western powers seek to hit syria with more economic sanctions after russia and china vetoed a u.n. resolution aimed at increasing pressure on president assad. meanwhile ahead of his visit to damascus russia's foreign minister slams the west's reaction to the double veto as indecent and hysterical. also ensuring greater political involvement for the people through the internet prime minister putin that lays out his plans to upgrade russian democracy a day after massive pro and anti-government rallies sweep the country. and greece announces thousands of civil service job cuts amid mounting international pressure

to agree austerity measures needed to secure a new bailout. and welcome you are watching our team glad to have you with us take a look at your top stories. the e.u. and the u.s. wants to further toughen sanctions on damascus in a bid to crank up the pressure on president assad's regime the decision came after russia and china vetoed the latest draft u.n. resolution on syria moscow and beijing say the wording was biased and only blamed the government for the violence without mentioning armed extremist groups this as opposition leaders claim at least fifty people have been killed in a fresh wave of attacks by the army on the city of homes but government denies the assault and you may find some of the images in the next report

a bit disturbing. ichi video and social networking sites have for the past ten months been one of the activists he means of offering the world glimpses of the violence that's torn three syrian activists goods reports how we got the brick through and we've just seen pictures which the b.b.c. called verify the same many differing numbers and reports getting to the bossom of what's really going on is a major challenge even from inside the country. the every day think. there was a. head of the un security council showdown this weekend and the violence in syria seemed to reach fever pitch with activists reporting a massacre in homs that was all over the headlines and watched with horror by people worldwide initially the death toll that night was put over two hundred you

see there could be as many as two hundred just in the last hour or two that was later significantly downgraded strict access policies they have made it difficult for many foreign networks to get their correspondents into the country to collect evidence at the end of last year i level discrete says in at the foreign minister's spokesman we've never been in the media by the way. because. we've been filtering you how can you justify for instance you on the people relying on you tube and broadcasting one side even though or even on you tube you have also atrocity committed by the elements it's true that to a large extent mainstream coverage of the pro-government can has been pretty sparse this graphic video appears to show every supporter being hanged but the clear picture of exactly what's happening in syria right now hard to know what the

western allies that the us. and basing their assertions was not really about genuine concern for human rights and democracy this is all about regime change dissatisfied with the wedding at the resolution especially in china v tahj the latest proposal many felt it contained disturbing a case of libya pressuring china believes the do or a pin for foreign military intervention as the conflict between the two sides escalates the crisis in syria is becoming increasingly internationalized but a miss is imposed from a poll to try and put an end to the violence a going to have to be very careful not to make the same mistakes made in libya seems to be backing. me looking. indecent and hysterical that's how russia's foreign minister described the criticism by someone countries of the russia china double veto sergey lavrov

speaking ahead of his upcoming trip to damascus where he is scheduled to meet with the syrian authorities on tuesday our correspondent peter oliver listened in on the minister's comments. this was continuing on from that decision by china and russia to veto the recent un resolution on syria from moscow sergey lavrov saying that russia had asked the u.n. security council to delay the vote for several days in order to allow mr lovett off to complete his trip to damascus now they were that request were turned down by the u.n. security council so he left off heading to damascus on tuesday bearing with him a message from president hamid premed get a message that's believed to quest the assad government make strong democratic changes in the country now the foreign ministry very unhappy about this the russian government very unhappy in fact going as far as to call it disrespectful to allow the not allow the vote to be delayed until. a level of completed that trip now.

with regards to the comments that have been made from around the world following that the session by china and russia to veto the u.n. resolution we've heard condemnation from the united states from france from great britain the foreign secretary in great britain going as far as to say that this meant there was blood on the hands of those that had vetoed it well so very unhappy about these comments he was speaking at a press conference alongside people here in foreign minister he said that he was scathing in his response to those comments made from abroad some western comments on the outcome of the u.n. security council syrian resolution vote sounded decent and almost hysterical in this connection i recall the old saying that those who are angry are really right why these are still recall statements attempts are being made to blur what is really happening in syria and what's really happening is that there are several sources of violence in syria not just one it seems that the resolution cool authors

who rushed to vote despite the odds are more interested in simply finding somebody to blame for drawing attention away from the arms group. there are receiving weapons and other kinds of encouragement from abroad but with regards to why russia vetoed that resolution over the weekend twelve russia's position on syria has always been the same they condemn both sides both the assad government and the the opposition top and want them both sides to put down their weapons and come to the table for talks now as far as russia concerned the resolution was on the table only focused on the government forces and didn't make any requests from the the opposition to lay down their arms and as far as russia concerned that's not acceptable when it comes to a u.n. resolution on syria and he's peter all of our reporting for us there now sticking with the same story dr omar a lecturer at the lebanese american university of beirut says moscow and beijing don't support the crackdown on the opposition but wish to end of the conflict in

syria by peaceful means. the russian position and the chinese position was not to support the syrian regime or to support the the heart of images that are coming from syria on the contrary quite the opposite it was to stop this bloodshed and in the view of russia and china to stop this bloodshed is to stick to the un charter and the principles of the un charter and to stick to the united nations as an organization that works for peace and therefore that encourages dialogue and that what that i think is the position of russia and by actually is saying that there should be more time to actually for the attempts the russian attempts to model minister lavrov is going to be in in syria he will attempt to bring the parties together as a closer together to actually sit down on

a table and solve things in peaceful ways if they if they are somebody form should be done on the part of the regime but also there are obligations on the part of the civilians to give up their weapons that they are using against the syrian army this is i think they should be more time and this is why the russian position was so firm and so clear and feel confident because they believe that there should be more time and an opportunity for a peaceful settlement because as minister lavrov said there are there is not one side using violence there are several sides. still ahead for you this hour a whistleblower is nominated for the nobel peace prize a u.s. soldier accused of releasing secret files to wiki leaks is now on the list of candidates for the prestigious award we talked to one of the people behind his nomination. the political system in russia needs to adjust for the needs of

a civil society this from put in as he continues to lay out his electoral program before next month's presidential elections you got a piece going off as more of the main idea of the sort of civil society in russia has grown and developed and become much more active most importantly compared to say ten years ago and what comes to the state well it's a lagging behind at the moment people do want to be more active and have more influence on the political life and one of the mechanisms providing these opportunities is the internet and this is not only about the tens of thousands of people who now take to the streets for this or that rallies about millions of internet users in russia who over the past few years have been very active. stores of blogs and forums videos of all internet wars between political movements and all of them are going on on the web and the prime minister wants to see the role of the

internet and its influence increased more user friendly government websites to provide proper bases for public discussion and not only on initiatives put forward by the state any person any internet user has to be able to put forward their own draft law and if it gained say one hundred thousand approval signatures from other users it has to be reviewed by the parliament the internet also gives another opportunity to evaluate civil servants for example if locals of a district of any city are not satisfied with the way the head of the local police department works or a judge or even a principal of a local school. they have to be able to voice their concerns on the web. so that these civil servants. let's move the web aside for a bit. it's like reintroducing the elections local governors was initially put forward by the president supported by the prime minister now another initiative in this sphere is easing the string new political parties which should make way for

more competition that is now this brings us to another problem corruption the prime minister is proposing to increase the salaries of civil servants in exchange for their complete transparency and put together a list. corrupted jobs in the ninety's many people wanted to be all the guards there a need for civil servants because these positions are often viewed as possibilities to make easy money quick and according to the prime minister. it's time for that to change as well. and if you've missed any of our stories here on television you can find the latest news online at our. scientists are set. to get to the bottom of the lake for. the country's east coast ahead of their deployment to the persian gulf.

depicts a country iran. to the mounting international pressure and announced an additional fifteen thousand civil service job cuts meanwhile i. postponed until later on tuesday. as pressure mounts on athens with a european commission spokesman saying the deadline has already passed the country must now accept even more painful cuts if it's to get a one hundred thirty billion euro second a lifeline from international creditors if the deal falls through greece is expected to default by the end of march. scray cuts an economic analyst and

international lawyer says the greek people will not accept the new measures. there is actually very little choice for greece at the moment both options on the table are very bad you either accept draconian measures from international lenders or you head for the dollar and you default calamitously and it's a chaotic eurozone exit but i must reiterate this for the international audience it's not exactly a technocratic government it's actually a caretaker government under a technocrat prime minister it's the three political leaders that will actually call the shots and even if they agree they still have to persuade all of the parliamentary deputies in their party to actually pass this through parliament now what greeks can understand and can cope with these structural reforms most greeks understand that there is a need for they're not particularly happy about fire sale privatization because that really offends people what they have hit the limit with these tax increases

and more cuts to pensions and especially private sector wages. in the name of private bradley manning a us soldier accused of passing classified material to the whistle blowing web site wiki leaks has consistently made it into the headlines mostly in connection with his trial but now his name is on a different list of over two hundred dominates for the nobel peace price. daughter and a member of the icelandic parliament from the parliamentary group called the movement which put forward manning's nomination has told me earlier why they think he deserves to win. thank you manning this honor because it is criminalize or along with on war crimes it is not a criminal act to blow the whistle war crimes or to blow the whistle on any crime and. we feel that. by these leaks for example the video collateral murder. the wall. and. people that have.

put their way to war in afghanistan in iraq through their governments need to know why this meeting is going on there and by knowing what is going on there and we see this in can apply more pressure on our governments to be accountable for the crimes that have been put out in our names we do not. let the bradley manning case be because of his in just treatment be in the course of silencing all the people the courageous people who want to do their civic duty by reporting on crimes who are it's state or military the u.s. president orders new sanctions against iranian a central bank giving it u.s. agencies the power to freeze assets linked to tehran at the same time american battleships are running naval exercises off the country's east coast with the war

games scenario reportedly depicting a potential conflict with iran sharon shaath from the school of oriental and african studies says the u.s. approach to iran undermines efforts of the international atomic energy agency. iran has never actually threatened the us this is. policy has been always defensive of but in terms of threats coming from the u.s. special a distant sanctions against iran central bank i think that they're mostly producer director for domestic consumption in the united states as we get closer to the presidential elections in the u.s. we see that each side trying to see as being more as being tougher visibly iran and this is another move by president obama to satisfy either is rivals or supporters of his campaign that he's actually taking

a tough stand with sad to see that the u.s. is undermining the work that. fantastic work that the i.a.e.a. is doing with iran and iran itself is trying very hard to keep the environment professional in the face of the recent assassination of uranium scientists which really. was a big blow to the relationship between iran and the. now look at some other world news a brief for you at this hour. or maybe as president has nominated the country's intelligence chief as the new prime minister after romania's premier steps down to dissolve the government saying he wants to preserve social and economic stability in the country this follows weeks of protests over austerity measures introduced in two thousand and ten to secure financial aid from the e.u. and the i.m.f. . there's a brave the no region man who admitted killing seventy seven people last july told the court that he deserves a medal of honor for the murders the extremist also demanded his release survivors

and relatives of victims sat in on the last preliminary hearing before his full trial begins in april said the attack was against traders who he claims are bracing immigration to promote an islamic colonization of norway. palestine's to rival factions islamist hamas and secular fatah have reached a deal to form a joint interim government they have agreed it will be led by palestinian president mahmoud abbas before the general parliamentary and presidential elections the deal brokered by qatar is seen as a major step towards reconciliation between the opposing groups after more than four years of separate governments in the west bank and gaza but the israeli prime minister has slammed the agreement saying palestine has abandoned the way to peace and i'll be back with the headlines at half past the hour but for now in the wake of suggestions that military action against iran is

a growing possibility we speak to the former chief of israeli intelligence for an insider's view our interview is up next. i have. before we hade the intelligence side mr halevi thank you very

much for joining us. a nuclear iran war with iran. yes there is a third option the third option is a non-nuclear iran with. an agreement and understanding with uranium it will not become nuclear. and they will be reintroduced into the family of nations in which they have been virtually. recent months. under terms which will also take into account some of their interests and some of the. i think it's very possible because i think the international pressure which is being building up in recent months is beginning to have. on the economic. side. and i think that the basic interest of the people in charge in iran.

is to maintain the position. do you think you pose a threat to israel. in the region. i'm on record as repeatedly saying that i don't think there is such a thing as the existential threat to israel because i think it is really strong enough to protect it so to take care of itself and i think that ultimately it's not in the power of iran to destroy the state of israel someone who does these waited leadership insist on presenting iran as this big danger i believe that the leadership believes that in order to arouse international public opinion in order to mount pressure upon the iranians it's necessary to impress upon the world at large public opinion the national public opinion this is a serious international threat does israel have a nuclear weapon. i don't know and if i knew i don't think this would be the opportunity for me to say something positive and definitive on that but i think

that there is in the world an assumption there is in the world a feeling that israel has something up its sleeve and i think that this is something which is important in the present situation because it is part of the name of the game now is deterrence and i think it's very important to deter iran and if you run believes that israel has certain capabilities where it has it or not i think this is a. positive card in the hands of israel as far as the most scientists concerned would you define if coming to mission as preventing war weakening iran in the case that does happen i think that it is the mission of the mossad to do everything in. its capability to make a. threat which has been posed to israel dormant what capabilities does the mossad had when it comes to iran where here again i don't think that it would be useful for me to hold lists of capabilities i think leaves

the capabilities which every intelligence organization has i think it's important to. say that we have been involved in what we call a clandestine war for quite some time with iran and what's interesting about this war is of course that both sides have more or less preferred that the details of this war the details of various events be not exposed to the public since you retired from the side you have been meeting with ukrainian is there a genuine interest among some emain ians and some israelis to promote peace i mean to rein in international fora not had private relations or private contacts with iranians there are many iranians the way i see it who would like the present confrontation between israel and iran to gradually end and create a new situation the likes of which we had from forty eight to seventy eight because iran and israel basically do not have bones of contention you know the issues

territorial issues between ourselves we don't have other kinds of issues between ourselves we have ideological issues between ourselves and i think it would be wrong for iran to enable ideology to be the main driver of its policies and the calls of serious drawbacks which has been suffering in your opinion that would be good or bad for israel if assad's regime forced. let me first say that israel has no way of influencing the results of the present. events in syria i believe that assad is going to fall and i think that ultimately assad will fall in a way which will cause a lot of bloodshed. and i think that this bloodshed will have enormous effects on the history of syria and maybe of neighboring countries as well hamas is very likely to have

a duty to soon how will this play into israeli palestinian reconciliation efforts if it award first of all i'm not sure hamas will have a new leader. secondly i don't think the muscle as we in the most extreme of the leaders of the hamas he's also on record as saying that he's a temporary ready to accept a palestinian state in temporary bulldoze which is something which moves in its significance through a first step in recognizing the fact that the state of israel is here to study and find highly of me thank you very much for joining us here on our team thank you. from los angeles to chicago to birmingham twenty trauma centers have closed since two thousand severe problem is not enough inpatient beds not enough urgency department beds and not enough nurses to man those deaths to take care of all the

people who are the only real health care system that we have in the city of los angeles is the los angeles fire department in fact when i started my venture is a firefighter i didn't want to be a mass and i started out running just do firefighting it's about eighty two percent of what we do the farther problem this medical was that a rescue couple weeks ago waited four hours for i've waited sometimes three hours i was it's a same francis in lynnwood for four hours and fifty minutes standing against a wall with patients and we have a federal law that mandates that you can't turn no one away who seeks care in an emergency room. we have the most expensive health care system in the world and it's probably valued the least.

but i think that i see. for the australia you know the new zealand no we're going to see you get to the monkey. if you want to have sex go and have sex.

you know 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.