three. three. three. three. three. three media. scrutinizes the syrian crisis. to put the screws on russia and china. gets hit with yet another wave of downgrades as confidence collapses future. e.u. presses ahead of its crusade against greece. and with the russian. painting positive coverage of mr putin's actions he's criticized. the other presidential. plans.

from moscow this is a welcome program the un general assembly is preparing its members for the upcoming vote draft resolution on syria the document apparently vetoed by moscow and beijing at the security council and the february the un human rights chief said. to take action on the syrian crisis the president launched to execute. those decisions at the general assembly not legally binding some believe the vote could be used to put pressure on both russia and china. this meeting has definitely last. the entire day we've been hearing speeches from dozens

of countries that started early in the morning and of course this comes only a week after a double veto from russia and china blocked in the arab and western backed resolution on syria to the security council so what we saw as an attempt from the saudi arabia and qatar to go to another body of the united nations an attempt to find some kind of decision there even though the general assembly does consist of over one hundred ninety members we have to keep in mind that it's not nearly as powerful as the security council because whatever decision comes out of the general assembly is by no means binding it's only seen as a recommendation by the rest of the international community and what's key here is that the text of this suppose address aleutian that the general assembly will be voting on voted on has not even been circulated yet we're hearing about it's going to be pretty much the same document that russia and china vetoed and russia and china's problem with the text was that it seemed biased to the countries saying that it only named to the syrian government as the main cause of the conflict going

on on the ground in syria but not the arms group the armed groups and that's something that continues to be a major sticking point the recognition of a two sides to this conflict by the international community we've been hearing all of these countries make speeches to d.c. is saying that the syrian government is committing atrocities so really this is another opportunity for those who do support regime change on the ground to send out criticism towards the syrian government many experts are saying really that the fact that this symbolic diplomatic gesture is being attempted at the united nations doesn't really mean much because any sort of document is not going to help stop the crisis on the ground on last pushes for a cease fire so many are saying that should be priority prioritized at the general assembly these days and not just you know a lot of words of criticism. well neil clark a u.k. based journalist and contributor to the guardian newspaper says instead of diplomatic wrangling world powers should focus on urging both sides in the syrian

conflict to lay down arms why and we've got peace in syria over the last eleven months the government has said they will make concessions the government can open to talks but the opposition has been picked on by irresponsible western powers and its allies and i think they would have had a peaceful solution to this months ago had the opposition not been egged on by the west they are being encouraged to take a very hard line the west has been denouncing the government violence but it hasn't been denouncing the violence by the opposition and until it does does not have any peace in syria so you know that is actually the western powers in the arab league who responsibility now say to the opposition forces look you have to stop the violence the government stops the violence everybody stops the violence and then we can have proper talks. with syria alarming reports continue to emanate from the protest of homs and with the spiraling violence now being found by such personal

computer concerns the crisis could take a sectarian for as r.t. sara furthur ports. the predominantly christian town of milly lies in the syrian mountains even here in this hauntingly beautiful place and the signs of the pale rising conflict that is tearing apart much of the country right now creeping in and the sense of foreboding hangs heavy locals tell us they don't have a lot of this area much they may longer feel safe we speak to the nuns at the monastery here they tell us about the town's preservation of the ancient aramaic language and like their cherished tongue they hate the fine balance of religious groups in the country can be kept even in these difficult times there have been this when we have been living with. their religion and ethnicity in peace for a long time. back in the center and damascus is known as the most important religions alloway sector a minority in the country that despite making up around just twelve percent of the

taito population heloise have occupied elite positions in the government and the military for decades and now there are fears that resentment among the majority sunni muslim sunni sacks could erupt the country that until this crisis breakout was religiously diverse as the tolerance now the calm increasingly polarized genuine fears i just worry that those divisions my laid his a sectarian tensions being further exploited have been staked by the emergence of an al qaeda video link for holy war three the assad regime violence is just not going to end we see it happening and iraq neighboring iraq sectarian violence that is catastrophic and nobody is reporting on that the reporting on syria and they're not focusing on the potential problems that syria could lead into another iraq on the streets to an increasingly desperate population has called for help in whatever

form it comes as long as it stops the violence this is a time for them to think about long. and sick carry in with us many of them worrying about daily survival anyone or. anyone over there. yes. in syria right now the split still largely remains long lines there's concern that is this increasingly bloody conflict continues it could turn into a sectarian one as well. damascus syria what are still to come on the program a super power games washington beijing meet to discuss cooperation u.s. news into. chinese. and tensions between israel and iran escalate the planes. that hang out to bomb attack and.

just a few minutes. yet another wave of credit rating downgrade has hit the e.u. with moody's one of the big three rated slashing the schools of italy spain and four other nations this block labor's directed debt bearing greece hopes that extreme austerity that will hold the unions credit contagion. greece reports it's a plan that already seems to be unraveling. system on the seach m.p.'s drowned out the pleas of tens of thousands of demonstrators masters in short passing another round of unpopular cuts. the results proved incendiary. that she got the protests turned violent as protesters including fringe and a kiss clashed with police again leaving their mark on athens. today all this is the remnants of public anger big losses and the only thing that's being broken as

governments past increasingly unpopular austerity cuts left asking who can they trust their interest to measures at their part of the poor people especially and this is the reason that we feel. today i think more measures have been taken and they're not going to work in the end they'll be another bill. and. oh i hope for the best but i don't see it coming. under pressure from brussels and the international monetary fund the greek government has cut more jobs to slash funding for the nation's pensions a minimum wage but current policy appears to mainly expose those most vulnerable to crisis conditions is a mindset some feel is doomed to fail. destroy the whole generation of young people and their dreams destroy. the

whole country we know that it is. a day that we have no signs that. we cannot continue like that because the government is following actually increases the day instead of finding a solution at the heart of activists claims is there a solution that they've noticed there. he for the best part of five years now and the time taxes have risen incomes have but the country's deficit only seems to grow and in this austerity cycle is something sought by an increasing number despite the governor wallace would follow but what. exactly. is the default default is going to be good for us but there's going to be

a better solution. for now relative calm has returned to the streets of athens smashed buildings have been patched up the signs of damage swept away but the simmering discontent hasn't been forced medicine appears to bring nothing but pain many are continuing their. treatment greece athens. for the spite to greece of passing its harshest austerity package yet there's no guarantee it will get more bailout cash still has conditions to fulfilling clued in further cuts to protect against a greek default but international consultant and author. says the country's locked into a vicious cycle. are bankers that stupid that they always make the mistake of lending too much money and are governments that stupid that they take a loan much more than they can pay back or insist is this part of

a model where like shylock's pound of flesh pay ability of the solver and there is a later used to control the entire country and it's so sad to see the same sickening scene time and again protesters taking to the streets they are repressed by the police with tear gas they throw stones somebody gets injured hundreds get into somebody always ends up getting killed and i always figure that it's the poor people on the street fighting the police who are also poor and i always wonder if there are a cigar smoking perched on the fiftieth floor board room looking down at these horrific scenes and just laughing at it all. well the troika of greek lenders are due to meet on wednesday to give the athens bailout their preliminary approval final say however rests with the german parliament something that's not sitting well with max kaiser coming up at seven thirty g.m.t. he looks to europe's debt crisis and cries reports. greece approved tombstone

austerity deal with troika so we see over and over there's a great deal there is not a great deal there's a great deal there's not a great deal of. on again off again there is a deal now there were german were crazy were trying to milk your draw and still the elegant marbles but the u.k. already stalled. the arrival of the chinese vice president xi jinping in the u.s. comes after testing point in relations between the two economic giants due to meet with his american counterpart to joe biden the two are expected to work on ties against the backdrop of a u.s. military buildup around china what so this what may come of this trip with michael rusk a defense our list there right around him school of international studies in singapore thank you for joining us mr escott all what's the chinese vice president hoping to achieve over the coming days do you think. well basically the visit marks an

important milestone first of all in sino u.s. relations but historically from current perspective on the future perspective historically it's a forty year twenty five is a forty year anniversary of president nixon's visit to china which basically open up the u.s. senate sign of the u.s. relations so the sort of the basically it from historical perspective is very very important now is also very important hearing in chinese political political system it's a year where you'll see a generational shift in chinese political system and she jinping basically represents the fifth generations of new chinese leaders which will take the helm after after this year he's basically posed to become a general party secretary in october of this year and become china's future president and basically that she jim paying you have a whole new generation of new leaders that will come with new ideas and will shape the future a sign of u.s. relations so i would argue that you have

a sign of years relations at the crossroads right now both in terms of where they are right now where they are heading and in terms of his goals basically there are three three ideas he wants to show that he has he is he wants to establish his credibility both internally externally as china's future leader especially the internal dimension is very important he wants to show the chinese don't mess to audience that he is a capable confident and. can basically take care of the responsibility of handling the most important relations with the u.s. and secondly he wants to give a sneak preview of what he wants to basically show himself a little introduce himself to the u.s. now there's a very little information on what he was what he's really worldview what he's world views are so he wants to basically introducing himself to u.s. policy makers and discuss a range of issues on both from the chinese and u.s. perspective and third of all probably i would argue he wants to mitigate some of the tensions especially in the year of friendly fire when you have u.s.

elections you mentioned. i mean sure with neither side seemingly willing to make political concessions to the other what do you think is the future of chinese u.s. relations. well i think it's important not to see a sign of u.s. relations in zero sum perspective is zero sum game that means conflict is inevitable or not i think the future of china relations will depend on how they will be able to manage the complex issues both on bilateral regional and global level so i believe there will be tensions. most of all it will be very important how the new generations of leaders especially in the trying to be able to manage their own domestic problems and how they will be able to communicate with the americans and vice versa so it's important to see there's a zero sum game is there some perspective there's a room for cooperation there's a room. to improve the relations further ok michael rascal even. them school

of international studies thank you for joining us here at all today. you can log on to our home twenty four hours a day for latest details on the stories we're covering also online while the recent cold spell parts of europe in chaos temperatures way below zero it just child's play for one russian teenager in the field this fifteen year old has become the youngest person to reach the pole where the guinness book of records is unlikely to be released hearing did find out why. also anonymous testimonies just days after crushing series of the shield website. activist group based online explanation of what was behind the attack. iran has denied responsibility for the attacks on israeli embassy staff and indeed in georgian capitals tel aviv accuse the islamic state in india. not to cycles

plant an explosive device and not blast injured people just one hundred meters from the instance of a prime minister who wanted to lisi explosives also targeting the city hall with discovered and the blame game between the two countries as being the gang minions who ran blaming israel over series of assassinations its nuclear scientists radio steven them and these around had no reason to organize the attacks. if i hadn't made my top suspect it would be most sorry i mean mossad i mean being a creditor over territory or attempted acts and most outspoken critics all over them israel there is no compunction about kill you is well as anybody else it serves their intention israel makes charities american made charges but no evidence is provided one thing earth after game already cations with the

wrist so many accusations flowing against iran right now again no evidence substantiate anything including it's always a nuclear weapons program it's entirely equal because according to u.s. intelligence as a march two thousand and eleven is no evidence whatever prove it. well to get more western governments approach towards iran or to talk to brownback a member of the antiwar coalition it's a taste of what's coming up next time. u.s. says they're not carrying out regime change but in fact everyone who's watching knows that is the u.s. policy to create pressure on iran carry out overt operate covert operations economic sanctions and now these new sanctions are not really even a like the old saying they are same to the rest of the world if you dare do business with iran central bank if you buy iranian oil which constitutes half of

iran's g.n.p. if you have any business with iran whatsoever you will not have access to american banks to american corporations to the american market this is in fact a blockade. russia is a legal voters is demanding that the country's central channels drop their alleged proof putin by this head of marches presidential election the standing for a fair election doesn't like the positive tone of reports about the prime minister saying it undermines others' chances with over reports every candidate makes good use of their allotted air time. oh i doubt he'll a few days he did so far the most eccentric video in russia's presidential campaign urging to vote for the country's top populist legend is it enough skin famous for his showmanship and occasional fist fights with fellow though make his. seem to see

see that this little mangy donkey has become a symbol of our country the whole country has gone to a standstill like this animal if i become president i will get moving again. less than a month to go and five candidates have blasted the streets with election post is desmond view is with t.v. premieres heated discussions have become part of everyday life. after that during your board i don't course in the race the billionaire businessman mikhail prokhorov promises their arrival of a new russia with a new president known for his quite riches and playboy past he is the only new face on russia's political scene formally and a tory as party animal his reputation was once dented by an international sex scandal which has come back to haunt him on the web related to how long it will our body and soul as for the elections will win them anyway you can buy anything so you can buy your victory to get the remaining candidates out of them in the

a crowd unite is a band of the old tom communist party leader has always relied on the pension of voters who form about one third of russia's population now his laurels all contest is once again middle of from with a russia polity is the notion of beings you can't even afford to milk whether pensioners. the competition has made you gonna reach out to younger generation and offer them a brand new slogan there's always a choice bloody mad putin running for his that time has refrained from getting involved in a campaign directly he has controversially refused to take part in any t.v. debates sending. representatives instead and he's promised to never show his face. when he doesn't go to television when he's a part of st paul it takes what he's a part of television coverage oh he's a job as prime minister he is there is the only one let's say the only

kind that with so many resources so much media attention i think that he wants to show that he's the only real candidate precisely by not going there as the campaign picks up steam it's expected so will the number of street protests both for and against putin and it's likely election two thousand and twelve will be remembered as one that got russians on their feet all of the latest opinion polls also show the level of support keeps on rolling across the country despite the wave of opposition protests i think that brought us then to mobilize his core lefter because when people like brought her up are saying that you know the social benefits from the cuts that factories that are inefficient because that stage would not interfere so much i think that the message that people gather cross russia is that like we should keep putting busied in a song and recent online secession praising the prime minister's virtues sung by

supposedly when it claims to be by his initials was sent to russia by god. by now less power than many say this song is clearly too much and is just a club the headaches in the meantime the electoral campaign will be gone with more surprises likely along the way danny fish gave up party all stem. without a latest from the business well that would marry. hello and welcome to business now we start with the russian crops where mother nature as a once again playing tricks just a year after a severe drought the country's plantings are facing a cold and i was his business analyst an apostle has more of the whole of the crops

may have been damaged by the extreme cold weather say worried farmers it's lead germany france and poland are also risk from sustained low temperatures which of. three in some polls that's expected to skyrocket prices for things like bread wheat futures have been through ring of the ukraine russian government warns they may limit exports to guarantee the mystic supply both countries are usually big exporters of grain global we proceed eleven percent in the second half of january alone we will russia's top port never received suspended its grain terminal several times after the black sea froze over for the first time in thirty years a drought from july to november last year had already weakened crops of russia's one company says fifty percent of the country's great crop could be damaged by heavy winds and the worst weather in a cool to of a century first. show one in three great finds have already been lost. billions of

dollars will be sponsor day in pursuit of love and there's long been a commercial edge for valentine's day but in these strange times spending habits are changing and can't help him reports on how reality is taking a bite out of romance. saying it with flowers is a well established way of letting somebody know. saying it with a tooth brush though could quite possibly cause offense or perhaps even be. yeah i can see it being felt that people. take the day of the globally valuable money is expected to be spent than ever before. gifts are becoming more practical. out of the talk was. all the. toothbrushes now according to. the. last thing the decadent western holiday just take you know. a traditional.

gift and it's the lead that's going to be doing the spending on top of that. to. allow as now according to a poll by see very little. of respondents has said that we're going to pose a problem for the love which is great which is absolutely fine as long as it's if not i could leave a girl hungry small. almost like a look at the markets now will start with oil which is down but still hovering around the one month high and that's after all approval by the greek parliament went through and so i see sanctions on iran the futures climbed over two percent after companies in control of more than one hundred tankers so they would stop loading cargoes from iran let's take a look at the asian markets which have managed to reverse earlier losses and that's after the bank of japan surprised the market by expanding its asset purchase program says the additional one hundred twenty eight billion dollars will be used

to buy japanese government. and here in russia it's an hour ahead of the opening bell on monday the markets close in the black with the my psychs gave them the most in five weeks and there's rangers being the biggest gainers. i'm a little we'll have all rose saw the world's largest diamond mine of output which may sell fourteen percent and then i.p.o. that's according to commerce and diet day and he was also says the slow say so forth over one billion dollars may take part in the second half of the year. and as a business looks the sound all back with more in about thirty five minutes but carries the axe with the headlines.