this weekend that's kind of what made the major headline and also believing that the fiscal compact the tighter fiscal compact for the eurozone will come together and a meeting on monday and that would impose of course fines for people that are countries rather break the deficit and debt ceiling rules now saying for those kind of violations have been routinely flouted and ignored prior to the financial crisis they're trying to shore those up but that's been something that's been on the table for a while and many people say that the euro zone has to go much much farther and order to order to stay together and avoid defaults and keep the single currency union together but the world's financial problems aren't taking a break just for the. no there certainly not for europe we saw today that spain their unemployment rate came out a seventeen year high of twenty two point eighty five percent the finance minister from spain says that this is the biggest issue facing the spanish economy and we

know spain is one of the largest economies in europe it's also one that matters very much as far as the debt crisis where that's very much a concern so that's just one example of some of the domestic issues facing each of these economies also although we hear some confidence from leaders about an agreement on greek debt there's very much a disagreement over whether or not greece can really avoid default march twentieth is d.-day greece may not be able to pay its bills we could see a disorderly a default there still are people that are saying that is a problem also a lot of disagreement over euro zone solutions we've seen george soros we've seen david cameron we've seen some finance ministers to timothy geithner say a larger firewall is needed basically saying more bailout funds need to be committed from angela merkel's remarks we heard earlier this week. she wasn't pledging more bailouts and she was trying to convince people that europe would be fine without pledging more money also it's interesting the u.s. economy is also in trouble needless to say it's kind of been overshadowed by what's

going on in europe but timothy geithner we did hear from today the u.s. treasury secretary i thought was pretty interesting he said that the two biggest issues facing the u.s. economy that will determine its outcome are what happens in the euro zone and whether or not the u.s. congress can agree on some short term solutions for the u.s. economy i thought this was quite interesting because although yes the eurozone economy very much weighs on the united states i've heard from italian economists for example that your and the u.s. they're much more pessimistic about europe and maybe part of that is coming from the fact that it is an easy scapegoat for u.s. politicians to say oh what's going on in the u.s. is dependent on europe when in reality the u.s. has a major problems of its own a major debt overhang both private and public the fed has been very active in trying to reflate the economy but on a. uninfected does far and economists fund managers really trying to figure out whether the economy's going to maybe tip towards inflation or deflation and really dramatic scenarios that could be catastrophic high unemployment more than sixteen

percent for people that either don't have work or want more work you know these are some real issues that the euro zone has nothing to do it and a congress that is bitterly divided in an election year is not likely to pass much so some real concerns that are being addressed here you know it sounds like it's a mess everywhere to be honest from what you're saying a lot of work to be done if they can come up with any concrete solutions there live in the swiss alps thanks for the. well five candidates are in the running for russia's top job in march the electoral commission is confirmed the applicants for the presidency and argues peter all over the short list for you. the central election commission of put the rubber stamp on the five names that will be running for the top job in russia on the fourth of march now those going for president will be blood amir putin from the united russia party going to be sure gandolfo only communist so to give it all awful affair russia vladimir zhirinovsky from the liberal democrats and the independent candidate billionaire. could all four of

those five do actually have their current jobs in office to do they are well thought of the approaches the prime minister the rest of the leaders of their respective political parties to help a lot of this the the the only candidate who doesn't currently hold office sodomy pitons but he must be going about his job as prime minister he was in siberia a few days ago in his hometown of st petersburg to day. not so much campaigning as they say is really going about that role of being the pm we have seen as amy how brutal the only kind that doesn't currently hold office he's in siberia at the moment trying to show his face and press the flesh amongst those who perhaps maybe don't know who he is the the billionaire owner of the new york the new jersey nets is is someone a familiar face in moscow and st petersburg he's going out to the the far east of this all of the far east of the siberia to try and show his face there to make sure he can talk support as for the other candidates we've seen them done a mission and also given the lib dems and so to give it a little from

a russian speaking in the duma just behind me to say they are the leaders of their respective parties they turning up support in their own way as is as you've gone off from the communists so it is starting to slip into the next year as we approach that election on the fourth of march. it's coming up to twenty three minutes past the hour let's take a look at some other news from around the world for you a blast has hit a funeral procession outside baghdad killing at least thirty one people and wounding sixty explosions struck as mourners gathered to bury a person killed a day earlier there have been more than two hundred deaths since the beginning of the year with increasing sectarian attacks since american troops left in december. the firm that owns the capsized cruise ship off italy's coast is offering passengers fourteen thousand dollars each in compensation it also promises to refund medical and transport expenses and the cost of the holiday sixteen people are confirmed dead well over a dozen remain missing ship ran aground off tuscany two weeks ago with more than

four thousand people on board. and sixty kilos of cocaine have been seized at the u.n. headquarters in new york it turned out last week marked with a fake u.n. insignia and came from mexico through cincinnati the global body insists neither it nor its staff were the intended recipients it's thought to have been a bungled attempt by traffickers to get drugs into the u.s. let's cross over to the business desk now dimitri's here with a live update. thank you nice of cautious optimism is the message from the world economic forum in davos the potential for catastrophe remains especially in europe but a number of politicians and heavyweights industrialists think that much of the rescue work has already been done told the head of investment banking at troika dialogue says the event has done much to clarify economics it.

it's been an outstanding opportunity for some of the world's leaders politically and commercially to come together and share some ideas about how to resolve the crisis not only in europe but some of the other global problems that we face today having said that i think most people and i'm certainly i'm cautiously optimistic about a resolution of some of the issues that we're facing in europe today but i have not seen anybody who would display signs of terror and it's a really i think quite a unique opportunity for some of the leadership of across europe across the world in fact to come together and share ideas in an open and frankly very constructive way i think that a lot of the solutions that have been talked about over the last weeks and months this is been an opportunity to move those ideas forward and whether there are concrete outcomes is probably less important than the fact that a lot of the leadership of the world has come here in order to actually focus on these issues and again i think it's been a very very constructive dialogue. and i think

a lot of the mouth is the south korea is heading for a weekly gave in three on signs economic recovery in the u.s. is coming back to the international monetary fund warns of a twenty to thirty percent spike ahead if they rein in exports disrupt the bread blend is trading at their of one hundred eleven dollars per barrel light sweet is just one hundred. european markets still mixed this u.k. stocks had lower with heavyweights devolved ways for the european side the south on worries over the sovereign debt crisis mining stocks also low as precious and base metal prices fell rio tinto was down more than one percent. here in russia very much the same picture markets are struggling for direction of flats this c.s. is down twenty percent nice except by just a notch signal to the main movers on the my six financials are still looking strong percent gas problem on energy mages is losing ground despite the strong price

it's down point seven percent and i am a mining continues to slump the market. unimpressed with the seven percent production increase in twenty left. to currencies finally the ruble is allowing versus the dollar by five kopeks amid a weakening global demand for risk and some profit taking out of the weekend the russian currency is also losing ground to the euro at this hour but we have to remember it's been a remarkable week for the russian currency want to strengthen more than three percent overall. shares of russia's leading gold produces polymaths one point yes gold are trading flat despite the news the two companies are in talks of merger now if the deal goes ahead it would have warmer world's ninth largest producer of the metal with a conversation around twenty billion dollars in mining on the side exam of models of u.b.s. says this is a case where size matters in terms of it is yours that would be perhaps

one the top three because oil is gold has a huge to do your business so from the point your scale makes sense and of course for the bigger company it makes. it makes it easier to board. in the market it makes it easier to do and when the ball in the russian globally and also the investor appeal is much higher for b. the company is after a short break any so we'll be back with the headlines i'll see you in thirty five an assignment be here when.

observed nature and discover its beauty. communicate with the wild and. test yourself and become free. to. see what nature can give you the. world. science technology innovation all the lives developments from around russia we've got the future covered. download the official tea up location to go on the phone oh i pod touch from the stops to. watch

on t.v. life on the go. video on demand ati's minefield comes an r.s.s. feeds now in the palm of your. question on the dot com. at four thirty pm moscow time these are the top stories from our libya's new leaders face accusations of torture as doctors without borders pull out of a key city saying the same patients keep returning but with new interrogation injuries it's raising key questions among human rights groups about the people nato helped bring to power. the public politicians and half hours lashed out against an international online piracy pact the french m.e.p. has quit over after rallies continue in poland to stop the secretive deal heading

to regular internet users. and iran might cut off its oil supply to europe as early as next week to head off a looming e.u. ban over tehran's nuclear program iran's repeatedly said in recent weeks that it's ready to allow u.n. nuclear inspectors were due in the coming days but next moscow out continues it's a tell you twist stay with archie. absolutely beautiful welcome to florence and the famous potter vacuo bridge on this week's program we'll be continuing our exploration of russian culture and influence

abroad from famous people who live here to current russians who live and work in italy and who wouldn't be happy here with glorious wing to sun sensational food and often culture overload the beginning of the nineteenth century so a number of russian wealthy families moved to skinny italy has always held a special attraction for russians many sort of it's are these the cultural center of the world and with its breathtaking architecture food and style it chief thinking there may be some truth in that today dozens of tall companies offer excursions by plane and bus loads of russians advice from. the famous landmarks such that's why murder conservation bridge in a fancy museum it goes without saying that everyone will be impressed on the first visit here. so it's amazing here we are especially impressed that despite so many tourists the city is still clean quiet safe and relaxed oh yes.

without you is the living in florence for nine years and in my experience russians like not only the architectural and cultural beauty of the city but also enjoy shopping here a lot he specially fanatic good receiver ideas that at that i want to make is the hometown of making landfall and. they spent a lot of time living and working in this region of italy the art and culture that. and have created and contributed influenced many outstanding russians came to florence for inspiration and stayed here for a while for bush there are many ways talented and skilled italians enriched russian cultural life and vice versa over the centuries italian architect had a huge influence in the design of moscow and st petersburg. one of the other great things about florence is the shopping. pastime of many russian tourists prices are lower here for designer goods than back home although this next luxurious pretty

well it might be better not to look at the price tags. here in the main shopping street of florence you can find a designer boutique a brand that was founded at the beginning of the twentieth century by a russian noble family reestablished in two thousand and eight it's now an international company based in france with several stores in italy. owned by the russian mobile all go sort of who are these three of the russian fashion they will ever see reads like an exciting novel the story of the brands you can say is part of russia's heritage and history. founded in paris in one thousand twenty four by prince philip you suppose and his wife marina the niece of the last person thought nikolai the second and says she clothing range was old european and american customers but the prince had a little business sense and two years after the nine hundred twenty nine the street

crash ruined his most prosperous clients use of force was forced to shut up shop. almost eight decades after the original house of their faith closed stores august are not going to has restored the branches for glory. to our next location now and in a city known as the cradle of the renaissance surrounded by terra cotta roofs a cluster of onion domes each topped with a tall cross is certainly not what you would expect to see in the florence skyline less than a mile from florence is to most these brightly colored domes of a different kind marked the surviving history of russian immigration to italy and florence the russian orthodox church of the nativity of christ. for. the old.

there's been a russian orthodox church on the site since mighty no three built by the russian community in far in time this is something to consider will damage over the years but was restored several times elegant and exotic in much is the city's cultural heritage perfectly reflecting in the true architectural style of seventeenth century moscow today the church is popular with orthodox worship as from all over tuscany. the church in florence houses many historic relics of the russian orthodox church including works by both russian and it's how you artists it's on the market you can't miss in florence and it's a place that brings the local russian community closer together welcome addition to russian life in tuscany. i knew most of the congregation of our church consisted of

people of many nationalities including russians ukrainians georgians greeks italians serbs and bulgarians this church is the first big orthodox cathedral that was built initially then more cathedrals and son removed and barry appeared and only five years ago a big church in rome was built that. tchaikovsky the demeter family to c.s.t. a real russians with a strong connection to italy. twenty minutes outside the city will match with beautiful scenery vibrant colors. but what has this part got to do with russian culture. to answer that question let's meet this week's guest. great to meet you thank you very much for your time nice to meet you while we here in this beautiful when i put this have given the question this place is called ponder like a sheen and there are many beautiful alleys here one of them in fact where we're

standing right now is named after dusty of ski he spent a year in this city and it was said to be one of the happiest times and as. live. came to florence with his young wife and they found out here that they were going to have a baby and the couple stayed in the city while she was pregnant just to also finish then over the eaters here so she left a remarkable trace in the history of this city. and it's not just the esky who lived tchaikovsky's but on this life there are many russian influences in florence to simulate tchaikovsky spend seventy years in florence and composed quilts and he's here enjoyed florence a lot there whether architecture art and the many museums the famous director took or ski also leave here in the nineteen seventy's and eighty's then there is joseph brought ski but turner who has not been to florence to go up to the model it seems that many russians love it so they but why but secure florence there's a nor about this place the city is not too big and not too small and its historical

center is packed with everything one might fancy museum goers admirers of their nations and art lovers is perfect for everyone also those who are into fashion are excited to come here not to mention those seeking good food and wine. well thank you very much for your time and enjoy your time here florence. moving on and what other locations in florence are connected to russia one of the most beautiful palaces is still officially named. after a noble russian family who owned it the nineteenth century it was pulled by count to me to be truly a senator and the director of the hermit charge also the god son of empress catherine the great the palace also contained brutally impressive library which he started to put together in italy to replace his previous collection of books which were lost in the great fire of moscow in eighteen twelve. the brazilians were not

the only wealthy russian family who made an impression in florence. and the city are also connected. the demeter family there are squares villas and monuments in honor of the family members who lived in florence in the nineteenth century and the family emblem can even be seen on the front of the dromo basilica of st mary the flower as it's officially cooled when money was needed to restore the cathedral prince to meet off donated a large sum as his contribution was so great the florentine governess thanked him by putting the emblem right next to the main entrance. many russian artists traveled all lived in italy in the previous centuries and the country is still an inspiration to many of their works far from classical but rather unusual controversial contemporary art is displayed at a russian art gallery in the center of florence. and she's doing fishing is good you know and galloway has existed for several years now and now we're working on a new concept. we want to showcase work which would combine art blind and sound and

would affect as many senses as visitors as possible the want to share that oh it will be not only visual treat little so heal it person because it will focus and. florence is full of captivating stories and legends connects to many corners of the world. one local met is that if you rub this bourse snout and put a coin in its mouth you will return to florence at some point in your life and no he doesn't really like to has poor rubles christian and italian share many similarities the culture of the two countries is very classical based and complementary in many ways both have a rich history incumbent's a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of arts and design. and from modern russian french fashion houses to cranes all throughout churches cheap away at the russian connections you can find in italy and you'll be amazed at the results. it's

a costly did call florence the city of dreams is certainly. points but unfortunately that's so that's how we have left on this week's program i think that's the end of our exploration of russian culture here in italy i'll see you again at the same time next week we'll be back in the russian capital to tell them from me and the rest of the moscow our growth. oh. man looted.

is easy to. see.

mine. would be soo much brighter than if you moved from funds to pressure these. stunts on t.v. don't come. libya's new leaders face accusations of torture as doctors without borders pulls out of a can use city saying the same patients keep returning but with new interrogation injuries it's raising key questions among human rights groups about the people nato help bring to power. the public politicians and hackers last out against an international online piracy pact a french m.e.p. has quit over our rallies continue in poland to stop the secretive deal heading for regular internet users. and iran might caught off its oil supply to europe as early

as next week he to head off i should say a loony e.u. ban over ten rounds nuclear program iran's of previously said in recent weeks that it's ready to allow in u.n. nuclear inspectors who are due in the coming day so. let's get away from you now neil he joins us with the sportin union things heating up down under this certainly are a hug to take myself away from the news room there because novak djokovic. murray are involved in the. epic encounter nice out the moment we're going to get the very latest from the in just a second ago have a look. good to have you with us this is sports today we have got plenty head this hour including wii stories in brief. queens of the court the russian girls to atlanta has made it so by. playing the first doubles crawling up the grand slam season in

history. bunting by type a local school recover from a rushing by sky to see off blunt's on home ice in the continental hockey. tied up atop the american pair of spencer levine and kyle stanley storm to the opening days lead up the farmers insurance. let's get started out the astray you know open where the second men's singles semifinal is now well underway on that is fast turning into a classic novak djokovic. going out it's in a repeat of last year's find the melbourne park dreaming championship which taking the first set before murray court right to tie proceedings after the second heat and also went on to true ron paul the third but the twenty four year old went to sleep in the four following joke at the time proceedings are two sets of pace this school or no.