margetts weiner scandal. find out what's really happening to the global economy because a report on our. biggest stories of the week got a bit brutal emerges triumphant in the russian presidential election after turning overwhelming poll numbers into a convincing victory but the tough challenges are still ahead for the new leader. the russian opposition scrambles to recapture the public's passion but expectations and until fractures leave the movement increasingly short of support. russian the arab league final in the same boat over how to stop the syrian crisis but there are still those trying to put sticks in the spokes of diplomacy. and also reporting the south three days of far more deaths are reported in israeli airstrikes in gaza

after the assassination of a palestinian resistance to send rockets flying over the border the top stories this hour. with a look back at the past seven days top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly on. the low a harsh and hard fought race for the kremlin is over with prime minister vladimir putin now set to make a return to the presidency after a landslide election victory expectations are now greater than any other time with serious national challenges still ahead compounded by public more politically than ever before he's alexy in a shift ski as this report. because one emotional night full fledged even approaching john i do you we would win. but we have you on. but you can get prime minister may have just

a fine he steers my disc but no one would be surprised if it was caused by the joy of big three i it was hardly a shock as clinton had been the elections clear front runner but eventually result of almost sixty four percent stunned even those at the helm who would never think of such a high result so it's even higher than they were predicting for ourselves and shows ross again actually proves that putin is a political figure number one and biggest country and he's potential is yes to is yet to be zero and told her that it's no time to party now many experts believe conditions real challenge in fact starts now that. this will get sort of a battle between that throughout therapy of concepts of the state the relevant coherent development strategies for myself i've been to fry the first concept as portugal and they want russian political system to be transparent whereas russia's

economy where they will get no nepotism and no corruption but on the other hand this other group of process elite as well as the russian public whom i associate with a. they just need status quo they need just some ten dollars from the state they don't want any change which is that all can know where the change manifested itself in the sudden rise of me how you poor kind of in under four months the russian billionaire managed to persuade more than five million people to vote for him many say this new face in a country split six has serious potential and paul could have already declared an intention to form an opposition party with putin promising he would cooperate with it to symbolize. the new russia is some be sure all the other candidates. from the old stylish summit. and. then all you know. anymore leaders of the younger generation and figures speak for

themselves second place communist leaders are going to gain seventeen percent in his fifth complain for presidency less going to support he had earned the parliamentary vote and experts say even this came mostly as protest building in the eyes of many this is a clear signal it's time for your sins to make way into western countries if your party loses the election its leader is known for changed if it happens again then he's definitely changed these guys had lost three times prior to this a lot of those folks are still seen as being somewhat out of touch you and the russians traders you know work these guys had their chance in the ninety nine you say screwed things up you know we still need stronger leadership and they're able to offer we needed more concrete programs and they. will continue his work as prime minister for two more months the period which could become crucial and decisive for the country's long term future blood even a portion will officially return to the kremlin on may the seventh that is when his

inauguration takes place until then the president elect will have to work out a strategy of holding a dialogue between those in power and those in the streets and given that some are still calling for him to step down even after such a convincing victory this may prove to be quite a task alexi russia's ski r.t. reporting from moscow. one of the issues this presidential campaign will be remembered for is the massive rallies that heralded a political awakening of russia's public and by all appearances they worked with transparency becoming a top government priority today however the protest movement is fizzling and support quickly fading out easily nicholas carr looks at why. when the protesters i'm happy with the results of the presidential elections took to the streets the day after the votes to place some caps the police busy. to give myself decided to hold steve you want it to hours yes it was filled it was ignored although i'm not

going to leave the square i'm staying here until putin leaves where the tents and there were no tents but there was a fountain which all by itself shows as a makeshift stage to make his statements from and from which police removed him and several dozens of his supporters. the situation repeated itself on saturday when police pulled over and so from an electricity transformer again after the opposition rally was officially over but the council the opposition leaders seem to do little to keep people coming to protest rallies for years about but also all over the world. if that hysteria that irritation and aggression had continues it would have alienated populates no one here wants a revolution no one wants to fight with police the people who come to these protests only want change they don't want bloodshed or violence which is what could scare them away the results of the elections to this to do much hotly contested by many brought tens of thousands out in the streets of moscow for the day after

presidential elections there are only half of that number showed up to pushkin's as square and even fewer still to the demonstration on saturday they are not believing a theory is that they don't always hear a single protest apps always take place over the last i'd rather see advised of a good idea that really goes not so now we have ok so it will. no i didn't hear it was there some blame the lack of a coherent idea and absence of unity among the opposition leaders for the waning support that i had i think these people all have a different agenda something thousand and no rival here to find a star i want to see different independent candidate if i could choose from but i don't think we can really reach any goals by protests like these even some of the most vulnerable supporters of the movement for their actions say solid foundations are necessary to carry on with the movement because that's in the back of some sort of regulation in structure is needed some sort of goals an understanding of what

happens next which could be easily understood by people who are also necessary part of the protest movement began as a call for free and fair elections in russia following the vote for the state duma seems to have turned into a haphazard series of gatherings they have achieved success in bringing people. seated streets. trikes the way tracks more attention to their slogans but we are now witnessing that their slogans need to be changed. or gender impact the rallies seem to have only one slogan out with putin but what to do if he leaves no one seems to know in moscow and those go are to me. reaction to that any person to return to the presidency by no means stopped at russia's borders coming up in about twenty minutes from now a stake for everyone the media's relentless to write arrayed against putin

scalability comes to a hard stop as observers and russian voters paint a very different picture of reality. than if you're in the mood for more election stories or footage of pre and post poll rallies and always find what you looking for a dot com website and also their expert an amateur opinion on what's ahead for russia and the course that the people want. to take that much more for you at r.t. dot com. debate on how to stop the syrian crisis has been tending towards diplomacy rusher in the arab league have come up with a joint plan ruling out foreign intervention and calling on both the government and the opposition to lay down arms that says the u.n. arab envoy has been to syria promoting an all inclusive dialogue because of his revolution reports there are those still trying to hinder the efforts. after several recent differences between western and arab views and those of russia and china on how the long running syrian conflict should be handled we are now seeing

some consensus speaking after the meeting with his arab counterparts russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov has said they haven't out a common plan that sends a clear message to all the sides been involved in this crisis their solution is no we've agreed a joint position of five main points first to stop violence wherever it comes from second to create an impartial and independent monitoring system third no external interference for offices unrestricted deliberate humanitarian aid to the syrians and finally the firm support of kofi annan is mission to start a political dialogue between the government position greased was it sort of a new group or the joint u. and arab league envoy is currently on a peace mission here in damascus both their sources and within the country opposition welcomed the initiative but the efforts were dismissed even before coffee allen's arrival to syria by another opposition group based outside the country the syrian national council recognized by many countries by e.u. as the legitimate representative of the syrian people second for democratic changes

firmly rejected talks and called on more military pressure on the regime of bashar al assad these calls were followed by suggestions by qatar to deploy foreign troops to syria but there is a fear here on the grounds of the growing international interference in the country's conflict is paving the way for an even bigger crisis as the syrian conflict stretches down to time it has also spread geographically i case of the uprising belt part of the country's borders what's happening in syria is. rages and what you've seen is the international community mobilize against the assad regime strategic analyst dr salinas says one thing is clear though that mobilization has many more force than officially stated. during the operation in baba amr the syrian army are. arrested fighters from gulf countries and afghanistan iraq libya and some european states their work was coordinated by qatari and saudi

intelligence officers as well as cia and mossad it's also seized israeli weapons especially missiles and israeli drones while the u.s. and many other countries have admitted al qaeda linked extremists groups fighting alongside the armed opposition in syria dr salim says some countries are using those groups to further their own interests. to get local players involved in order to hide there and this is why we hear mostly arabs like saudi arabia and qatar or iraq and these countries don't have democracy at home of course they cannot ask for a stabbing in syria they have another agenda. there are books and written sources where this plan is described in detail. and how the question of a blogger and freelance journalist has been investigated for a new serious crisis since last year but she says this is a story with three main chapters weapons smuggled across the border overseas

contractors and foreign cash when you see a lot of money in syria i believe this is comparable to what happened in. there were plenty of money then you will find that they're going to talk about hundreds of dollars or something nobody would killing so. now you would see now this is a. city with more and more reports on international involvement emerging and calls to arm the opposition get louder even for those at the grassroots of the uprising the initial euphoria is turning the tide. they can say we regret what we did but we don't want things to go back and forth between so much militarized globalized boil and we never would. intervention no such fears are after as he says it could be too late to stop this all to far into flames

of conflict while the conflict between president bashar assad and his opponents here in syria about to enter its supper and here another conflict is also in full swing between those calling on the political settlement as their way out and those who insist on. and the let's turn it into a fight almost as important as the one claiming blood on the streets. not see damascus syria. top u.s. defense officials admitted this week that president obama has asked the pentagon to set out military options on syria that's despite recently dismissing veteran senator john mccain's calls for airstrikes any attack would be a mistake she returns to london based journalist and author says neither the united states nor the european union are interested in a peaceful solution the horrifying prospect of foreign intervention hasn't gone away the e.u. and the us not concerned about humanitarian help for the people being killed by

troops if they were really caring about humanitarian issues be caring about the saudi arabians are doing over the weekend or the bahraini government killing its own citizens with the leaks is strapped for document is correct british troops are there now american special forces british special who is on the ground libyan money hundreds of millions there the supply routes from turkey this is. horrifying prospect. i should return she told me a little earlier well coming up here in our region afghanistan as american forces have some blood on their hands it comes after a u.s. soldier opens fire on civilians in kandahar killing sixteen people many of them children what effect will this have on washington's quest to win over hearts and minds. also still to come salvation to some collapsed to others greece hammered out the biggest debt reduction deal in history and it's praised to the hilt by brussels

rating agencies slam it as default by another name. to let me know whose interim rulers are struggling to keep the country together after a group of tribal militia leaders declared a partial autonomy for an all rich region in the east the head of the national transitional council was quick to blame remnants of the gadhafi regime for the break up stuff also said the country's integrity will be defended by any means including force if needed patrick hayes from the online world affairs magazine spight says these comments expose the new rulers to accusations that they are operating just like at their feet. almost couldn't make it up. now the head of the national transitional council their former himself the minister of justice under the if you are frightening to use force against. the eastern region. because they decided to act autonomously i think that's very worrying you know this

is an unelected representative saying this and how can you justify this you know how can we actually say any better than good that if i'm going to use brutal force if i'm going to use coercion to try and keep my country together so it meets with my will which is not the will of the people because i haven't been voted. israel has carried out several airstrikes on gaza killing seventeen people over three days it's the worst violence the region seen in more than a year the first attack came despite an informal truce between the sides it targeted a high ranking palestinian resistance leader and sparked a fierce exchange of fire paula slippers watching developments. the situation here on the ground continues to escalate as israeli forces and palestinian militants continue exchanges of fire for the third straight day today sunday now the latest figures we have put the palestinian death toll at seventeen most of them are members of islamic jihad but overnight

a twelve year old palestinian boy was killed in the jabalya refugee camp by an israeli air strike cairo is reportedly mediating work he's trying to mediate there is a hamas indication in egypt and the gyptian ambassador to the palestinian authority has put the blame for me on the shoulders of the israelis saying that they are to blame for breaking this tested cease fire that has been in place between israel and gaza at the same time the arab league has been meeting in cairo and they've also called the israeli airstrikes and massacre now tomorrow monday in the middle east quartet is meeting to look at these stalled negotiations between israelis and palestinians that meeting comes ahead of a special session of the united nations security council that will be addressing the arab spring uprisings. and in a few minutes israel's weapons may be about to target a different neighbor national talks on iran's nuclear program are finally due to restart after

a year's stalemate but it does little to appease israel's hawkish mood is to have it says it's losing patience with time. also still to come an emotional japan one year on the country stands united in solemn silence to remember the thousands of lives taken by the deadly earthquake and tsunami last march. so those stories still to come the first a u.s. soldier has been detained after going on a shooting rampage in southern afghanistan killing sixteen civilians including nine children he thought he opened fire inside local homes in the middle of the night nato is investigating the incident which comes after a mass protest last month over the inadvertent burning of copies of the qur'an at a u.s. military base lindsey german from they stop the war coalition believes this is massively damaging for america's entire campaign and the country. the americans will try to say this is just an isolated incident but we have to remember good there are one hundred thousand occupying troops there are many many times traces of

the koran that isn't just about the offense to islam it's also about the occupation itself the air strikes them particularly in this case we know that every night in afghanistan up to forty hours a raid it's looking for alleged terrorists in the country now if this soldier is one of the many who've been involved in these frames then it does raise many many questions as to exactly how the americans are treating the population the afghan people. japan is marking a year since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the country leaving more than twenty thousand dead or missing people gathered tonight at the exact moment the quake struck last march to grieve in silence.

the nine point zero magnitude quake which literally shifted the facts has left the whole northeast of the country in ruins displacing hundreds of thousands of people and tsunami it triggered also not sample cooling systems at the fukushima power plant triggering the worst and you click crisis in decades dr robert j. cups a professor of nuclear history culture at the bottom of peace institute says the japanese people were betrayed by their own government. the psychological burden on the people is brutal and on the people who remain in the contaminated areas and the people who've been evacuated who will likely never return to their homes their psychological burdens are intensely brutal these people have been betrayed in repeated ways they were betrayed by being lied to that nuclear power could never have a problem at these kind of accidents don't happen and when the accident did happen it was hidden from them for three months that they would melt bones they were lives for three months that they were meltdowns they were not told where the contamination and from the explosions were going so these people have been lied to

repeatedly now they've had their lives all that part and there. were innings idea over the health and welfare of themselves and their children and their families. it's been a week of sharp ups and downs for the greek economy athens menace to talk private creditors into accepting a crucial bomb swap deal that's considered the biggest debt write down in history and agreement seem to loosen the noose around athens neck by reducing the debt burden by more than one hundred pretty near rose he has praised the deal for the skies claiming a solution to the crisis at last been found but just hours later the euro kratz suffered a major slap in the face of the credit rating agencies as moody's and fitch declared greece and default and markets but the sentiment by showing no signs of optimism would amount to some associate professor from frostburg state university is resolute in his assessment which is difficult. whatever you do with your creditor for less than what you. have agreed to do. i don't care how systematic it is or how

complicated these debts are we are dealing with a real life default everybody knows that just because cirque ozy claims that it isn't a deep fault means absolutely nothing it's a politician don't believe you also have to deal with the fact that for a long time the greek government has been you know living this gravy train an imaginary gravy train with borrowed money and now all of a sudden reality is hitting them and i think. in the long run you're going to see what's happening right now nothing's burning people setting fire here and it does not exactly bode well for tourists unless i know people come to greece to see ruins but they want to see the ruins on talk of the acropolis and not in downtown athens . meanwhile the public anger over unemployment in spain is so intense that it's even calls the official commemoration of the two thousand and four madrid train

bombings that people spoken by day because of a nationwide rallies called part of country's two biggest trade unions which have drawn thousands on to the streets are outraged over reforms that make it easier and cheaper for companies to fire workers the country's unemployment rate is currently soaring with more than one in five spaniards out of work. and in other world news a suicide bomber in northwest pakistan is attacked a funeral being attended by. politicians at least thirty mourners have been killed and thirty others wounded the politician escaped unhurt is secular leaning awami national party holds power in the region and several of its leaders have been targeted in the past. iran's president has defied threats coming from israel and the u.s. saying they should show respect to his country instead of bombs and missiles and other washington nor television of ruled out an attack on toronto spice a show jewel restart of international talks on its nuclear program during a meeting with the israeli prime minister barak obama called for any possible attack to be held back to give diplomacy more time but when netanyahu is response

indicated his country's patience with tehran was running out reports later emerged israel has asked washington for high tech weapons that could be used in a strike by the u.s. defense chief in term said an american attack on iran would be far more effective they said menasha from the national iranian american council says it's crucial for regional stability that israel's war cries a muscle. after three decades of more than no communication between iran and the united states there's no question that it's going to be a very challenging path that we're all sides are facing and you know i think being on the precipice of war has to really focus the attention of various decision makers in various capitals and focus them specifically on the need for our parties to compromise that there's a difference between what the united states and the international community are asking for and what the israelis would prefer they've done a very good job of trying to take actions that would lessen the possibility of diplomacy being successful but the obama administration understands better than anyone right now what's at stake he's taken multiple steps publicly and privately

to push back and i'm hoping that we're going to see more of that continue because if it doesn't they're going to continue to try to build. the international media made little secret of where it's all do not lie when it comes to russian elections weeks before polls open u.s. networks were spinning for this fact and rigging as a given skipping over opinion surveys that painted a very different picture but as if he's going to reports they're all perceptions to uphold. even before the election the american audience were applying to believe that the presidential vote in russia had to be a fraud is this one going to be worth it when the west would call a free and fair election. it seems or highly unlikely that it will be a free and fair election in our sense of the term and then as russians made their choice we knew the results of russia's presidential election before a single vote's was cut. let me put victory was confirmed not just by the vote results but even before that by meter opinion polls as well the focus of some

media on rampant fraud or stolen elections seems to leave out of the equation the vast majority of russian voters would be choose their next president if you look at how western let's look at russian opinion there's a tendency to ignore community opinion so support for putin is ignored which is genuine i don't know if it's quite as overwhelming again as the election results when they could it's this large and sincere i think it's easy for westerners to ignore opinions like that because they don't really fit in the narrative very easily and the question some ask is why would we didn't try to rig the vote when opinion polls before the elections clearly indicated that he had sixty plus percent support it's very possible it would result in order any of this stuff but there are supporters or people is a long tradition in russian culture and history of people underlings trying to please people further up the chain of command unlike the media the reaction of the white house to congressional elections was more reserved think who graduated the

russian people with their elections and said washington looks forward to working with the president elect and urged the russian government to look into the reports of violations when it comes to the media coverage here is not just reporting on certain irregularities which absolutely should be covered but it's perception is being created the whole vote was a fraud no matter what the majority of russians say any cast a shadow not just on the future president but also on those who voted for him i'm going to check on reporting from washington. the nation's front of the russian football premier league was mauled by streak and draws for the teams at the top table in just under twenty minutes from now or none will be telling us more about that before that's all we can headlines an r.t. special interview don't go away.

this respectable british gentleman's choice was. brief jackets and those whiskey. a much younger wife. and more than twenty years of intelligence service in profits of the soviet union. feel these choices.