we'll look back at the past seven days and the latest developments this is the weekly on r.t. fresh clashes have broken out across syria with at least eleven government troops and ten civilians reported killed the violence rages on as the arab league others to discuss the progress of its observer mission to the country critics say the league's failing to oversee a peace plan under which the syrian regime agreed to end its crackdown on protesters more than a hundred civilians of allegedly killed by government troops since the first observers arrived last month on friday dozens died in a suicide bombing in the capital damascus which the regime is blaming on terrorists let's not get some insight and perspective on the syrian crisis from. political analyst sorry hughes university in beirut well the regime's crackdown on the opposition has apparently continued despite the arab league's observer mission there which as i mentioned

a little earlier critics have described as futile isn't it now time to ask the u.n. to intervene. well it seems a bit suspicious to claim that the arab league's mission is is a failure or is futile before actually listening to the arab league give its report before giving the arab league time that it needs to finish and make its observations so right now it seems a little bit political to suggest that the arab league has solution is not working without. waiting to see what happens dialogue is emerging right now people are in cairo meeting to discuss this and the nurse they have time to discuss said they won't know whether or not it's working but then the final mix of myself so sorry to interrupt but surely the government promised to withdraw troops from the streets and stop using force against the civilians out there promise and that was why the monitors were there to oversee that this was employed and implemented and it hasn't happened has it by what we're seeing in the statistics in the latest deaths. of

course what is going on in syria is absolutely horrendous and the violence must stop but we also must consider the fact that the violence is two sided there are attacks against government troops there are attacks there was a recent suicide blast that killed dozens of people in damascus and so these these realities on the ground need to be reflected by the observers the arab league observers and unless they have time to really see both sides of the story we're not going to know how best to solve this conflict we're not going to know how best dialogue will happen and who to trust and who involved in this process so really you are right what is going on in syria must the violence must stop here we need to figure out a way that involves all syrians in this process and not just those syrians who have the ears of western leaders pushing the arab league leaders to press forward on a decision that's not in syria's best interests do you really think they will get a picture of both sides of the story bearing in mind the arab league only had about

one hundred fifty observers there in syria is that really enough to cover the whole country i mean shouldn't of the independent monitors be allowed to see what's really going on and also bearing in mind that foreign media limited with their access to find out what's going on there. yes of course this is a good point but syria also has to be careful to have people come in and not those with political agendas seeking to destabilize or undermine the syrian regime so of course there should be more people allowed in but choosing who which people to allow in is a really difficult question and so right now it looks like the arab league is going to press for more observers to be let in and as long as they do so in a clear process that is fair and that the syrians can agree to this is a good solution and it will be one step closer and in this crisis syria has made some has has released some prisoners and they've had attempted to create some sort of dialogue with the opposition so they were not just standing there laughing at

the arab rivers as people are getting killed on the streets they're actively involved in trying to end this conflict but you are right of course there is also violence continuing in this must stop so the arab league needs to find a just way to end this crisis and not listen to the western pressure that's coming from europe and from america to intervene in syria and to get the united nations involved right now what the arab league tried to do its job you mentioned that we shouldn't be too quick to assess the success of the monitors there and to wait for the outcome of their conclusions but whatever they do say will they have any clue whatsoever assad's regime do you think it'll have any impact on what they eventually say what they saw there going on in syria. well there's been some interesting news this week about for example the role of hamas and helping initiate these these observer mission the observer mission and the negotiations between the arab league and the syrian government and so i think that there are key players

that could put pressure on assad and he has allies in the region as well the world may find it interesting to pursue this diplomatic method like turkey and iran we don't quite know yet with these countries what pressures they can put on syria but of course it's going to be difficult to push through the syrian government is very isolated not only internally regionally and internationally but it is fair only to have a process that the syrian people can best negotiate with their government negotiate with each other with the different parties both inside syria and outside syria because there are many voices inside syria that we're not being listened to only the arab league is listening to them right now and so we have to get that time for that process to really. unfold and in a just way you talk about negotiations but with the opposition but isn't there a problem here that the opposition is fragmented there are as you mentioned earlier

there are many different voices then the opposition and it's not as cohesive or perhaps we saw the in libya. oh yes of course and this is very important because a lot of the international community as well as the arab league had up until now only heard a very particular voice from the opposition and those were syrians outside of syria who are perhaps the most radical and many of whom are engaged in a military struggle against terrorist acts against the syrian government so it's very good that they're now being allowed into syria to talk with other opposition leaders but yes of course this is going to be a yet another difficult part of the situation to figure out how to incorporate as many syrian voices as possible but that is democracy and if this is what the syrian people want is going to be a very difficult process like it is turning out to be in egypt for example and like it will be in libya libya right now is a lot less united that it was during the war and so you will see a lot of conflicts emerge in all of these countries as the democratic process

unfolds so really good to talk to you thank you very much for your thoughts good to hear from you joining us in beirut sort of from the story of us and thank you. this is r t live here in moscow iran says it's planning new military exercises near the strategic strait of hormuz one of the its ten day maneuvers in the persian gulf tehran also renewed its threat to close the strait that's one of the world's most important oil routes in response to u.s. and european sanctions last week new washington sanctions began targeting iran's financial and oil sectors to hamper its nuclear program and france is calling for even tougher measures we model according to an iranian newspaper iran has begun to rein him in richmond for peaceful purposes at a well protected underground facility near the city of whom u.s. and its allies continue to accuse iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons a charge tehran denies any risk an expert on middle eastern affairs thinks that diplomacy is the only way out of the stalemate of sanctions will damage all sides. the process now have increased this comes at

a time where birth europe and the year worse are witnessing a very very dire economic situation economic problems both in the u.s. and europe and this latest step taken against iran will not only of course said the president for increasing economic problems for the west in general escalation won't serve any side whatsoever we've seen the the economic situation in europe they'll be somewhat i believe very soon between the french leader and the german chancellor angela merkel to discuss the economic situation and so it's in nobody's interest to continue with this and they have to head back to the negotiating table the european union has agreed in principle i repeat in principle for not for an embargo on iranian soil now will that happen in effect will they take this measure in practice june will will see a meeting on january the thirtieth for the european union regarding this matter i doubt that that will happen i don't believe in from now until the end of this month until the end of january we might see some kind of

a solution with players like turkey coming in trying to bring about a solution. still ahead this hour here in r.t. the fate of a dictator as prosecutors in egypt call for the day. to president mubarak we hear why he's execution could result in more violence for the whole region. plus europe is in for a rough ride this year was recession and economic instability closer towards the heavyweights. a story still to come but first in america the race for the presidency is in full swing with six republican hopefuls competing for the chance to challenge barack obama in the vote front runner mitt romney's taking flak from his republican rivals who dismissed him as a businessman but romney has a comfortable lead after the iowa caucuses this week and in. new hampshire in just two days time takes place across the u.s. in the coming months before a single presidential candidate is chosen at the republican convention in august she's a politician antiwar ron paul is trailing far behind in the polls and former

congressional. that's because make holes agendas of. the members of his party took so much money from them in his foreign policy is very distinct from the other candidates in that he has a more isolationist viewpoint he wants the. international. affairs in some areas that can be good he's opposed to military action with the ron he was opposed to the iraq war but the other candidates are all extremely hawkish on foreign policy very conservative and ron paul does stand out among. voters want to support him as a leading the party and getting other republicans on board to really change the agenda no he hasn't done that is someone who says i am a free american and i can make it on my own and that's what ron paul really embodies but republicans also understand that kind of positioning will not win the

general election against president obama. as the republican slug it out for the right to take on obama the president himself is ratcheting up support for his reelection bid but with his approval rating down and the economy still on the ropes some of those who voted for the yes we can man in two thousand and eight say they made a mistake bodies were in a partner has more. four years ago one historic campaign turned u.s. politics into a pop culture phenomenon here. except for the democratic candidate achieved unprecedented support international fame and a record breaking six hundred fifty million dollars in donations. thousands of new yorkers celebrated the victory clutching an enormous american flag hand sewn by obama supporters but the winds have changed and the very same

democratic symbol waved in honor of the president elect in no way each straight from a show straight has been donated to the movement that became a phenomenon in two thousand and eleven other about twenty people holding up david moved organize the flag project after being inspired by obama rhetoric a dream shattered by the subsequent years of politics as usual curly what's inspiring me as up as a lot of us like that that's the thing that's inspiring you know like that's why i brought the flag so ws and the thing that inspired me about it is the fact that it's a grassroots movement. that had a like a very clear and transparent process artist shepard fairey seems similarly just an chanted releasing an updated version of his iconic hope poster replacing obama with his now clear support for occupy wall street with an economy still in crisis wall street largely unregulated social programs slashed and over forty five million

citizens on food stamps it all starts with you making a decision to get involved obama's familiar prose may not be enough to win back his familiar fan base he didn't produce what people wanted him to produce in two thousand and eight professor and author talk to cornel west was one of obama's biggest supporters i think he's got the beers you got the newness he's got. diversion is taking part in more than one hundred campaign events but last april the prominent intellectual told r.t. that obama has failed he's the friendly face of the american empire abroad he's in the process actually of becoming very sadly a pawn of big finance and a puppet of big business and any politician here knows they're in trouble when the hollywood a listers start turning their backs are you happy with the way that obama has been running the country. you know. and i think i

really think he misinterpreted his. his mandate yet the approval ratings show voters are even more turned off with the alternatives leaving obama seemingly the lesser of two evils america's president clearly enters the twenty twelve race amid a growing band of disillusioned democrats most will still back barack obama over his republican rivals arguably with heavy hearts in two thousand and eight he was the unassailable candidate of choice this time mr obama is likely to stay in by default. artsy new york. or to live here in moscow coming your way in the program walking the plank in germany thousands of dissolution voters fed up with the mainstream put back cross by the party of the skull and crossbones explains all in about ten minutes from now. the first egyptian prosecutors this week demanded

else did president hosni mubarak be hanged for allegedly ordering the killing of protesters during last year's uprising and also seeking the death sentence for the country's former interior minister and six other security chiefs moscow's expressed concern over the possible death penalty and call for a more humane verdict but more than eight hundred have died during the violence which forced mubarak out in february last year since his trial began in august the eighty three year old has appeared on a stretcher due to poor health space talk show host and author stephen believes the military rulers are using mubarak as a scapegoat and their discontent with the current regime is running high. this is a distraction this is. believing the state for several days. trying to absolve themselves in the process seems the worse you know one of the military and. know also

the people running the country the same ones closely allied with no barrier. used to seeing people in cars or would remember to certain people who are too but i think the protests will go on and the people won't be full of violence will continue to struggle there is a long way to go to russia republic of chechnya now where several security service officers have been wounded and two reportedly killed in a shootout with militants reports suggest two gunmen also died on his body in a culture never has the latest from the caucasus region. lisa conti terror operation is still going on between russian special forces and the terrorists in the south of the republic. when these terrorists were found they refused to surrender they opened fire and the police fired back the main hideout of terrorists was also packed with explosives and weapons according to the latest information there are from five to turn terrorists there are still on the run and at the moment

russian special forces are surrounding this area russia's a north caucasus still remains quite volatile and basically a range of the most dangerous place in the country but still change in comparison to other regions that surround this area has seen the number of terror attacks decreased in the last twelve months so really is this operation that we've been seeing today is such a big is a big thing for the whole republic but in other regions and own the contrary the number off attacks and terror raised increased in the last twelve months and according to russia's interim ministry over three hundred militants were killed in a race and among them was a chief al qaida operative of the north caucasus basically russian authorities have been repeatedly underlying the connection often militants there present here in the

north caucasus with al qaida but despite a number of a successful anti terror raids and dozens of terror attacks that were prevented by russian special forces still the problem terrorism remains here and search operations continue it. well some world news in brief here the first two night jiri aware days of sectarian violence have killed at least forty four the latest attack occurred when the radical muslim sect. targeted a church service in the country's northeast killing at least fifteen on the violence comes after the group promised to kill christians living in nigeria's largely muslim the. president has declared a state of emergency for areas affected saying the unrest is worse than the country's civil war which took place in the one nine hundred sixty s. . an afghan investigative commission says the american military abused detainees at the country's largest detention center inmates program prison say they were tortured and held without evidence at the u.s. run facility prison karzai has demanded the u.s.

hand over control of the prison to afghan authorities within a month and the u.s. says it will investigate the claims. grounded new zealand cargo ship has been split in two after being battered by fierce waves in a storm craft is released timber and floating containers into the sea and cleanup teams are on standby in case of an oil leak ship has been struck stuck off the coast since october when it hit a reef and spewed hundreds of tons of oil into the ocean in what's been described as the country's worst environmental disaster. and a miraculous escape as seen here in this video showing a twenty two lines of zambian zebra the incident you went to court snapped during a bungee jump australian erlang worth to leap on new year's eve had to fight against strong currents and rapids in the river he stole from roach snagged on that he spent a week in hospital although she wasn't seriously injured. and you can see that

video again online if you want to know is probably born news for you there on our website just log on to our dot com here's what we have for you there right now. north korea's new declared supreme leader kim jung marking his birthday on gender the age but his exact age still remains something of a mystery plus. the. the. members of the orthodox church all across russia and abroad celebrate the birth of jesus that and much more for you. it's been a rough start to the year thought the eurozone with some of its countries believed

to be in or heading into another wave of recession two of europe's larger economies italy and spain are facing a crucial investor confidence test next week as they race to raise public funding telling prime minister mario monti met the french president nicolas sarkozy in paris on friday to discuss the spiraling debt turmoil which threatens to engulf their economies he called another general states to show more confidence in the single currency the meeting comes amid fears of the crisis knocking at the door of the e.u.'s heavy weights the more greece's warned of a disorderly default in march if it can't secure the cash going to catalysts. that greece's exit from the euro zone is inevitable. the greek economy is going down like a stone. g.d.p. contracted by four percent in two thousand and ten by six percent in two thousand and eleven and there is probably worse to come in two thousand and twelve and i think we are now at a point where everybody realizes that we cannot go on like this and unrest and even

in the country is becoming so much of a threat that some drastic things need to be done and my reading of what degree government is doing is that they are trying to they are looking for an alibi to offer to their public. well it's not our fault it's the international community that pushes us towards the exit of the euro zone and i think also here in europe brussels headquarters of the european commission people start to realize they really are at the end of the road there is no other option left for them they're in a deadlock they cannot rewind the greek economy and so they are facing in a big black hole. well for more on the euro zone struggle with its debt and what may be in store this year stay with us r.t. for an interview with a prominent dutch economist coming up in about an hour from now. well as the zone sinks deeper into the financial crisis its most reliable member germany would be

the most concerned but more and more people lately have adapted a new way of thinking and an alternative direction of reports. it looks like an ordinary scene at one of the many bars in berlin except there's one thing which makes this party totally different from all the others the parties they must get out and. the pirate part of germany that's right and this is an annual meeting of a political party and all these people or i'm only it's eighteen thousand members across germany like me treat was tired of the mainstream and i was really disappointed in. all this the same way. the firefighter was in a different one of its key differences apart from the style in general is a software system called liquid feedback allowing ordinary germans the opportunity to propose policies online the pirate stand for more transparency and freedom on

the internet but when it comes to core issues like the economy and we don't have currently a stand on this crisis maybe we'll have after the. next federal convention but this wasn't a problem at the previous election for the berlin state problem a time when the port authority managed to win nearly nine percent of the vote securing fifteen seats most people who i talked to they say are just something something fresh to me like because many germans believe that politics are cross to this time as the big players struggle with big economic and political issues but part party doesn't even have one official stance on the eurozone crisis or the arab spring nevertheless it continues gathering more supporters i mean a coincidence or an alarming signal stream politicians the free democrats party which is and go merkel's federal coalition porter is the first to feel the change

of support from voters that actually lost that along with another four local votes across the country a mainstream politics is also losing attractiveness because. there's often too little distinction or distinctiveness between different parties from different fields or areas sometimes it's even difficult to tell the difference between conservative and social democrat experts say the point success tool is the internet and see it as the new driving force changing politics similar to the way it was influenced by t.v. and were half a century ago so unless the mainstream parties adapt and change their tactics. before they could find themselves on the margins it is going to. germany well short of the story of an american vigilante waging a war war on illegal migrants on the us mexico border that's coming up shortly that will be off the headlines in a couple months. why

stream cascading from mom. to view is mesmerizing.

brings death at a speed of more than one hundred kilometers. this is not a long one on. wealthy british style. that's not on the title. markets why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cause or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report. on. the a.

news.

the latest news in the week's top stories this is the weekly naughty there's no stop to the killings in syria as the arab league decides to continue its observer mission aimed at overseeing the implementation of a peace plan. in rome promises to hold more maybe drills in the persian gulf and threatens to keep aldrete in the region as the west total sanctions targeting tehran's oil and financial sectors. are six republican candidates for the right to take on the president in november election with the current administration's support and wait.