in iran sixteen u.s. intelligence agencies agree there is no evidence terror on is building nuclear weapons but israel increases the pressure with continued threats of a military strike. and that the eurozone tightens its belt greece is saved from the brink of collapse the cost to us of new wave of cuts students in spain lash out against their own lack of funding. they are watching artie's weekly news review with me kerry johnston but first today millions of people across syria are expected to have their say on the country's new draft constitution referendum which promises a multi-party system comes amid ongoing violence with the opposition vowing to boycott the ballot as artie's were for national reports from damascus some hope of the vote could bring about an end to the conflict. ballots instead of bullets mass

demonstrations and violent protests have been rolling across syria for almost a year by. the syrian government desire calling for the people to shape their future together by taking part in a referendum on the country's new constitution fulfilling its pledge to reform. was very excited that he'll be able to decide his own tomorrow. it's a completely new era is good for everybody even opposition can take part it's for all the amendments to the country's number one more have been among the key demands of the opposition since the uprising began and the draft seems to cover the most pressing issues. it starts with eliminating baath party supremacy which have ruled the country for the last fifty years introduces a multi-party system and sets a two term limit on any future president however even these reforms

a cause in controversy jihad and his friend odin flower shop in damascus he says this new document draws a line between him and his muslim business partner just a shout there's a big contradiction in the article thirty three says the old equilibrate number that he says can be a president so what about the other ten percent that were not here temporarily and been living together for ages with those who want to be counted. now maybe ten ten percent of the people they speak about this ok but maybe if we was removing this article from the new constitution the ninety percent would said well why you take this article out. public debates on the draft constitution have to bring the people and the authors of the two documents together they don't trust me they don't source you just see the settlers are sophisticated to meet you work for

the fire if you leave your city as you can see this becoming but some say there is still a long way to go to that new syria and they don't believe the government will follow through with the reforms i'm afraid if i were a goes the constitution somebody will in the world will shoot me clashes and protests almost every day but some hope that the referendum rule not only breed and you constitution it might even be able to stop the bloodshed. people who want to improve and develop but also others who want to divide syria is this it was should we help them do what we should go and vote for. the draft of syria's new constitution has been made public ten days before the national referendum fourteen new and forty seven amended articles are all here with comments and details the baser also on t.v. and the internet never in the country's modern history for its residents so close

to policy making which many here on the ground fear that the ongoing violence could bury any hope of reform reform altie damascus syria. syrians a vote on their future the so-called friends of syria have already made their position clear on friday the group of states led by washington recognize the credibility of the syrian opposition insisting there must be no markers papadopoulos unlist from britain's politics first online magazine says encouraging the rebels could push the country into further chaos. political dialogue is the only solution to the conflict in syria any conflict in the middle east has the potential to turn the entire region into a vast firestorm and the fact that the american and british government are implicitly encouraging the syrian opposition is only making things worse in syria

and it's only groups all to more casualties and more tragedies the brain which western media is betraying the conflict in syria could this could be mistakenly taken for a hollywood film whereby it's good for us is evil in the real world however we know that no conflict is ever black and white and what we're seeing is a concerted effort by western governments and western media to bring down president assad and what we need to bear in mind is that this is not the first time we've seen this happen but the way the western media portrayed conflicts in the past clearly establishes a relationship between western governments and western major they work very closely together we saw this in the wars in the former yugoslavia we saw this leading up to the invasion of iraq and we also saw it last year in libya. but washington could start supplying arms to the syrian rebels despite the previously is shying away from further but it's arising the conflict the us administration says if

a political solution to the crisis is not found it might consider other options but this and they'd warnings that america's anti asset stance sees them siding with al qaeda fighters he's going to chicago bulls. eye meat bloodshed in syria more extremists are penetrating the country to help bring down a song that's according to u.s. intelligence which says all cardiff eliade fighters were responsible for a series of deadly suicide bombings in damascus and aleppo targeted at syrian military and intelligence facilities we've seen evidence of. extremist sunni extremists can't label them specifically as al qaida but similar ilk who are infiltrating the opposition's groups. while fighting in syria continues the violence in neighboring iraq has dropped in

some areas by as much as fifty percent in the last few months this as an al qaeda leader iman al-zawahiri is called on his supporters around the world to back the uprising in syria. he said these men who call themselves the mujahideen say they're on their way to fight a holy war against our song. in washington senators asked the head of america's intelligence james clapper you think what happens if assad falls here long are we prepared for the situation of a possible failed state were ok or enjoys a safe harbor and refuge. from which to coordinate attacks his response bears no optimism there would be kind of a vacuum i think that. would lend itself to. extremists operating in syria which is particularly troublesome some asking different question is the u.s.

on the same side as syria and whether its policies are indirectly aiding the terrorists american strategists would have to be fools not to see what al qaeda is doing not to ask the question if it's good for al qaeda can it be good for us and not to look at say he may be a ruthless dictator and what he's doing on but what comes after him when he falls i think al qaeda does its best work or it works best when it finds a country that is fundamentally a failed state this is why i'm against putting weapons in and aiding the anti assad resistance because an all out war there could be a disaster which leaves a failed state and syria even for many of those syrians who are not supportive of their president the fear of the alternative is far greater why are they sitting on the fence or why they are not in the streets with that if that is supporting the

movement and they are often too fierce is that one is that pushed aside they'd be this. and pushed aside that would be the cat was the opposition in syria is very fractured they don't seem to be under anybody's control this spite concerns voiced by top u.s. intelligence officials about anti extremists washington has failed to widen its calls to include armed opposition and therefore basically ignoring the fears of a huge part of the syrian population who don't want radicals gaining momentum and directing the country into chaos i'm going to check our reporting from washington our team. well the u.s. intelligence community has dealt a fresh blow to washington's claims that iraq is developing nuclear weapons and assessments by america's sixteen spy agencies suggest there is no evidence that iran has decided to build a nuclear. well meanwhile the u.n. interagency says tehran has expanded this grainy image of what. iran is under heavy

international pressure over its program which it insists is for peaceful energy related purposes only fission to u.s. european sanctions israel has repeatedly threatened military strike despite calls from washington and london to allow new sanctions more time to work but israel which also accuses tehran of attacking its diplomats abroad could already be committed to military action. reports. that israel's leaders are actively drumming up the military rhetoric. iran is the biggest exporter in the world the israeli government and its security forces will continue to act forcefully systematically and calmly against international terror from iran. a potential israeli rather clash looks more likely than never there is speculation a preemptive strike against iran's nuclear sites could happen as early as spring or summer although that's not causing undue concern in israel i think possibly people

you know they make their plans for a vacation you know pass or a vacation summer vacation possibly people are beginning to wonder well is there going to be a war is something going to mess it up or i think they're probably going ahead with it we sort of thought we're back it would be nice if we could get a flight that we could cancel you know you know it's that sort of thing israel has previous experience when it comes to putting and then to him vicious which pose a potential threat in one thousand nine hundred one is jets wiped out reactors in iraq they struck again in two thousand and seven hitting sites in syria but with iran's nuclear program things may not be so simple that if israel attacks iran it will not stop iran forever from getting nuclear weapons the only postpone it for a relatively brief amount of time the. installations are to. destroy factor fully israel does not have us poor white house secretary advisor was

in israel warning against a move on iran saying it was better to wait for tougher sanctions to take effect in the coming months but mines may already be made up i think one of the things to create this aura of inevitability is to shut them up to shut up opposition at home and of course to convince the united states and europe that this is an inevitability it's going to happen. don't oppose it in fact why don't you help us out there is a question mark however over whether israel has what it takes to carry out the mission i doubt whether we have the capability of creating the images to the extent of the mediating the program and even if israel's military prowess will allow it to carry out a strike on underground facilities in iran chances are it won't and there as you know saddam hussein and bashar assad by the time they knew what was happening was over and could just you know grumble without adding to fight back you imagine iran

sitting still you know all day day after day day after what is this really critical back i think any any sane person realizes that they're all almost guaranteed the missiles falling on israel and consider your own part one of the twentieth century's longest highways against iraq and in one thousand eighties it consequences could be far reaching and destructive. israel has been suffering some bad weather is of late but it's unlikely that even the strongest winds will blow the country's foreign policy off its course and when it comes to israel's forecast for iran the storm clouds seem to be growing every darker in tel aviv r.t. . well the u.n. nuclear agency criticized iran this week for not allowing its inspectors into a key military site at least a consultant peter head says iran doesn't have to back out of it about. i don't think it's necessary for a country to be so cooperative to the powers that be that are against them i would

ask the question why would israel subject itself to the same interrogation we already know the answer to that so what is the difference between the. status of israel compared to the status of iran as far as i'm concerned old nuclear weapons are deterrents have never been used i don't think there is a threat by them to me iran should be capable of doing what it wants to do itself and for its own defense there is no risk whatsoever from the rand or from the islamic movement i think the biggest issue what i see coming out of this as we have seen so many times will be the justification to presumably take up arms against iran there is talk that israel could carried out the first strike militarily speaking and have been worked in nato in the intelligence and. i can assure you that israel does not have the capability to carry out such a strike and it certainly doesn't have the weapons or the aircraft to carry the weapons to do the job so if israel does attack it will be our joint venture with

the with america with the u.k. and with france exactly the same scenario as we've seen in libya. what's ahead for you this hour in the western spotlight. this presidential election approaches interest in the candidate and his personality which is fever pitch overseas. and two weeks after he was nominated for a nobel peace prize bradley manning it appears that this first want him to put this suspect to the supposed case in just a few minutes. there are cash strapped spanish students and teachers have packed the streets of violence here angry at the government's education cuts they also accuse police of heavy handed tactics at previous route is a protest as were charged down and beaten several were hurt and more than forty arrested some of the miners forty seven for three ports from parents here. it's being dumped in the landfill in spring and you can see thousands upon thousands of people that have fanned out. in the afraid to.

face a. problem . because of the job of. my. life. because some clouds like even they say the braves and. some of the braves have. a lot. of luck.

regional. cut. outs of a lot of the public. love. that. the sun even. if you love. to get. out of. the population. of the white race is leaving. the country at the. red cross. but i think it's a massive budget cuts still dominating greece which avoided the pain for the for this week is. leaders had left afghans hanging on for months as they piled up new conditions before finally clearing the one hundred thirty billion euro bailout but

the cost of the rescue is weighing heavily on the greek people who have paid the price with huge cuts and job losses but economist rodney shakespeare says the whole system needs to be completely overhauled the plain fact of the matter is these are manipulations the justify the banking occupation of greece the greece people revolt because they are being smashed into the ground their sovereignty is being destroyed their property. assets are being sold off they're being put into poverty and debt peonage not just for the rest of their lives but for their children and their grandchildren's lives the whole thing is a fraud all that they need in fact is a new policy that policy must start by controlling the banks which create money out of nothing put it at compound interest and do not put it into the real economy and in particular to the spreading of the real economy unless you're but then you open

up an interest free supply from your own national bank but to do that greece must get out of the euro and take its own destiny forward in the same way as iceland is now doing and during very successfully. on next sunday russians will choose their president for next six years and while the media is abuzz with other candidates promos the front runner for the putin has kept a relatively low profile but it's a different story abroad where interest and coverage surrounding is personalities growing there smith reports now from london. russians a used to seeing bloody near putin in all manner of surroundings not only in top level meetings also out in the wilderness and even singing to a hollywood a list crowd. 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 ad but 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. put in is probably the most interesting political in the world at the moment and yes the right people who feel and be violent towards the rebels who love him or those who do but the most important thing is that sort of. can see that they don't. although as it turned out that wasn't quite true you know it's about him that might be desperate or russia. cozy probably a person who supposedly russia is i don't know. my minister of

russia but you have 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 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. can he face the new challenges and how does the recent protest movement affect his politics and his outlook having his face. help. patsy go to the polls but love him person's reputation is russ's strong man has captured the imagination of documentary maker and all things here in the u.k.

and elsewhere whether it's infamy it's an open question. what ahead of the elections for him it has been publishing a series of articles outlining key international and domestic issues you can find on our website. to read his latest statements on syria international pressure on iran relations with washington and missile defense also today. show villagers in brazil witness what they think is a u.f.o. fifty kilogram falls from the sky in front of unsuspecting presidents he could repeat the story of. two u.s. military advisors were killed in the interior ministry in kabul as anti american protests continued into a fifth day in afghanistan was sparked by the burning of copies of the corona to nato base has withdrawn all of its personnel from the ministries to avoid further

attacks dozens of people have been killed or wounded in clashes to be protesters also said former un office in the western city of. president obama and nato officials have apologized for the incident saying the desecration was unintentional . political think tank neighboring pakistan says the u.s. will be hard pressed to restore its reputation. in the decade that the u.s. military has been in no one's done for the first time even if you do smaller places and provinces wherever there is you. presence ordinary afghans are laying siege to these places until now the americans were facing the very surges of resistance groups the of gun taliban but now after this incident here see the ordinary of guns of the worst pitched against the u.s. will be present but also u.s. trained leeson and u.s. trained soldiers know an ordinary american working you know what he's done today he

doesn't know whether he should expect a bullet from afghan taliban and afghan policeman or not gun soldier who he might have trained earlier even after ten years it seems americans don't know who they're dealing with they don't know very well the u.s. military are increasingly treated to what i would call anti islamism they're constantly sort of indoctrinated into into into treating islam disrespectfully i fail to see how the u.s. military personnel and the other east end of gun or army personnel would be able to restore the level of trust that existed let's say five days or six days ago. but some other world news stories in brief for you know senate goals a president who they will be seeking reelection for a third term on sunday after he defied opposition efforts to block him from taking

part in the foot six people attending until wait protests have already died in clashes ahead of the polls and it's right to say his turn of the scene is illegal and to term restrictions in the constitution the president all gives them the mits were brought in after he started his first term in power point to him. like a star has begun demolishing a sauna bring militants hideout where he lived for the kids before his assassination the compound was located not far from the country's elite military academy in northwest a ton about of about. officials had warned there was concern the house could become a shrine to supporters of the dead the that bin laden was shot dead last night by u.s. special forces. north korea has ordered troops to launch a retaliatory strike against the south if provoked the statement comes a south korean or u.s. forces prepared to start joint military exercises on monday twenty ten million

responded to drills from its neighbor with an artillery attack that killed four people raising fears of a wider conflict. now bradley manning who is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of secret military files to wiki leaks has deferred his plea at the first court hearing on thursday he's already spent nineteen months in custody without being formally charged bunning is facing life in prison if found guilty aiding the enemy but many americans consider him he read. nominated for the peace prize there are doubts though he'll get a fair trial by some to bomb us. the door tony kevin zeese says manning standing trial for tell you that truth. this is a case of very low level classified documents in fact there's questions as to whether you should be classified at all we have to also realize that. we released

the pentagon papers those are very high level secrets and even those we're not releasing any national security information that should have been kept secret all we're finding out from even the highest level secret pentagon papers in the lowest level secrets that means accused is. inevitably havior misbehavior by the u.s. far by u.s. foreign policy we're showing our corporations and the government work closely together to support corporate profit rather than public interest we're showing all sorts of inappropriate behavior by people like surgery say clinton who ordered u.s. diplomats to spy on u.n. officials when they came to meetings in the united nations that's illegal yet she's not being prosecuted manning who is accused of sexually telling the truth is being prosecuted facing life in prison while people who commit war crimes and other crimes are not being prosecuted. but a recap of the week's top stories in a few moments stay with us here now to.

deal with. today's news and there are a few of the week arundhati people in war torn serious.