it's. important. western powers teamed up with our friends to pressure the syrian government into submission despite ongoing un efforts to mediate a diplomatic solution. washington puts the squeeze on syria's ally iran pledging it to sanction countries reduce imports of oil from the islamic state . reliving the past we preserve the only remaining serviette of forced labor can the gulag and hear the harrowing accounts from its former employee.

it's good to have you with us today this is are with me will receive a shave life in moscow the syrian opposition is rallying in a bid to convince international allies that it is a unified force the rebels expect more backing from a u.s. led group of nations on sunday when the so-called friends of syria convene for a second summit the group aims to pile 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 meeting washington's key regional allies the saudis and the qatar had been a leading calls to start arming the syrian rebels and even 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 over through a regime as soon as possible and want to increase the arms which are good to the syrian rebels the free syrian army etc the americans are slightly weary not because the teams overthrew yes the. regime is a from the only experience the no or the providing weapons probably also means involve providing weapons and structures and so on and can lead to involvement in a conflict which the c. easy solution to the west has almost overworked the sody humanitarian agenda the question of civil rights in saudi arabia what it's doing to its own people and what is done to the people of yemen bahrain and other countries around it because business is good with saudi arabia we are to face in the way we used that when we don't like a regime who will use the human rights cards in the wake of regime peace the silence over the question of human rights as they have done with the saudi arabian regime and indeed the emir and back again we don't hear any condemnation from

hillary clinton or david cameron. some saudis enjoy the trappings of immeasurable wealth and privilege the majority of the population struggles with daily oppression and while ignoring issues in their homeland arab oil magnates remain committed to exporting regime change to neighboring countries in the region. the cornishman bank mint in beirut the spain for its refreshing breeze and its breezy ways it's a place where headscarves in ministers don't come into conflict even when beyond all at once. the reputation as the most liberal arab society lebanon is only becoming a refuge for the citizens of the region's most restrictive country thousands of saudis come to beirut every month and what some call a freedom but cation 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 it is here where many saudi women get a chance to walk the streets all by themselves and so a man can and don't leave themselves in gambling in beirut's mainly casinos something that would be absolutely alpha 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 the royal family that's been keeping these rules in place says that part of saudi heritage and therefore should be respected but while prescribing this restrictive last fall for its citizens some members of saudi really don't seem to think this rules apply to themselves. when it comes to cutting lose abroad some of the saudi establishment gone exactly present a picture of religious piety saudi princes have been seen reigning hundreds of

thousands of dollars and women in nightclubs ready cash for their sides with. the excesses of this like few and restrictions for everybody else has not gone unnoticed feeling public is can turn that over the past year has been repeatedly met with life rounds. who are protesters have been killed in riyadh base year alone with 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 will be repressed harshly and we have heard and seen many reports by independent reporters and human rights organizations verifying this but. them astray 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 to mean the because of the russian and chinese vetoes at the u.n. . i think they decided to play a measure. by announcing you don't publicly. their plan to arms the rebels in syria for all its rough tactics at home and abroad here fate is never scolded by the u.s. a. lot and washington that currently negotiating a fifty billion dollars sale of advanced american weapons brothers in arms conveniently they're still knocking each other skippers. aren't feeling beirut lebanon. he is coming to you live from the heart of moscow and later in the program

for use winning the austerity. train an ounce of biggest budget cuts in over three decades following a nationwide strike against reforms. as the u.s. seeks new ways to pressure the syrian government is now slapping even more sanctions on iran the closest ally of damascus president obama has given the all clear for 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 restriction can come into force in late june it's all designed to force teheran into giving up its controversial nuclear program the white house claims there are enough oil sources in the world to keep the market from collapsing without iran's share but u.s. space research and writer soraya seven poor all rick thinks that america is simply shooting itself in the foot. i really don't think america has france it likes to

think it has allies but he manages to intimidate and bully other countries into doing it's been an extraordinary thing is that america is it imposing these sanctions is actually it is the national interest now not only are the american companies not allowed to trade with iran america's going i don't want how as well as the nations you can't do it either so i don't know why any nation like chicken or turkey would think for a moment that they're sorry when america dictates the rules i honestly don't believe this iran would ever imagine it's a billion year to program for one thing in a year all right and this is not a factor that unites you mine is all social economics classes and the government so the government's being a rational government all the time don't like to hear it would never give up

something that you nice people all rallies the people behind it. this is our team eurozone finance ministers have agreed to a boost to the e.u.'s rescue fund and out of eight hundred billion euros to help countries like spain recover from their crippling debt woes spain's financial crisis prompted the government to analysis biggest austerity measures in over three decades because he's vowed to cut twenty seven billion euros from its budget this year that comes after tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets on thursday to fight against labor reforms the strike turned a violent in barcelona as demonstrators smashed windows and set fires are rubbish bins but while the country struggles to rise out of his debt crisis economic analyst michael morrow says spain will never be able to implement these new cuts. what those men want to make the spanish government is not only is it if

pill it's also impossible when you look at the private sector private sector is totally over that more or less bankrupt or you look at the banks over there been quite central bank bankrupt government also mourner's bankrupt how can you implement an authority package in this circumstance just so everybody will see it is will this won't work i got i what i see is that spain is the last nail in the eurozone coffin so i mean we have two possibilities why the euro will be obviously not working well the first is that we will have kind of a mess to insurrection in spain itself have to do in order to calm the people of the other one is the financial aspect that it is not possible to help spain with fire from seven hundred billion euros in order to refinance themselves so if this if you come through this point them then i think germany will pull out of the euro

zone had for you this hour here on our team that have homeless in hollywood. i think america's run around playing kapil sibal hole would have been cleaned up to your backyard right here on skid row you've got the largest most popular in america right nowhere to go city of angels homeless community is on the rise well authorities turn a blind eye a law that in just a few minutes here on our. political prisoners associated with a dark chapter in soviet history when millions were locked up in forced labor camps known as gulags in a bit to make sure the horrors of the past are never forgotten russia has converted one of the last remaining gulags into a museum. 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 name all the victims and pass the knowledge of what happened here on to future generations. said get was an inmate at the perm camp in one nine hundred seventy four he was sentenced to seven years for agitation and anti 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 you had the freedom which didn't exist beyond their friends the freedom to actually say anything you wanted without fear what else could they do to you you were in prison already today surly 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 bedding it was usually

very cold which was serious we had to sleep on her and planks with no pillow. and you see him in turn thirty six allows visitors to come face to face with the realities of oppression with much of the original structure still intact it gives historians a glimpse into a harsh life not found anywhere else that's extraordinary. excellent union. however turn thirty six is not the only place that the repressions of the soviet era are remembered today monuments like this one in moscow 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 histories mistakes will be repeated. whenever we remember our past we

keep bringing up the main theme of rights and freedom past can be described as one big violation of human rights it was a symbol of lawlessness and a lack of freedom if we forget our past we will be unable to build any decent future. peter all of our party. you know we're coming here live from the heart of moscow are still to come your way in the next few minutes football fever is heading east ukrainian landlords are preparing just score big as kiev gears up to welcome millions of euro football for its. five give me the currency mind yet there's no more dollars or euros or anything what are we going to be training probably being we take to the streets of new york to hear opinions on how the euro crisis has been hitting the dollar. or is starting with thailand let's go to the r.t. was up in some other global news in brief for you or so where three separate bombs

have killed eight and left more than sixty wounded the blasts occurred in a commercial district of the jala municipality the first two were hidden not on motorcycles while the third was in a car bombings are a common tactic of islamist separatists who have been waging an insurgency in thailand for eight years leaving more than five thousand people dead. eleven people have been killed several others injured during four days of unrest in pakistan the violence was first triggered on wednesday after a politician was killed in a town of correction in the days that followed at least ten was shot dead prompting young people to take to the streets in protest police and the military forces have been deployed now to prevent any further violence. in mali rebels in the north of the country have captured the strategic town of kid girl but this comes just a week after the country's military staged a coup to overturn the president and seize power the army says they took control so

they could fight off the sahara a base to rebel threat but leader captain commodore sanogo has asked for foreign help to tackle the insurgents those insurgents actually fought in libya for colonel gadhafi before returning better armed to their homeland. chinese police have arrested six people are on the line where posts lead to rumors that a. may be in the works it comes off the circle where posts claim that military vehicles were seen on the streets of beijing the chinese government says the rumors had a negative influence on the public and sixteen websites have been closed for carrying the reports the scandal comes at a crucial time for the country's ruling elite following the removal from office of communist party chief bo xilai. the u.s. soldier accused of killing seventeen afghan civilians are under investigation washington still trying to mend its relationship with kabul about the massacre along with the recent burning of the koran and the u.s.

means afghan leaders are not buying the apologies thing as many as you can assess washington needs to revise its for approach when strategy. plenty of it again a stance might probably be remembered as run of the most unfortunate and it least successful trip ever conducted by the pentagon chief to afghanistan to major political blunder even before he boarded he explained where after the qur'an burning he authorized the u.s. commander in afghanistan to visit draw all american advisers from their afghan institutions both military and civilian so a small wonder that he'll have to pull real first from karzai we theists ultimatum to corral all u.s. ground forces into their forward operating bases and effectively no invoice

painting nitrates again says he's taliban brothers and second from the taliban when they announce they're postponing of the negotiations we have american partners regarding their reconciliation the next time you jump aboard the plane could better make sure that he's bound. islamabad not to cobol if he really means business and so nearly twenty minutes past the hour here in moscow in just over two months football fans from around the world will flood ukraine and poland for the euro two thousand and twelve championships and with over a million expected to descend upon kiev alone preparations to accommodate them what all but near completion that is r.t. as alexia shetty reports those coming for the beautiful game could begin for an ugly surprise. i love those that are the euro twenty two world football

championship has not even begun in ukraine but this ski of pensioner is already in high spirits york of course will. come out of believes this summer storm and is her last real chance to earn some money. i pensions are next to nothing our days are numbered and we went to see them off in style and earn a little money that's why we will let a room or a flat to football fans will start at fifty dollars a night depending on who stays here but the price could go higher sylvia design and lack of necessary amenities like air conditioning but come on is being fairly reasonable about the price she would charge for it with the greed of many other private landlords could prove costly for ukraine if you prefer to travel in comfort like renting this northerly design and fully equipped fliers be prepared to pay a fortune across a new this is an elite apartment in central pier 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 would 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 but i don't think we're doing anything different to what any will the house countries did in the past. accommodation process do travel prizes do royce 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 breakfast top place i think we're going to get actually strong skyrocketing prices urged for to send a stern warning to ukraine's government which promised to take action to pull

hotels have a risk of ending up half empty we warned their owners to lower the prices with so many low cost airlines being able to bring fans for games in and out of ukraine they might as well decide against saying here just coming for one day. the combination 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 is 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 and just as much that's unless the fans would not be scared away by the high prices let's hear assess the artsy reporting from kiev in ukraine. it's been over two years since the first cracks in the euro bloc are starting to appear that was when greece was unveiling

a series of austerity measures and a single currency has taken a hit from the euro crisis are having a major effect on the dollar so we take to the streets of the big apple to hear their views on the 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 a world power yeah i think that it's reasonable to assume my husband doesn't go well why don't you think that because it'll make you more competitive in export markets i think we're all going down we're all going to i mean every country every country. and the world time in a new world you know the mayans might be right december twenty first so what's going to be the currency. 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 so will you be willing to pay money in chinese yuan if it keeps going the same way absolutely i think we're very dependent on the dollar as the international trade is depending on the dog do you think it's going to change to something like the chinese yuan or the euro any time soon a little bit not so the euro the euro is really showing off its weaknesses this time 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 are tied up. it's not transparent enough for me do you think that it's time to start considering using your statement other currencies like he was under the euro personally know. why do you think americans are 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 to many people in the us or 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 occupying the large portion of north america with canada and mexico being the only neighboring nations there were has 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 whether or not you care the u.s. dollar is on the decline the bottom line is you might want to start paying attention to what other currencies are failing. i don't know any however it isn't always available to the least fortunate the national coalition for the homeless was right los angeles was the meanest city in

the u.s. when it comes to dealing with his poverty stricken population and while the government offers little help for the areas down and many are left with little hope for about a future that's always been a culture of. the city of angels the promise land of and this opportunities has become a living nightmare for some los angeles is a mirage. people believe that they're coming to see hollywood all the stars are here. the beautiful beaches the girls with the will come take a look at skid row and you can compare the third world country this treat is an informal border between shiny downtown l.a. and skidrow behind me in the shadow of the down valley skyline straight some fifty blocks with the largest concentration of homeless people in the entire country for

many it's not just a place it's a way of life and a last resort in the often unseen main underbelly of los angeles. the financial crisis has hit hard here record amounts of foreclosures have bangs turfing people out of their properties and onto the streets this city of angels is fast becoming a city of homeless joshua is among them two years ago he lost his job and while his income came to an app or uphold the bill certainly didn't well i was working as a system manager auto parts store and. i just kind of left legs and i don't have anywhere else to troll a recent report by the national coalition for the homeless range los angeles as the meanest city in the country when it comes to dealing with the pro. all of them were all. reported treated honored by law enforcement property in this country

as big criminal lives of your poor your. 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 a strategy that's winning the importance of the business community and real estate developers their job is to move all low income and homeless folks out of the growth of the community what they want to do with is what all the poor folks out so to do bella would 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 rights in the gutter i think americans run around playing captain full bore hole where they haven't played up their own backyard right here on skid row you've got the largest most popular in america right here the largest. mental situation going all right i mean just is

this is this pale and how this is going to get a hell of a lot worse it's predicted there will be a whopping one million foreclosures in california in the coming year so while joshua 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 peers. in the question artie reporting from los angeles california. it's a pleasure to have you with us on this saturday if you can do stay with us here an artsy hour interview sure spotlight coming your way in just just about two minutes today the guest that is the head of the witness protection program that you're a poll that's coming your way after a recap of the top stories. of

them of the you.