russia would be soo much brighter if you knew about someone from phones to. meet for instance on t.v. . the u.s. teams up with arab allies to pressure the syrian government inches of mission despite ongoing u.s. efforts to mediate a diplomatic peace. washington but the squeeze on syria's ally iran pledging sanctions pledging to sanction countries that don't reduce imports of oil from the islamic state. the living the past our business the only remaining soviet forced labor camp or gulag and here's the powering accounts of its former inmates.

in moscow i match you with us here on this saturday morning on r t a syrian opposition is rallying in a bid to convince international allies it is a unified force rebels expect more backing from the u.s. led group of nations sunday when the so-called friends of syria convene for a second summit a group aims to put more pressure on damascus while lending a helping hand to president assad's opponents the head of the conference u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is in saudi arabia hitting washington's key regional allies the saudis and qataris have been leading calls to start arming the syrian rebels and you can weigh in with military force political analyst chris bambery from the international socialist group thinks the u.s. is reluctant to get involved directly but will endorse action through proxies. so days of barry keen to overthrew the asaad regime as soon as possible and want to increase the aunts. to the syrian rebels the free syrian army except the americans

are slightly weary not because the newest teams overthrew the assad regime from the ruling experiences they know with the providing weapons probably also means in providing weapons instructions and so on and can lead to. in a conflict which the c. easy solution to the rest has always over would the saudi humanitarian agenda the question of civil rights in saudi arabia what it's doing to its own people and what is done for the people of yemen bahrain and other countries around it because business is good with saudi arabia they are two faced in the way they use that when you don't like a regime who will use the human rights cards when you wake a regime peace the silence over the question of human rights as they have done with this idea of even regime and indeed the back rain we don't hear any condemnation from hillary clinton or david cameron or some saudis enjoy the trappings of a measurable wealth and privilege the majority of the population are struggling

with daily oppression despite the arab state being accused of abuses by human rights groups washington continues backing its ally or he's excited boyko reports from beirut. the coronation banquet in beirut is painful it's refreshing breeze and it's breezy ways it's a place where headscarves and ministers don't come into conflict even when drunk all of. the reputation is the most liberal arab society is only becoming a refuge for the citizens of the region's most restrictive country thousands of saudis come to beirut every month what some call a freedom cation i was born here say i suffered a lot there because it's it's too much 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 it is here where many saudi women get a chance to walk the streets all by themselves and so the man can and don't leave

themselves in gambling in beirut mainly casinos something that would be absolutely off limits at home saudi arabia is the most conservative country in the world where women are still banned from driving and need permission from that male guardian be it a father a husband or son to simply get a job growth family that's been keeping these rules in place this is their part of saudi heritage and therefore should be respected but while prescribing this restrictive lifestyle for its citizens some members of saudi really don't seem to think these rules apply to themselves. when it comes to cutting lose or brought some of the saudi establishment going to exactly present a picture of religious piety so the princes have been seen reigning hundreds of thousands of dollars and women in nightclubs ready cash for their sides. excesses of the select few and restrictions for everybody else has not gone

unnoticed fueling public is can turn that over the past year has been repeatedly met with live rounds. who are protesters have been killed in rio. based here alone up to fifty arrested. in march the country's religious council issued a fatwa that equated demonstrations to a scene punishable by death once you have a demonstration and so there will be a typically that demonstration would be oppressed harshly and we have heard and seen many reports by and dependent reporters and human rights organizations verifying the. stray sions and so they are simply illegal yet despite harsh treatment of its own protesters saudi arabia has been very supportive of revolt elsewhere. was among the first to push for international intervention in libya while in syria is believed to be the main financier of the

rebels when things did not move as expected main the cause of the russian and chinese vetoes of the un. i think they decided to play. by announcing even publicly. all it's rough tactics at home and abroad here say is never scolded by the us a we are in washington that currently negotiating ethics the billion dollar sale of advanced american weapons brothers in arms conveniently they're still not each other's keepers. are at sea beirut lebanon. well stay with us here on r t still ahead this hour tightening their belts spain announces its biggest austerity cuts in more than thirty years following a nationwide strike against reforms. but first as the u.s. seeks new ways to undermine syria's government it's putting even more sanctions on

damascus closest ally iran president obama has given the all clear to the toughest measures yet against the islamic states oil industry washington will take punitive economic measures against any country that refuses to reduce imports of fuel from iran the restrictions come into force in late june is all designed to pressure tehran to give up its controversial nuclear program the white house claims there's enough oil sources in the world to keep the market from collapsing without iran's share middle east expert stephen zunes thinks the u.s. strike against iran could be motivated by self-interest. it's not a. crisis. group are the strongest. states the sorts of all the sort of you are. probably to see the world as the stars of its own. you can say who who threw on party some of you are always part. of the civilian nuclear program of

the potential for doing the work to support requests of. saudi arabia on. iraq. my country that but we don't like ours we do something else so it's a classic government. we're pro-grade our throat. also in iran reports of a merger the country may be the target of secret airstrikes or alleged leak from a u.s. diplomat claims israel's been given access to air bases on iran's border as tensions between the two countries continue to grow. into russia's military taking center stage with state of the art tank technology on display you can find all of that and more on our website r t v dot com.

eurozone finance ministers have agreed to boost the e.u.'s rescue fund to eight hundred billion euros to help countries like spain recover from their crippling debt woes spain's financial crisis has prompted the government to announce its biggest austerity measures in more than three decades the country valid to cut twenty seven billion euros from this year's budget this after tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets thursday fighting against labor reforms the strike turned violent barcelona where demonstrators smashed windows and set fire to trash bins while the country struggles to rise out of its debt crisis economic data list michael moore osting spain won't be able to implement the new cuts. what i can see is the who want to spend want to make their spend government is not only

is it if it's also impossible when you look at the private sector private securities to leap over a bit more loose bankrupt when you look at the banks although that banquet central bank bankrupt government on some honest man from home can you imagine this thirty pick which in these circumstances so everybody will see this won't work but what i what i see is that spain is the last nail in the euro zone coffin so i mean we have two possibilities one of the euro. will be helpful is the not working one of the first is that who have turned the mistake in selection in spain itself so they have to ruin all that to come the people of the other one is the financial aspect that it is not possible to help spain with five hundred seven hundred thirty euros in order to refinance themselves so if this if you could come to this point and then i think then the germany would pull out of the euro stay with us here an arche

still ahead this hour homeless in hollywood. i think america's run around playing captain saber hole would have been cleaned up the own backyard right here on skid row you know if you've got the largest mall most popular in america right. you know where to go is the city of angels almost immediately growing while the government appears to turn a blind eye or in a few minutes. but first political prisoners a term associated with a dark chapter in soviet history when millions were locked up and forced labor camps known as gulags and a bid to make the horrors of the pet make sure the horrors of the past aren't forgotten russia's converted one of the remaining gulag camps into a museum or he's peter oliver visited the site and spoke with one of the former inmates. hidden away in the ural mountains hundreds of kilometers from the nearest city is perm thirty six where the soviet government sent its dissidents now though it's a museum dedicated to making sure that part of twentieth century history is never

forgotten. people wanted to understand the causes of those reprisals and name all the victims and pass the knowledge of what happened here on to future generations. said good was an inmate at the term camp in one nine hundred seventy four he was sentenced to seven years for agitation and the soviet propaganda now in his eighty's he still remembers life on the inside. the actual deprivation of freedom was very significant indeed but there are things that made up for it the freedom which didn't exist beyond surveyor's the freedom to actually say anything you wanted without fear what else could they do to you they were in prison already today gay is a human rights activist occasionally he goes back to where he was imprisoned to talk to students and other groups about life behind bars in the soviet union. in a punishment cell you had to stay without warm underwear and burning it was usually

very cold which was serious we had to sleep on barren planks with no pillow. and museum in perm thirty six allows visitors to come face to face with the realities of repression with much of the original structures still intact it gives historians a glimpse into a harsh life not found anywhere else that's explored because it's a unique place. to look at the. exile. however perm thirty six is not the only place that the repressions of the soviet era remembered today monuments like this one which contains a rock taken from one of the very first camps serve as a reminder of all of those who were held as political prisoners in the u.s.s.r. those who campaigned for human rights in our world now see that by keeping the past in focus is treason the stakes will be repeated. whenever we remember our past we

keep bringing up the main theme of rights and freedom past could be described as one big violation of human rights it was a symbol of lawlessness the lack of freedom if we forget our past we will be unable to build any decent future. peter all of r.t. . still to come this hour football fever heading east ukrainian landlords carrying the score big is yours a welcome millions of euro football fans. would give me the currency any money yeah if there's no more dollars or euros or anything what are we going to be trading probably beans we take to the streets of new york to hear opinions on how the euro crisis has hit the dollar. turning first to some other stories making headlines across the globe in mali toroid rebels in the north of the country who have launched several uprisings over the years have captured the strategic town of key doll is just after this just a week after the country's military staged

a coup overturn the president and seized power to leader captain ahmed you sanogo has us record to help tackle the insurgents the sahara desert base the rebels fought in libya for colonel gadhafi before returning better armed to the home. eleven people killed several others injured in four days of unrest in pakistan violence first triggered wednesday after a politician was killed in karate in the days that followed at least ten more people were shot dead prompting young people to take to the streets and protest police and military forces have been deployed to prevent further violence. chinese police have arrested six people after online web hosts led to rumors of a coup maybe in the works and this after several web post claimed the military vehicles were seen on the streets of the capital beijing china's government says rumors had a negative influence on the public and sixteen sites have been closed down airing the reports the scandal comes at

a crucial time for the country's ruling elite following the removal of the office of communist party chief oh she lied. with the u.s. soldier accused of killing seventeen afghan civilians under investigation washington still trying to mend its relationship with kabul but the massacre followed the burning of the qur'an of a u.s. air base and afghan leaders aren't buying the apologies are these military contributors as washington needs to revise its wear approach and on strategy the latest triple from going to afghanistan. might probably be remembered as one of the most unfortunate and the least successful trip ever conducted by the pentagon chief janet stan consider this first major political blunder even before he boarded his spleen after the qur'an burning he authorized the u.s. commander in afghanistan to music straw poll and american advisers from day

avg in institutions both military and civilian so maybe he didn't recognize whole when he did it was probably too late they each was this second biggest insult you could ever commit in afghanistan and that it's tough to insulting their religion when you display a delicate confidence go along copartners small wonder if you're left kabul really two lemons from cars i refuse ultimatum to corral all u.s. ground forces into their forward operating bases and effectively no in void a new nitrates a games he's taliban brothers and second from the taliban when they announce they're postponing the negotiations we have the american partners regarding their reconciliation the next time financial real jump aboard the plane could better make sure that he's bound to islamabad not to kabul

people here really means business a little more than two months fans from around the world but what will flood ukraine and poland for the euro two thousand and twelve championships with more than a million expected to descend upon you have alone preparations to accommodate them all near completion was artie's alexei or shift your reports those coming for the beautiful game could be in for an ugly shock. i felt the earth with the euro two thousand to twelve football championship has not even begun in ukraine but this king of pensioner is already in high spirits here or soon you will. come out of the leaves this summer storm and this is her last real chance to earn some money since in the us is that our pensions are next to nothing our days are numbered and i want to see them off in style and earn a little money that's why i will let a room in our flat to football fans will start at fifty dollars

a night depending on who stays here but the price could go higher. so if you design and lack of necessary amenities like air conditioning but the matter is being fairly reasonable about the price she would charge for it but the greed of many other private landlords could prove costly for ukraine if you prefer to travel in comfort like renting this mordantly designed and fully equipped wired be prepared to pay a fortune to put across a nukes this is an only apartment in central kiev and it's priced in between five and ten thousand dollars a month but we will raise prices at least three fold for the euro two thousand and twelve period. which makes it at least four hundred euros a night and this is not a record breaker some hostels which had previously cost thirty euros are now available at fifteen times the price and what it offers can hardly be described as five star this england fan has already bought plane and match tickets but now he's worried his trip may be jeopardized and i don't think we're doing anything

different to what and he'll the house countries did in the past. accommodation process do roche travel projects do. it's just the lack of a viable accommodation very expensive most of them university dormitories sure you can stop in a tent for reasonable just a hotel but a brick was told place i think we're going to get up salutes skyrocketing prices urged we put the sand a stern warning to ukraine's government which promised to take action. have a risk of ending up half empty for their owners to lower the prices would so many low cost airlines be able to bring fans for games in and out of ukraine they might as well decide against saying here just coming from one date. accommodation prices usually hit the ceiling ahead of a big event and london will not be an exception during this summer's olympics but in the case of ukraine the gap between the price and the quality is vast and there's

a great risk private landlords could end up profitless ukraine has already spent fourteen billion euros into the euro twenty twelve project and is expected to earn only half a billion the private sector will rake in just as much that's unless the fans would not be scared away by the high prices let's hear s.s.t. r.t. reporting from kiev in ukraine. it's been more than two years since the first cracks in the euro bloc starting to appear with greece unavailing a series of austerity cuts the single currency has taken a hit from the euro crisis having a major effect on the dollar we take to the streets of the big apple to hear views on a declining dollar and what it may mean for the rest of the world. the value of the u.s. dollar is on the decline what does that mean this week let's talk about that do you think the dollar's decline means the u.s. is losing its status as the world power yet i think it's reasonable to assume my

husband doesn't go well why don't you think that because it will make you more competitive next to each other we're all going down we're all going to mean in every country every country the end of the world time in rural you know the mines might be right december twenty first so we're going to be the currency mind if we're yeah if there's no more dollars or euros or anything what are we going to be trading probably beans we're losing jobs to china and. you know we're we're not people are working really good so would you be willing to stave money in chinese yuan if it keeps going the family absolutely i think we're very putting on the dollar as the international trade depending on the dollar do you think that's going to change to something like the chinese yuan or the euro anytime soon doesn't it lots of the euro the euro. really showing off its weaknesses charm why do we all just take it for granted that the dollar is the.

currency that we base the world economy a more stable economy there compared to europe or japan or any of the other countries where that tied up. it's not transparent enough for me do you think that it's time to start considering using or saving other currencies like the euro. personally you know. why do you think americans only think in terms of dollars when the rest of the world thinks in terms of other currencies well i think the whole kind of not just currencies it's news it's everything everything is too many people in the us are just to us centered focus in terms of their outlook on the world well . part of it is is a function of geography so america basically article in the large portion of north america with canada and mexico being the only neighboring nations there would have been much need for us to be able to be fluent whether in languages or currencies for that matter do you think that stunted our growth as

a people oh yeah i think it can lead to some cultural isolation but they're not you can't the us dollar is on the decline the bottom line is you might want to start paying attention to what other currencies are pale and. printing up from the east coast to the west where the national coalition for the homeless is ranked l.a. is the meanest city in the u.s. when it comes to dealing with its poverty stricken population while the government offers little help for the city's down and out the city of angels poorest residents are left with little hope for a better future. the city of angels and promise land of and this opportunities has become a living nightmare first sun los angeles is a mirage. people believe that they're coming to see hollywood stars are here. the. girls with the town will

come take a look at skid row you can compare a third world country this street is an informal border between shiny downtown l.a. and. behind me in the shadow of the down deli skyline stray some fifty blocks with the largest concentration of homeless people in the entire country for many it's not just the place it's a way of flying and at last resorts in the often and humane underbelly of los angeles. the financial crisis has hit hard here record amounts of foreclosures have bangs turfing people out of their property case and on to the streets the city of angels is fast becoming a city of homeless joshua's among them two years ago he lost his job and while his income came to an average hold the bills certainly didn't well i was working as assistant manager. part store and. i just.

left the ledge and there i don't have a new worlds to go and a recent report by the national coalition for the homeless of range los angeles as the meanest city in the country when it comes to dealing with the problem a world. where the homeless are poor treated under by law enforcement probably in this country has been a criminal a very poor. general dogan lives in the streets of skid row he says the police have worked out a solution for dealing with the homeless and arrest them for. any minor infraction strategy that's winning the applause of the business community and real estate developers their job is to move all knowing common home as well out of the great that we community what they want to do is run all of poor folks out so that the bell of will put money into the area but the sad reality is there is only enough

shelters for a tiny fraction of alleys dramatic number of homeless remain here says the government's looking the other way and leaving them to rot in the gutter i think america's run around a. cap and food bowl would have been cleaned up their own backyard right here on skid row you got the largest most popular in america right now the largest. mental situation going on right here i mean it just is this is this hate and how this is going to get a hell of a lot worse and it's predicted there will be a whopping one million foreclosures in california in the coming year so while joe schmoe and so many others suffering the same plight might be praying that one day they will have a roof over their heads it seems many others will be losing their. lives in a question are to you reporting from los angeles california. in a few minutes we'll bring you the headlines on the kaiser of or where max and stacy

scrutinize the world of finance. if.

your thought or whatever. this is true system keeps its secrets a time to reveal this is something the soviet files on oxy.