here a counterpart they were discussing the ongoing situation in syria over the weekend of course the arab league formally ended their mission in court for a new joint here and peacekeeping mission to enter the country now the first minister responded today is caused by saying that russia would consider that proposal but the implementation of that would come with a number of conditions. that's the. first in order to deploy a peacekeeping mission we need to the agreement of the host secondly there should first be peace which the peacekeeping mission will do then help sustain you know the words there should be a kind of cease fire agreement but the trouble is that armed groups fighting with the regime's forces do not listen to anyone and are not controlled by anyone. now one of the crucial points he'll have heard mentioned from the foreign minister was that it would need the agreement of the government in syria at the moment damascus rejected the proposal additionally saying that that was an interference in

their internal affairs and phase again that is to one side of course we've seen damascus very very wary about the u.n. being used in this way and indeed russia as well as the u.s. being used as a tool for regime change rather than pushing for an end to the violence is what russia from the very beginning means very clear about that the any proposal should be taking into account all the sides and not simply part of the opposition now we actually had today from the visiting u.a.e. foreign minister was the arab league being very clear that they're going to back the opposition financially and politically he said that at the moment there are plans to back the opposition militarily but of course there are already reports that countries like qatar i have been to you ready started. the opposition within the country and that's causing a lot of concerns of course we see the situation growing increasingly violent as members of the opposition and different factions of the opposition have the come

increasingly arms now over the weekend we had al qaeda publicly backing the opposition and that's really fueling fears that the situation in the country at the moment is really a very fertile ground for the interference of terrorist groups that is the growing violence russia's again really pushing for dialogue today the foreign minister calling on the opposition he's made it very clear they don't want to have dialogue with the president to at least continue dialogue with the government with the vice president later on today the arab league mission are going to be presenting their proposal to the u.n. and that moving forward of course everyone very focused now on finding a way to deescalate the continuing tensions inside the country and artists are referred to reporting live from central moscow thanks for that. but james corbett interbred a journalist and specialist on the mideast says the peacekeeping initiative for syria put forward by the arab they could easily be hijacked by powers interested in

regime change in the country given the the disgraceful conduct of un peacekeepers everywhere from haiti to the ivory coast to the congo and many other countries besides i think the syrian people should certainly hope the peacekeeping mission doesn't come about but i think one would have to see it really is as nothing more than a ploy to to involve the united nations in you know what is essentially at this point a civil war and and once the situation spun out of control it's probably inevitably would given the peacekeeping mandate a vote of force that would have no ability to defend itself in the face of the only sensible option at that point would be to send in foreign troops which i think is the really the end game and get it that's going on in the strategy in the first place but the u.s. says it's just a matter of time before the syrian government collapses while the pentagon says it's waiting for their radical military action although russia and china are adamant they won't allow foreign intervention in syria via the u.n.

history shows washington may find a way to bypass diplomatic barriers to push its agenda or to it's going to can explains. what's in that mandate having failed to reach international consensus on syria it's been a complete waste of time washington prepares to act around the un for the time being the administration firmly rules out any form of u.s. military intervention in syria but the pentagon is busy filling out an attack strategy on syria just in case should the president call for action experts say history shows the absence of international consensus would not be an obstacle to washington if it decides to go ahead with intervention the united states sees the u.n. as a tool of convenience of the u.n. is supple and going along with the united states then the united states is fine to have a u.n. sanction for its actions but when the u.n. and the people of the world or the countries of the world resist then the united

states says the u.n. is unwilling to do its job and then uses other instruments like nato or other military arrangements they did that in the case of yugoslavia they did that in the case of the iraq war whenever the u.n. doesn't go along the u.s. then says well to heck with you one will use some other instrument for the exercise of american power last year the u.n. security council authorized nato to protect civilians in libya but the mission resulted in regime change the libyan authorization of force was very specific and it didn't authorize regime change in the countries that partook in their operation clue the united states for exceeded the u.n. mandate and that operation i think that symbolic of the fact that these libya that these u.n. mandates really are meaningful in terms of international law and it's just the reality of it nato countries have flooded libyan rebels with weapons despite a u.n. arms embargo u.s. government wants the u.n. but they want the u.n. to do the u.s. bidding way in the united states uses the united nations in regard to the israeli

palestinian question is very emblematic when the united nations passed resolutions which it has done repeatedly demanding that the israelis get out of the west bank and earlier gaza and earlier the site. the united states didn't enforce those resolutions they didn't demand that they be enforced when it came to the united nations saying the palestinians have a right to be a recognized state the united states acted as if there was a crime against humanity that the united nations there take up the issue of palestinian rights we can see here a manipulation of the united nations when it does what the united states wants fine but when it stands with the palestinian people which it has repeatedly over and over again then the united states government republican or democrat found a way to condemn the united nations. the u.s. also did not support the resolution on syria put forward by russia which would call for all sides in the conflict to stop the violence and to start

a dialogue instead it chose to take sides in a civil war. one might describe the u.s. certitude towards the u.n. as use it if needed go around it if you don't like it but while an approach to the world body might suit washington it makes for a better recipe for world stability i'm going to check our reporting from washington. where vesta gave journalists and media specialists also when stanley told r.t. that the syrian opposition is very fragmented and says there's no unity between groups over the means of fighting the regime here's a quick taste of an interview coming your way next hour. although both sides deny differences in. in military intervention essentially in political differences there is different trends in the syrian opposition mainly between people who support outside intervention and the protestors who don't so you've got groups like the syrian national council which are now openly you favor of

a no fly zone which to me seems ridiculous because you know there isn't any even claimed that i know of the syrian regime for all its many crimes there's no claims of this problem to people so no fly zone just seems a political pretext very to me. well buildings on fire shops looted and dozens injured this is how the greek public met a new round of drastic cuts approved by their parliament tens of thousands of people protested the deeply unpopular package needed to get a second bailout from international creditors or to jacob greaves has the latest from athens. based on those pictures as events that took place last night really getting a sense here that the government the greek government is under attack from all sides now you've got the euro zone international monetary fund really increasing the pressure saying the cuts haven't gone far enough and they have been implemented

correctly also we saw taking place last night we have the demonstrators now really massing in very large numbers up to one hundred thousand people in attendance and they're growing in anger throughout the course of that evening in the end we saw clashes taking place with police and that resulted in certain amounts of petrol bombs being thrown at police by some anarchists in the crowd also a police a tally a seeing by firing tear gas into the crowd there resulting in total and dozens of injuries we also saw dozens of buildings of flame all of this of course taking place in central athens now there is a lot of discontent as well within harlem and we saw that take place last night a number of m.p.'s forty three from the ruling coalition made up of socialist served his they were against this latest measure of force there if he cuts now what we're talking about here really is fifteen thousand job cuts in the public sector

or so that's going to be accompanied by slashing by twenty percent of the minimum wage and cuts the pensions three those who are being affected are those who are probably most exposed by these crisis conditions have to bear in mind this is something that greece is really where the for some time it's a situation they are all too familiar with and had austerity measures for a number of years impose them by international bodies and hasn't been that many positive financial indicators since we seem g.d.p. slumping in two thousand and eleven so the main message coming from the demonstration taking place yes they said and the protests this is the. what price will be expected to pay. well germany's finance minister has declared that promises aren't enough anymore saying that greece must now implement reforms to prove it's not a bottomless pit john laughlin of the institute of democracy and cooperation in paris says there are more radical plans currently being drawn up by the germans. there is

one theory and i lend some credence to it that the germans who are calling the shots on this do indeed want to force greece out of the euro there is a lot of bad feeling towards greece by germans by germany and vice versa and there is a theory that certain leading german polish politicians want to love the boil and get rid of greece if that is the calculation in other words to force greece to leave the euro if that is the calculation i fear that it's a mistake because the problem in the eurozone is not a greek problem it is a structural problem in the eurozone these debt problems which various countries are suffering from including of course italy but also portugal spain and these debt problems are the inevitable consequence of the way the euro is structured they are the inevitable consequence of it and the measures which are being required of these countries to as it were remedy the situation are only making things worse so even

if greece were to be forced out of the euro my prediction is that the markets would then realize that the euro zone is not impregnable and would turn their attention to other countries as well whose position is very similar in particular portugal but artie's cross-talk is also focusing on greece's financial predicament coming your way later today the hidden cost of the bailout rescue. the exchange is clear in germany you give me the cash to survive given my debt probably and i'll give you my salary but will the public actually comply will they agreed to accept the pain of this austerity and will they agree to submit the most important sovereign aspect which is your this goal your budget to tell the crowds in brussels that are not answerable to your population through. they're not managing the greek economy there's nothing and that's i might's i might be provocative here but that's all it is the international monetary fund.

but population decline is one of the toughest problems russia faces in the long term but the disturbing trend can be reversed that's according to the country's prime minister in the latest campaign article and his bid to return as president vladimir putin has put forward plans for social reform that he hopes will significantly improve the demographic situation the proposed measures include better welfare for families with many children and smarter immigration policies including the repass ration of russians living abroad the article titled building justice also focuses on salary hikes for teachers and doctors as well as making housing affordable to everyone by twenty thirty groups and has ramped up his election campaign in light of mass opposition protests and as political analyst dmitri bobbish explains may he is mainly now addressing russia's middle class. my

whole is that putin now in the stance that he's electorate right no it's not a reach you know reach c.t. people he's electorate these are the real russian you know people who believe in small towns who have a really hard time to their market economy. so i hope he's economic. a little more to the left you know we had. a former finance minister who did we had that different tool to the right now we believe for putin writes he wants to give you the states more real electorate which means you know the masa of the russian people but you can always read more of our top stories online at r.t. dot com plus much more here's a look at what's lined up for you today at r.t. dot com the war of words continues as the u.s. navy says it's ready to fend off any threat of ukrainian kamikaze attacks read more

about the world war two tactic tehran is. talking about on our website. and nothing says i love you like a cockroach find out more about the creepy crawly valentine's day give some dumb birds are sharing with their sweetheart and i'm not sure why but check it out at r t dot com. after more than two decades the effects of one of the world's worst ever industrial disaster still linger in but paul india now that scandal is fixing itself to london's attempt to stage a green olympic games this summer or bennett has more on a controversial new partnership. organizers claim it's the greenest most sustainable a limb pick games ever but a poisonous cloud of controversy hangs over london twenty twelve because of links

to this the bhopal gas leak nine hundred eighty four one of the worst industrial disasters of all time left a toxic legacy still claiming lives the company responsible zahn now owned by dow chemical a major olympic sponsor meredith alexander was part of the game's ethics watchdog but is just quit in protest all of it is supposed to be about valuers and instead all of us are going to have the toxic legacy of dow chemicals are hundreds fifteen thousand people died when poisonous gas leaked from a factory in rural india the subsequent fallout killed another ten thousand congenital birth defects in the area ten times the norm in the rest of india for was ten of the time the gas she inhaled left permanent damage and as well i can believe that how it would all been high and the money's been taken far got

just one thousand dollars compensation part of a four hundred seventy million dollars payout in one thousand nine hundred nine by union carbide the factory owners dow chemical company in two thousand and one but denies any lingering liabilities but the indian government disagrees demanding dow stumps up one point six billion dollars to clean up the contamination that lives on people's building that water that has been going down needed. garbage factory children are being born with deformities people have more cancers there's growth retardation and boy death there is girls have a problem with their periods or kind of issues that have have been. risen from the ledge and see that has been left behind by this boy in this factory dow chemical is paying for the fabric that will be draped around the stadium olympic

rules forbid any advertising during the games itself is allowed to splash its logo all over the earth and before the games actually begin but it's now said it's not even going to do that says it's nothing to do with the protests but it does mean it's paying seven million pounds for something that won't even show its name but tao will still be able to call itself a sustainable a limb pick partner and organizers say their conscience is clean supposedly thanks to a green light from the ethics watchdog absolutely i do not agree with it it was the question was asked to look at the process and there were discussions within the question and i lie self presented a lot of evidence about what happened in the hall and then i was shocked to see a public statement come out i would never have signed off that statement dow chemical refused to speak to us so did london organizers instead they issued this

statement from twenty twelve chief lord coe. i absolutely stand by our procurement process we're going to distance the most sustainable solution to iraq and we're comfortable with a boy called from india now has been called off but india is a limpid committee is still demanding down to be dropped with just six months to go it's unlikely they'll get their wish leaving claims of a sustainable legacy severely in doubt on the bennett r t. let's take a look at what else is making news around the world this hour the wife of an israeli diplomat was injured when a bomb exploded in her car in new delhi despite the blast she managed to drive to the israeli embassy where she was taken to a nearby hospital meanwhile an israeli embassy staff are in tbilisi georgia called police after spotting a bomb under his car the explosives were defused before going off the two attacks came a day after the fourth anniversary of the assassination of hezbollah's military commander

. and islamic militants suspected of developing the bombs used in the two thousand and two bali attack is on trial or more protect is the tab remaining suspect in the bombings which killed more than two hundred people he was arrested last year in pakistan about trying to meet osama bin laden three other suspects have already been tried and executed. the families of victims of the submerged costa concordia cruise ship are marking one month since the disaster are staging a ceremony at a church near the crash site on the west coast of italy meanwhile operations to pump almost two and a half thousand tons of fuel from the stricken vessel have begun seventeen people died and fifteen are still missing after the liner ran aground the captain was said to be among the first to have fled the ship and is now under house arrest let's get an update now from kareen as she joins us from the business there.

hello and welcome to business here on r t thanks for joining me there's been a burst of interest in russian shares since the beginning of the year returning growth in the u.s. and progress with europe's debt is fuelling appetite for risk this is helped with first the trend in capital flow last year more than eighty billion dollars fled the country so far this year there has been an inflow of one billion dollars to go he churchillian from renesas as asset managers says that the perception of russia is changing. there has been a change of attitude towards the russian equity market since the beginning of the year and. demonstrated by the fund but the russian equity market has outperformed the markets in the world so to give you a flavor of russia nearly twenty percent since the beginning of the year where the u.s. market has gone up only by seven percent since the beginning of the doing certainty

over the politics and seems to have subsided but it's very much markets expect patients now and they have missed the put in will come back is president and the one difference which we have relative to these time last year. expectations for reform. the. president. said look at the markets now exchange rates for the euro is gaining value on easing fears over the greek debt crisis and stronger oil is pushing the ruble higher temps will appear and u.s. currency rates could have grounds for a three day low after greece's parliament approved austerity measures using concern that europe's debt crisis will worsen and commodity demand is trading at close to one hundred dollars a barrel while brant is that over one hundred eighteen dollars about. europe's next where we can see investors feeling more confident about the greek debt situation before it's over a percent of the dax is gaining under a percent this hour and here in russia markets have recovered from friday's losses

forces are gaining over two and a quarter percent let's check the index movers of the wise excess our gas promise news its european market share grew by four percentage points to twenty seven percent last year drugmaker standard is heading higher the company increased revenues over forty percent want to win dollars in two thousand and eleven gold is also lower news merger talks between the company another line of poly metal collapsed. now moving on to russia's fast growing food retail market which keeps on worrying for investors seven eleven is one world renowned food chain for up to be eyeing up the market according to media reports the company has officially confirmed the rumors last year the retailer said its priorities were preserved in india analysts say that seven eleven will have a hard time if it passes develop

a food chain in russia alone. that the most logical move would be to team up with an existing market player left hussies the former chief of russia's biggest retail group ex-wife who's now the senior vice president at wal-mart believes there are just a couple of ways to add to the country's market among all of the way for and from pressure market for. at least visible on the market or dragon for loose a position is through position of some of existing players or then from just with commerce solution when you don't need your stores it'll saw i think we feel in next year's some other companies will think about the us market them to choose a way to enter the market. that's all the business is i'll have more for you in fifty five minutes.

the. culture is the same us you are going to go but you know i already know more so because all we're going to from some of these hard times there's no shortage of austerity in the slashing of budgets of the shrinking of the welfare state generate jobs in return is to. get are sometimes you see a story and it seems so for lengthly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture.

is he he is. in the. resistance is not a politics but a cultural. force. this could. its own.

cultures of resistance on our team. well. it's technology innovation all the list of elements from around russia we've got this huge earth covered.

with artsy live from moscow our top stories from as it were brats the arab league winding down its observers work in syria and stresses a proposed peacekeeping mission can be deployed only once the government and opposition forces agree to a cease fire. fiery protest in athens followed by chaos and looting us public outrage as collates after the greek. argument passes a new austerity bill to secure another. and olympic values undermines this summer's games in london risk being marred by

a controversial sponsorship deal with a chemical giant playing to one of the world's worst industrial disasters. up next we traveled to the russian republic of mari al where a community culture clash has been overcome their faith say with us. this is how people of many ethnic groups prayed to ancient times. today this is a sort of worship but can only be found in this russian region. there is good it was not allowed to worship in soviet times people like us who did it on trial we hope. will avert floods quakes and manmade disasters.