showed us around they took us into the center there was absolutely massive anti-government demonstration going on there's a funeral procession going on at the same time as well so we were able to speak to the people who were living in this area to speak to some of the free syrian army members as well because of course very little is known about who exactly these people are really have made it very very clear to us just how divided the country is now becoming whilst we were that there was sort of a moment of confusion we did hear gunshots in the background some of the crowd got nervous and started running which for we we were all sort of told to it was ever safer to leave and we've then left that area a very tense situation certainly a very dangerous situation for the civilians in this area as well you gave these suburbs you can see bullet holes in the walls it's not really clarence so much of the country now who exactly has control of the fact that this is now happening in a suburb just fifteen minutes will say from the city center here in damascus where

he goes to show you just how much the situation here is now deteriorating or russia has made its decision extremely clear that they're not going to back the western resolution whilst it doesn't rule out the sanctions the military intervention they've put their own proposal forward and you've had this sort of back and forth with neither sides really being able to come to some form of agreement i mean the big sticking point here really is the military intervention because so many different factions in the country it is even more still here in the country very very hard to really understand who exactly is in charge where he has the voice of the people because this is a originally a peaceful protest movement even now got increasingly armed opposition groups and there's reports today that saudi arabia that could have said that they're going to be backing the opposition and providing funding and arms as well and the last thing that anyone wants to see here at the moment is that this. to become even more even

more violent because that they that policy they did that if they took me by the name into talking to the people in this suburb today they were extremely and they show you know the people they have in this country have lost all sense of safety all sense of security. parties there for the reporting for us there in syria now to discuss if the u.n. meeting will bear fruit i'm now joined by jason gets from the antiwar dot com now thank you jason thank you for joining us. first of all the u.n. security council is at the moment considering a new resolution on syria with opinions differing on how to stop the bloodshed how likely is there to be an agreement on the motion. i think it's very unlikely that there's going to be an agreement mostly because this motion seems to have a lot of vague wording in a particularly as it relates to what happens if the syrian government doesn't agree to it the motions of course based on. the cc's resolution on yemen which stop

president saleh is supposedly going to transfer power to his deputy and it seems like they're trying to do the same thing in syria. the problem is. exactly what the arab league's going to do if syria refuses which so far they have. now you mentioned vague wording let me get right back to that wording if you if you don't mind for a moment the currently what they're discussing it says that president assad has to go or face tough action what do you think the west is actually envisioning in backing this motion. well. unfortunately i think there's a strong likelihood that at least some of the people in the western visioning this being an excuse to start a war as they did in libya and that's precisely why i don't think this agreement is going to get anywhere because i don't think either russia or china is going to allow that you just mentioned russia not allowing it russia's u.n. ambassador vitaly churkin has expressed deep disappointment with

a european arab draft resolution now it can't go through without russia's backing or china's backing what do you think the possibilities are of this even getting through i think there's almost no chance as it's currently worded it seems like it's possible to have some sort of version of this get through if they eliminate all the threats. and harsh action against assad without him agreeing to it. now moscow claims that any outside intervention would it lead to a repeat of the libyan scenario in syria aren't things that enough already in the country . well it is i guess it depends what you mean by outside intervention now certainly turkey we've seen has intervened quite a bit already backing the free syrian army giving them access to the media through

the foreign ministry things like that but i think. absolutely having troops on the ground or even. warplanes in the air is is only going to make matters worse. now if you look back over the conflict we see that there's been over five thousand dead it's been going on since last march why do you think has the international community taken so long to try and agree on taking action of any kind. but i think that using the answer is libya libya was not supposed to go the way it went there certainly wasn't so wording in the u.n. resolution that was used to start the nato involvement in libya that list calling for regime change but that was how it was used as an excuse and i think there's quite a bit of concern that any resolution that's even a little bit vague on syria might lead to the same thing all right thank you very

much jason ditz news editor at antiwar dot com. now thousands of protesters have rallied at the presidential palace in a warsaw over the signing of an international treaty to enforce intellectual property rights on the internet opponents say the pact amounts to internet censorship and a violation of human rights activists also allege secrecy saying the documents exact wording prepared by non elected officials has never been revealed the legislation that must be ratified by the polish and european parliament before coming into a fact domenica by sco who's a media freedom specialist with a healthy foundation for human rights. so the government should communicate with users instead of changing internet policy. the way it did substrate it's my violating the basic freedoms and in their you know too much with the freedom are

used without really catching. the big violators of the internet and those internet providers and those companies which are taking advantage of the fear i see in the internet and the first thing we should be aware of the process is that people are feeling that they were cheated by the government then that something is wrong and that there were no consultation and there was no possibility of a debate before therefore as the signature of the document there were many at times in recent year or recruitment to have the internet and every time people have the same question that the government is taking some steps without compensation without you reined in turnout and the internet users. iran could have cut off its oil supplies to europe as early as next week and iranian m.p.v.

has signaled that when that is when excuse me they could flick the switch which parliament preparing to debate on sunday. to preemptively e.u. embargo set to start in july which is designed to force iran into talks over its nuclear work tehran has repeatedly said in recent weeks that it's ready to do just that but the u.s. first wants iran to prove its atomic program is peaceful u.n. nuclear inspectors are due there in the coming days global policy consultant the sun money told r.t. that by threatening to turn off the tap iran's hoping to push the e.u. embargo blow. the calculus from iran's perspective is going to be if they preempted by cutting export sea forward the july first date that the e.u. has set for cutting the exports and iran preemptively cuts its three four hundred thousand barrels worth exports to the e.u. will it be able to drive prices up enough by doing that to offset for that you know

right now what is going on with iran is that they there is an existential threat to the government there and quite frankly from the u.s. perspective i don't think there's a lot of hope that these sanctions will actually get iran to stop its nuclear program think the real unwritten objective here is quite frankly and call it by different name but it's regime change ultimately they want to put as much pressure that as they can on this government but there is a theory that iran will build its enrichment program and its technological capabilities to the threshold of being able to weaponize and at that point in time might might be more willing to compromise that's been a hole that the u.s. you know some of the more dovish elements the u.s. of hope that that would be the case. libya's new government is being accused of torture and abuse in detention centers. medicines sans frontiers is suspending its mission is more than is roger saying it's repeatedly treating patients for injuries

sustained during interrogation with thousands of could argue the list still behind bars is raising key questions about of the people nato helped bring into power as artie's marie financial reports. doctors without borders known for going do their job in the most dangerous and notorious places around the globe but in n.t.s.c. iran libya the group has encountered a formidable obstacle they couldn't overcome burns from electric shocks and cigarettes heavy bruising and renal failure all this evidence of the continued torture of prisoners say the doctors and now after two inmates died from beatings the international group has stopped its mission in protest. patients were brought to us in the middle of interrogation for medical care in order to make them fit for further interrogation this is an acceptable our rule is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees not to repeatedly treat the same patients between

torture sessions the news comes amidst rising anger with levy's interim government demonstrations in benghazi last week ended with the resignation of a high ranking member of the m.t.c. in the former gadhafi stronghold of bani walid locals who started to counsel forces claiming systematic abuse it started with the very beginning of the rebellion very beginning of the insurrection the second day of the rebellion on eighteenth of february the african migrants were rounded up locked in a detention center and burnt to death and the n.p.c. expressed support for this time this is part of the strategy of the west you know divide and rule that was given the green light of the torture and execution that we're seeing now so this is a recipe for civil war meanwhile the nato operation that brought the m.t.c. to power is by itself raising question. a high

profile international team of human rights activists has been to levy a tuna fest to gate some of the two that it bears entity of were with their evolution in the frogs and there were guiding the air raids and they addicting them and court have been eating them if you are mandated. it is very very accurate in a way that i myself saw the killing of so many people in front of my eyes i saw the killing go fifty one people in front of my eyes was fifteen years old and while all sides and believe in conflict are to blame for violence and violations of human rights activists claim not all of them have been held responsible for their wrongdoing investigating what happened during libya's seven months civil war and

the nato campaign to protect civilians this fact of mission discovered and crimes against humanity but the goal was not the job but to shed light on what happened and not to repeat the mistakes in recent united nations report has revealed that up to eight thousand supporters have been held by militia groups in libya right now and with numerous occasions of torture and revenge killings throughout the country hopes of a new beginning for libya are fading quickly. our team. and we are keeping an eye on developments around libya. many other stories are there for you as well here's what we have on. russia's a political playing field of the elections refutes claims of parliamentary violations while the short lists amount. to who is running for president people across all developments in the politics section. and nature

gives that norway a night to remember send back and enjoy the show with one of the most spectacular northern lights displays in a long time it's on you to jail right now. struggling euro zone and the future of deep in debt greeks have been at the epicenter of discussions at the world economic forum in davos switzerland on friday the head of the european central bank mario draw. as you said the e.c.b. alone cannot resolve the. euro zone governments need to cut the fitch ratings agency has become the second to downgrade eurozone members marking down five including debt stricken italy and spain earlier this month its ratings rival standard and poor's have also made a wave of negative downgrades against several euro zone countries amish mccrae chief economic correspondent of the u.k. independent newspaper says the future of the single currency is doomed unless the

competitiveness improves. i don't think you have to be a whiz at math to figure out that is not just the indebtedness of some countries of the but also the euro the common currency. is a single currency for an area where some countries need a devaluation i don't know whether technically greece is going to be in default or not but if your repaying thirty or forty cents in the euro your day and the write down is going to something like that could be four to six feet or forty if you're lucky thirty if you're unlucky that it any rational six b. is a country defaulting on its debts and whether technically that is or whether it take it seems to me to be not that relevant because once you've dealt with greece ok you

try and have to put a fireball behind that but people may say look if i'm not going to get my money back on greece why should i lead to portugal why should i lend to spain why should i lend to italy. a look at some other headlines making world news for you. a blast has hit a funeral procession outside of baghdad killing at least thirty two people and wounding sixty five the explosion as mourners gathered to bury a person killed a day earlier there have been more than two hundred 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 of the cost of the holiday sixteen people are confirmed dead while over a dozen remain missing the ship ran aground off tuscany two weeks ago with more

than four thousand people on board. sixteen kilos of cocaine have been seized at the u.n. headquarters in new york turned up last week marked with a fake u.n. insignia and came from mexico the global body insists that 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. . now it's time for moscow up quite a way out in fact all the way to italy. absolutely

beautiful welcome to florence and the famous 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 curb russians who live and work in italy and who wouldn't be happy here with glorious swing to sun sensational food and often culture overload the beginning of the nineteenth century saw a number of russian wealthy families. italy has always held a special attraction for russians many tools of each of these the cultural center of the world and with its breathtaking architecture food and style chief thinking that maybe some truth in that today dozens of companies offer excursions by plane and bus loads of russians rising every week. with famous landmarks such that the 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're especially impressed that despite

so many tourists the city is still clean quiet safe and relaxed no you. know florence for nine years and in my experience russians like not only the architectural and cultural beauty of the city that also enjoy shopping here a lot he specially fanatic good ideas that. would make is the hometown of michelangelo and. they spent a lot of time living and working in this region of italy the art and culture that. i have created and contributed influenced many outstanding russians who came to florence for inspiration and stayed here for a while for sure there are many ways talented and skilled italians in which to pursue cultural life and vice versa over the centuries italian architects and 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 all

over here for designer goods then back home although this next. well it might be better not to look at the price tags. of. the twentieth century by a russian noble family. in two thousand and eight it's now an international company based in france with several stores in. all of. these three of the russian fashion label reads like an exciting novel the story of the brand you could say is part of russia's heritage and history. founded in paris one nine hundred twenty four by prince felix you suppose and his wife marina the niece of the last russian saw me collide the second and says she clothing range european and

american customers but the prince has a little business sense and two years after the nine hundred twenty nine the street crash ruined his most prosperous clients. was forced to shut up shop. almost eight decades after the original house eventually closed stores. has restored the brand to its former glory. to our next location now and in the city known as the cradle of the rich. surrounded by terra cotta roofs the concept of onion domes each topped with a tall cross is certainly not what you would expect to see in the foreign skyline less than a mile from florence is do imo these brightly colored domes of a different bind marked the surviving history of russian immigration to italy and florence the russian orthodox church of the nativity of christ.

there's been a russian orthodox church on the site since ninety three built by the russian community in florence time this is something to consider will damage over the years but was restored several times elegant and exotic and matches 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

christian life in tuscany. when you know most of the congregation of her church consists 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 well met with beautiful scenery vibrant colors. but what has this park 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're here in this beautiful and i guess of 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. also finished 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 . tchaikovsky spend seventy years in florence and composed quilts and he's here he enjoyed florence a lot there whether architecture art and the many museums the famous director talk also leaves here in the nineteenth 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 one particular florence there's nor about this place the city is not too big and not too small and its historical centrist packed with everything one might fancy museum goers admirers of their in a sense an art lovers is perfect for everyone and 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 for. 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 the nineteenth century it was pulled by count to me to be truly a senator and the director of the hermit's harsh also the god son of empress catherine the great the palace also contained 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 eighteen twelve. the brazilians were not the only wealthy russian family who made an impression in florence. in the city are also connected. the demeter family they're all 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 stood on

galloway has existed for several years now and now we are working on a new concept. that we want to showcase work which would combine art blind and sound and would affect as many senses as visitors as possible they want to share that or it will be not only a visual treat little says she'll a person because it looks. florence is full of captivating stories and legends connects to many corners of the world. while local met is that if you rub this board 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 crane tools rocks churches cheap await the russian

connections you can find in italy and you'll be amazed at the results. if he did call florence the city of dreams he certainly. the same.

fifteen minutes from the united nations security council. resolution which. calls to get. go. saying the same patients keep returning. people take. over the. regular internet users a french member of parliament. over. technology gets closer to the.