cultures of resistance on our team. news today is once again flared up. and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. trying to corporations are today.

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let's have a look at the headlines now rallies to mark the anniversary of the pro-democracy uprising in bahrain a put down of tactics and weapons will eat cake walking claims of western governments hypocrisy of different boats in the region. sizing up the rivals u.s. leaders could china's vice president and leader in waiting she jinping as the two nations buy for the upper hand the turbulent relationship. and one sided reports from syria blaming only the regime for atrocities are seen by some as an attempt to hide the truth of the conflict sweeping rebel crimes. were next laura smith

talks to middle east experts on the turbulent situation in syria and the implications it could have for the entire region. i'm talking to tariq ali who's a historian and author and writes mainly on subjects to do with the middle east of course we're talking about events in syria tariq ali thanks very much for talking to us now president assad seems to be clinging on to power in syria do you think there's any chance of him stepping down in the near future well it looks on likely as if he'll step. of its own accord i think he has to be pushed out the syrian people who are of course doing their best in the country what is more dangerous is the pressure being built outside especially in istanbul and by nato to try and organize an intervention that i think would be disastrous and lead to enormous

bloodshed much much worse than what's happened in libya. so i think that be a disaster i think the best way is for pressure to be put on him from without by concretes who are not see this all started to syria which include russia china and others. and the pressure should be kept on at home and he should be told in blunt terms that he has to go there his father shed a lot of blood in syria he is now doing the same and that this family's on acceptable and syria needs a nonsectarian national government to prepare a new constitution the arab league supposedly calling for a joint arab league u.n. so-called peacekeeping force to be sent into syria president assad has already rejected the idea do you think it's a good idea i don't think it's a good idea to send any so-called peacekeeping forces i mean first we have to say

what is the arab league the arab league is essentially a morri bond organization which is brought to life when the west needs it too it has played no active role for the last twenty five years in any positive sense in the region it failed to stop the war in iraq it back the war on. libya and it's probably being used as a surrogate to try and push through foreign troops an intervention in syria which i'm totally opposed to i think that is the one thing syria does not need is foreign armies we've seen what's happened in iraq and we've seen what's happened in libya but surely the involvement of the arab league which is kind of a local regional group is better than the involvement of the un or nato as exterior organizations well it's fine having observers from them if they do their reporting accurately but foreign troops i mean you know who will be the foreign troops there

the arab league said saudis said cut through these these sort of big vote crews of democracy in the region i mean that's utterly ridiculous it doesn't make sense at all i think the pressure has to be kept up on the externally nonviolent pressure that he has to go and i think the chinese and russians are now. in a strong position to be saying we've effectively prevented any foreign intervention in syria but you have to go. and push through. a national government the other people of course who are people getting pressure on most of our the ramey and so on hezbollah in lebanon and i think all these forces should now see that it is impossible for syria to be governed by this family and this sectarian clique that has ruled it and the sooner they go the better for syria in terms of external forces well the our police decided to halt all economic and

diplomatic contact with the syrian government will that have any practical effect do you think probably not because the. other countries are not going to do that the reunions are not going to do that they are a strong crating partner and lebanon i don't think is going to get involved in that on that level so it's not going to have a huge impact i think the only language. the klan and the military around him will understand is very firm language from china and russia i think they are now in a strong position to push through change without violent action do you see syria as becoming increasingly isolated in the region and what effect will that have on iran in turn do you think well i think they are becoming isolated i think the iranians are such an independent state to me one of the few sovereign states in the region that they can look after themselves i don't think the fall of us as such will

affect iran because it will be in the interests of the syrian government if it is a democratic and representative government to maintain good relations with all these countries i mean you know i i have to say that when you look at what the west did in relation to the our pride sings and the crisis in the yemen where killing still go on and what they're doing in syria it just sort of stands out the former yemeni president is having medical. states. so this is double standards that operate make one who is suspicious of western motives and the key people pushing for the intervention in syria awful saudi arabia gotter essentially they would like a syrian version of the muslim brotherhood to true to run the country that is the new plot for the arab region and then the united states will do deals with them as

it is done in the past and you say china and russia are in a very strong a geisha eating position now however. foreign minister lavrov says visits to syria recently seems to have yielded no results whatsoever well i think that you know if it carries on like this and that the. for. amalie and clam refused to budge and refused to relinquish their stranglehold on the country sooner or later something disastrous will happen possibly including some form of foreign intervention and then where will they end do they want to end up like about do they want to end up like survivor messiah lynched by mobs backed by western troops that is the future that stares them in the face there is no other breach let's talk about the sheer complexity of the various forces that seem to be at large in syria at the moment we heard reports that british and cattery forces are operating

undercover in syria do you think that could be train it's perfectly possible british and catherine forces were operating under cover in libya long before it became public now we know this is what they were doing intervening in these conflicts to bend in their own directions so i have no evidence for this but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were behaving like this and what about the iranians we've also heard reports although they've denied it of fifteen thousand iranian troops going into syria well that i don't know i mean i would have thought that given the pressures on iran the moment from the west with the european union imposing sanctions the americans rocket grappling the israelis threatening to bomb it it would be all bad to put it mildly if they started sending troops out of the country but we have no real evidence of either the british and the cut through all

the uranium i'm saying one is possible the other may be possible both are equally foolish we've now seen violence spread from homes to a second city aleppo and the usa that al-qaeda is involved in that if syria is substantially infiltrated by terrorists what do you think will happen will it give the west essentially an excuse to put up some sort of military operation in the country or on the other hand will they let the terrorists do the dirty work of overthrowing president us out themselves. they might do that i mean the very weak force at the moment it's used essentially to frighten the children at home it has very little military strength its leader zwei here e has issued a statement saying that he is part and parcel of the struggle to overthrow. fighting alongside some group or the other but they have very little actual

strength and i don't think one should take. all exaggerated ideas of the threat it poses to seriously i mean the fact is the overwhelming majority of people in syria of want the outside the family out and that is the key thing which we have to understand in which he should understand a lot of commentators have been saying about the arab spring in general that the violence and uncertainty in the aftermath will enable the muslim brotherhood as the only organization that is organized enough to take advantage of it to essentially step into the fray are you worried that that will happen in syria well i don't support them politically and i don't think it will be in the interests of syria to have an islamist government you know a moderate or extremist the baton seems to be at the moment of saying that the turkish model a moderate islamist government is the best model for the arab world i disagree very

strongly that i don't think it's a good model for turkey either by the way. but the fact is if it's the only power in the land it will and there are elections that will come to power like it has into its ear like it has in egypt and then one has to deal with it i mean i regard these groups as the slum equivalents of christian democracies socially conservative organizations but perfectly happy to follow the latest economic trends. which dominate west. do deals with the united states they've done them before the turks are part and parcel of that the strong member of nato and these countries will probably follow suit whether this is what the ira people really do that is a different question altogether but you make the muslim brotherhood sound fairly benign. do you think that christian minorities and other minorities have something to fear from that well i mean they is always within margaret to smallness parties

a current which feeling that they can't really offer people want to be warmed which is a decent standard of living which is a social safety net to work then divert attention by targeting minorities the brotherhood has done it in relation to the copts in egypt and it's not impossible but they're sort of peers in syria will do the same so that is not a good thing i've told but you know we have to wait and see if this is what the majority of the people want then unfortunately it will happen sooner or later tariq ali thank you very much thank. the british.

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three of a proto marcus the uprising in bahrain. tactics and weapons from the u.k. sparking claims of western governments hypocrisy over different votes in the region . one sided reports from syria naming only the regime for atrocities seen by some as an attempt to hide the truth of the cockpit voice we picked up on crimes under the carpet. and sizing up the rivals u.s. leaders could try there's a visiting vice president in one thousand and two nations life in the upper hand type of relationship. andrew brings us the latest sports news now.

thanks for watching the sports and these are the headlines it's not over yet rubin remains defined despite his team's europa league loss to an impi all cost in moscow . while barcelona put one foot in the quarter finals of the champions league with a three one win over. germany. mark sort she gets praise from olympic chiefs and competitors test events for the twenty fourteen winter games gathered pace. but first the footballing rubin manager kabamba day of believes his side can still progress in the europa league despite their surprise won the last two in p.r. costs this the first leg of the last thirty two clash the game was played only sneaky as artificial picture moscow because of the freezing weather but it was the great champions he took the lead through david with eighteen minutes left rubin then had a great chance to get level after. he was sent off for

a far longer and i didn't but keeper roy carroll came on to save the resulting penalty from. afterward ruby manager said his side had played well and promised his team would take the game to the greeks in the second leg next week well in the other europa league tie last night past his finest sporting braga loss to know the turkish side with us in the champions league leon got a hard for win over well alexander like as their tea with the first with the winner in the first leg of this last sixteen clash and defending champions barcelona went a long way to reach an accord as a three one win over. in germany alexey sanchez with a brace for the spaniards is manager happy with the result. in the us but i think by a liver couzin did not allow many chances for us in the first half but in the second half we continue pressing and we managed to create a lot of chances and to school two additional goals finally but i am aware of the

skills we must use in this year's champions league season in particular against german teams and speaking in general it does not matter how good or bad it looks like on the pitch when it comes to games against german teams one must simply try and find a way to beat them but. well tonight it's the turn of russian champions any day you spend fake under urging fans to behave after trouble as a needs last champions league home game against well in november but still the same page club get a thirty thousand euro fine for me and the governing body has warned they'll be a heavier penalty if there is a repeat temperatures are expected to drop to minus fifteen celsius for the game and there will be a late pitch inspection it wasn't much warmer when they trained yesterday a notable absence he was star midfielder danny toney ligaments and he would also be without defender but we need to see all those top scorer alexander is raring to go and thinks home support will be

a big advantage. as we have played in such weather already probably more often than our opponents i don't think that's a major advantage for us because we also want to keep going it's warm we like playing when it's football weather and the current weather isn't exactly that but i think our supporters will come they will fill the stadium something that will help us. well ben think it will be looking to exploit their needs we can side and have plenty of quality they top their group to get this far and they currently five points clear at the top of the portuguese league while coach your gay jesus says russia's winter. team's hopes are progressing further. without question both teams will be facing problems of course we have little experience of playing under such conditions which we are ready for this we perfectly realise what we are facing based on this where ability in our tactics and the system of play where ready for tomorrow and we'll do all we can so that the cold weather doesn't affect the

quality of our teams play in our technique. now in the other champions league game on wednesday arsenal travel to the san siro to face to the leaders ac milan the gunners beat the italians on their home turf at the same stage of the tournament four years ago it was two nil then and syria on re will be doing his best to get on the scoresheet tonight in his last game for arsenal before returning to the new york red bulls although coach are some venga is slightly worried about the playing surface. try to play the old game and. we. will try to really go to work tak retort to the readers were true it should be an exciting game i'm a bit worried about the quality of the pitch. doesn't look good. hopefully onto two or three good to milan have struggled against english opposition apart from at the feet to arsenal they also lost the spurs last season and are also

struggling with injuries defenders are sandra nestor a matter yet first back in training after a long spells but are unlikely to feature and that also applies to kevin prince boateng and former arsenal man mathieu flamini. meanwhile costello is back in england trying to resurrect his career with premier league side manchester city back in manchester after three months old unauthorized he and his native argentina manager roberto mancini says he welcomes the return of the striker tevis hasn't played since september after refusing to warm up in a champions league game and the episode has cost him around sixteen million dollars in wages fines and lost bonuses the argentine is undergoing fitness tests at the club and hopes to be back in action for the premier league running city currently top of the table two points clear of manchester united with thirteen games left. and scotland glasgow rangers have gone into administration the winner of a record fifty four domestic league titles were immediately hit with

a ten point deduction and that leaves them fourteen points adrift of the glee to celtic with twelve games to go fans were understandably angry at the decision but club owner craig whyte is adamant it's the right thing to do i. was told by during the softball team the softening of the likelihood of this is the real thing three years. to start the search area that was like. that such as preparations for the winter games in twenty forty seemed to be well on track the city hosted a couple of major test events over the weekend and olympic chief shaun claude killy says there are no burning issues at the black sea resort i do on a peak with two years to go before the olympics we are confident the games will go smoothly but to make it happen we need to create all the necessary conditions i'm not saying there are any issues but preparing for the olympics is always difficult

no matter where you take place transport accommodation security and infrastructure need to be looked at. and also full of praise of the athletes themselves biathletes got a taste of the limping course during the recent russia cup and were pleased with what they found. with just two years to go before the start of the twenty second winter olympics in sochi more and more when years of being put to the test no later is was the biathlon and ski complex called lower after local mythical hereon and which is one of the most ambitious projects of the games located on the say how to reach across land by ama at the height of one thousand five hundred metres above sea level at this height the lack of oxygen makes the competitors breathe harder increasing their efficiency and boosting their results complex lower is supposed to . become one of the best in the world while the track with a certain sense lobes is already considered to be one of the toughest in the sport

the face is the hardest track in the world with sixty meter ascents and slopes with temperatures varying by as much as four degrees it's absolutely unique this is our country and we have every opportunity to succeed going blix includes two stereotypes each with their own story and finish zones shooting area and warm up zones the designers of the venue try to make the competition interesting for athletes and spectators alike the track is very demanding with numerous turns which make it hard to pause and rest on the slopes and those by athletes taking part in the russian cup became the first competitors to appreciate our is facilities at the summit plusnet that's the track is very challenging lots of turns lots of slopes if an athlete has some alpine skiing skills to turn on the slopes they can win back some vital seconds just. an average time on the european tracks is around twenty

five minutes here it's over thirty the nature of the course is very hard. the complex is still under construction and will be finished in june twentieth thirteen however the weather in the mountains is unpredictable and while wind is not a problem here folks can alter the game plan of any competition. but. we have a proverb when the weather is getting worse it's time for biafra and when it's foggy here remind us of the famous german venue in except for the wind the same situation could arise at the olympics but it's good that we've got different weather conditions here. russia is one of the leading nations and biathlon and the country skiers and biathletes will be days that lower to prepare for those olympics in sochi with the hope of increasing them medal chances at their home winter games because name by the r.t.e. side. and that brings us to the end of the sport for now i'm back with more.

cultures the same of you are you know if i. were to take your pick one of them i'll be in britain and argentina again sparring over the legal status and future of these islands is this disputed. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm target market is a big picture.