culture is the same of you i can tell you that you love her even more so because it's all worth trying to take your pick oh my one of them i'll be in britain and argentina again sparring over the legal status and future of these islands is this disputed. any match once lived is bound. to burn for ever more eternal fire is gone thinkable could possibly. do we all wants to see this on forever.

you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you sure see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you. are welcome is

a big issue. to you live from moscow our top stories syria's president announces a vote on a new constitution which would effectively end nearly fifty years of single party rule in the country amid escalating turmoil at rallies marking one year. marking the one year since the pro-democracy uprising in bahrain protesters face yet another harsh clampdown with police using tactics and weapons from the u.k. . iran says it will review its oil exports to six european states in retaliation against sanctions as international rhetoric is ramped up to further found the

flames of friction with the islamic state. laura smith talks to me as expert tariq ali on the turbulent situation in syria and the implications it could have for the entire region. i'm talking to tara kelley 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 need to try and

organize an intervention that i think would be disastrous and enormous bloodshed much much worse than what's happened in libya. so i think there be a disaster i think the best way is for pressure to be put on him from without by concretes who are not seen as hostile to syria which include russia china and others. and the pressure should be kept on home and he should be told in blunt words that he has to go where his father shed a lot of blood in syria he is now doing the same and that this family's on acceptable in syria needs a nonsectarian national government to prepare a new constitution the arab league's reportedly 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 see what is the arab league the arab league is essentially amaury by and organization which is brought to life when the west needs to it is. bro for the last twenty five years in any positive sense in the region it failed to stop the war in iraq back the war. libya and it's probably being used as a surrogate to try and push through foreign troops and 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 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 externally nonviolent pressure that he has to go and i think the chinese and russians are now in a strong position to do is 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 who can pressure on most of our be rainy 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. they are a strong creating 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 clan and the military around him will understand is very firm language from russia i think they are now in a strong position to push through change without violent action do you see syria is 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 i mean one of the few sovereign states in the region

that they can look after themselves i don't think the fall of us. 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 pride seeing some of the crisis in the yemen where killing still go on and what they're doing in syria it just sort of stand the former yemeni president is having medical. states. so this double standards that operate make one suspicious of the rest of the people pushing for the intervention in syria saudi arabia after essentially they would like a syrian version of the muslim brotherhood to true true run the country that is the

new plot for the arab region and then the united states will do deals with them as it was done in the past and you say china and russia are in a very strong a geisha eating position now however. for a minute. the level of visits to syria recently seems to have yielded no results whatsoever well i think that you know if it carries on like this and the. family and clan refuse to budge and refuse 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 the end do they want to end up like do they want to end up like 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've 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 cut three 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 them 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 all fifteen thousand iranian troops going into syria well that i don't know 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 playing the israelis threatening to bomb it it would be ordered 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 read me and 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 us say that al qaida 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. theme i do that i mean the very weak force at the moment it's used essentially to frighten the children that it has very little military strength its leader this is why here e has issued a statement saying that he is barton pasok of prague crow.

is 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 to be outside the family 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 moderate or extremist the baton seems to be at the moment of saying that the 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 it will come to power like it has in tunis here like it has in egypt and then one has to deal with it i mean i regard these groups as the roots of christian democracy 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 people really believe 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 there is always within more greater smarminess parties the current we're treating the big can't really offer people what we want which is a decent standard of living which is a social safety net to work then divert attention by targeting minorities the brotherhood is dominant 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 at all but you know we have to wait and see if this is what the majority of the people want then unfortunately it will happen soon or late. thank you very much thank. you british style.

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party's top stories syria's president announces a vote on a new constitution which would effectively end nearly fifty years of single party rule in the country amid escalating turmoil. had rallies marking one year since the pro-democracy uprising in bahrain protesters face get another harsh clamp down with police using tactics and weapons from the u.k. . iran stops oil exports to six european states in retaliation to e.u. sanctions as international rhetoric is ramped up to further from the flames of friction with the islamic state. up next is the sport which came.

hello welcome to the latest sports had a second take nice of you. red lines braving the cold injury hit the need to prepare to face benfica in their first ever knockout match in the champions league despite freezing temperatures in some peaches. while the kids league of their own alexis sanchez scores twice as boss alone in the one for to the quarterfinals with a three one win over by labor in germany. and then on top double olympic champion lennox and by about six of have heard overall victory of the season the london games now just five months away. but first a football and russian champions and each will host benfica for their first ever knockout match in the champions league this wednesday night in the first leg of their round of sixteen time well temperatures are expected to drop to minus fifteen degrees celsius ahead of that match and there'll be a late pitch inspection at the stadium well it wasn't much warmer when zinni

trained on cheers day and one notable absence he was a star midfielder danny with tony lee givens the russian league leaders will also miss defended the medical can she had so although top scorer alexander is raring to go and thinks home support will be a big advantage. that we have played in such weather already probably more often than our bullets i don't think that's a major advantage for us because we also want to keep when it's warm we like playing when it's football weather and the current weather isn't exactly that but i think our support we will fill the stadium something that will help us. well about his friend think it will be looking to explodes in its we contain the portuguese outfit has plenty of qualities such as forward oscar cardoso and matilda problem i ma finished unbeaten at the top of group c. there's been side are also currently five points clear at the top of their domestically. well which village she is use says the russian winter white steel rail his team's hopes that progressing. without question both teams will be facing

problems of course we have little experience of playing under such conditions but where 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 well the other champions league game on wednesday see also travel to the san siro to face syria our leaders ac milan the gunners became the first english side to beat the italian team on their home turf at the same stage of the tournament four years ago the score there was two nil and terry henri will be doing his best to school this time around it's the on loan thirty four year olds last game in his second spell as arsenal before returning to the new york red bulls while manager also vanga is slightly concerned about the playing surface. try to play old game and me on the stick which side we think.

we really go to work talk. to new readers words which would be an exciting game. i'm a bit worried about a quarter of the pitch. doesn't look exceptional. hope for your two to be better. well milan have struggled against english opposition apart from that defeats to ask thousand and eight they also lost one nil at home to tottenham on this very day last year while the syria giants are struggling with injuries defenders alessandro less that matter yet players are back in training after long spells are out but are unlikely to feature along with kevin prince boating and former arsenal midfielder. well meanwhile on tuesday night french jersey all clinched a one no heart when you simply side apple well the defending champions barcelona went a long way to reaching the quarter finals with a three one win at genocide by a lady cusins alexis sanchez netting a brace and his manager is happy with the results. but i think my 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 two additional goals finally but i am wary 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. all the while back in russia being manager given by their believes his side can still progress in the europa league despite tuesday's surprise one male defeat to tend not to live beyond the first leg of their last thirty two clash was held in moscow not the freezing weather didn't affect the greek champions who took the lead after seventy two minutes or david foster thoughts within a minute rubin had a golden chance to level of encounters gary was sent off for a foul at substitute goalkeeper roy carroll say the resulting penalty but that's not shipped off to his body of promise to take the game to the greeks in next week's second leg while in today's other side last year's find their sporting

progress lost to me all the time to take his side. and in the meantime russia has remained thirteenth in the new fee for world rankings while spots like midfielder the meter is and his maiden call up for the national side the twenty five year old is set to make you see a debut in a friendly in denmark on february twenty ninth is russia prepared for this summer's european finals angy goalkeeper offers carney on loan at tesco moscow was also due to make his international comeback in copenhagen three more friendly as our share chilled for russia as part of the euro twenty twelve warm ups including actually italy. only one over england one of america's top footballers landon donovan says he's been enjoying his second love spell as everton the twenty nine year old l.a. galaxy forward is considering joining the tough is on a permanent basis but as a later point in his career. in the future who knows you know i have had. a really good time again i've had time to speak to my family. i've had time to speak

to the manager i've spoken to my my coach and. i have two more years left and we'll see what happens i want to get through this year it's qualifying for our national team it's a big year and then make a decision on what i'm really planning for the future. so you athletics now a russian pole vaulter yelena isinbayeva sad another confidence boosting win with five months to go before the start of the london games the double olympic champion sets the third best jump of the season at four point eight one meters to clinch her third title of the year eleven in france but mark was ten centimeters ahead of cuba's yeah this li silva their second third place went to france has been a suboffice like this and by that missed out on the medals at last year's world championships is looking for a third straight crown in the british capital. and i'm reading on to the n.b.a. where the miami heat have set a new record after beating the indiana pacers one hundred five points to ninety the win means that he would have become the first n.b.a.

team in thirty three years three three games on the road in three days miami's playmaker le bron james netted twenty three points while norris cole scored twenty paces david west led his team with sixteen points but it wasn't enough indiana slumping to their fourth straight defeat. back in russia such as preparations for the winter games in twenty four teams seem to be well on track the city hosted a couple of major test events over the weekend and the impact inspectors on court t.v. says there are no burning issues at the black sea resort i do design dishes 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 they take place transports accommodation security and infrastructure need to be looked at. well one of those test events last weekend was the russia cup in by aslam and when you speak on picks gained approval from both

officials and competitors is constant the top of reports. with just two years to go before the start of litwin a second winter olympics in sochi more and more venues have been put to the test no later as 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 mumbai amah at a height of one thousand five hundred meters above sea level at these height the lack of oxygen makes the competitors breathe harder increasing their efficiency and boosting their results slower is supposed to. become one of the best in the world while the track with a sense lobes is already considered to be one of the toughest in the sport. 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 the go on blix includes to steady himself 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. 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 twenty third teen however the weather in the mountains is unpredictable and while wind is not a problem. fault can alter the game plan of any competition. or will we have a proverb when the weather is getting worse it's time for biafra one and when it's foggy here to 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 by a ford 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. such. i think.

the issue is that so much i can tell you the other members of the world tend to take your pick. of the melvina britain and argentina against sparring over the legal status and future of these islands is this dispute it.