have to make it perform that's the american goal and so in that sense. polar world in which most or all of the polls kind of like the american way. without us making them like you see that's the goal and to some degree the emergence

of india the emergence of europe the fact that brazil is growing into just that kind of power suggests that that we're getting that what americans would consider a banal multi-polar would be rather than say the one nine hundred forty s. when you had the soviet union germany and japan that all heat that system and are trying to destroy it how would america like to. see russia happy free democratic and secure thank you very much. thank you. twenty years ago in the largest country in. two places.

each began a journey. where did it take the. wealthy british. time to. market. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines kaiser reports.

and again this is r.c. coming to you live from moscow the headline. more angry protests in greece as the parliament in athens approves a new property tax with us on the way next month to me. demands and the country continues to teeter on the abyss of default on its massive debts. bronze western proposals a fresh tundras against syria irresponsible and calls on the regime and its opponents to tour as government forces stormed a key opposition town in the country with heavy weaponry. and violence flares at the border between seven and breakaway seven local serbs are injured in clashes when nato peacekeepers opened fire with live rounds despite alliance claims only rubber bullets and tear gas.