russians head to the polls to select their next president who will govern the country for the next six year. this is potentially the most transparent election in russia's history with hundreds of thousands of observers as well as live cameras money touring the voting process life with all the details from outside the kremlin with me in just one minute. carrying to the week's other top stories china calling for an immediate ceasefire in syria warning against the use of humanitarian aid as a pretext to interfere in the country's internal affairs. and he used state sign up to tough budget rules to stop overspending while europeans rally against harsh cuts

imposed to save the single currency. three pm in moscow i mattress or bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on r t russians are heading to the polls today to choose their next president hundreds of thousands of observers monitoring the vote thousands of newly installed web cameras trained on ballot boxes across the country. parties alexei or ships keeping his eye on the ballot box for us so he joins us live from red square alexei how has the turnout been so far. well we can already say that the voting has lost its equates with some of the polling stations have

already closed especially in the russian far east still continues in russia in school and all the cities in the same time zone as well as in the russia's most western point the city of kaliningrad we expect that the polling stations will be closed at nine pm most go time that's when we'll also receive the first exit poll results which will certainly deliver to our viewers now the turnout has already been reported higher at this stage than at this very same time back in two thousand and eight during the previous presidential election when to stand out there around thirty percent of the voters have already cast their ballots around the country now we also understand that all of the presidential candidates and all of the v.i.p.'s have already placed their votes as well which in the current prime minister has voted with his wife as well as he's main rival the man who is expected to challenge him the leader of the communist party tonight he's going to also visiting the polling station in moscow to place his vote certainly

a very interesting day ahead of us and certainly we're waiting until the nine pm local time when the polling stations will close and we'll have some results to bring to our viewers and we've seen a number of rallies both for and against the current russian leadership in the run up to this election how the people been voicing their opinions. very turbulent very interesting and very unusual three or four months we've seen since the december parliamentary ballots which some which many in russia believe to be falsified and people took to the streets tens of thousands something unprecedented in the more than russian history of people were protesting both online and offline several bloggers became very popular with their sharp criticism on russia's prime minister many people have been saying that putin should leave should resign should or should be changed in russia and so many people are really directed to anger at the current government this is indeed something of a star start of a democratic dialogue between those in the streets and those of power something

very unusual for russia which we haven't seen ever since the collapse of the soviet union russia has changed this is agreed by many experts including crowds of the head of the assessment company i managed to speak with a little earlier today the fundamental problem is russia needs an opposition it needs serious loyal constructive opposition and for twenty years there hasn't been one i mean i remember the yeltsin years the opposition was fairly pathetic and right now it is it's not much better so it's still going to be putin for the probably the next six years bush needs to modernize but it's going to be a slow process and what mr putin keeps saying is supposed to be gradually we're going to see gradual change so russia has to move up the value added chain and it has to modernize but it's not going to happen overnight. but it's not only the prime minister who had all the criticism against him it's also the election process

in russia as it is which which was criticized by the people in the streets and and online so definitely this election the way we see it right now the way the way the complaint the election campaign has been going on is something different very different from russia and about that election process because some of the steps of the visuals are taken to make sure that this vote is transparent. well the biggest step the authorities have undertaken in this particular election it's the first time in russian history that the web cams were installed at every single polling station across the country so that any user can witness the election process online and to see whether any fortifications could happen we have received indeed reports of some irregularities in the voting process but we understand that hundreds of thousands of observers and that is that we're talking here any citizen of the russian federation who had a wish to become an observer could register at the parties to become an independent observer those hundreds of thousands of observers managed to more or less regulate

all those all those irregularities right at the polling station so there haven't been many eighty major faults if you cations any major regulated is reported so far apart from the independent observers which are in hundreds of thousands as i've said there are also around seven hundred international observers working at the polling stations across russia and we also haven't received any. reports from them for the moment so definitely this election is new whether or not it would become the most transparent in russia's history will certainly see in a very very short future now a lot of fear putin's been grabbing most of the headlines in this race and polls set him as the clear front runner but there are four other candidates running tell us more about that. indeed not even putin support has diminished by almost two fold since the last time he ran for president in back in two thousand and four back then it was about seventy percent now it's hard to say how much exactly but still he is seen as the clear front runner in this election and this only the matter of

the biggest intrigue whether there will be a second round runoff in order to gain victory in the first round let me put it has to garner fifty percent of the vote plus one vote that will make him the winner in the first round if not then they will have a second round runoff march twenty fifth in three weeks from now and we understand that that's good news or gone to the leader of the communist party the man who has been running for four times and this is the spirit complaint for russia's presidency ever since the collapse of the soviet union only missed once basically won the one complaint way she wasn't a candidate she is seen as the most likely candidate to make into the second round because every time she participated in an election bank she was always second place also. a russian tycoon a billionaire you come into the russian politics it's the first time he's running for president he's also seen as a potential candidate who could make it into the second round and challenge to put in there the other two candidates we have is the leader of the liberal liberal

democratic party. a very eccentric man also only once he escaped running for presidency ever since russia became a sovereign state also a veteran of the elections presidential actually complain in the confines of russia he has a very little chance of making it into the second round nevertheless he's running and his eccentricity is always there as he was criticizing the polling booths this morning when he was placing his a ballot and the other candidate the last candidate we have is to get on of the leader of the player russia party the former head of the upper house of the russian parliament also seen by experts as very little chance of him making into the second round so indeed it's a very interesting election and we'll be seeing how. unfolds very soon with polling stations closing in about six hours from now on the way thanks for that update artie's alerts live for us in red square thank you. so we've got five candidates running for russia's top job find out more about them or click away at our t.v.

dot com there are far in there are elections platforms political backgrounds and analysis of their careers thus far all of us on our special election age. and as we've been telling you web cameras monitoring every polling station arteaga showing you the vote as they're cast on our website streaming live at argy. bargy zakaria groucho but went to look at the installation of the web cameras and other plans aimed at making the vote as transparent as possible. for a student yes. we won't forget and we won't this is what the opposition promised the kremlin after december's palm mention elections they claimed the boot had been raked in response the authorities decided web cameras and all ninety eight thousand polling stations would solve that problem it's cost russian taxpayers over three hundred million dollars doubly the michelle

cost of the votes now it's officially the most transparent and the most expensive in the nation's history but not everyone's convinced. cameras won't change anything there will always be discontent it was on is before it without cameras i don't think it would make a vote more transparent it's only made to please the opposition. that there was no sense installing them too many people are voting and there are too many polling stations who will make things more complicated. one of the main concerns about the c.c.t.v. system is whether it can serve a country as vast as russia hacker attacks on the website in charge of broadcasting shortly before the vote only added to concerns but these young people claim they came up with a strong alternative the phone and tablet application aldridge deal was created mostly for observers it allows them to upload pictures report on the turnout to

give the final results and register any violations the data would be recessed and published on the website immediately when we realize their web sites might be attacked on the x. by hackers but we're ready for any attack on our reserves are capable of dealing with serious traffic they're based in data centers in europe so we'll cope with processing information from observers and regular users to. ultra geo isn't dependent from the central election committee and its founders promise to come up with reports just as independent meanwhile that all five candidates have quarters it's been mostly about training observers this election also has set a record number of watchdogs almost a million including seven hundred international observers. i was invited to this election doors open day it was good training for everyone we could see firsthand how c.c.t.v. systems work and she transferred ballot boxes it will be the first presidential

election in russia which not only will be filmed on hundreds of thousands of web cameras which has been rehearsed to a couple of days before the actual both those who wish to take part were invited to cast their ballots not for candidates to dave but from history including alexander mccabe don't ski peter the great winston churchill and this can't. you know he clearly a great twenty six year olds it's only hours before russia's next peter the great is named but even before the ballots have been counted many warn of the new wave of protests. protesters in december demonstrated not against the results of the vote but the fact an advantage when putin was swapping seats or irritated them was that putin was trying to return to the top job so regardless of how transparent the vote is if putin gets slightly more than fifty percent protesters will claim he added that up in self to avoid a second round seventy no one will believe the result the prest exit polls will be

released one voting in the westernmost city of kaliningrad comes to an end the question then will any of the candidates have that much needed fifty percent to avoid a second round exit in the actual r t more scale where you can find our special election coverage throughout the day sunday and monday as we bring you the latest figures and opinions across the political spectrum so stay with us. turning now to the week's other top stories china has called for an immediate cease fire in syria and urged all parties in the conflict to engage in talks raging also calling for unity the u.n. security council which is now contemplating a new resolution after two previous motions were vetoed by russia and china the chinese are also warning against the use of humanitarian aid as

a pretext for foreign interference in syrian affairs is as the red cross says it's being kept from helping the worst hit areas of the city of holmes a rebel stronghold which i'd come under intense army bombardment and capture of one hundred suspected mercenaries trying to flee the city many of them french has increased speculation over outside interference of the conflict a senior rebel leader also claimed his militia group had gotten french and u.s. weapons as artie's various emotional reports war arms could spell more bloodshed. but the bullet is do essentially still estate despite international isolation series borders have remained opened and easy to pass through and that may have played a crucial role in the militarization of the country's conflicts almost immediately after the crisis began here last march they were reports of claflin has been smuggled through to arm president al assad's opponents one thousand dollars to a truck full of weapons capable of delivering house sale destruction and death

that's how much and kinds of who pay to smugglers usually iraqi a lebanese drive varies according to ziad ismail chief of the customs series on the border with lebanon. these people bring the women here to destroy our nation and try to kill syrian people under syrian territory enemies. syria has more than two thousand kilometers of front year with five states israel iraq jordan turkey and lebanon the syrian cities where the most violent clashes have taken place homes and there are all over the an hour over the borders but a fact that some believe has determined their fatal destinies this is one of three checkpoints on the three hundred fifty kilometer syrian lebanese border in the last year as we've been told here there were only three attempts to smuggle weapons across your business confiscated prowse of bullets dozens of guns and hundreds of

kilograms of little metal pieces like this one used to make world with your horses men concern and make little clothes like this one part of the border where the reason any security at all but here look at this in the middle of nowhere there is nothing only one road across the road right now and at the same time are crossing the border and i'm already in lebanon and further south she remains extremely vulnerable the city of tire on the cradle of the syrian uprising it all started here and it continues to play a role in the country's crisis with the border with jordan just several kilometers away from here and numerous reports suggesting that foreign weapons and troops can easily flow through its that are has become one of the weirdest points in the country's security. this city has become the scene of fierce and bloody clashes at least twice in the conflicts twelve month history the authorities have claimed that

many of the so-called free syrian army have in fact come from across the border. they appear shoot and kill and then they disappear immediately they arrive from abroad but they are not from jordan they use this country's border many of them are from africa we are showing their weapons allegedly seized in military operations now. in the army we don't have weapons from israel and america sniper guns and night vision binoculars advanced developed weapons we don't have in syria just what we confiscated was killing innocent people and kill even more while the international community condemns the regime and supports its opponents and many believe all sides in the conflict should be held responsible for violence across syria and with so many foreign weapons involved it's clear that the crisis threshers far beyond these borders raef notion r.t. reporting from syria. meanwhile troops loyal to the regime are thought to be

continuing to advance through the city of homs seen as the main opposition stronghold against president assad and government claims it's aiming to tackle terrorists and armed gangs and i witness tells r.t. people in homes have been hiding in their homes fearing violence from armed insurgents as well as troops with people of all ages being killed on the streets for more of their first hand account of the horrors of homes you can click on our t.v. dot com. still ahead this hour to strike or not to strike president obama caught between those for and against a military attack on iraq is he needs the israeli lobby is going for action. but first after months of talks and confrontation a less than united european union has signed a deal to prevent the block from overspending the so-called fiscal pact is supposed to enforce tough new budget rules but britain and the czech republic found the idea too much to take or these tests are so your reports. it's been talked about for

months claimed as a solution to europe's crisis fiscal compact this kind of talk in new fiscal rules after another t.v. summit this fiscal stability compact is signed sealed and delivered. most e.u. leaders have agreed to give it the go ahead it's expected to be ratified by at least twelve years old nations this pact comes with tight budgetary rules that must be strictly adhered to or else face also magic sanctions. member states must maintain a balanced budget or have a surplus keep a budget deficit of three percent or less enshrined the balanced budget rule international legislation with it one year preferred we within the constitution it budgetary targets are not met a guilty nation could be brought to the european court of justice and be obliged to make penalty payments the reins of strict budgetary oversight will be in brussels hands now we've endured in brussels we've got our first saw and it's a budget star and he's going to police all the grudges all the member states and

these member states will lose sovereignty in the field of budgetary policy now is the population going to accept this. a population that's already been forced to accept one tough study masher after another good couldn't this novel so if you are doing everywhere you go towards crisis with everybody is no tackling problem because it if we're keeping it expenses everywhere then you crush it where nobody's consuming nobody's investing but growth is a point of this truth is a continuation of pure liberal orthodoxy. so we are exactly going back to what we have been in the last fifteen years. in this evil readers see the budgetary discipline the school civility pact is expected to bring as a step closer to solving the eurozone structural imbalances health crisis that countries ease their way out of their predicament but it's

a one size fits all approach worried about the impact it could have on healthier economies you put lead to huge school consultation bias so you can do this country's to tell the house your fiscal situation you can go. to the cons beach can the press come in. and said. thanks peace problems and they do want to do want to and not a desirable scenario where the new buzzwords are growth and employment just are cilia r t brussels. head of the e.u. summit people in europe opposed to the fiscal union it is indeed austerity cuts imposed on them held rallies in belgium france and greece greek unions halted all work for three hours and marched in athens protesting the government cutting pensions wages and benefits scuffles even broke out of sight in building as one union member tried to force his way inside severe austerity measures were ordered

by brussels any international monetary fund to secure a second bailout worth one hundred thirty billion euros. take a look now at some other stories making headlines across the globe a head on collision between two trucks press trains in southern poland left fifteen dead more than fifty injured some three hundred fifty passengers were aboard the trains that were traveling toward each other on the same track emergency workers and helicopters deployed to help those trapped in the wreckage the collision already described as one of the country's worst ever train accidents. the muslim brotherhood in libya creates its own political party the islamist group is to be led by a man who spent eight years in jail under the khadafi regime the movement harshly suppressed for decades and accused of extremism by opponents is expected to be a leading political force in elections set for june as long as have one ballots in the wake of the arab spring revolts in tunisia egypt and morocco. north korea's leader has urged troops on the heavily armed border with the south to

stay on high alert during a frontline visit conjunctions trip comes as the country increased threats against south korea over its ongoing military exercises with the u.s. young young face there were personal for an invasion north koreans also gathered for us a rally on sunday in the city. debate over a possible military strike on iran mounting in the us ahead of president obama's meeting with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu tell of eve and washington suspect iran of developing nuclear weapons but the islamic state says it's a purely peaceful program meanwhile off the latest visit by the un's nuclear inspectors to iran the international atomic energy agency says it can't tell whether iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb because tehran has failed to cooperate iran's envoy to the i.a.e.a. tells r.t. exclusively that he thinks the agency is not impartial. we are warning that couple of countries including united states is trying to run day agency so that they can't

dictate from washington what a d.n.r. should do and that is why we don't not permit such a thing to occur and that is the whole issue that the agency as a professional technical organization should do its work and that is why you see they make meet so many noses here and there they do not lead the agency to do its work and that is why we want all countries including russia and others and i'm very pleased that last meeting in fact russia and china ambassadors along with hundreds counties of nonono movement all together questioned what had to happen in fact namely the least of confidential information that that we need mobilization our member states to prevent something happening in the end we steer give way these agencies promise is actually. some israeli officials threatening to attack iran's nuclear sites the danger could lurk much closer israel's government is building a security barrier along the egyptian border which it says is to keep militants and

migrants as are reports that's just one nearby concern love they neighbors as the typical thing goes but in the case of israel there is not much love lost between the jewish state and the countries closest to it while authorities in jerusalem a fearsome feyerick is ations in iran some wonder if in their empty tehran frenzy they may have overlooked other troubles brewing much closer to home to gary who is of euphoria in israel the result. there is north korea. other than. the gaza strip. in fact the conflict has long been a source of problems for the israeli government but recently seems the issue has all but been forgotten some believe this blinkered approach may end up having dire and explosive consequences for israel with the rise of islamic tendencies in the

wake of the arab spring until now have been tough but level of what israel may do it turns around so she's already evidence of egypt's muslim brotherhood which holds the majority of seats in parliament has already threatened to break but israel as a response of pressure probably us. down and says with. even worse egypt want to go tremendous changes egypt will stand behind hamas one day hamas israel as it did in. two thousand and eight the question is how would he react to such a conflict that i think there's an imminent threat iran is not an imminent threat. but could also be eliminated threats i believe is the situation in syria which seems to go from bad to worse with every passing day. controlled by a central regime in damascus means. the presence of terrorist groups that

operate a good steve israel meanwhile israel's most placid neighbor jordan may seem to be a bad joke of stability but experts say that isn't so and there's rules immediate neighbor to be used it's a country that israel has a peace relationship with it also has a long border with and i think it is most vulnerable to. these stabilizing influences from almost everywhere else from serious to over from iraq there are very serious problems and one look at the map is enough to show that israel's position in the real. could be described as potentially problematic at best however israeli authorities seem to be less concerned with reinforcing good relations with neighbors or preparing for those relations to worsen instead they are certainly continue to confront iran with the world's words for now in tel aviv he didn't go scope r.t. latest developments on the ongoing presidential vote in russia and

a recap of the week's top stories in a few moments stay with us. well . science technology innovation all the latest developments from around

russia we've dumped a few jerks covered. me believe me to. see feet.