set to make a statement like un the finishing touches to a draft on syria could pave the way for decisive action after a year of disunity. and while washington and allies twenty two supporting the opposition human rights not. to be reckoned with guilty of murder and intimidation. french police are locked in a standoff with a man suspected of killing seven people in the city of toulouse including three schoolchildren president nicholas sarkozy is set to arrive within the hour. and warnings of oil shortages lead to skyrocketing prices as tensions in the middle

east put iranian crude supplies in jeopardy threatening to destabilize the global economy. a very warm welcome to you from all of us here at the moscow. the u.n. is nearing an agreement on syria with the u.s. and its allies still hoping to put more pressure on president assad and the forces to fight against them on his harmlessness washington likes to think let's get details on this now from artie's up for us joining us live on the program paula western powers have been calling on president assad to give up his reign but who all what they want to see taken place. well human rights watch in a public letter has reinforced the position that moscow's been holding since the

middle of last year and that is that some of these rebels are not peaceful at all indeed they quite clear through a clear patch throat in addition to this there are elements of al qaeda operating in syria against the syrian president bashar assad and what we're hearing from those whites group is that there are members and elements of the opposition who are guilty of human rights abuses intimidation the detention and torture of security force members as well as supporters of the government human rights watch says it has watched at least twenty five videos on you tube and on those videos it sees security forces members and rigidly confessing to crimes that they committed the very indeed these statements were made and did you receive in addition to those they have footage that shows that the opposition has been executing people in their custody and now human rights watch has called on the opposition to forbid the members from doing this but the problem is that it's not clear who is the

leadership of this opposition because on the one hand while washington and western allies have recognized the syrian national council there is a multitude of opposition figures who do not fall within this fold and as a result it's not actually a who's calling the shots many of them have an alawite sentiments many of them are just acting on their own accord and so this really begs the question while the west is calling for so in president bashar assad to step down and be replaced who all want to place him all of the the un's or being unable to act on syria for more than a year now when could we expect the vote to be broken and what would it actually mean for syria. well there has been a two hour close call meeting at the united nations and ambassadors came out of that meeting with no clear consensus of where they wanted to go forward we're waiting for a consensus to be given over a statement that has been borne out over syria we're hearing from the russian

ambassador to the united nations that it should go through and indeed if it does then we will see the international community step up its action and its criticism of what is happening in syria now russia has said that it is prepared to back this draft statement it doesn't actually have any kind of regal binding but it certainly is one step before any kind of resolution and as a result moscow has received criticism to remain stream in western media as well as in the arab media for allegedly changing its position on syria but the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov has contradicted this he says russia's position remains firm it continues to call on both sides to lay down arms and to retreat from crimes of peace deal but at the same time moscow is critical that the democratic reforms of the syrian president bashar assad has introduced were introduced to made and also the raid his security forces reacted to a peaceful demonstration in march remains highly questionable as well all right art

is our policy there live in the west bank thank you. for the coming up a bit later on here on out so you're going to be across. here as guests getting a firsthand account from a she would rights watch on a scale of rebel atrocities ongoing in syria. we sent a letter to the syrian national council raising some issues with when we started the committee some cases of food use by position forces it's not clear how much control. initial co it tells you all the free syrian army have over there but you know there's been a few instances where. you know summary exit you could people maybe torture the kid now. so there are a couple of problems there and we think the syrian national council should speak out even though they don't necessarily control.

you see cross-talk later today here in our city and our french police have surrounded the home of the gunman suspected of killing three jewish schoolchildren a rabbi and three paratroopers in the south western city of toulouse the man named as mohammed merah is reported to be a french national of algerian origin and claims he belongs to al qaeda and is acting to avenge palestinian children the french interior minister said the alleged killer told him he would surrender at noon according to police the suspect was identified an ip address on his brother's computer meanwhile early wednesday on the morning of his the board the bodies of four victims of the shooting were flown to israel with the funerals have been taking place in jerusalem french and israeli foreign ministers were among those attending journalist and author barry lando says the radicalization of young immigrants of muslim descent isn't just france's problem it's an issue all across europe. this is been

a problem here is the present there as well story has been concerned for for more than a decade now and watching this problem for more than a decade and watching it grow and there are probably now probably hundreds of young mostly women also in france. back on the lot of them but who are french citizens who may have been to afghanistan and pakistan and all similar who eats and president sarkozy i have no idea what he's going to do right now he's got an enormous problem of what to do is east who is the strong feeling among a young french or again of an agrarian or muslim background who don't feel part of france don't feel part of the country and you know the same problem of course throughout europe too is even in england in spain. or italy where you have similar

kinds of young people who are in serious economic difficulties a lot of them with the economy in very bad shape throughout the continent and a lot of them living in slums how do you deal with this problem it watching now any interruptions in iranian oil supply is caused by a standoff between tehran and the west would jeopardize the world economy that's according to the head of the international monetary fund christine lagarde she says that short falls and disruptions could drive prices up by thirty percent across the puter all of our reports. well the warnings that we're hearing from christine lagarde head of the i.m.f. is that we could face a potential thirty percent rise in the price of oil now what does that mean in dollars and cents where we would see a barrel of brant crude rise from one hundred twenty five dollars a barrel as it is right now to one hundred and sixty dollars

a barrel now why she said this is the chief he is a potential increase in price could come around and potential huge increase increase in price could come around should iran. disrupt the distribution of oil through the strait of hormuz if that was to happen she has warned about some serious financial problems for europe and for the rest of the world now should we see a rainy in oil production be disrupted in this way saudi arabia of course the largest producer of oil in the world of said they can increase production by twenty five percent we're also hearing from libya that they can chip in and take up some of the slack however guard warning should this happen should we see such a major rise in the price of a barrel of oil than all of the good work that's been so far in europe with regard to dragging the economy kicking and screaming back from the state it was in following the financial crisis would all be undone and we could see

a potential new recession hit europe well the reason that all of this is come about is due to the the ongoing standoff between iran and the west over the rein in the nuclear program now both the united states and the e.u. have imposed sanctions on iran trying to get them to abandon their nuclear program a group of both of european countries as well as japan have slashed their imports of a rainy and oil however the major importers of iranian oil haven't done well or haven't done that is satisfactory level. especially for the united states we're looking here at china it's india and it's south korea now the united states and barack obama the president has warned it should be east countries not cut their imports of iranian oil by satisfactory levels then those countries could face sanctions of

their own obama threatening to cut off the countries like i say china and india from the u.s. financial system now that could have potentially huge repercussions when it comes to business dealings and trade between those countries and could result in some quite serious financial disaster. kind of crude oil is causing a headache in other parts of the world as well just a little bit later on we report on three decades after the war britain is accused of reaffirming its military might near the falkland islands all in the name of god . so just after ten minutes past the hour here in moscow al qaeda says it's behind a series of bomb attacks that killed forty six and injured at least two hundred all across iraq eight cities were struck with blasts targeting police headquarters and security forces on tuesday the latest round it came a day after the ninth anniversary of the u.s. led invasion of iraq and just one week before the arab league summit is due to be

held in baghdad the meeting is aimed at establishing iraq as an important political player in the region since the u.s. troop withdrawal in december but and he war activist michael bradley says the invasion has left a deadly legacy in the country. who i think what we have to remember the back is it's frankly still under occupation. we may have seen the withdrawal of combat troops but there are still tens of thousands of western media would refer to as private contractors who we all know who these are paid mercenaries hired killers and it's in their interests and it's in the interests of the the leagues around the world to keep this keep this conflict going there won't be any change in these countries until not only of the soldiers in the obviously put all the private contractors gone through and also the puppet governments no currently being put in place by body americans and the british think we've. destroyed a country we've destroyed its culture we've also destroyed its future its children

in the last nine years the u.k. and the u.s. military have dropped over two thousand tons of depleted uranium on iraq. places like flu. cancer spreading in the region. childhood child birth. just one more thing off the scale this is already contaminated the ground contaminated the ground water so for that for the foreseeable future the iraqi population are not going to have a future that they can be optimistic about all. let's get to some other international headlines for you in brief with the r.t. world cup that here will start with new york where police have removed the occupy wall street protesters from union park at least one person arrested after officers in riot gear moved demonstrators onto the sidewalk and barricaded the premises protesters have occupied the camp since saturday after a police raid forced them out of zuccotti park the activists were continuing to protest against corporate greed which began in new york last year. doctors on

staff at greece's public hospitals are walking away from their jobs of a three hour period protest against austerity measures and paid in ways that physicians are demanding overtime salaries which they say they haven't been paid for for months the country is in its fifth year of recession and has made several cuts to its health care spending this year earlier today greece's parliament approved a second international bailout giving the country an additional one hundred thirty billion euros in rescue lines. at least five students have been wounded during clashes with police in the colombian city of tonga the dispute happened during a demonstration marking the twenty fifth anniversary of the death of a student leader the injuries occurred when two people fell while carrying explosives what triggered the clashes though remains unknown. japan it may deploy land and sea based interceptor missiles ahead of north korea's planned

a rocket launch next month officials say tokyo has not ruled out shooting down north korea's rocket if it enters japanese space junk rocket is set to fly over western japan in april tokyo has expressed concerns that a failed launch will fall in stage or the rocket could endanger japanese or us. now bill or as has come under sharp criticism over the executions of two men found guilty of deadly metro bombings in the capital minsk last year but the senate since were condemned by western officials and international human rights groups and the e.u. is preparing to impose new sanctions on the country well of the country's president alexander lukashenko told r.t. exclusively that it was one of the toughest decisions he's ever had to make. it was a tragedy in my life most of all i feel for the parents of these men i unfortunately cannot it's improved absolutely transparent but the question is federal security

service the f.s.b. israel's mossad and interpol all took part in the investigation and none of these organizations had any questions about the inquiry and its process so i have absolutely no doubts about the fairness of the verdicts because that certainly. you can watch the full exclusive interview with the by the russian president in our spotlight show work throughout thursday here at r.t. . britain's prince william is back from his tour of duty in the falkland islands ways been stationed at since february as the plot has added to the growing tensions in argentina as the thirtieth anniversary of the falklands war approaches what us are is a lot and have had a long standing dispute over the islands with both countries claiming ownership

across by that i bet it has the story. first that prince. then there was shit all apparently routine but to watch and tina the message is clear when i go sour it's a regional and global issue because there are militarizing in the south atlantic one more time try as we me we can't interpret it any other way they are sending a destroyer the words out that is huge in modern along with the heir to the throne we would have liked to see him in civilian clothes not in a military uniform. the island sovereignties fiercely disputed argentina claims them as last mile venus the u.k.'s latest show of strength comes at a delicate time less than a month before the thirtieth anniversary of the war that claimed over nine hundred lives six hundred fifty of them argentinian an ill timed coincidence or a deliberate provocation whether they send anniversaries completely irrelevant yes

you know it generally it is routine there's no attempt to escalate anything but i do recognize that the argentinean president is seeking to put a different interpretation on it for fighter jets rapier missiles and a state of the art destroyer deterrent enough to argentina it's like a red rag to a bull with flag burning and protests against what it sees as a colonial hangover the empire may be dead but the sentiment still very much alive in britain today because like lord stanley a celebrated here is the man the island's capital's named after a portland themselves may be small and distant but their last whispers of what's extensive reach giving them up is simply out of the question britain refuses to negotiate on the island sovereignty until the people who live there want to know wonder with the three thousand inhabitants direct descendants of britain's colonists before plans belong to the planned as they are british we have the right

to self-determination that's and shined in the charter were happy to talk to argentina about anything. except sovereignty our sovereignty is not the case but the u.k.'s posturings left its subjects there high and dry argentina's blood supply ships enrich allegation this lump of rock may not seem worth fighting over its thirteen thousand kilometers from britain and cost seventy million pounds a year to defend but with all exploration just beginning off the coast there is suddenly a lot more to lose. respecting has become more sort of widespread in terms of exposure then i think it's it's helped to ratchet up the crisis three person emotion tina russian she was called to view if the problems in the waters to the north contain lots of oil and gas reserves the commercially exploited then of course there's a fear that britain in the falklands beauty would never wish to make a shit about the future of argentina claims it's being wrought with britain set to

yield up to sixty billion barrels of oil from under its nose no surprise the u.k. still refuses to negotiate then after years of origin time protests but others are now listening the islands are monks just sixteen territories left in the world the un says needy colonizing for now though britain's making the most of its distant corners whilst it still can i have been it r t london. well i thought when it's past the hour here in moscow or for radios you can always just log on to our website our dot com a quick takes now what's waiting for you there at the moment from the big screen to the big house harry potter storage jail for two years for taking part in last summer's of the london riots. and the pressures over privacy all eyes are on google as is urged to answer questions about the way it handles a user data you could buy all that and more on our website r.t.

dot com. the official policy allocation. from the. video.

on the call. in just a moment has the markets with but for now it's been more than a year since the wave of unrest first began in the arab world as regimes fail hopes for greater freedoms grew only to fade as the on the rest are continuing. to look at whether the fight for democracy has failed. no shortcuts the kearny sjambok ment in beirut stretches for over seven kilometers giving exercises plenty of room to test their stamina is the only day most popular jogging venue across the arab world for some lebanese it's actually a symbol that their democracy is up and running freedom may be a very political concept but to most ordinary people usually means something very concrete to me for example it's an ability to go for a tour without being harassed or love or not is the only arab country because these that can allow me peace freedom. we're going to try to go for it in egypt last year

i was physically threatened and i tried to do it leave it was automatic gunfire rather than my only figure that made me sweat. the plight of female joggers may seem miniscule in the ground scale of things but ultimately it's about living your life as you choose susan and no other arab country she says would you be able to dress like this but alone enjoy the outdoors with your boyfriend suffering a social norms didn't happen overnight but for susan it is just as valuable product of lebanese homegrown democracy as being able to work as a political opinion i was born here say i suffered a lot there because it's it's too too too limited i have to cover my face my eyes my whole body what i'm hearing being over here please look at me what does democracy mean you is it just to walk around and have fun with business and talk in the way i love to the things i love no it's not about it's about having to share

things with others while the arab spring spread under the banner of democracy for many it came at the expense of basic freedom to choose your lifestyle your dishonest taking over politics in egypt not really just women are increasingly forced to cover their heads in public to protect themselves from being harassed in libya militia now want to control not all. the future but also the past saying something positive about the get out the era can get you killed we can look at the record of what the arab spring has brought in terms of so-called democracy and it's a catastrophe as as could have been predicted as was predicted at the outbreak because but if you go to egypt if you go to libya where you have arm bands that have been armed the so-called opposition national council and they're shooting each other to fight for the pic and so it's total anarchy and chaos many across the arab world a longing for thoughtful and political change there is a widespread conviction that overexuberant west and rooting for the opposition but

literally kills the genuine democratic movement you cannot export democracy people can achieve a former participation in government that is consistent with their values when you try to export something from abroad into a contrary you very often end with the results that we saw in libya where before there was any foreign interference in that country there was an estimated at the highest five thousand people killed after that the highest estimates are that there are one hundred thousand people killed but the west arab democracy may be a one of exercise a project to get done and over with this lebanon's example shows a real freedom like a muscle needs time and sustained effort to grow as an artsy beirut lebanon. over to the business that we go for the hourly update daniel hello to you are the latest now in the world of business yet well the markets aren't doing as bad as at

the start of the week so we'll have a look at the figures a little later on first more worrying news for the oil price the obama administration is trying to cut off iran from its main income crude exports as a sanction over its nuclear program that's pushing oil from its biggest decline in three months the u.s. calls on the nations to. import start was it threatens to cut the banks off from the u.s. financial system another thing sending crude up as a report showing crude stockpiles fulling in the u.s. european markets now this likely clawing back some losses from monday and tuesday comes as british treasury chief george osborne gears up to deliver a budget budget for the government designed to stop a double digit search in their russian markets they've lost the sparkle from the morning when strong crude supported investor sentiment little of the news on the ground to justify the markets roy saying is take a look at some stocks oil majors including rose and if they're heading higher on stronger crude prices. recovered from earlier losses caused by reports it will increase twenty two billion dollars over the next five years as well russia's next

president putin plans to boost pensions and salaries for state employees and banking stocks are looking for direction with p.t.b. just a notch down and exchange rates of dollars now losing against major rivals over china growth concerns and improved hopes for europe after a greek parliament treat approval of the bailout the drupal is gaining against both the euro and the greenback and in other news general electric says its sales will triple in russia when the u.s. withdraws soviet era trade restrictions the president of the firm's russian unit says the jackson family commitments the us from a rapidly growing market. right now the u.s. exports to rush to about four percent versus east asia twenty nine percent and your opinion about forty three percent so the us has a big opportunity to increase its trade. if we were purely jaxon van to commemorate a grand plan to your would be able to take advantage of it so reduce the tariffs for appointment coming from united states and also give us

a level playing field against our european and asian counterparts if we see jaxon van it being repealed in russia being granted p.n.t.r. by the united states we expect our sales to triple by two thousand and twenty in russia. and that's all for this hour i'll be back in fifteen minutes time headlines the next two are not a. few

are chances but full of life. limited time. more optimistic. the theater where the ingenious opened their hearts to the rest of us. what are the real limits. on our team.