live pictures of france's nicolas sarkozy and next to him just out of shot i believe this is the press conference ongoing live right now in. a very warm welcome to you this is r.t. live from moscow i'm wrong. syrian activists claim the deadly government crackdown on protesters shows no signs of stopping a day after the arab league decided to continue its observer mission to the country the pan arab body called on all sides of the conflict in syria to lay down arms at once but pulled up short of asking the united nations to intervene the league's been overseeing the implementation of a peace plan since late last month one hundred and sixty five of its observers are now spread across syria more are on the way the findings indicate the regime is

only sticking to some parts of the deal the leak warns it'll take unspecified action if the crackdown doesn't end soon more than five thousand civilians and around two thousand soldiers are said to have been killed in the country since march first now reports from damascus. and new year but no resolution here and despite the presence in the country of arab league observers in ten months of bloody clashes the violence in syria continues to escalate. and that's why it's our fault not our people's fault it's a sound that our children are dying it's a sense the are just ordinary people we simply want to have a man seen here he's like ducks isn't battling to save is a soldier child to clean he died he's just twenty five years old. his family to mourn him and this is just one. man one family across

syria at the moment there are many more people experiencing exactly the same thing as a country edges ever closer toward civil war hundreds of people from both sides losing their lives every month on friday another suicide bombing in damascus is yet further evidence of the escalating conflicts and this is continued to take place despite the presence of arab league observers on the ground and then as we went to the league and ask them to help but they didn't want to listen to us and didn't respond to our complaints exactly he's responsible for what's in the country right now remains far from being clear but the opposition itself is becoming increasingly divided with more and more army dessert is joining the ranks in calling for a violent overthrow of the government dangers. soldiers.

have concluded. the arrests of the syrian army. you know the league has once again renewed their calls for the violence from all sides to end the thing that's to review the finding safe. there in syria this vast country and many of its people are fighting extremely hard right now for the right to determine their own future the government here might say that they're pushing reforms very many people in the country feel that simply too much has happened to much blood has been shed for anything other than real change to be an option sara for. damascus. and he is coming to you live from moscow right now five minutes past the hour diplomats have confirmed iran has begun enriching uranium at a brown you nuclear facility the west has slammed the move as a provocation at a time when brinksmanship between the u.s.

and iran has reached a boiling point let's not get some more on this from patrick henderson associate editor from wars dot com i thank you for coming on the program today before we get into the issue of uranium enrichment with iran the latest angle i want to take with you is this as we know for the past week or so in fact it was ten days in the very recent past iran was staging naval military war games in the gulf we're now hearing the u.s. and israel are gearing up for joint military exercises in the gulf as well as just as tyrone announces it will surely stage what it's calling quote the greatest war games ever seen in the region who's pushing who here do you think you know this looks vaguely familiar to power politics and power geopolitics that we saw pre nine hundred ninety one i'm talking about the cold war rory look the main subject here we're looking at is we saw in the last week a direct reaction in the world oil markets we saw prices spike in price of oil per

barrel is going up ok this is real creation of wealth for the oil industry i do not see that timetable right now with iran is being on schedule for a preemptive attack from the united states and or israel i see this is drawing out over a longer period. let's go about to be issue all of diplomats confirming iran has begun enriching your brain you made a brand new nuclear facility the international atomic energy agency says it's unable to verify that iran's nuclear program remains peaceful why that has to run decided to push ahead with launching this new facility which experts say could produce pretty weapons grade uranium. well again this all this all depends on your perspective if you're an expert from the international atomic energy agency or the u.n. you'll see this as a possible move towards building a nuclear weapon if you're an expert from a neutral party you might see it as something in a nuclear power also you have to ignore the fact that part of iran's industrial

nuclear program has to do with the medical industry ok iran is pushing forward to be a leader in technology for its medicine and pharmaceuticals and also this is a requirement to do some of this some of this kind of activity industrially ok so we can ignore that like any other country would pursue such or such an ambition so as as we've seen in iran conducting a ten days of naval exercises in the gulf the western the international atomic agency bearing down on terror on over its nuclear ambitions the iranian president is currently visiting his allies in south america how much international support does iran really have at this point and how it's not affecting the situation in the gulf region is it becoming more isolated possibly. i think the idea of the western bloc the axis powers of the united states the britain france and israel is to isolate iran this is their first step first we isolate then we impose sanctions

now they hope to have an oil borgo so to speak. around iran but major problem crept up last week we saw south korea has made it very clear that they want to continue to import iranian crude now also japan is mulling over this sanction because they are also a major importer of iranian oil and china has announced officially that it wants to iran to be its number two all importer in two thousand and twelve this is and also you have russia off in the wings as well who's a trading partner with iran so this is these sanctions that they've tried to put forward by the u.s. they might work in the short term to apply pressure but i don't think by the looks of it economically that it's going to have a major long term impact on iran's also iranian steel industry is coming up in the world they're becoming a major steel exporter ok and the world places like china they need oil they need

steel and iran is there to produce some of these raw materials so the you can ignore the economics of the situation politically the u.s. wants to isolate them economically i don't think it's going to be very easy to contain iran well it's very interesting how you bring in the economic angle to this ongoing argument here with the west putting more pressure on iran but as you just said iran and its big trading partners with russia and china does the west indeed one one the east to stop getting sources and mineral wealth from iran if i may just for a moment here go on to the fact that we've just learned now we've been reporting today that the terror on is just sentenced and america's so-called american so-called american spy to death for having links to the cia why do you think the decision was made to the verdict now particularly when tensions is so high you look at the nuclear agenda the west is bearing down on you look at the naval military exercises why the verdict announced now. well you have to look at this not just in terms of

our perspective looking in on iran you very very important to look at this also from the iranian perspective looking out at the world the leadership in iran is under a tremendous amount of pressure externally that is obvious they also have to show the people of iran that they're not going to be bullied for instance by the west. with regards to economic sanctions and u.n. activities and being expelled from the human rights council and the list goes on now the iran also broke up and lebanon broke up a major string of us and us you saw this in the news back in late november early december ok they caught them in beirut iran also claims to have captured number of other spies. around to iran during that same period this would put a kink in the sort of operation that maybe the timetable the u.s. and israel might have had so the ground is the soil is not fertile to have an all

out attack right now so i do say that route the ground may not be to have an attack of some so right now however certainly there is a lot of political and economic pressure being brought in from the west and perhaps being felt by the east as well as henderson life here london so you see that it was dot com many thanks indeed thank you. you're watching now the leaders of germany and france are holding that first meeting of the new year to discuss ways to boost growth in euro zone states still struggling to overcome the suffering debt crisis i told him then will focus on finalizing a deal over a tough budget rules within the currency union but if you go to this kind of reports some worry that germany above all sees this as an opportunity to increase its political clout. billions of euros had been injected into the greek economy while its population has been given shot after shot of austerity measures

in most cases that cement wages cut taxes raised my friend the famous composer. crees. compares it with a time before the fascism and what they are doing is to destroy the democracy greece is that democracy has seen the elected pm swept into the political gutter and replaced by an unelected technocrat who just happened to be a former vice-president of the european central bank. the one and only goal is to prevent a greece from going under and taking others with it a similar tactic was used on the third largest of the euro zone's economies italy after silvio berlusconi resigned from power and a new prime minister was also appointed switching governments is an old show the government that left had no chance to act to act much different from the one that

is installed now people are you know passive tied by a new face meanwhile two key players of the e.u. germany and france meet again looking for ways to world cracks in the euro zone germany's already thrown billions at saving the euro it's no surprise that it wants more control over the rest of the pack which is why milliman players are pushing to build the so-called fiscal compact meant to take the reins over and budget but it's an idea that's not going down well on germany streets especially if there is a threat to germany can gain certain positions and influence in the e.u. and it may not really have any right to be doing this germany over the money but it gives the government gets power more. it's more powerful and i fear there's it's bad i think there's a danger of this so-called robin hood tax is another proposed to measure it would

charge the financial institutions for every money movie meet with the aim to sterilize the markets however with more gloomy economic news over the euro zone's joblessness and feeling retail sales some analysts warn if introduced the new tax meet only makes struggling countries even more dependent on france and germany is money there's no doubt. the skies over the euro zone darkening signs are this economic strength is now used to why. as well. frankfurt germany. he is coming to live from moscow still ahead for you this hour learning the new rules of the game. in america you have the right to know freedom russia said you had freedom but no right to make it in the party's part find a serious expert or entrepreneur explains the unique aspects of doing business here

in russia. five militants have been killed during a special operation in russia's republic of chechnya security forces also suffered losses during the shoot out let's get some details now from our. live for us in the caucasus region some idea how many militants are being pursued by special forces what are their losses and do we know if the operation still ongoing. well this calm to turn operation is one of the biggest race that changed now has seen in recent times according to russia's in term ministry there were up to ten militants hiding in this area and the latest information that we have is that five militants were killed and that russian special forces also suffered losses one policeman and three interior ministry's officers were killed and another sixteen were wounded as they were at the victims of the explosives that the target is place

earlier around this area now this operation started on sunday when special forces found a place that turned out to be the target main hideout packed with weapons and explosives it is still going on and it continues really severe weather conditions in basically low visibility as it is very foggy and misty right now in the mountains meanwhile in the last twelve months a changed man has been really peaceful and. he has spread into the neighboring regions of the north caucasus that's why maybe the news over the size of this operation is really hitting the hard lines over here in the north caucasus all right how it has been a question about i live in the caucasus region thank you. to people who are being killed at least twenty six injured including a child in a blast and italian restaurant right here in moscow it is thought that a gas leak may of course the explosion the dead are both thought to be female

employees at the restaurant profiteers at the scene have now managed to put out the blaze which started soon after the blast the force of the explosion shattered windows and caused damage to the walls of the venue. or let's get some other news from around the world in the r.t. world update now to pakistan first where at least ten troops have been found dead in an unstable tribal area in the country's northwest the men were abducted at last month from the order region after militants attacked a military post officials say the bodies of the men with multiple bullet wounds were discovered in a ravine close to a small local town last week the taliban executed fifteen tribal police officers abducted them last month. nigerian unions of it launched a nationwide strike to protest against the country's soaring fuel prices this comes after the government ended a popular fuel subsidy leading to

a rise in gas and transportation costs throughout the country nigeria's two main unions have said as many as eight million people will not go to work during the strike it's bringing africa's largest oil provider to a standstill. a lawyer in the trial of alstad gyptian leader hosni mubarak is accused police of using lethal fire against protesters during the country's antigovernment uprising in the eighty three year old former president and some of his security officials are on trial with charges of complicity this in the killing of eight hundred fifty demonstrators during the country's eighteen day reform the prosecutor also pointed the finger at the head of the ruling military council and former vice president saying they both lied in their court testimony. but with five months remaining it's one of the world's biggest sporting events euro two thousand and twelve football fever is building fast in eastern europe its main host fears are ready to welcome millions of fans as they did stand on the ukraine and poland

for several weeks this summer and while the visitors will bring a surge in revenue for the local economy some people remain skeptical that the benefits will outweigh the costs. of ski reports. the incredible adventures of food bullheads from extreme accommodation to driving through impassable roads this is the scenario some believe awaits fans who will flock to ukraine for the euro twenty twelve tournament gave based journalists organized this photo exhibition trying to voice a rather pessimistic message about the upcoming football cup. we're being told by the government that everything has been built by the fans will face those problems that we ordinary face everyday poor stray perry's shoes bribery by the police and terrible medical facilities i'm afraid it could be a major failure. at first glance such concerns may seem

laughable even in the darkest times of financial troubles the euro twenty twelve projects remained top priority when almost all construction projects were halted roads airports and stadiums never stopped being built after a string of stadium opening ceremonies in ukraine you wait for chiefs are now completely sure the country is ready to host the tournament we went through a different periods of the preparation so some of them. solve successful but in last two years we made huge progress in terms of infrastructure construction and also in terms of organisation so in principle we are ready but this is just one example of what really worries some in ukraine this broken road is only several hundred metres away from a vital highway and there is a slim chance it would ever be repaired before or after the tournament kicks off

experts believe ukraine simply has no money for that and the euro twenty twelve will not change the situation. ukraine is spent fourteen billion dollars on euro twenty twelve projects but wait. only hope for the billion from the tournament twenty eight times less everyone knew that it's a typical situation especially for eastern europe the question is if we could afford such spending in hard times like this. tournament organizers brush all this criticism aside saying regardless of how much money your twenty twelve brings the country is building a bright future for itself for the first time in twenty years history we will get new airports new roads new terminals everything is new we believe that people who is in ukraine they will come again the words of ukraine so this is our main goal especially europe twenty twelve clock was installed in central kiev to count down

the minutes to skew cough and despite some skepticism the majority of ukrainians are relieved to see it ticking in their capital city not anywhere else with all the airports and stadiums springing up it's hard to believe now that almost a year ago the tournament could have moved to another country by you a far as ukraine was not doing good enough now there is no doubt whatsoever it will be held here but one question still remains whether it would become an opportunity of a lifetime or a luxury this economically his country could not have afforded. reporting from kiev in ukraine. as always we always interested in what you have to say today about the euro twenty twelve how it's going to pan out for the co-host of ukraine log on to our web site you can participate in our latest web poll here come the numbers are from our web site right now almost half of you say it's budget will crumble under the construct that you can never repay over

a quarter believe ukraine withdraw at the last minute leaving poland as host opinion that the country will get infrastructure upgrades roads airports stadiums they couldn't otherwise afford that comes in. the minority euro twenty twelve. image and speed up. to head over to the dot com cast your vote and while you're there on the website here are some of the other other items you can find there right now torture rao afghanistan demands the u.s. army hands over control of its main prison in the country within a month after claims inmates have been severely abused. we are coming to you live from the heart of moscow and in our special pathfinder series here on r t we've been introducing you to foreign entrepreneurs who come to

russia for a slice of the business. russians have always had a taste for foreign cuisine especially the all-american burgers and fries and that's a hunger which paul o'brien was eager to serve when he brought the starlight diner to the country. i got here safe to say mark. starr there was no me on the street. to the hotel like going up to my room and said to myself what i do but i decided our. young guys came to steal my part of. this code and i'm looking. for steiner came in the united states and went on

a ship and came to st petersburg and then your own down on trucks and put it into the park and one day i wasn't there and weeks later we were open i think it was a challenge it was really exciting when i opened my first business. because we were the first we had a lot of people that thought we were crazy to put a diner in the middle of the park despite all the objections there and we knew we knew it was going to work because i am work here for two years in the hotel i actually got on their stand the culture. thought process and russian despite everything russians have always had a love for america you know and you can't get more american than a diner one of the great things about designer was modular so when we ordered it from the night it states all the pictures are on the walls. all the buddhas are made in the us in the united states but they're red in their classic. furniture so . well we had crises here and ninety eight and five in our case

the ninety eight the last one and it wasn't so bad because people came down market they were spending less money on roofs and we really moderate price category so we our business actually increased prices i think there's still a lot of opportunities here i mean it's just under saturated market like ten million people i could use a lot more restaurants. foreign businessmen really have to understand a lot about the country before they get here and they have to know their own business really well be able to it there's you know there's not a my way or the highway situation here it's like the russian way i would say the first thing is they need a russian partner they can cross and then they have a person here and because it's not going to out. as quickly as it would somewhere else that i once said you know in in america you have all the rights but no freedom

russia i said you had freedom but no rights. so. probably the biggest difference is the management style of management is more harsh and more dictatorial i think that's a negative because if you don't challenge them you don't get a second opinion on whether you're doing the right thing i would say the developing man i know is probably the biggest challenge because they don't have a lot of management experience i think sometimes people look at business and they say i have a business but i think every business says three components one is the employees the other is the owner puts up the capital wants to make a profit and the other one is the customer if you don't treat all three of those aspects as being important you're not going to be successful you have to take care of your employees to take care your customers and put it together where you're going to make money. if you don't put those three those things together market work

. now why don't you stay with us if you can hear on r.t. in just a few moments we'll take you to the billionaires the tea party has both a journey through a unique moment in american history and eight. piece of investigative journalism first though our headlines i'll see you in just a moment. just

so. if. the official ulti up location on the phone i pod touch from the q snaps to synch all to life on the go see the ultimate ati's

minefield costs and the recess feeds you. about five thirty pm on monday here at. the head. of the conflict in syria to cease fire and implement a peace plan still rages on activists claim at least one person was killed on monday the government crackdown on protesters continue despite the hour. nuclear power. uranium enrichment facility.