as friends welcomes its newly inaugurated president francois hollande get straight to business for the socialist leader who's heading to berlin for the euro crisis talks with german chancellor angela merkel. the only classes way cost between israeli police and abbott protesters doing ranee's by kind of sting and mocking not a day that some of the displacement of thousands of people in the state of israel was established in one nine hundred forty eight am operating block backlash activists in human rights groups vent anger at the u.s. for assuming arms sales to the bar a new regime despite its continued crackdown on dissent are still under house arrest julian assange delivers the latest edition of his talk show this time raising the subject of torture and illegal rendition.

five pm in moscow i met a good to have you with us here on r t our top story francoise hollande has officially become france's new president he was sworn in for a five year term at the elysee palace in a modest ceremony in central paris but just hours after the ceremony he's now heading to berlin where a lot of welcome dinner with german chancellor on the merkel and hold a crucial meeting to discuss the eurozone crisis socialist leader a lot is an avid campaigner for measures to stimulate growth and wants a compromise over germany's focus on austerity the two leaders of the euro zone's largest economies face immense pressure to iron out their differences or he's peter all over the ports from berlin. what francois alone do in the french presidential election he rolled. goal of the biggest ally in nicolas sarkozy when it came to her

she will stay as the only way to tackle europe's debt crisis has not been a great recent period for the german chancellor seeing some of the post her own christian democratic party suffered major losses in an election in the state of north rhine-westphalia a state viewed by many as a bellwether for gauging the opinion of german national politics as well so with macos each day it all eyes are now looking to see if they knew a range range meant can be sorted out between the leaders of europe's two largest economies francois along is heading. straight after he is sworn in as french president being welcomed here by angle of merkel and what's being called very much a getting to know you exercise as opposed to a decision making wall however it is expected to be looking to you gauge. opinions on things such as fiscal discipline and the promotion of the economy and

of juleps though for his part campaigned on a plate that he would try and remake go she ate the euro zone's fiscal pact which binds member states to austerity measures though this is something though that germany says is not on the table fiscal pact is closed it will not be reopened or renegotiated be watching it closely expect will see some form of agreement some form of compromise reached but ups with a parallel treaty being created or an onyx to the wooding of the original document that could see could favor growth a long sight cutting the deficit now what is going to be interesting though is even if they can come to some form of compromise this could just be papering over the cracks we have to pull the political leaders here who have very polarized who have polarized political views or long believed. they have to spend money to create

growth and to try to drag european countries out of the financial might add they find themselves in whereas anglo merkel remains committed to austerity and belt tightening saying that that's the only way that europe is going to be able to get itself out of recession and back on its feet. for more of the franco germany meeting were tarred joined by a lot of i know star former deputy speaker of the belgian parliament who is live for us with brussels. so a lot is determined to convince a merkel to find a compromise to the euro crisis strategy but how likely is the chancellor to shift her stance on austerity. well of course certain night's meeting is just going to be sort of you know dipping their toes in the water to feel how cold we're about it is so analysts picking many things from tonight but there's going to be a different sense in the in the coming months how deep there will be that remains to be seen just not forget first of all how long one but only would assume

a majority fifty two percent on the other hand merkel has suffered some serious blows so it all depends on what this strategy will be my feeling is that they're going to come to some sort of agreement where they will say ok i will emphasize that i had made some changes and you from the german side would say well we stated to the core of it but we just we made some minor changes here and there but it is definitely so that the austerity pact and is this. for the moment will have to change for some way or the other one now with nicolas sarkozy out the door what you think is next for franco german relations in general. well actually you know there will be some some troubles i wouldn't call it troubles on the economic issue but let's not forget the franco german relationship is much more than that and has been going on for much more than that i mean when the last socialist was president of france france from the can i. you know do these do these relations were quite good

as well so i don't think it's going to go to a level where they will be like some kind of all-star no no it's going to be more on the issue of details and trying to get. trying to get things done by not going by not saying too much the other guy lost or whatever it's going to be something that whether the result will satisfy differential germans that's that or instant scene speculated if you could on merkel's faith because her part in christian democrats were dealt a blow at the weekend during the north rhine-westphalia elections there which are seen as a bellwether for the national elections later to come what do you think it means in her bid for a third term at the federal elections next year oh it is this becomes very very very problematic and let's not forget it's not just one. stated that the two leading instead i mean german the federal state not aligned with fallujah is one quarter of the german population and it's also one of the economic strong roots in

the country so i think it would she's looking for is the end of the second man the first mended but of course things can change your home enough to roll in the future can be for a scene so the question is whether what will that mean for international politics will she get more and issues that she was for or was he sort of compromised to you know to alleviate the negative results that remains an open question but in indeed she is she's in for some dire straits in the coming future yes there is a lot of talk of greece shifting gears now greece having to exit the euro euro zone over the past couple of days now merkel so she is firmly against it what i think is a lot on stance towards that. that is something of a big question still there are arguments you know you would see how he wouldn't mind being on the other hand let's not forget that a lot of the greek debt is in france is in front friends of banks saw france as an . did have an interest in maintaining greece we didn't do you assume of course.

when new when there's going to be a new election which i think it's inevitable in athens that is. it remains to be seen what will happen because the distance a look fun to truly going to win the again in the next elections in june in greece and then to stand this one phone we do not want to keep it packed as it is for the moment so it will be a tougher stance and there's going to be some rough times yet for the eurozone to meet right thanks very much lot over last former deputy speaker of the belgian parliament joining us from brussels i. were reporting extensively on the shaky economic situation in the euro zone over on our web site r t dot com greek markets braced for a rough ride as analysts predict a continuing move down towards tuesday also on by. sweeping up the i.q. of the opposition iraqi forces detain suspected anti-government activists find out

what might happen to them next. clashes broke out between protesters and israeli police as palestinians mark nakba or catastrophe day there commemorating the hundreds of thousands of displaced palestinians after the creation of the state of israel in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight archy's possibly or has the latest from tel aviv. protesters have been throwing stones at israeli security forces to have been responding with water cannons and tear gas we're also hearing reports of molotov cocktails being thrown and tires being burned meanwhile in gaza thousands of protesters have participated in a rally just not far from the united nations building there and that is to commemorate the day in ramallah city itself protesters marched on the tomb of the format of the

p.l.o. yes i refer it to the palestinian authority government building but on the whole things ought really to be quiet certainly compared to last year when twelve people were killed when they try to storm the israeli lebanese and syrian borders but the police remain on a state of high alert because certainly the day is young and there is a fear that these commemorations could descend into violence as the day progresses lets pass weekend israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu sent to the palestinian president mahmoud abbas and in that recall israel's commitment to peace and restarting negotiations that was in response to later that a bus said netanyahu last month and then again we heard the same words being expressed at the weekly cabinet meeting on sunday by netanyahu saying that he hopes that the advancement of dialogue will see the resumption of diplomatic talks between both sides but no one here is holding their breath and certainly the word

coming out of the palestinian camp is that netanyahu government remains as right wing as ever just last year the government approved a change in the budget that gave a finance minister the discretion to reduce funding to those organizations that organize the naacp commemorations and it's the same government that said well we're this year around many criticizing this as a violation of freedom of speech and also an exclaimed by the israeli government to simonds the suffering of palestinians now i met up with a woman who perhaps more than most. stands for wife in the uk by day means so much to the palestinians but is also able to empathize with israel. for seven decades hid her secret only now has this muslim mother of seven and grandmother of twenty nine revealed to her family the full truth about her past i need that i didn't want my children to be afraid for me and be part of my grief we're here all the time in

a war between jew and arab so why tell them about another war that other war was in one nine hundred forty two parents were among the millions of jews rounded up across europe and sent to auschwitz death camp by the nazis mother was eight months pregnant with her at the time or lack of clarity again i was born in auschwitz i was a jew i spent three years in auschwitz and i survived only because a christian doctor in a campaign me and my two brothers under the floor in his house my mother and father worked for him and at night they would crawl in with us and give us dry bread soaked in hot water with salt when they are members and make a playlist all feels fear when she hears a loud knocking at the door i think they are coming to kill me i remember the bones the bodies legs hands the people this barbed wire fence i remember terrible beatings in the camp i cry

a lot when i cry my heart is calm. after she was freed from the camp immigrated to israel when she was sixteen she met her husband a local arab man. i was working in a neighbour's house and she brought me something to drink. decided to get married it did not matter to me that she was jewish. but had matter to layla's family her father didn't speak to her for a year and most of her israeli jewish cousins have disowned their young couple moved here to. an arab village in northern israel where local versity is. she says so that her children would not have to serve in the israeli army and to now they knew their mother had been through it but they didn't know she being a holocaust survivor. i did not betray the jewish people i don't hate jews definitely not i really only converted for my children i feel completely accepted here if i hear someone say they hate jews i answer them and say you receive right

from this country why hate the people who give them to you. now after seventy years her secret has finally come out clearly went to collect her pension money and the clark made the connection and that that's where we were shocked we didn't know what to say it was so difficult to hear but we opened our mouths and nothing came out i think got she survived. his jewish name is leah shufti but she hasn't really or since all those years ago when she arrived in israel as a refugee just months before the state of israel was declared him a nine hundred forty eight a date israeli celebrate that one left palestinians mourn is the nakba or catastrophe the displacement of hundreds of thousands of their ancestors and i'm not happy or sad on this day i understand how israelis feel and i understand how arabs feel and i feel both

a lot of people have died for nothing the jewish mother and the muslim mother feel the same painting and it's that pain that palestinians around the world remember today policia r.t. omar for israel. in bahrain security forces a dispersed another anti-government rally by firing tear gas and rubber bullets latest violence against a peaceful movement that flared up more than a year ago but despite the oppression washington's resumed arms sales to the bahraini regime which is a key u.s. ally as are he's got an interesting report. that. they meet bahrain's persistent crackdown on protesters journalists and human rights activists washington welcomes bahrain's crown prince and his broker to the united. and pledges to resume arms supplies to a key ally in the gulf. the u.s. had suspended weapons sales to bahrain in the light of massive human rights

violations by these sorties there but now the state department has issued a statement saying that american weapons will soon be heading to bahrain and again . we've made this decision i want to emphasize on national security grounds we've made this decision mindful of the fact that there remain a number of serious unresolved human rights issues in bahrain which we expect the government of bahrain to address bahrain host the u.s. fifth fleet it's around forty ships two aircraft carriers sixteen thousand personnel and major force in the gulf region clyde prestowitz a top economist in the reagan and clinton administrations argues the us has traded principles for military bases we've sided with the ruling sunni. regime because of the base of this of the fifth fleet. in the gulf. and so yeah i mean i think we compromised in the same statement announcing the

resumption of arms supplies to bahrain washington calls for the country's opposition to show restraint. we concerned by what has now become almost daily street violence and we are in this context bahrain's. a little opposition to call for an end to the violence against police that's a stark difference from the u.s. approach towards other countries in the region engulfed in anti-government protests where the u.s. has tacitly or openly encouraged violence against government forces and libya the united states was openly attacking and supporting it was openly supporting the libyan rebels and their attacks against the state even though this was. an art to essentially sure that now was the doing proper board and then syria similarly there has been no then there were only four or restrain from violence by the opposition forces there so it's a little bit odd to see this only in bahrain it's

a highly asymmetrical about a situation it's not a case in which. in which there's enormous violence brought by the protesters against the police forces it's clearly by the bahraini state against the civilians the general perception is that the u.s. doesn't want to rock the boat in bahrain because of its fifth fleet there so it's a case of eyes wide shot at human rights violations it might seem like a normal trade off in the wall of politics but critics say it makes a mockery of america claiming the high moral ground in other countries in the arab world where political unrest wages company check our reporting from washington our team. will stay with us here on r.t. still to come this hour a space reinforcement solar used. from baikonur in kazakhstan bringing a crew of three up to the international space station details ahead. but first a rendition of alleged terror suspects and torture in the notorious guantanamo bay prison focus on julian

a songe in this latest edition of his controversial talk show his guest one of whom has been a guantanamo inmates share their point of view on the u.s. war on terror laura smith has details on the program which are airs later this hour . speaks to people who have had first hand experience of the effects of the war on terror one of them is us and correctly who is used to be a corporate lawyer but now campaigns for detainees of the war on terror through an organization called k. to prison as the second interviewee hears a man called begg he himself spent some years in guantanamo bay before being released without charge during his detention actually signed a confession which said that he had been prepared to fight alongside al qaida he provided assistance to al qaida members knowing that they could commit terrorist attacks against the u.s. during the program he talks about how he came to sign that confession that's what

brought me to the point where i would sign something like this was being tied up with. my legs with a hood placed over my head being punched kicked listing to the sound of a woman screaming next all i'm told is led to believe as my wife my children's pictures being waved in front of me being asked by these interrogators when do you think you're going to see them again what you think happened the night that we took you from the. back during the show goes into great detail about the horrors of his detention in guantanamo bay when he got home to britain he sued the british government for complicity in his ordeal and he reached an out of court financial settlement with the government since then though he and i. have been actively trying to end this practice of detention without trial caressa during the program talks about what drives him to carry on with his fight seeing guantanamo. charge of the u.k. extradition and all of these things call me and tell you what actually the north is

being abused for a specific purpose and all of them. used to be involved something was working against these these policies in prisons is this an important voice. almost it is empowering that's just a little bit self the program you can see the whole thing that which is being broadcast for the first time on day methods. turning out as some other stories making headlines across the globe for clashes in the area have left at least thirty dead just a month after a cease fire came into effect state troops launched a military assault on the town of harasta and with rebel fighters still holding out against the government a cease fire negotiated by kofi anon as part of a plan to end the turmoil that swept the country since last year of last year's revolt against the assad regime violence is happening as syria announces the results of its first multi-party election in fifty years. since military

officials say they have stepped up a new u.s. backed offensive against al qaeda insurgents in the south of the country clashes continue till early tuesday capturing six militants with at least four soldiers also killed officials also say in a separate incident raids have mistakenly killed eight civilians and wounded twenty in the southern town of jaar political turmoil in yemen has led to a growing is a limited insurgency in the country so. e.u. naval forces of conducted a first raid on pirate bases in somalia helicopters and warships were used in the overnight attack though officials say there were no injuries somali pirates are thought to be holding about seventeen it seems ships and three hundred crewmembers demanding huge ransoms for the release anti-piracy forces have been reluctant to attack mainland bases in the past fearing for the welfare of the captured crew as the. former editor of the news of the world has been charged with attempts to conceal evidence over britain's phone hacking scandal rebecca brooks faces three

counts of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and could face life in prison if found guilty her husband and four others are also charged sturges' are the first in the long inquiry and relates to concealing documents and computers from police last july. finally in the news block a soyuz spacecraft has set off from a cosmic drone in kazakhstan bringing two russian cosmonauts and the u.s. astronaut up to the international space station. as more. we're at the baikonur cosmodrome as close as we could get to the launch pad with the three man crew part of the thirty one thirty two expedition are ready to set off for the international space station let's have a moment and take a look at this amazing occurrence. now they are going to be docking with the international space station in two days on may seventh they will be in orbit. for the next four months that period has

been shortened from the initially scheduled six month period still a lot of work to be done first and foremost cosmonauts and astronauts are scientists so a lot of scientific experiments will be taking place on the. they will be docking at the ais as will be docking with several. cargo vessels in european japanese american vessels they also will be doing several spacewalks as well one of those will be concerning the situation where. they will be joining the rest of the thirty one thirty two expedition three people already their course a big do have to have a good time and now when it comes to he's lucky enough to celebrate his birthday on may seventeenth when the so use is actually scheduled dog international space station what a way to celebrate a birthday. what

a way indeed what cady pilbeam is. co-located so the greek situation still the main topic for the markets today. is going to come as no surprise my. home and i think at the moment it's all about the political tunnel and it's really keeping at the global market pressure for another wake this is saying that it's now a little possibility that the greats will exit the year i signed if we look at an access focus on that for a second because us around a quarter of a percent. because they did have some positive results coming out g.d.p. no point five percent growth now let's say but sure informix was topped off with his unimpressed view almost because it's one of us. by the noise statistics you see of morning. people. a lot of attention figures like this worse actually come to think of it is just one month or some more some statistical data. is a big of the bigger picture is much more saw today we will have some respond to

these international markets and knowing the russian market some response from the recent. but. it is the start of some or some decent rally long term of course not so we still have to see some more margin more bloodletting to go this way. i can talk about the bigger picture let's get on to the banking sector has a vote of no confidence and that is moody's cut the credit ratings on twenty six lenders including the country's majors like uni credit not ten of them were downgraded just so good junk status well some sold the ratings can't buy as much as i thought not just the agency said the banks were increasingly vulnerable to its recession and the effects of the government austerity measures all of them also put on negative credit and what that means that further downgrades are off abilities about is the concern at the moment is get on to the euro dollar and see how about reacting to all of that and indeed take a look at i guess and see i do believe it is that has made it is indeed gaining one

twenty seven or so that is showing appreciation for those german g.d.p. figures like that we look at the one ball will see that it is indeed again against us here as we see if it can finish up on a high at the end of the trading session let's get on to the russian figures as they held their performance now i do believe they are edging into the red. so they are looking set to finish on the back foot in today's trading session here yes then eighty one percent down the my. six tenths of a percent in the territory we get into the movers and shakers will see that it's a mixed picture at the moment the biggest the biggest ones ahead of us over percent in positive territory that spawn just brings an interesting report from them apparently they're feeling the pressure from europe because exports to europe have fallen twelve percent in the first four months of the year as well as call another energy major then you reach a percent up ok that isn't true the figures let me tell you as well that u.s.

markets are set to open in less than ten minutes time and stock futures are pointing upward so i have the exact figures for you in about fifty minutes time of the next better. ok i believe that said all right thank you very much and coming up shortly the next installment of jewelry on a soldier's high profile new show who talks with a former guantanamo bay detainee on the u.s. policies for its war on terror first though the headlines stay with us. you.

would be so much brighter if you knew all about song from funniest impressions. his friend starts on t.v. dot com. the news sigrid laboratory to mccurry was able to build a new its most sophisticated robot which all unfortunately doesn't give a darn about anything tim's mission to teach music creation why you should care about humans and worry that this is why you should care only on the algae dot com.