polling stations have closed and the vote counting has begun in syria's referendum on a new constitution which could put an end to fifty years of single party rule. controversy over iran's nuclear program continues as the un's atomic watchdog says tehran has stepped up the uranium enrichment while leaks u.s. intelligence reports see no evidence of bomb building. also thousands of people have joined hands in a chain of protests calling for fire lectures in russia actually formed at sixteen kilometer ring around moscow city center a week before the country chooses its next president. and students march again in protest against education cuts in spain as the euro crisis tightens its grip around

them and while greece and breathes a sigh of relief as a much needed bailout gets approved. the latest news and a review of the week here in our c hello and welcome to the program in syria the count has begun after the referendum on a new constitution is the most significant paul in the country for decades but the opposition boycotted the vote amid a by a drop of violence that plagues the countries since last march the results are expected on monday if you notion has been following the day in damascus for. polling stations here syria have closed their doors for voters the national referendum on the country's new constitution is now officially over the interior minister has said that it will take hours before the preliminary results come out

with the main results so far is the fact that this referendum actually happened they've been fears that those against the ballots could try to wreck the referendum they've been attempts to intimidate people reports have been circulated in local media about possible terror attacks at the polling stations the syrian opposition both the on base the bread and to help has not only boycotted the vote in but also has been repeatedly calling all people to go on strike to take to the streets to protest against this referendum and against president bashar assad this referendum and this constitution has been considered part of a package of democratic changes democratic reforms promised by assad's government we've seen demonstrations both travel and to government here in damascus criticism and pressure from the international community has also been quite high the main concern was that the very chain comes amid a valance to continue in in the country especially in the besieged city of homs north of the capital damascus indeed we are receiving reports about people being

killed in the clashes between the opposition and authorities literally every day but the fact is that it hasn't stopped people from casting their ballots we have been able to speak to a number of voters and the feeling we've gathered is that people are simply tired of instability and unrest in that country and they say that if the reasons slight chance that this referendum and this constitution i were you able to bring peace to the country it's worth to try this chance. 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 p. to shape their future together well because it's a completely new era and all is good for everybody and even opposition can take part it's for all that the amendments to the country's number one law have been among the key demands of the opposition since the uprising began it starts with

eliminating both parties 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 to harden his friend odin flower shop in damascus he says this new document draws a line between him and his muslim business partner because the shah there's a big contradiction with the article thirty three says the lady who had a great number that he says are you know muslims can be a president had so what about the other ten percent that were not here temporarily they have been living together for ages of 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 who said well why you take this article out clashes and protests almost every day but some

hope that the referendum will not only breed and you constitution it might even be able to stop the bloodshed refinishing r.t. damascus syria and ahead of the world an international coalition led by the you are steamed up against president assad this week calling themselves the friends of syria seventy countries agreed to slap new sanctions on damascus but they would base political analyst on mana xabi says that's counter that's counterproductive because it fails to address the syrian people's real needs. the direction is the worst politics and the worst don't plan to remove a president from office and they don't care at what cost if one wants to be really caring towards the city of people really caring for basic human rights and human preserving human life one should call for dialogue one should call for. more

between the different groups within the syrian cultural diversity to come together and bring in a new solution and i think this step that was done today with devolved on the referendum for the constitution and the amendments is a step maybe a small step but it is a step forward two words in that direction towards the reconciliation and the true reform through democratic reform that can save the city the destruction that is being prepared for it apparently from some forces in the west this is our c.n.n. still ahead for you this. image towards the british capital. the case of famous double decker buses advertised ever bailing biography of the top candidate for russia's presidency ahead of next week's crucial vote. before that they standoff over iran's nuclear program shows no signs of the result with the u.n. atomic monitoring officers and officials saying to iran has failed to cooperate and

they visited the islamic state twice this year and say drive has stepped up its uranium enrichment many western allies suspected iran is building a nuclear bomb but iran says it has a price just civil nuclear program the country is currently struggling under harsh sanctions from the u.s. and the well easier or threatening military action however u.s. intelligence has reportedly now said there's no evidence to support accusations that tehran is disunion nuclear weapons and can't accommodate said foreign policy in focus magazine says the west's concern over iran's nuclear program is merely a pretext to take control of its vast energy resources. i think the nuclear bomb is really in many ways a smokescreen this is not about nuclear weapons if iran were to use a nuclear weapon say for against israel it would be an act of national suicide i think this has a lot more to do with the politics of the middle east and the politics of the control of energy resources of the one hundred seventy nine revolution in iran

essentially removed the second largest oil resources and the third largest natural gas resources from direct control by western oil and gas companies and essentially made it independent now the west would love to get those resources back and they would love to also not have that kind of independent force in the middle east. israel has been repeating that threat of military action iran's nuclear sites saying that slapping sanctions on the country is not working the u.s. and britain have warned against the move saying it would be disastrous for the region but as. reports and anti iran offensive is already underway. israel's leaders are actively drumming up the military rhetoric. iran is the biggest terror exporter in the world the israeli government and its security forces will continue to act forcefully systematically and calmly against international terrorism dating 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 is that sort of thing israel has previous experience when it comes to putting an end to you in the shins 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 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 too diverse and far flung 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 my. may vary to be made up i think one of the things that 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. creating damages 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 their president 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 if you imagine iran sitting still you know all day day after day day after the war is the city should be going back i think any any sane person realizes that there will almost guaranteed be missiles falling on israel and consider your own fault one of the twentieth century's longest highways against a rock in the one nine hundred eighty s. it consequences could be far reaching and destructive. israel has been suffering some better weather as of late but it's likely 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 ever darker in tel aviv r.t. and later this hour a full my merican presidential advisor tells you how his country should give up

trying to end while dictatorships and focus on its own interests around them meddling in that is and he's appreciate. the idea that we're going to end tyranny in the world is utterly utopian we never are we've had tyrants from time immemorial and what the united states should do in my judgment in its foreign policies is build a defense establishment strong enough to protect our vital interests and our vital allies and when problems arise whether it's in zimbabwe or somewhere else the people there have got to deal with their own problems there no doubt about it that throughout history tyrants have arisen and seized power in one place or another and as long as they don't threaten our vital interests or threaten and kill our people the fact that they rule and or misrule certain countries is none of our business.

a ring of solidarity protests as ling towns around the center of moscow calling for free and fair elections in russia take part in sunday's action in anticipation of the upcoming presidential poll correspondent peter i want to know is that the goal of sunday's demonstration was to form a human chain around the garden ring in moscow and i want bodies as a ring road that goes around the downtown area of the russian capital. now the activists who are organizing this event today had called on supporters to come out wear white in support of their cause which is to receive free and fair elections in russia though they were able to complete that journey around the garden ring that human chain around sixty kilometers from one end to the other so clearly masses of people coming out and taking part there there were also some supporters of the law to be approved for president he turned out it is a week before that presidential vote and there were some heated exchanges at times between supporters of the various political factions here in russia all of them

peaceful but a few raised voices at times all of this coming either say a week before russians go to the polls to elect the next president and we've seen a space of political rallies in the last week we've seen supporters of but to me a putin for president also to supporters of the the the leaders of the liberal democratic party and the communists as well as other groups coming out and showing their support for the particular candidates that they want to see take the top job . next sunday's presidential elections and as a way ahead right now next sunday russians will pick their next president choosing from a number of candidates have been hating to come pain trail but they contend his keeping a relatively low profile horatia is creating something of a buzz abroad as horace math reports now from london. russians a used to seeing bloody mayor putin in all manner of surroundings not only in top.

level meetings also out in the wilderness and even singing to a hollywood's 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 suited 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 political in the world at the moment and yes the right people who feel and believe along towards those 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 the famous and the desperate or russia to name. the killer so close you probably appreciate you supposing the russian who is i don't know that. the prime minister of russia but you've got a good deal to 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 used great but nationally and the other a critically acclaimed to 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 new challenges and how does the recent protest movement affect his politics and his out. having

his fav song double decker buses would help you to it as russell is prepared to go to the polls but love him or lose him since reputation is russia's strongman has captured the imagination of documentary makers and all of us here in the u.k. and elsewhere whether it's fame or infamy is an open question you're a smith forty. and still ahead for you this hour seeking justice and i've been policemen and hunted for killing american officials during widescale violent protest after u.s. soldiers burned copies of the koran. space students are refusing to sit quietly with thousands marching again mainly over planned education cuts but also after police came down hard on their last rally officers were accused of brutally brutality at a protest earlier this week which left several people injured and more than a force him arrested so our first reports now from the cost of blank are. we all know the problems that face every day students lack of money face competition for

jobs add to that spain has the highest unemployment in year two t. nine distance the sixteen to twenty four year olds unemployed in the country and factor in that they just had recent spending because they didn't think to take a shot in fact say badly to some of these students have come to the streets say they haven't even got basic heating in the closings and well this is the result really thousands and thousands of people already out on the streets good to protest some of them that goes right the way along the main high street in the city of valencia now some of the signs reading and now students are battered enough that's in reference to the protests we saw at the beginning of the week where the police were condemned for their actions which was seen as being excessively violent scenes of them chasing and hitting some of the protesters spoke very fierce reaction from a lot of the public and a lot of anger his guilt about these actions huge number of people joining in this

protest and a lot of anger and of course this part of the why did demonstrations we've seen happening in recent days as the all star it emerges that have been voted by the new government have provoked this angry reaction. across the mediterranean in greece managed to snatch a sorrow from the jaws of default this week it took months awaiting but leaders eventually agreed the latest one hundred thirty billion euro bailout but it's at the cost of imposing for the cuts and as investment advisor patrick young told us the greek out of the greeks are playing the ultimate price. the tragedy of greece is that two three years ago when it first came to light that their financial figures were a complete fiction and we finally knew the truth that we'd all suspected all along they really should have been out of the euro at that moment instead we've got this absolutely psychotic desire by a group of frankly well economically illiterate people in western europe

particularly within germany who are desperate to manage to hold this all together then we've got another group of people who are absolutely determined to try and keep greece in the euro zone which are the incredibly highly paid greek politicians and the poor greeks themselves are absolutely stranded why we're throwing good money after bad and why we're beggaring actually the good people of greece on the ground absolutely defines the larger the people are absolutely fed up they see no possibility no end to this. in afghanistan seven u.s. soldiers were wounded when angry protesters threw a grenade into a military base it comes on the sixth day of anti-american riots across the country sponsored by news that copies of the qur'an have been banned at a u.s. air base washington has apologized for what it called a mistake the i'm going to president as calm as homemade cause i said the sentiment in his country was and richard i'm a quick action and called for those who balanced the koran to be punished dozens of

people have been killed and then pressed since tuesday including two senior u.s. offices and a medical or a chef think tunnel directs in neighboring pakistan says denmark and neither understand nor respect our culture. in the decade that the us military has been in the buttons done for the first time even to smaller places in provinces and towns wherever there is u.s. presence ordinary afghans are laying siege to these places even after two years it seems the americans don't know who they're dealing with they don't know the of get on very well the us military are increasingly treated to what i would call anti islamism though they are constantly sort of indoctrinated into into. treating islam disrespectfully i fail to see how the u.s. military personnel and the of these of gun army personnel would be able to restore the level of trust that existed let's see if i do so for six days ago. the

american soldier accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of secret military files to wiki leaks chose not to play during his first court hearing on thursday bradley manning who faces twenty charges also of hostile decided whether to be tried by a military jury or single job to his convicted of aiding the enemy he could be given a life sentence with no chance of parole and there were doubts over whether the whistleblower get a fair trial after president obama publicly stated that he broke the law but he's considered a hero by many americans and he's been nominated for the nobel peace prize and joseph kishore from the socialist equality policy for the government's using mining as a tool to bring down wiki leaks founder julian assange which. we've been demanding as are all the. brutal inhumane according to amnesty international amounting to torture according to many us legal scholars i mean there's many reasons behind this

but i think the u.s. government certainly sees the treatment of manning from the beginning both as an example to anyone who would seek to expose the crimes of american militarism abroad as well as a fairly transparent attempt to get out of songe the founder of wiki leaks they are you know the u.s. government is seeking to eventually extradite asylums and they're certainly trying to trying to go after working leads for the release of the documents you know really must be stressed that this is really devastating explosion of the obama administration the treatment of this young man for all the talk of democratic rights and freedom abroad this is how the united states treats opposition here. here at home and to similar top stories from around the world this hour at least three people having been found dead and dozens injured as a canadian passenger train derailed near the city of burlington express was over to toronto from the garra falls area with about seventy five people on board to

carriages came off the tracks close to railway station imagine securities and are working to free those who remain trapped in the wreckage police have yet to release further details of that accident. a car full of explosives has been rounding into a church in nigeria killing at least three people and wounding several others the church was packed with sunday morning worshippers on this site a target struck in the city over trials the radical islamist group boko haram is being blamed for the no one has yet admitted carrying out their attack the sect killed over three hundred people this year in its quest to impose sharia law. colombia's left we we fight rebels have announced they will free turn security officers held for fourteen days and they also promised abandoned kidnappings though it's believed ransoms and drug trafficking are their main source of income three months ago four hostages were killed after being held for more than twelve years promising prompting

a massive protest against the rebels throughout to colombia. pakistan has completed the demolition of a summer bin laden's of final hideout in which a bad no official reason is being given but it's thought the government didn't decide to become a shrine the al-qaeda leader was shot dead by u.s. forces last may being in hiding there for several years. and right now you're seeing live pictures from hollywood where the hottest celebrities such a along the red carpet for the annual academy award the oscar ceremony itself is just minutes away the french silent drama film the artist directed by michel as an obvious sass appears to be the whole favorite for most of the twenty four prize golden statues and if it wins it will be the first silent movie in black and white to receive an oscar it says the first academy award i was in more than eighty years ago. and kerry of us promised

a former us presidential advisor pat buchanan with some time advise for today's u.s. leaders and the late weekend sport to also with dmitri but before that i'll be back with a recover our top stories. rio

border war lords war criminals we have a lot of illegal groups of the causes and. also our views in the form of rising up against my marriage was like many other marriage it wasn't forced marriage it's just my view when i was fourteen years old you can liberate other women and you certainly can't do it through the barrel of a gun but the effect of social changes can be the afghans themselves as again men and women we believe are going to stand by him not to the cross per widow but to fish on its chemical pollution and better construction but it's the people in the obama administration talking about how much they care about the women of afghanistan it's not true. they don't care about the women of afghanistan.

and bin is. tragedy. of ocean. and beatrice. family. and does a link. on the bottom of a call to swan. you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so horror lengthly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture.

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