in syria have been calling for we need to prepare to be friend to live to homs the conflict has moved ever closer to the country's capital now many damascus suburbs are also embroiled in the conflicts between government forces and the armed opposition well this is all that's left of many of the houses now inside just gutted it's broken glass you've got bullet holes lining the walls you've got clothes seen around the house where people have left them behind fleeing very quickly you can really see here the devastating consequences that this conflict has heard the picking up the pieces where you easy amongst the opposition themselves there are a worrying divisions and as the conflicts become increasingly violent there are now areas of the country where it's unclear exactly who's in control what do the people here and the image i think the syrian army having control not or. not have.

a lot of number a huge number of secrecy is in charge inside the. courtroom issue because the diversion up with the stuff arab league observers look set to remain in the country for another month trying to build the basis for multi-party elections if you seen by the international community. or you are indeed opposition you have to put in your mind that you have to work with the other sides working with the other side is there look instead of starting with thousands killed bringing the different factions to the negotiating table is going to be a major task sara for. damascus syria. now that abuses from both the syrian regime and the opposition have been acknowledged abbey arab league it's the best time to turn to dialogue so has beirut based political analyst dr amar in a shabby. the opposition or what the so-called syrian free army or the

desert there is from the syrian army have been also using heavy gunfire against civilians they have been using explosives apparently they have been using and armored. rockets and you know some weapons that cannot usually be used in civilian areas and against civilians there is president said also enjoys . popular support. one cannot deny this not even the institute in qatar denied this when they did the research last month and they found that fifty five percent of the city and population oppose the downfall of ordering movement of president assad it's time for dialogue as has tried some somebody form some democratic reforms there is a constitutional council now in syria trying to rewrite the constitution there will be elections in the coming months there are some of the funds i think. the

opposition shows face because it is of the interest of no one of no one's interests that need to or steps in they would be destruction and they would be chaos as was the case in libya. and just a little later in the program we'll look at how many libyans are beginning to feel like their we volt was simply a mirage the country is seeing its most turbulent anti-government protests since the fall of one market out of the with the unrest beginning in benghazi just as it did last year also we have the program. citizens about the harbor are living from one day to them that there's been very little effort on the part of the whirlpool that runs everything to try to. involve the community how giant corporations thrive government funds and outsource labor that's home communities fall apart around them. graciously said to become the twenty eighth

country to join the european union after the proposal was given the go ahead in a national referendum the country's accession now has to be approved by all current member nations with almost all ballots counted two thirds of voters expressed a desire to join the bloc despite the ongoing debt crisis the turnout however a just forty four percent pointed to apathy among many towards the issue the build up to the referendum was marred by clashes and to e.u. protesters staged demonstrations right up to the vote and as artie's to embark reports opposition to joining the european union is likely to and here. violent scenes in the croatian trumpet it's the country's referendum but certainly . this is being made behind me the police trying to push the protesters away you say take and seize protest his way six ways to miss the

tense here in the creation capital and find things has been going believe well now police are going to take people away in advance of protest is trying to stop the going on. no you hear. these anti protesters say the government is trying to suppress the dissenting voices they are the joining would surrender croatia's independence to brussels yes i believe that couple in another street nearby the foreign minister is trying to convince people that accession is vital for the crowd to come to me actually with the stability that scale can lead it into the credit rating of creation. that is translated into membership of the european union gracious budget would be in serious trouble everywhere you turn in croatia the e.u. is being discussed but whereas most of the political class no longer question the

europhiles stance public views differ widely should the italians will come into our sea and catch all our fish and that's our biggest creditor you know if you go there absolutely but they told us we have to obey the e.u. has regulations those that don't want to obey must stop trading only because i said with a small family business in the european union officials everything toward big shopping centers his son in law that if not enough for the fish here in memphis even if we had two sons turn employed and maybe because of that i would be prying a secret to most of the symbols were you know the legitimate worries about sovereignty local industry and economic well being a former state and there are still some voices in parliament think the benefits of what joining it were the costs that we were not going with our heads high up we're going on our knees because our economy. non-existing our exporting is pretty

bad our b.b.b. is very low so we don't really have anything to offer almost immediately. even at the local theatre the subject is croatia's relationship all over it. with those on the stage onto the funeral pyre issue they draw the poop on it security. or we go for example facebook is pro or you know it's getting it's absurd because. there's no real quotes to be struck. back out on the streets the arguments quality not continue with ferocity with such strong emotions it seems unlikely this referendum dissolves the nation's division over you're here to. talk about. a major argument joining the e.u.

was the promise of a better economic future but that may be an elusive promise coming up later this hour double edged sanctions. the e.u. prepares to unveil a strict set of measures to punish iran but it's feared they could backfire on the blocks fragile economy. russia's policy on migration has come under scrutiny from its prime minister and presidential hopeful lot important in a second major newspaper article as part of his election campaign put and set out his position on a range of key challenges are to spare all of our reports. well talking on multiculturalism a migration vladimir putin praised what he sees as russia's long history as a multi-cultural nation history he says goes back to the days of the russian empire have been some very serious problems though when it comes to migration and integration of migrants in russia that these problems over the last twenty years since the collapse of the soviet union were very serious indeed in our problems that russia is still struggling to to deal with today speaking about what the

results can be of migration going wrong he warned of the rise of nationalism the rise of xenophobia these type of issues that we saw acted out in real life eight in moscow in two thousand and ten with ethnic clashes taking place. right next to the kremlin in the heart of the russian capital a hit so to. see nationalism rising hit out at those who have slogans such as stop feeding and stop funding the caucuses saying where the caucuses are a part of russia talking of multiculturalism he said that russia had a very unique system of multiculturalism something very different to say what happens in europe he said basically multiculturalism had failed and that russia system was something. very different over to me and said that there's no way that you can completely get rid of all illegal immigration into russia but if he's elected president in the elections in march city hopes to be able to make

significant cuts to the amount of people that are arriving in russia illegally you know he wants to do this by toughening the malls to try and deter people from entering the country illegally he also wants to see a system put in place not just to monitor foreign immigrants coming into russia but also to monitor internal migrants also by twenty thirty he wants to see an exam put in place to those wanting to come and settled and live and work in russia but they have to be able to pass the russian language exam also an exam on russian culture russian history so those are the things that he wants to do. same place to talk about the issue of migration and multiculturalism in russia. meanwhile the presidential race in the u.s. is also picking up pace and is now at the primary state enormous amounts of money have already been spent on backing the candidates coming up at eleven thirty am g.m.t. a heated debate on the so-called super pacs which allow for unlimited campaign spending but are opposed by more and more americans. so stupid laws

is that they can't coordinate with the super pac and now you're criticizing them for it here into the stupid law that you're insisting the party but they are coordinating that's our point ours coordination rules coordinator already review is going to. see if you do you believe for one seconds and they're coordinating former staffers for a candidate and i have a problem with and coordinating with them you posted a problem coordinating i don't have a problem with them coordinating this is free speech. the sanctions keep piling up on iran that you use expected to announce on monday and a president a block wide ban on a rainy you know well you are upset as it will be for the common good and will make tehran rethink its nuclear program which israel and its allies see as a threat our correspondents are still your brings us more on the dangers these sanctions may bring. the foreign ministers of the twenty seven member states of the

european union are meeting today and one of the most important issues on the table out of the sanctions on iran it is expected that they will pass president targeting the country's oil and financial sectors this will be the toughest to date over the controversial nuclear program. long insisted that iran is on a dangerous path towards acquiring nuclear weapons. this now these talks on the back of twenty seven nations having to deal with a sovereign debt crisis for almost two years now there are countries like france for instance who really want to see. possible in a couple of months. of about twelve months so today there are expected to give the detail on the timeline somewhere between three to eight months that will satisfy all of the member states now the embargo followed. passed into law by president obama in january and

collectively if all these sanctions are fully implemented you will see about two point six million barrels of oil taken off of international markets which is of course putting markets into very edgy. and on the other hand the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says that she expects to pressure iran to back to the negotiation table so again today we're expecting to see details on the timeline of the implementation of. several more names of companies individuals financial institutions those a list of sanctions but any decision that they come to today has to be unanimous. those are cilia there now and there's plenty more for you on our website or to call including the latest news and comment as well as any stories you've missed here's some of what's there for you today. and during the dragon extravagant parade and spectacular fireworks of the world joins china in celebrating the lunar new year.

and risking death to provide a lifeline a story of a palestinian tunnel digger whose work helps support his family on the flow of vital supplies into gaza to find something israeli blockade. libya could be on the brink of civil war according to the had of the national transitional council mystified del julio following a weekend of political turmoil that's after his deputies stepped down and went a little suspended six high ranking council delegates from benghazi it's the latest side of discord in the country's interim leadership and comes amid a rising tide of discontent among libyans right swept through been guys yet that weekend as thousands took to the streets of the city work and take it out the rising began to rage for task accuse the anti c.

of corruption being slow on bringing in reform and favoring former government loyalists there's also criticism from the analyst at the council's main goal was to secure western interests rather than to establish democracy. mission in libya for example is not to improve life in the country maybe already had the highest standard of living but above in all of north africa where libya does have is the my largest were global oil reserves and the oil reserve in africa and that is what the national transitional council are being supported for in order that they should promote western oil companies western financial interests in libya and the people will just have to be rid of the people have already been killed and a variable of genocide has taken place as we've seen in iraq so in a way the same pattern is repeated over and over again that we are there's a double standard they say that they are promoting democracy but what they are basically doing are promoting the financial and political interests of the global power elite embedded inside the united states britain the european union and israel

. a spokesman for british civilians for peace in the b.s. of content don says the national transitional council is failing to unite the country. the gadhafi regime could control the whole of libya could find peace amongst all the tribes the new regime cannot even control something in one town or one area i mean they turn libya into a war and of the hunting of black skins they have this selling off the oil and natural resources and so over to nato and now the thieves that is the rebels they are all falling out with each other so really this is freedom and democracy by nato it's all become very clear people of syria and the people of lebanon and the people of the global south have to see about what's happening in libya is coming to them if they're not able to defend themselves and stop this ruling western aggression against of the countries of the global south now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world and the islamic party which one of most seats education parliament the muslim brotherhood has promised it will work

with all political parties it also added it's going to cooperate with the country's ruling military council despite repeated calls from activists that power should be handed over to the civilian government on monday the new parliament is going to sit for the first time islamic parties have captured an overwhelming majority in egypt's first post mubarak parliamentary elections. yemen's president ali abdullah saleh has left the country after giving a farewell speech where he apologized for mistakes during his thirty three year long rule he is planning to have medical treatment in the u.s. this comes a day after the parliament approved of unity from prosecution for trial or part of the deal under which he would languish power that saddam has become the latest leader to be toppled by the wave of arab spring uprisings. one solution to joblessness in the us is a scheme where giant corporations create workplaces for local communities they are even handed government money to that and but somehow jobs still get outsourced to

cheaper foreign a workforce as marina work now reports this allows big businesses to prosper while small towns suffer. in one of america's most economically depressed cities resides the world's largest producer of home appliances whirlpool corp is headquartered in benton harbor michigan where sixty percent are unemployed ninety percent live in poverty and per capita income is roughly ten thousand dollars the citizens of benton harbor are living from one day to them and they're very poor and they're very disheartened i mean there's been very little effort on the part of whirlpool that runs everything to try to. involve the community in two thousand and nine whirlpool received a nineteen point three million dollars grant from the federal government in part to create jobs and i think our u.s.

workforce certainly. factory workforce if you will is that is the best among the world so we're very confident in the future of us being a factor for our kind of products one year later the corporation received nearly twenty million dollars from the state of michigan to expand its facility which now serves as a gateway into benton harbor it's good for the community good for the state and good for your business as well there's a real art to that but as the u.s. based corporation has grown globally you know your last three more jobs have been outsourced to countries demanding less wages today the former blue collar community of benton harbor remains a victim of america's deindustrialization and growing poor population little pool has seventy one thousand employees around the globe but no longer manufactures home products in its hometown it still remains a recipient of u.s.

state and federal stimulus funding. whirlpool just closed the factory and that hurt my business my little bit. in this i lost a lot of clients this is their home base and it always has been and in the beginning of the large development they promised us that they would always be due to the recession the corporate banking method of home appliances hasn't paid us income tax since two thousand and eight by two thousand time nearly ninety nine percent of benton harbor residents were receiving food stamps while the work day approximately eighteen billion dollars in annual sales. that think i've purchased my last whirlpool appliance i don't even think i'll call for repair because too often in for too long those that have gotten rich has forgotten who's helped them to get there and they're willing to step on us in there just doesn't sit we'll with

my soul a soul living in one of america's poorest cities clothed in poverty and accessorized in corporate success arena porton or tea time now for business some day with kareena. hello and welcome to business this all thanks for joining me here pm the leaders are meeting on monday to discuss a long term plan to tackle the region's debt crisis some analysts say it's the massive debts write down for greece that could put the eurozone back on its feet peter weston from out on believes that the markets have already priced in the jitters likely to higher. well everybody's going to await a sort of decision or some some kind of agreement between greece and its creditors that's going to be the key event as to some extent it was last week. again but with the last week was that any delay negative news didn't really impact the markets i

think we are in a very positive backdrop for russia in general we do have low valuation we do have the under-performance of russia if people are adding to risk the emerging market should do well and in that context russia should be having possibly more support in other markets russia central bank injected around six hundred million dollars in early january into the market to support the ruble the heads of the other bank alexiou kind of says that it keeps the ruble within a floating band and intervenes only to cut volatility you look at one of the european department of i.m.f. believes that russia has achieved a fully flexible exchange rate. russia right now is that. flexible so it's determined by market forces and the central bank has been mounted with the situation quite well but. with all the flex return issue rates.

are very difficult we are not in the forecasting game but we would like the ruble to continue to respond to market forces. intervention to be avoided. let's look at the markets now all is dropping for four day new york investors speculate that the e.u. sanctions against ukraine you know take effect only in six months markets in europe open flat foot seas adding point fifteen percent of all germany's dax is losing the same here in russia the markets are a. negative start is adding almost a quarter of a percent while the my xix is up point the only point two percent here are the top movers otherwise it washes largest oil company ros now is gaining over a third of a percent this hours burbank is down just a notch up to rising one percent at the start of the trading session the lender has completed acquisition of the troika dollars investment bank and mobile off when it

. is over a quarter percent down as well. gold is trading at one thousand six hundred seventy dollars per point twenty four percent it has already gained more than six percent since the beginning of the year. looks at the prospects. is gold on track to become the investment choice of the year now with sovereign debt problems still looming in europe it could be just the right thing the precious metal has seen their remarkable performance over the past decades take a look at the graphic since two thousand and one the trend has been perfectly positive the peak price was reached last year when gold hits nineteen hundred and twenty dollars an ounce but then we saw a nosedive of twenty percent and just a few sessions as the u.s. credit rating was downgraded a lack of liquidity deflated the bubble somewhat since banks desperately required cash they sold whatever they could and it's at that point that the tables turned

for the metal and from a safe haven asset gold shifted into risk appetite choices going in correlation not with t. bills but shares nevertheless gold still gained eleven percent last year take a look at that nosedive that we saw in september last year here it is but the trend is changing we are seeing gold already gaining more than six percent since the beginning of the year it's outstripping most assets and we did see a slight drop during the previous week when jobless claims in the us came in with a decline now why are we seeing gold on the up over here is it going to continue climbing there's a number of factors to bear in mind which makes it quite likely we've got the debt crisis in the e.u. we've got instability in currencies we've got rising demand from china and the upcoming wedding season in india when families offer gold as a traditional gift to the newlyweds if there's no quick resolution to the euro problems and it doesn't seem like there's one on the horizon yet we may just see

new heights with a precious metal even maybe close to two thousand dollars an ounce some day well that's all for now i'll be back with more in about thirty minutes meanwhile stay with us the headlines coming up next.

you know our sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm sorry welcome to the big picture.

welcome back you're watching live from moscow these are the top stories and new tradition of the arab league demands the creation of a national unity government and steps up calls for president assad to step down something their regime has allegedly rejected. grey shops to join the european union after a national referendum marked by clashes poller rise opinion and a disappointing turnout. in russia's policy on internal migration falls into the

focus of pm and presidential rara bottom your book as he presents a nother set of plans as part of your selection program. the u.s. often calls for democratic change in the middle east but remains reluctant to admit the rights of palestinians for self-determination getaway to song palestine's bid for statehood first hand from the president of the palestinian national authority mahmoud abbas our interview is coming right up. on your european tour palestine is still waiting for a resolution to the issue what do you expect from russia's leadership at this stage when the issue of palestinians legal rights is being decided according to international law. the russian federation as well as the soviet union before it has been regarded as one of the key principle hopes for the palestinian people.