and his intelligence services reportedly concluded iran is not building a nuclear weapon but america's main news outlets refused to drop the anti-riot even scaremongering. and less than two weeks before russians choose their new president the front runners face one of the streets of london we tell you why. six pm in moscow i'm mad très are good to have you with us here on r t our top story the friends of syria gathering designed to find a solution to the country's crisis could instead be used to push for military intervention and israeli web site known for its links to the intelligence community says the western lead meeting serves as a means to bypass moscow and beijing as u.n. security council vetoes the site also suggests the pentagon is hammering out an operation plan which is expected to get the go ahead from president obama similar

procedures apparently underway in other western capitals russia and china refusing to attend the friends of syria talks which wants to further tighten the screws on the assad regime and are due to start shortly in tunisia moscow thinks the group is biased by ignoring the role of the armed opposition fighters figures in the bloodshed it's a view shared by many within syria as artie's marie if an ocean reports. the meeting of the countries calling themselves friends of syria raised many questions before it even started why would iran seventy era and western nations gather in tunisia has been a mystery till the last moment. if they are real friends they should not think about economic sanctions that really affect syrian people and a negative way in them a lot of i hope the arabs will play a role in mediating dialogue between the opposition and the government but it's become clear that none of these issues will make it onto the meetings agenda a priority is to facilitate the humanitarian delivery of humanitarian assistance

and we have some proposal on the table to prepare. the best way to deliver this assistance a squeak as possible. the u.n. estimates about six thousand deaths in fierce clashes between the government forces and the armed opposition with the humanitarian situation described as a catastrophe allowing aid to get in and immediate cease fire are key points of the friends of syria ultimatum package but some claim the friends have an ulterior motive so this meeting serves as a media campaign to cover up the frequent set backs of the western countries headed by the us have suffered in the intervention in the syrian issue it is trying to find a new way of intervention from the outside. to force assad to go is on the agenda of the friends gathering they want a political price and they want to fight to divert to the next

country geopolitical position because he is important. to his goal this is a. plan against syria but all be heard of democracy we have of the. china and russia still among the few countries in dialogue with the assad regime have refused to attend the news. position has been invited to participate in the tunisian summit none of the government representatives were invited that means the interests of a large portion of the population will not be represented in this case i doubt that this conference will aid and nationwide dialogue on the ways to resolve the internal crises. a regime making war on its own people families suffering in cities under siege a nation brought to the brink of chaos we cannot allow the obstruction of a few countries to stop the world community from coming to the aid of the syrian

people with all of them want to start a war against syria but known as yet ready the only side that could do that is nato and even they are not ready the syrian national council is not ready they gather to unify pressure and efforts to get justification for an operation. the meeting in tunisia is a meeting of. friends surprisingly enough an internet search of the friends of syria reveals a totally different community this website claims to reveal the truth and collects evidence of and to government activity among syria's enemies are the country's name in themselves friends friends of syria get together across the sea to thrash out their solution to the conflict many here wonder if their own stories will really benefit the people on the ground or is it a case of with friends like these who needs enemies. damascus syria. the coalition of states meeting later today in tunisia reportedly

going to recognize the syrian national council as a legitimate representative of syrians seeking peaceful democratic change the opposition group that was based outside of the country earlier political analyst professor ibrahim i whooshed told me it's being used as a tool to stir up civil war you can call it the meeting for the friends of the united states or the enemies of syria but you cannot call it a meeting for the friends of syria this meeting is supposed to enhance the legitimacy of the syrian national council and that the same time legitimize the oxen from outside the bond bodies of the u.n. security council especially after the veto that was pressed by russia and china so i think this is a free. and thought a venture in which need not be that it might be military as at this knowledge in the sense of lending support to the armed gangs in the streets of syria now the

syrian national council the exile in opposition is allowed is when it comes to foreign military intervention how in touch is it with the situation on the ground and what influence does it have within the country. well if somebody is giving you billions of dollars on arms and providing political cover for the crimes that you are committing within the country then certainly you will have some impact on the ground the question has is that sort of helping stabilize or these stabilize syria and i think the obvious answer is that they are these stabilizing syria and they are doing that not in the employ of peace and syria but the fomenting civil war that is unfolding right now before our eyes. another country in the string of arab revolutions preparing to inaugurate a new leader this week's presidential election in yemen very much a foregone conclusion the only one candidate on the ballot paper even so washington

hailed as a step toward forward step forward in yemen's democratic transition parties cross talk coming up discusses what's behind the american applause. and one of the reasons why the u.s. state department congratulated the yemeni people on the election because the united states will continue to use drones and fighting the. elements of al qaeda in the country there and states of course is interested in stability and instability and in a strong government figure that they can crush al qaida the problem is is that yemenis don't like strong government by anybody if you like their independence and. has wanted you know. is taking advantage of this resentment to gain support among certain tribal leaders and but at the same time the popular pro-democracy movement . the fuse united states all this in this chaos is going to strengthen ironically weakened al-qaeda because many people who might have been prone to support that

kind. are realizing hey there's more power in massive nonviolent action than there is in terrorism. russia's presidential election around the corner but you won't find many pictures of the front runner on moscow's billboards lattimer putin's campaign is relying on the recognition he's already achieved but it's a different story abroad images of putin have appeared throughout london promoting a new book parties laura smith gauges the growing interest in russia's prime minister. russians a used to seeing putin in all manner of surroundings no sanely in top level meetings out in the wilderness and even singing to a hollywood crowds. but there are always new heights to scale and you currently find him looming large on a london icon the double decker bus. is coming it proclaims so may

find the wording of the slightly sinister but it's all to do with a new book which analyzes putin the man not the politician the books the results of a six year collaboration between a british author and russian journalist alexander caught up put in is probably the most interesting police. in the world at the moment and yes the right people who feel him be violent towards the rebels who love him or those who do but the most important thing is that sort of more would you can say that they don't. although as it turned out that wasn't quite true. but it might be desperate or russia to name. those you probably appreciate you supposing the russian. i don't know but. i mean it's

a russian back you've got it the authors say friday's book release isn't connected to next month's election in russia but it does come hot on the heels of two separate british documentaries involving putin one a look at the controversial political youth group nationally and the other a critically acclaimed full part counter through relations with the west during his twelve years at the top there will be the world's attention on him again and people want to know is this a man we've seen before or is he changing will he change can he face the new challenges and how does the recent protest movement affect his politics and his outlook having his face on double decker buses won't help you say this russian is prepared to go to the polls but love him or put his hands right. taste is russ's strong man has captured the imagination of to actually meant to make kids and old hate in the u.k. and elsewhere whether it's fame or infamy it's an open question. still

to come after spending the better part of two years behind bars america's military whistleblowers finally charged but the u.s. soldier facing life in prison for turning over classified documents to wiki leaks is the wrong guy in the docs a attorneys more than a few minutes. america's intelligence community is ruling out suggestions that iran is building a nuclear bomb the l.a. times reports sixteen special service agencies all reached the same conclusion but it's not making an impact on america's main news outlets as artie's marina porton i reports many remain hooked on painting tehran as a bomb making bogeyman. in the u.s. capital of media and messages one particular story

a unilateral strike keeps spinning round and round iran could attack the united states in a much more fearsome way iran a hypothetical national security threat growing more dangerous by the day that new york could eventually be on iran's hit list we have to assume that hezbollah would be the proxy for iran and who will carry out the attack as assumptions about iran's potential plan of mass destruction floods us mainstream media more cops in automatic weapons are flooding specific areas of the big apple the new york city police department increased security around israeli government facilities and synagogues last week amid growing tension over tehran's nuclear program however the n.y.p.d. says it has not received any specific threat related to iran upping the ante a u.s. senator has called on federal agents to quote increased scrutiny and vigorously monitor the iranian mission through united nations but as politicians police

officers and most mainstream journalists perpetuate a terrifying scenario for new york city officials in washington have thrown a wrench in this armageddon theme type news narrative by stating the facts about iran are surrogates will revelations of a much less threatening tehran was recently disclosed during intelligence briefings the agency assesses iran is unlikely to initiate or intentionally provoke a conflict if they continue to develop their enrichment capability but the intelligence to. but they've made a decision to proceed with developing a nuclear weapon. many experts have labeled iran america's new iraq critics then and now say washington paves the path and corporate media plugs the message was iraq and they're doing it again it doesn't matter if you. play some of the bush administration it's the same strategy it's all well there might be things but all

new york no no the intelligence so well no it's not really credible it's making. jack up his work so it goes well when you combine every instigator that you get is a media event they want to impede the story we can scrutinize it but instead feel. again. according to recent polls americans consider tehran to be the u.s. is top enemy and nearly half of all citizens support a military strike against iran. even factoring in beings it's necessary for the hours of coverage with. this constant drumbeat as it is i'm supposed to tell you that if you don't question the iranians they will question your marina porter r.t. new york. find more in our stories on our web site r t v dot com for what's going

on in your world right now here's what's a click away right now. the reality of relativity while and celebrated theory of light speed travel wins the first round is big bang scientists botch to try to prove the genius wrong. and why the ice is not so nice for these rare pelicans whose food has been frozen out by the lengthy european cold snap the report on the race to see the birds. the u.s. soldier accused of giving hundreds of thousands of classified military documents to wiki leaks has declined to enter a plea at his arraignment bradley manning's already spent nineteen months in custody but only just been charged he could spend the rest of his life in prison if found guilty of aiding the enemy one of twenty two charges against him hundreds of

top u.s. lawyers have voiced their anger believing the conditions manning has endured are tantamount to torture many think a fair trial is now impossible after president obama remarked the whistleblower had broken the law the next hearing set for march fifteenth attorney kevin zeese from the come home america group thinks the wrong person may be standing trial. well this is a case of very low level classified documents in fact there's questions as to whether he should be classified at all we have to also realize that when. those were released the pentagon papers those are very high level secrets and even those were not releasing any national security information that should have been kept secret all we're finding out from even the highest little secret of the pentagon papers in the lowest level secrets and meetings accused of is. unethical behavior misbehavior by the u.s. foreign by u.s. foreign policy we're showing our corporations. and the government work closely together the support corporate profit rather the public interest were showing all

sorts of inappropriate behavior by people as i like secretary say clinton who ordered us to mass to spy on u.n. officials and they came to meetings in the united nations that's illegal yet she's not being prosecuted manning who is accused of the century telling the truth is being prosecuted facing life in prison while people who commit war crimes and other crimes are not being prosecuted at all. turn now to some other stories making headlines across the globe taliban suicide bombers have targeted a police headquarters in northwest pakistan killing four officers injuring six others are with assault rifles and grenades it's thought the attack was to avenge the recent death of a militant commander in a u.s. drone strike this day after a car bomb tore through a bus station on the outskirts of peshawar killing thirteen people the city's been frequently targeted by militants in recent years. germany has withdrawn its troops early from an outpost in northern afghanistan amid protests over burning of copies

of the koran at a u.s. air base earlier to nato servicemen were killed by an afghan soldier in what's thought to be a revenge attack weeks protests playing at least eleven lies left dozens injured president obama has sent an apology to afghan leader hamid karzai saying the religious books were destroyed by mistake. drusilla and police have clashed with hundreds of muslims in a flashpoint some mosque compound worshippers world stones of police who were supported jews and christians into the holy site eleven officers and fifteen protesters were injured security been heightened after reports that an extremist jewish group was planning to get access to the area which had inflame tensions. are two sports update coming your way in a little bit we'll meet some formula one stars happy to swap the as fault for ice in a report from moscow as hippodrome where this winter horses made way for horse power among those behind the wheel four time f one champion allan crows to rub shoulders

with or rather with racers who really know that snow is coming your way in less than half an hour. first though the business news with dmitri stay with us here on r.t. . thanks man a bank bank funded exclusively by emerging nations is being discussed by the brics group of nations brazil russia india china and south africa suffered as the western leaders pulled out billions of dollars in the wake of the credit crunch the brics bank would fund infrastructure projects in those states the fastest growing economic bloc in the world would also counterweight the dominance of the i.m.f. and the world bank which have always been headed by politicians from europe and the u.s. . it's a bank bonus season their annual rite of big money and even bigger egos but the party may be over in the russian banking sector the country's central bank is

taking steps to avoid excessive payments it will make the fees depend on the lenders of financial performance and that's just the beginning reward systems will also figure in the lender ratings in the future the regulator also wants to fix half the bankers salaries the other half big performance based richard haynesworth from rating agency or gross rating explains what's behind the move. russia is trying to harmonize its regulations with regulations that are in other parts of the world so harmonize ation of all regulators is something beneficial it does create an environment in which all bikers are paid in a fairly regular fashion and that may help. some of the smaller banks in the medium banks to compete with the very large russian banks staying with

the story angus campbell from london capital group explains how similar measures are already making european bank is more responsible. already we're seeing a huge change in banking on the way it works the investment banking arms have had a huge overhaul they have not only been subject to huge job losses but increased regulations they have to build up their capital requirements the risks they are taking at the moment are much more considered much less the risks are. certainly not as big as they used to be in the past and that is changing the way banks currently work potentially at my in the long run make them less profitable but as long as they're safe that khamenei be a good thing so we're already seeing changes to the way banks work and we

will continue to see that going forward. my let's move on to the markets and oil is rising for the seventh day the longest winning streak since january two thousand and ten for us weekly gov ford has shown a smaller than expected rise in trees investors are betting that fuel demand may climb out of the u.s. jobless claims are held at a four year low and german business confidence of past forecasts light sweet as up of forty four cents this hour brant is almost one hundred twenty four dollars for. european markets are keeping hold of the gains in the frankfurt but the footsie has descended by a notch into the red the shares of british bank the lawyers have been in the spotlight after the bank reported a net loss of four point three seven billion dollars it's largely due to a provision for company customers over payment protection insurance and the bank also warned of a tough a year to come as you can see there the fourth seed is hands down by action itself

in russia another twenty minutes left on the clock to trade and it's pretty hefty gave us the right. now in the r.t.s. up four point five percent the my six is up three and a half percent now if you look at the vigil share movers on the my six then it's traditionally energy stocks and financial stocks gazprom is up three point six percent on higher oil prices and the financials are also big b.c.b. is the a largely traded stock today three point six percent the metal sectors this is seeing gains in high commodities. in sevastopol is showing a two point two percent gain schooling is reported planning to expand in southeast asia media group of now from verner investment research tells us what to look out. i think we'll see. relatively illiquid trading we'll see. the investors looking for interesting ideas but we had a couple of headlines. by by young ducks where couple of headlines on the

advertising market i think people who will be focusing on the interest tory like young bucks and my little interesting but overall i think will see a lot of preposition for the elections and i don't expect this position to be very aggressive and people will be carrying a lot of page people we looking for ways to trim exposure in the us. would make us expand on our story mr krueger found interesting russia is the largest internet company mailed to our us reporter the fifty three percent increase in earnings for the second half of two thousand and eleven has benefited from attracting new users and selling premium services however it expects a slowdown in growth this year following a similar forecast by a russian rival young banks dot are you and i was take a look at the exchange rates and the euro is slightly stronger versus the greenback that's what concerns are rising oil prices could deal a further blow to the fragile eurozone economy but we are now seeing

a strengthening of the ruble versus the greenback and the euro by well one half percent versus the dollar. so you have the gains of going to justify the codex versus the euro now alexander friedman from u.b.s. says keeping money in cash is not without risk as currencies indulge in a race to the bone. mr just to be very diversified because there is essentially a battle of which is the least ugly of the ugly major currencies and they're all pretty ugly so the euro has got a lot of structural problems we're aware of until there's real fiscal integration and united states has a long term big structural challenges on its debts but i think the u.s. dollar looks much more attractive than the euro over the next six months at least now if you own a jag you are a big countryside cottage in russia but you refuse to pay more tax the country's economic ministry has unveiled the terms of a new luxury which could be introduced as soon as next year and will apply to real estate starting from one thousand square meters in the cars with

a capacity of two hundred fifty horsepower and up economics ministry says it shouldn't apply to more than ten percent of the russian citizens however it wasn't specified the details the value of the rates. my business artie's back in fifty five minutes time with an update i'll see that joint if we can.

culture is the same us guardian go for you no longer any woman from your small world cup to some even new boss same as the old boss this could very well describe what has happened in yemen after an uncontested presidential election what does the future. you know are 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 realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture.

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just. six thirty pm in moscow here r.t. headlines as the u.s. and allies.