couldn't take three. three. three. three stooges. video for your media project.

iran says it's considering cutting oil sales to six countries but wouldn't do so quote at the moment because of the cold winter getting europe. syria's president announces a new vote on a constitution that would effectively end nearly fifty years of single party rule in the country amid rising turmoil. and rallies marking one year since the pro-democracy uprising in bahrain protesters face yet another harsh crackdown with police using tactics and weapons from the u.k. .

eleven pm in moscow. good to have you with us here on r t our top story iran has reportedly war in six e.u. countries it may stop supplying them with oil in response to a series of sanctions including an embargo on terrans key export an iranian official added the only reason they're not stopping the crude sales immediately is europe's extremely cold current temperatures are he's jacob greaves reports from greece one of the countries believed to be subject to the oil cut by tehran. the latest reports here what we hear is the arabian foreign ministry has cooled up these are bastards of the six nations concerned and told them that cuts will happen but not right away or they will face a ban on exports to their nations but they'll be given some leeway and that's what they termed humanitarian reasons the cold snap that's been sweeping across europe that will go down if implemented preempt somewhat those sanctions imposed by the e.u.

back in january due to be implemented in july six nations in question here well those reported to be in the really thick of it when it comes this economic crisis we have the netherlands of france but also portugal italy spain and greece as well as already been questions raised here because tehran says that he can find other people to buy its exports that's the likes of india and china where is this down to being raised as to whether or not the e.u. can really you place that good and quite cheap supply of oil to those who have been so stricken in recent times that greece in particular is in a sticky situation right now failing to guarantee another bailout plan even though they push through further popular austerity measures just on sunday and this really raises a bit of a concern at the moment that those imposed sanctions on iran back in january by e.u. member states could shortly come back to bite them. stay with r.t.

for more analysis of the situation with marshall auerbach will join us later in this hour for his perspective meanwhile tehran has reiterated its readiness to resume nuclear talks with major powers to discuss the country's controversial nuclear program there's while israel has stepped up its stance against iran prime minister benjamin netanyahu saying tehran's aggression must be stopped he repeated claims that iran was behind recent bombings. legibly targeting israelis in india georgia and thailand israel says there are links between the incidents despite authorities in india and thailand saying there is no evidence that iran is denying any involvement tehran in turn says israel's waging a psychological war that many fear may pave the way for military action political analyst chris bambery from the international socialist group explains why he thinks israel is acting as if. i have to take israel's claim that iran is behind the attacks on its diplomats in georgia and india with

a pinch of salt firstly should be said israel has a long record of using assassination as the tool i think it might be better of originals to turn around and say in response to those that is going to stop its assassination policy i would ask other nations like iran to reciprocate but i don't think israel's going to do that because used assassinations so often i think what it is really are trying to do is trying to up the ante and so the americans will do something they aren't capable of taking out iran's nuclear program they don't have the means to do it best they could memorize a hit and run and run attack i think actually behind the rhetoric about nuclear weapons the reality is what they are worried about is the increase of increase of iran's influence in the in the region the rain is of constantly said they're not going to me nuclear weapons international atomic energy inspectors have just been to iran it came back saying it was a good visit they were going back to iran they're getting cooperation you wouldn't

know this from reports in the western media so i think there is a ratcheting up of my opinion is the ratcheting up is not by the iranians it is by the israelis and by the americans and i think there is a lot of hypocrisy about iran's nuclear program i am no fan of nuclear energy or indeed nuclear weapons i don't want them but it was ok for iran to have a nuclear program in the one nine hundred seventy s. when britain france and america would cueing to sell the shah of iran nuclear technology it was ok then because the shah of iran was one of our guys it's not ok for the rant of nuclear weapons no and the islamic republic. and we have more on other kinds of pressure iran is facing over its nuclear program on our web site u.s. plans to have big iran from a financial group that would hurt the country's oil sales but could in turn have global consequences that are key dot com for more.

syrian president bashar al assad has ordered a referendum on a new constitution to be held in a leavened days could put an end to the one party rule of the president's bath party which isn't trying to the current constitution and that's why it came amid reported violence in the cities of holmes and hamas some of the fiercest fighting in the months long on arrest or he's murray if an ocean i reports from damascus. the day for the people's referendum on the country's new constitution has been announced on wednesday it is expected to be held on the twenty sixth of february in eleven days the syrian government has been working on the draw for this new constitution for quite a while now and that the most important thing about this new constitution the most important change is that it's implies and of monopoly of the ruling party syria the gulf party has been in power in the country for the last fifty years actually since

the beginning of the uprising here in syria last march protesters have been calling for democratic reforms and for amendments to the country's key role no wakil of violence that followed initial demonstrations peaceful demonstrations many opposition leaders have been only demanding president bashar al assad to go and they will not be satisfied with these particular people with this particular random this news it's how his company numerous reports about violence old. across syria we've been hearing reports from the city of how many north of the capital damascus from the opposition activists saying that the tanks of assad's army have been deployed in the city and we've also been receiving reports from another troubled area from the city of homes where. reportedly there have been explosions at the oil pipeline activists have been reported four hundred people

died in the last two days since almost all these recalls have been coming from one source from the opposition there has been a feeling that another part another side of this conflict in syria has been kind of ignored. since the beginning of the uprising in syria last march the regime of bashar al assad has been accused of their oppression torture and killing but with abad much of holmes blame has since focused or assad's forces attacking civilians and shell in residential areas. the beautiful yard calls himself a member of the opposition and intellectual not through aleutian every one his stresses from a social democratic group originally from homes he blames assad for mistakes which allowed bloodshed at the start but he just defies what the regime is doing in his native city now he is the two i mean he is trying to to to.

protect civilians i think that in homs there are many gangs you know there is a title and everyone can claim that he belongs with that this title and no one can ban him the danger posed by the armed forces was seen in the killing of a french journalist last month and b. says when he went to homs he put in his mind that the syrian opposition is very peaceful in the g.m. is trying to frame them so he he was like a pioneer in the call and he was killed by the some gang attacks on government targets have become increasingly bloody themselves with twenty eight people killed and scores injured on an attack on a military base in a letter last week an f.s.a. free syrian army representative admitted responsibility before the organization later denied it blaming the government forces a claim ridiculed by regime. insurgents and terrorists have committed this attack

only an insane person could see that the government is killing its officials and officers and destroying its own administrative buildings these armed terror groups were created to commit these crimes and they have committed them in the past and will continue to do so if the word. then they support them last sunday the arab league votes still for food political and financial support for the opposition to unify its ranks it is similar call from the leader of al qaida and muslims to unite efforts to help overthrow bashar al assad recent reports suggest iraqi weapons could tare troops and libyan rebels a role in syria on the opposition side this makes for a public toilet and highly dangerous makes. many western powers interested in fomenting unrest and syria and so they'll turn a blind eye to extreme weapons coming in through borders like lebanon in turkey to

create the very militants i won't call them terrorists but very dangerous armed groups but the west has its eyes wide open when it comes to the reported death toll to come of the no un figure of more than five thousand employees civilians only but that's bigger leaves out any mention of pro-government forces killed in the conflict some say the numbers that is stored to lead to political objectives. over the number of six of them i don't suppose them but you would be surprised to know that over two hundred. this is. the woman to foreign pressure has focused on the assad regime but the syrian government and its international supporters say there's been a total failure to talk normally to violence from opposition forces which has been a key factor in the country's present turmoil they warned that finding the solution to the country's crisis isn't possible without recognizing all its causes regional

now t. damascus syria. the remains are level us and putting more pressure on syria's president assad to step down confirming new sanctions against the country are on the way for more on this i'm joined by b. rupees political scientist dr nada harsh week so western states seem to be skeptical about the referendum on the new constitution in syria you are saying it makes a mockery of the uprising there but do you think this referendum can ease the tensions within the country. first of all definitely i do so and second. it was never asked from president assad from the beginning to actually to do any kind of reform in the country it was from the beginning and it was very well known that it's a conspiracy to get the president to step down and to change the whole regime so if we can read history we all know that syria geographically is very important to the west by bringing it down they can definitely get to iran in this is what's all

behind that so by asking by doing all of these things president assad has as from the first moment he tried to do every kind of reforms that is asked from him and from the reaction that now the west the staking towards what's happening in syria and from the reform that president is doing is actually is very. hysterically they're acting hysterically towards what's happening i think president assad is doing everything he can do to do what's best for his country and in my opinion no matter what he does the western countries they're not going to approve of it but it's part of the libyan now which is getting ready to mark the first anniversary of its revolution despite ongoing clashes there and reports of human rights abuses there are many in the west they regard the situation there as a foreign policy success do you think that they can claim such a thing. well libya seriously from the beginning i've said it before.

from the situation in libya again the so-called revolution that happened towards. first of all let me tell you president gadhafi was only a puppet in the hands of the western countries he was vying his or his he was buying everybody out he was buying the so cozy berlusconi and all of the other western leaders that's one thing now got expired and this is why they got rid of him not because because he was paying enough but not good enough we all know about what's happening the recession in europe and what's happening towards the oil and the gas so what they want is the ad to get to get control of everything in libya and if we look into it a little bit more we all know that china and russia has a lot of contacts going on in libya and by doing what the nato has done in libya by

getting rid of gadhafi and getting all the civilians killed in the and the rebels killing each others in the so-called revolution that it was all made out by one single person i see a very grim future in libya i see a civil war in libya i see it's never going to have a good stable. environment there and this is exactly what the western once wants to happen because they want to get control of all the oil all the natural resources there so they can have because you see now these days who hold the economy control the world and this is exactly what they want i see no future no good future i hope i'm mistaken but i'm not unfortunately libya's going towards incredible civil war people are going to be killing each other left and right or. scientist not

a harsh way thanks for your insight. last year pro-democracy protesters in another arab country bahrain thought they got what they wanted after being promised reforms including among the police but twelve months later activists trying to mark the anniversary of the uprising found the crackdown was as harsh as before only difference this time the same tactics and arms the police use were brought from the west by those supposed to bring democratic change or he's over bennett has more from london. to gas and stun grenades supposedly the work of a reformed police force but one year on since the first anti-government protests will crushed in bahrain it seems not much has changed the only difference now the crackdowns been planned by one of britain's former top cops john the eights used to be assistant commissioner of london's metropolitan police he now works for bahrain's monarchy which says he's there to oversee police reforms the police have

borrowed or behavior despicably the latest trick is to throw cans of tear gas into the homes of people they don't like shut the doors and people have died choking to death tear gas or use out of doors and i think for the british police officer who has to be retired to be associated in any way with it is its role yes resigned from scotland yard last year in early fix him of the phone hacking scandal he popped up in bahrain in december as part of the regime's p.r. campaign to clean up its image a campaign pushed hard it seems by yeats himself he recently told the daily telegraph his new charges had a well rehearsed plan for the anniversary of the uprising adding the concept of reasonable reaction to provocation has been reinforced. as for the uprising itself yeats said this isn't organize protests it's just vandalism rioting in the streets claims hotly disputed by london's bahraini community i mean when you get thousands

and thousands of people protestant demanding their rights. you seem to forget that this sixty over sixty five people actually died from police brutality activists in bahrain insists their protest was peaceful their aim to reach the iconic pole roundabout in the capital manama they say they were met by tanks toxic gas and rubber bullets what we witnessed on the ground is not. the front or from what this previously but it's been extended through the. use of poisoning of. mr john is contributing we should see a positive things of the ground what we are seeing today is nothing acceptable it may not just be british tactics bahrain's easing but weapons to government figures show the u.k. sold over one million pounds worth of rifles and artillery equipment to bahrain

from july to september last year long after blood was spilled that despite insisting all licenses had been revoked as for yates his contract runs until april by which time he hopes to put in place concrete reforms on this evidence that seems a long way off the bennetts r.t. london. greek party leaders have sent a written commitments to brussels saying they'll stick with the agreed austerity measures even after the general elections in april there are still in new demands are things failed to fulfill which lead to a cancellation of a key meeting of eurozone finance ministers greece is still struggling to secure a second bailout from international creditors without which it's due to default next month for more perspective on this i'm joined by marshall arab. portfolio strategist and hedge fund manager joining us from denver so we'd like to start with this video clip here that we're going to show our viewers it's a video of a greek woman she's sitting on that window ledge there and she is threatening to

throw herself off the balcony in protest against these austerity measures she was eventually talked down from the ledge but still it seems that's kind of representative of what's going on there the greek people in despair at these never ending cuts do you think the government fully understands the extent of that despair. i don't actually because i do if i thought they did i think they would have already defaulted i mean the fact of the matter is that as you suggested that woman is a perfect metaphor for the greek economy i mean they're there at the cliff and at the cliff face and they're being told to jump to get a little bit more help with it after the fall and about several hundred feet below and there's no light at the end of the tunnel well there is it's an on rushing train but the absolutely no growth component in the latest package it's more of the same thing and things are going to get worse if the the package now the european commission says if greece leaves the eurozone it'll be a disaster while the german finance minister admitting that the monetary union is

now better prepared for this than two years ago so i do think the consequences would be if athens returned to its old currency return to the drachma. ok well the fundamental problem that greece has not only the fiscal story but it is a very competitive economy relative to other parts of europe so they probably do need the expedient of a substantially lower exchange rate and clearly they can't get that when they're in the euro zone so reverting to the drachma probably is the ultimate source of alternate solution for them it will mean a fall in living standards will probably be it will be a currency that will be substantially weaker against the euro but then at least they could adjust to they would become the terms of trade would do substantially in their favor greece could become a very very low cost tourist destination all of a sudden it would be much more competitive than say italy portugal or the french riviera and it would be it would be like the florida of the of the european union it can't do that there was always it within the european monetary union and for

those who would say that it would lead to disaster well it won't be pleasant but i would remind viewers that the same thing happened in russia in one thousand nine hundred eight to the ruble collapse the entire banking system collapsed it was six months but here we are several years later russia survived the ruble has survived the economy has recovered and i don't see why the same couldn't happen for greece the problem of course is that the bankers will take a big hit and that's not what they want to do right now so greece keeps failing also to fulfill its promises or perhaps delaying them is a better way of saying it do you think there should be any trust left with its partners. well you know i don't agree with the characterization that they've been failing i mean they have been cutting very aggressively the problem is if you continue to cut spending in the midst of a depression the economy continues to head into a tailspin so of course they're going to miss their targets there's been several thousand business failures over the last several months you can't possibly see the economy growing in the midst of all this fiscal austerity so it's a bit like

a dog chasing its own tail it's not going to work and any country that would be that it would have implemented the cuts of the scale that the greek government has already implemented would see themselves in exactly the same position this story about tax evasion and not fulfilling your commitments it's a huge cannot. do you think it would be any interest then to let greece default and show other elling nations that brussels is serious in demanding that member states stick to their fiscal targets well i think the whole notion of fiscal targets is nonsensical i think they should change that in any case what i think has happened is the constant delays. has led to situations where there has been a degree of contingency planning so that the e.u. can now cope with an outright greek default in a way that say couldn't have done maybe a year and a half ago but i can tell you that if they if they continue with the same policy trajectory going forward then you're going to have the same problems arising in portugal italy spain the question that's going to rise with all these other indebted countries is why should we have to pay if greece was able to secure

a haircut of up to seventy percent that's a problem if they strike a deal and so it's going to be very counterproductive because if the the bond markets will bond market holders will demand a higher risk premium to fund these people you need a growth component and that's something that the germans in particular don't seem to understand if you don't have a growth component then you can't grow your way out of this debt problem or a marshall are about her for your strategist and hedge fund manager thanks very much for your insight. business next with kareena stay with us here on r.t. . our welcome to business here in our view thanks for joining me this hour as we've been reporting iran is denying reports it's cut supply to six european countries earlier iran's state run press t.v. said the country was halting supplies to spain italy france greece portugal and the netherlands this caused all prices to jump to

a six month high. now the euro has been depreciating against the dollar and negative news from the e.u. the ruble is high against both the european and u.s. currency gains on the russian market. european markets ended mostly high on better than expected growth data from germany and france and also meant signs support for the region from china but britain's footsie close point one percent in the red king off media reports that he would zone officials may delay a bailout package for greece mining stocks slipped for a second day in london led by anglo american that was down three percent. here in russia markets closed in the black lifted by higher prices of oil will be r.t.s. and the lies extended even let's check on the index for some of my six most of the blue chips and that higher all majors were in the front line would look all up under a percent bank finished higher as well the company finalize a deal to buy east european fog bank international and try to make

a buck the trend at stocks over three percent after an unexpected thirty percent jump on tuesday he'll get a coach miles or from the capital wraps up today's trade. causative news today it was the chinese pledge to hold asses denominated to the euro so it's ruled the positive for the markets however doesn't solve the problem. as far as market movers are concerned call the rising by four percent today is rule the top story in local market today yes to do's movers like server stall and. energy transmission companies are more lost flat. the later short term drops of russian gas supply to europe spurred discussions on how to secure consumers from possible cuts in the future ahead of export branch alexander says one of the ways is to increase storage capacity. is

a key element for security of supply for extreme situations like. repros a program to double our. power of experience . between two hundred to three hundred million euros in the next few years as a kyoto plans that's all the business news for now but stay with r.t. for headline news coming up next.