international news and current live from moscow this is good to have you with us this syrian activists claim the government crackdown on protesters is continuing the day after the arab league decided to keep up its observer mission to the country at least nineteen people reported dead on monday the pan or a body called on all sides in the conflict to lay down arms at once but didn't go as far as asking the u.n. to intervene that league been overseeing the implementation of a peace plan since late last month one hundred sixty five of its observers are spread across syria with more on the way their findings indicate the regime is only sticking to some parts of the deal the league warns it will take on the specified action of the crackdown doesn't end soon more than five thousand civilians around two thousand soldiers are said to be killed in the country since march sort of first as more from damascus. and new year but no resolution here

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 what our far lots are people's part it's a send out our children are dying it's a senate hearing just ordinary people who simply want to have a man seen here he's like ducks is a battling to say this is so. the he die he is just twenty five years old. was found in the morning. and this is just one man one family because syria at the moment there are many more people experiencing exactly the same thing as the 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 conflict this is. continued to

take place despite the presence of arab league observers on the ground and i know that we went to the legion ask them to help but they didn't want to listen to mars and didn't respond to our complaints exactly he's responsible for what's in the country right now and means far from being clear that the opposition itself is becoming increasingly divided and more and more army deserted is joining the ranks in calling for a violent overthrow of the government danger that those soldiers who are in these. moments. have concluded the deal is to avoid the rest of the syrian army if they want to succeed. you know the league has once again we need to cool with the violence from all sides and the thing that's already there 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 that fishing reform three that many people in the country feel that simply too much has happened and too much blood has been shed for anything other than real change to now be an option sara for. damascus. the french and german leaders of stress the boosting economic growth is a priority as they try to stem the eurozone crisis and the first meeting of the new year they've also been calling for a quick conclusion to negotiations on a new treaty which will ensure strict fiscal rules but it's all to zero percent of reports some worry that germany above all sees this as an opportunity to increase its political clout. billions of euros have 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 crease there 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. 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 this is the government that left had no chance to act to act much different from the one that is installed now people are you know pacified by the face meanwhile

to keep players off 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 berlin players are pushing to build a so-called fiscal compact meant to take the reins over so over and budgets but it's an idea that's not going down well on germany streets especially if there is a threat that 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. more power for. years as it's bad i think there's a danger the so-called robin hood tax is another proposed measure it will charge the financial institutions for every money movie meet with him to sterilize the

markets however with more gloomy economic news over the euro zone's joblessness and feeling the chill seals 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 germany remains the industrial an economic powerhouse of the. skies over the euro zone darkening signs are economic strength is no use to why. as well you've got the skin of our t. frankfurt germany. let's talk more on europe's debt woes with belgian m.e.p. . who is on the line from brussels so bolstering economic growth that is the key priority in the new year for the euro zone countries but just how is that possible considering that they're imposing austerity measures at the moment which many see is actually suppressing growth. well that's partly true i mean the most important

principles of this new pact is a balanced budget and it's also automatic sanctions but then we're facing an economic deteriorating situation and if you want to have growth in the same time we are introducing new taxation financial transaction tax i do not think there's going to bring about growth we need innovation and ship and investment and why introduce new taxation we are shining all of them well so you need action don't you from the politicians the likes of you have been accused of not doing enough it's all words no action sticking a plasterer over a much much bigger problem do you agree that the politicians have failed here so far well the system has failed so far now we're introducing principles that we should have introduced ten years. ago when we started to introduce the euro then we had a stability which basically unraveled now we're doing it ten years later while we have it we're having a crisis on our hands and this new pact is not to go to the immediate problem of

the refinancing of debt of it early and france and to grow and prosper growth and i'm afraid that the eurozone is going to become a stagnation those principles are referring to what about member countries getting into debt in the first place and not being allowed to now of course we're seeing this fiscal measure this fiscal governance measures being introduced do you think that member countries really will accept this new measure where they're being dictated upon over the way they tax and spend in their own countries where these principles actually are doing they go into german eyes the europeans are in the budgetary way in the fiscal terms but if a country really gets into trouble and is not able to pay pensions or salaries i think it will moderate it here to these principles and resort to extra financing and bigger budgets and then it will say well if there are automatic sanctions then just let them come when i'm going to implement them anyway so i think it's very hard for national parliaments to accept all this new treaty as it is and the only other thing is that the eurozone now is run basically by two countries by germany

and france and fifteen fifteen other countries simply have to follow as if they're nonexistent and it's not very democratic we are increasing our democratic deficit in the euro zone you talk about france and germany they're running the rest of the group but actually what about france and germany themselves are they united in their intentions or do they have different agendas sarkozy for of course there is a standard there and germany looking for even greater dominance they have totally different agendas in fact the big problem is in france the french banks have a debt of two hundred fifty percent of g.d.p. combined of french g.d.p. and the french want to have a german money to save their banks and basically the french social my. evil is in peril and in danger and they want germany to save it and the other countries in europe in northern europe like the benefits countries have to help as well so they both have completely different agendas but the french are pushing the germans to

accept it their way and to have the euro zone under their conditions what about the german dominance those that cause concern many saying that while you crease its clout in the euro zone it is increasing and it's cloudy you see there is in this in this pact which is which is cherishing basically the german budgetary principles but then in germany there is this sort of only in europe why i say you know we cannot protest too much we cannot be too harsh because we lost the war and we have a sort of a common build and that is why the germans are economically very strong mentally quite weak but what about you you are a politician you're representing people's interests here and now we're seeing democratic values being steamrollered being destroyed by measures being taken in order to save the euro what do you say that as a politician well i'm a bit afraid that by using the word saving the euro we're going to separate fires a democracy because in the end there are two countries france and germany telling the others what to do and by saving the euro we have to accept everything they

decide and national parliaments are the pushed aside or over rule or countries are pushed are put under under pressure to accept whatever for example a violent would organize a referendum on this new treaty it will silently be pressurized to to vote a yes in a referendum because there will be no others the choice except for economic devastation and that is not good we are in the process of a process of abolishing democratic prince principles in order to safe guard or save the euro which may beyond savior altogether so you're actually finally suggesting actually the euro is doomed that it may not be saved just briefly while i think it can still be saved and then maybe. knew new ways but now they say there is no alternative and we have to look for alternatives and develop alternatives there must be a plan a if it must be a plan b. if plan a doesn't work but now in brussels nobody wants to hear anything about

alternatives the rule is here we just go along the same way we just we just go on as we always did and you have to do what we tell you to do and i think in the in the long run that will lose its legitimacy to here for thank you very much for a time belgian m.e.p. there lapping that joining us from brussels thank you. pleasure. well still ahead for you this hour here on r.t. football fever is coming to town and it's come down the days until twelve kicks off in ukraine and poland many skeptics question whether the huge costs of hosting the tournament are justified also. in america you have the right but no freedom if you have freedom but. good thing the new rules of the game in the latest edition of r.t.s. pathfinder series an expert on to put her explains the unique aspects of doing business in russia. those stories still to come to run has begun enriching uranium

in a brand new nuclear facility the west has slammed a move as a provocation at a time when brinkmanship between the u.s. and iran has reached a boiling point islamic state says its new plant is deep underground making it immune to airstrikes some analysts claim it could produce nuclear fuel that's easier to adapt for weapons use meanwhile the pentagon says it's prepared to use force to reopen the vital oil route in the persian gulf which to iran has threatened to block adding to the tension a former marine has been found guilty of spying for the cia and sentenced to death in iran uses slapped the us has slapped its latest round of economic sanctions on the country in response to its nuclear program with the you also preparing to enforce new penalties but patrick henningsen associate editor for info was dot com thinks tehran has the links it needs to stay afloat. the idea of the 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 embargo so to speak. around iran but the 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 oil importer in two thousand and twelve 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. russia's republic of chechnya has seen its first anti terror operation of the security forces are still sweeping the air off to mopping up remaining resistance from a group of militants who refused to surrender by scientists suffered losses is never reports from the caucasus region. this come to turkey operation is one of the

biggest race that change now has seen in recent times according to russia's in term ministry there were opt to time militants hiding in this area and the latest information that we have is that five militants were killed and a russian special forces also suffered losses one policeman and three interim ministries officers were killed and another sixteen were wounded as they were the victims of the explosives that the target is place early around this area now this operation started on a sunday when special forces found a place that turned out to be the terrorist main hideout packed with a weapons and explosives it is still going on and it continues really severe weather conditions and basically low visibility as it is a very we fall be 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 of the news over the size of this operation is really hitting the hard lines over here in the north caucasus. two people have died after explosion ripped through a busy italian restaurant in moscow up to forty people are reported to have been injured correspondent tom bowman reports from the same. the restaurant in the southern part of moscow was the scene of three gas explosions two employees were killed they were close to the blasts the explosions started with a what has been called a domestic gas explosion that then set off two gas canisters nearby that ripped through the building and started a fire which gutted a two story restaurant the first floors being completely blown out all the windows are smashed and chunks of being torn out of the walls a lot of people were injured by that flying debris the fire that was course has

since been put out emergencies ministry is now starting an investigation but they have already said in a preliminary statement they think it was improper use of the gas equipment that caused this blast and all these injuries and and two deaths. reporting there now to some other news from around the world to pakistan first a wild update we're at least ten troops have been found dead in an unstable tribal area in the country's northwest remember adopted last month from the iraq's i region after militants attacked a military post official 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 having abducted the last one. at least three people have been killed and dozens wounded during a nationwide strike to protest against nigeria's soaring fuel prices police fired on two protesters in the town of carlo while one other was killed in

a clash with police in lagos this comes after the government ended the fuel subsidy leading to a rise in gas and transportation costs throughout the country. and military prosecutor in poland has shot himself in the head after holding a news conference he walked to the corner of his office loaded the gun. and pulled the trigger after asking for a break it happened after he delivered an emotional statement defending army investigators against illegal wiretapping during the probe into the presidential plane crash in twenty ten the reasons he shot himself remain unknown however he survived and is in stable condition. when a car bomb attacks in iraq of killed at least sixteen and wounded dozens in baghdad one of the bombs went off near a police vehicle in the neighborhood of al shaab killing six including two policeman a second blast in the west of the city was said to be targeting shiite pilgrims.

with five months remaining until one of the world's biggest sporting events zero twenty twelve football fever is building fast in eastern europe its main host is ready to welcome millions of fans as they descend on 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 and actually report. 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 ukrainians face every day very poor straight better

issues bribery by the police are awful 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 were not 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 meters 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. of the ukraine is spend fourteen billion dollars on euro twenty twelve projects but we predicted to earn only huff a billion from the tournament twenty eight times last everyone knew that is a typical situation especially faced in europe and 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 ways of ukraine so this is our main goal

especially europe twenty twelve o'clock was installed in central kiev to count down the minutes to june 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 hit country could not have afford it. see reporting from kiev in ukraine. and special pool of funds there is now here in r.t. we've been introducing you to foreign entrepreneurs who came 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 his starlight diner to the country. i got the same mark eleven o'clock. start it was known me on the street. to the hotel. going up to my room said i want to thank you. i decided. you. became my mom and is still my part of. this. is steiner came in the united states and went on a ship and came to st petersburg and then drove down on trucks to put it into the park and one day i was in there and two weeks later we were open i think it was a challenge. it was really exciting when i opened my first business here. 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 didn't we knew it was going to work because i work here for two years in the hotel i actually got to understand the culture. and the process and russian despite everything russians always had a love for america you know and you can't get more american than a diner one of the great things about the signer was modular so when we ordered it from the united 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. while we had crises there and ninety eight. by an arcane ninety eight the last one wasn't so bad because people came down market they were spending less money in russia and we have a really

a 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's. not my way or the highway situation or it's like the russian way i would say the first thing is they need a russian heart they can trust and have a person here and because it's not going to. quickly as it would somewhere else i once said you know in america you have all the rights but no freedom russia i said you had freedom but no rights. so so. probably the biggest difference is management style 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 or not i would say developing manager 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 looks up the capital and wants to make a profit and the other one is a 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 of your customers put it together where you're going to make money live you don't put those three those things together market work. coming up for you it's our interview with the russian foreign ministries

commissioner for human rights will be a recap of our top stories for in just a few minutes stay with us not here on alt. the e. limited to just say.

to. the b. period and if the be abominably. if they shoot something inappropriate for public they can easily be shot by accident as jesus was a. i wish he would have never happened but it has. been no more a t.v. camera becomes an unnecessary what does their own safety all foreign nationals including journalists and inspectors should leave me and the spear brought up on the set with such witnesses i got him on my site. one of the many

objects submitted. to mercy is shooting on our. good have you with the top stories now on r t a day after the arab league called on all sides of the conflict in syria to cease fire and implement a peace plan still rages activists claimed at least nineteen people were killed on monday as the government crackdown on protesters continues despite the arab plea. nuclear power to brinkmanship iran launches a new iranian enrichment facility after threatening to shut down a vital oil supply route in the gulf sparking warnings of military action from the u.s. washington has imposed yet more sanctions on iran over its nuclear.