international news and current live from moscow this is. syrian activists claim the government crackdown on protesters is continuing a 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 her body called on all sides in the conflict to laid out that once but didn't go as far as asking the u.n. to intervene the league's been overseeing the implementation of a peace plan since late last month one hundred sixty five to observers area with what the regime is only sticking to some parts of the deal leaked warns it will take unspecified action if the crackdown doesn't. qualify thousand civilians on the run two thousand soldiers are said to been killed in the country since march surface has more now 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 i don't macalester

what's our fault what's our people's part it's assumed that our children are dying it's a senate hearing just ordinary people who simply want to have the man seen here his life doctor is a battling to save as a soldier child the he died he was 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 base sides losing their lives every month. on friday and the suicide bombing in damascus is yet further evidence of the escalating conflicts and do this is continue to take place despite the presence of arab league observers on the ground and i know that we went to the lead in 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 more and more army does it is joining the ranks in calling for a violent eva three the government danger is that those soldiers who moved. from this area have concluded. to the rest of the syrian army if they want to succeed. the way to do it you know the league has once again we need thank you is for the violence from all sides and that's through the the finding safe. there in syria this vast country and many of its people fighting extremely hard right now for the right to determine their own future the government here might say that that fishing reforms very 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. with the regime sanction by the west in the civil war looming in the country some observers think it's actually the syrian people that have been hardest hit by the conflict which has raged since march. increasing numbers of syrian soldiers or leaving the army and going to the other side bringing their weapons with them and so what started as the army against an insurgency is increasingly looking like a mini civil war in which soldiers from the xargs army are now on the other side with their weapons sometimes entire units seem to be defecting and that suggests a need that the deaths deaths on both sides are likely to rise with time elites

will continue probably to do ok one of the problems as we learned in iran and elsewhere with sanctions is that sanctions are sanctions on the people but not on the elite that manage to keep their own hold on the little bit of resources that are there so i don't think sanctions will make a whole lot of difference and i suspect given the hold of a saw on the army he will stay in power for a very long time remember even in libya it was eight or nine months before khadafi was dislodged and that was the active participation of nato so i think we're in for a long and difficult call and i think the syrian people are in for a very rough time. iran has begun enriching uranium at a brand new nuclear facility in the west to slam the move as a provocation at a time when brinkmanship between the u.s. and iran has reached boiling point the islamic state says its new plant is deep underground making it immune to air strikes 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 a vital oil region the persian gulf which to run 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 u.s. a snap his latest round of economic sanctions on the country in response to its nuclear program with the e.u. also preparing to enforce new penalties patrick henningsen associate editor for info it was dot com thinks that tehran has the links it needs to stay afloat 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 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 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. we're always interested in your opinion and today we're asking you what is next in store for iran as tensions around it reach a boiling point where you can log onto our website r.t. dot com to participate in our latest poll as i look at the results on screen at the moment well there are over half of you think the u.s. will attempt to provoke iran into an all out conflict but less than a third say washington will strike first and worry about the consequences later some feel iran will claim to have nuclear weapons to get the west to back off and the minority we can see the police of the country will defend itself by forging an

anti u.s. alliance in south america and go online to cast your vote. the french and german leaders of stress that boosting economic growth is a priority as they try to stem the eurozone debt crisis and their first meeting of the new year they've also been calling for a quick conclusion to negotiations on a new treaty which will deliver stricter fiscal rules results report some worry that germany above all sees this as an opportunity to increase its political clout . billions of euros injected into the greek economy while its population has been given shot after shot of austerity measures in most cases that's meant we just cut taxes raised my friend the famous composer of. cray's. compares it with a time before the fascism and what they are doing is to destroy the democracy

greece 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. is to prevent greece from going under there is 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 passing. by 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 berlin players are pushing to build the 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 order it gives other governments gets more power it's more powerful and i fear that. it's bad i think there's a danger the so-called robin hood tax is another proposed to measure it will charge the e.u.'s financial institutions for every money move the meek with the aim to standardize 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 journey. through an economic powerhouse off. the skies over the euro zone darkening signs are economic strength is now used to why political influence as well you've got the skin of r t frankfurt germany. and belgian m.e.p. turkey an epic told me earlier that he thinks the eurozone will now be governed by germany and france and the rest of the blocs members will simply have to give up their sovereignty to save the single currency. 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 pact 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 italy and france and to grow and prosper growth and i'm

afraid that the eurozone is going to become a stagnation i think it's very hard for national parliaments to accept all this new treaty as it is and the 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 well i'm a bit afraid that by using the word saving the euro we go into separate 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 push to side all over rule of countries are pushed are put under under pressure to accept whatever we are in the process of the process of abolishing democratic prince principles in order to safe guard or save the euro which may beyond savior altogether. well still ahead this hour for you here on r.t. football fever's coming to town as fans count down the days until euro two thousand

and twelve kicks off in ukraine and poland many skeptics question whether the huge costs of hosting the tournament justified also. in america you have the right but no freedom i said you had freedom but no rights to learning the new rules of the game in the latest edition of artie's pathfinder series an ex-pat entrepreneur explains in unique aspects of doing business here in russia. well that's still to come but first russia's republic of chechnya has seen its first operation of the year security forces are still sweeping the area after mopping up remaining resistance from a group of militants who refused to surrender both sides of suffered losses as artie's medina culture never report from the caucasus region. this come to turkey operation is one of the biggest race that changed now has seen in recent times according to russia's in term ministry there were opt to turn militants hiding in

this area and the latest information that we have is that five militants were killed and 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 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 v. 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 turning restaurant here in moscow on monday thirty nine people have also been injured our correspondent tom bowman reports from the scene. the il per tory restaurants 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 cause 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 two deaths. r.t. live here in moscow still ahead for you this turning dreams into reality well that's still to come but first with five months remaining until one of the world's biggest sporting events euro twenty twelve football fever is building fast in eastern europe its main host kiev is ready to welcome millions of fans as they descend on ukraine in poland for several weeks this summer and one of his it is will bring a surgeon revenue for the local economy some people remain skeptical that the benefits will outweigh the cost. has this 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 cut. out we're being

told by the government that everything has been built for the fans will face those problems the twee ordinary ukrainians face every day very poor stray petty issues bribery by the police or fire 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. 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 half a billion from the tournament twenty eight times last 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 there was 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 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 u.a.e. for 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. coming up to twenty minutes past the hour here in moscow some

other news from around the world for you now to pakistan first in a while that they were at least ten troops have been found dead in an unstable tribal there in the country's northwest twin car bomb attacks in iraq have killed at least sixteen people and wounded dozens in baghdad one of the bombs went off near a police vehicle in the neighborhood of al shabab killing six people including two policeman a second blast in the west of the city was said to be targeting shiite pilgrims. 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 to protest is in the telecom while one other was killed in a clash with police in lagos this comes after the government and the diffused subsidy leading to a rise in gas and transportation costs throughout the country. the 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 to require him to be presidential plane crash in two thousand and ten the reasons he shot himself remain unknown however he survived and is in stable condition. in india home employment has driven millions of people over all in search of better opportunities but that has left many people open to exploitation by the prospective employers. help many dreams and up shifted by empty promises. carol india famed for its beautiful beaches and the country's highest health and literacy rates is also known for something else. a darker side for many years despite the state success unemployment remains high forcing millions of keralites to look further afield for work that's exactly what mohamed. did and he's one of two point three million indians who have gone to the gulf for

a better life we are interested in going abroad because we don't have enough or preach unities benefits to work in india and it will every day our expenses are shooting up and we do in tough enough so we go to the govt in order to earn more and to have a good life after three and a half years mohammad is back in india to renew his visa he says he can earn almost twice as much money in the gulf as he can at home for muhammad it's been a success and that's why thousands of keralites knock on the doors of agencies like this to go the dream of going to the gulf has become a money making business in kara with people coming here early in the morning to line up to get their passport in the process just on this one block you see several agencies that are helping people get the right paperwork and sometimes they're charging up to three to five thousand dollars to help people go and that's when things can start to go wrong to afford the ticket in high agency charges many would be gulf workers take out loans from their future employer and once they arrive

they're given a lower salary than promised but are still in debt experts say it's a common story making people vulnerable to physical and mental exploitation these poor. and india he was promised when you go to there's a. the new goals that they have no hundred dollars sometimes though the consequences are even worse than that. seven years ago she called us in the morning and was crying after that we haven't heard from her she has gone missing and we have no information. when gina and sar hasn't seen her mother since she went to the gulf for what was supposed to be a higher paying shot that was seven years ago many indian workers like regina's mother simply disappear it's thought some are just afraid to come back and admit their dream became a night while other is high to escape abuse from employers and fear being discovered by authorities and deported when their paperwork expires. and in

a lot of difficulties and still do when she went missing she has a daughter and that is a lot of responsibility i have two kids as well all of them were really young when she went missing so they don't have the new memories of. memories that no amount of money from abroad could make up for we can only speculate about this one missing woman's story but hers is not an isolated case although migrant keralite workers send almost seven billion dollars back to india every year thousands of others have never been heard from again preassure either. from india. now in all special paula fonda series here and we've been introducing you to foreign entrepreneurs who came to russia for a slice of the business party. just russians have always had

a taste for foreign cuisine especially the all-american burgers and fries and that's a home which paulo braun was eager to serve when he brought his story. to the country . i got to say mark eleven o'clock. start it was known me on the street. to the hotel. going up to my room said son what i do but i decided. to keep my heart is still my heart. this. is steiner came in the united states and went on a ship and came to st petersburg and then your own down on truck. put it into the park and one day i was in there and the weeks later opened 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 and we didn't we knew it was going to work because i had worked here for two years in the hotel i actually got there stan the culture. and thought process in russia despite everything russians have always had a love for america and now they can't get more american than a giant one of the great things about the signer was modular so when we ordered it from out of 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. well 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 on roofs 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 mansur's 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 foreign they can trust and then have a person here and because it's not going to out. as 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. probably the biggest difference is the management style of management is more 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 developing

a man who 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 that 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 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 put it together where you're going to make money. if you don't put those three those things together. well coming up shortly for debate on the legacy of the soviet union that's in cross talk with the file before that i'll be back with

a recap of our top stories in just a few moments stay with us this is r.t. in moscow.

party life here in moscow could have you with us this hour top stories now a day after the arab league called on all sides of the conflict in syria to cease fire and implement a peace plan von still rages that his claim at least nineteen were killed on monday is the government crackdown on protesters continues despite the arab league. nuclear powered brinkmanship iran launches a new iranian enrichment facility after threatening to shut down a vital all supply route in the gulf sparking warnings of military action from the u.s. washington has imposed yet more sent.