these top stories marty palestine moves up to the international arena becoming a un recognized observer state which could allow it to pursue israel over claims of war crimes. egypt's power struggle spirals rival forces gather strength for the showdown over the draft constitution and the president's self-imposed supreme authority got the latest on. plus watch this space there are more wiki leaks on the way julian aside from his more ground shaking revelations next year as he talks to us to. live near to new central moscow is kevin owen here it's one am moscow time now the

palestinians moved a big step closer to being fully recognizes independent last week the u.n. voted to upgrade the administration's diplomatic status to a normal member observer state middle east correspondent paula slee reports now on how the move may signal a change in the way the world sees israel's actions. it might have been a foregone conclusion but that didn't dampen the jubilation on the streets of palestine. overwhelming support for upgraded palestinian state has to a nonmember observer state in the un one hundred thirty eight voting in favor nine against look at me forty one abstentions it's important political and legal victory to hold israel accountable in a practical way on its violations the international law and its violations of the rights of the palestinian people especially on the expansion of illegal settlements

palestinians can now apply to join the international criminal court and other global organizations giving them better bargaining chips indeed. with israel but it came at a price within hours tel aviv announced it was building three thousand more homes in the west bank a sure sign that the situation on the ground won't change overnight or the birds does it's not a step forward it's a step aside or even you know a step. burka that's really a pity the international community gives of this violation the u.s. was also quick to cost the cloud over the palestinian party mood the unfortunate and counterproductive resolution at the united nations general assembly that just passed today's grand pronouncements will soon fade and the palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed but washington's unflinching support for tel aviv has separated from some of its

longtime allies in the un more and more countries are turning their back on decades of negotiations that have led nowhere what has changed has been the continual failure of the us controlled so-called peace process to lead to any kind of end to occupation and what i think was the catalyst here is that political pressure on other matters in on the palestinian authority from their own population from their own people who were saying you know what we've had twenty one years of failed diplomacy we're not looking for twenty two we want something different and that's something means a real shift in policy first and foremost the consensus on the international stage is that israel needs to stop building settlements deemed illegal by the un certain to be international community you know is an hors d'oeuvres way to start a provocation which heroes our cars are going to run so called. it was

a little more than a year ago that palestinian president mahmoud abbas came to the u.n. in a bid for statehood. since then tel aviv and washington's approach to the middle east conflict has gained them an ever shrinking minority of supporters the irony is that the bid was passed on the watchers of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his rightwing foreign minister avigdor lieberman it was last year that lieberman boasted in the united nations that the moral majority of western states was with israel it now turns out he was wrong and whether israel wants it or not it's increasingly clear that something needs to give pause here r.t. tel aviv no but earlier israeli college lecturer of miri eisin spoke to me she said that thursday's move was directed against israel. the majority of israelis including this government by the way have stated clearly that they'd like to see palestine independent and both of us understand that there is

a difference between saying palestine independent and doing it on your own with the united nations without israel as a partner as if saying that the impediment is just the state that's here let's do this hand in hand without negotiations without us as a partner to do a one sided to impose it on israel and they feel the strong need to give a response as an israeli i can say that has to do with domestic politics personally i don't necessarily adhere to that step i think you've heard a lot of criticism here in israel in linking it in such a way that is also about politics but of course israel maybe not helping the other could be said on top of the announcement of the settlements is also announced is not going to hold over a hundred million dollars of aid to the palestinians to pay back debts to israeli companies is really an option when of course you've got the world's largest refugee populations on your doorstep well that refugee population is something that needs to be taken care of in any case but i'm looking at these as part of the last four

years the decision that was made on thursday from my point of view as an israeli was anti israel not just pro palestinian i want to see something which is a win win situation one that's both pro palestinian that goes towards an independent state not just in rhetoric and then not just rationed but in actuality and to do so those same palestinians kevin how to come back to the negotiation table for the last four years they have refused to do so they've refused time and again and we're all aware of that it was one of the main reasons that the forty states who did abstain from the vote on thursday did so because of that rejection of israel it isn't just about being pro palestine it's also about accepting israel here and that's where we need to go. egyptians are supposed to decide on the new constitution in two to weeks. but if last week was anything to go by it will be easy there was widespread anger as the president got himself sweeping new powers while supreme court judges couldn't rule in a jet is a legitimate c.

of the draft charter after supporters of mohamed morsy stopped them from getting into the chamber the courts now suspended his working definitely in protest. in cairo. good unrest returns to the streets after the revolution that toppled hosni mubarak after the election that brought in mohamed morsi egypt is in turmoil once again these round the clock protests have been going on for over a week now it resembles early two thousand and eleven when hosni mubarak was removed from power but that was nearly two years ago shouldn't the revolution have ended by now the mood on top risk where became defiant again after last week's to creep president morsi meaning his decisions would face new legal challenge we had the revolution to get rid of a tyrant the dictator. in in order to that we have made elections and rid of illusion and with elections to choose someone to the present

us and turned out that this guy is also a tyrant himself however morsi claims his new powers are only temporary he nor any of the b.b.q. two in the world who closely near the will tell you it is a temporary thing it is full emergency told us the seamstress same thing city is a war on the president obama and we stayed under emergency rule for seventy years opponents say egypt's new constitution is too islamist could set the country on the road to religious dictatorship but some sections of society are keen to show their support for morsi and this storm for judges who would block the constitution and i'm here to support the president morsi for them is open but if you for them is open for them to the constitutional court. most of us knows that since it is the morsi is that they got the list. by the people we know that the fight for. the risks in society are undeniable and perhaps more even the north or terry in islam

this fear is that chaos will tear apart any games made by the revolution this is something new in egypt that's why it's it's more sitting in a way where you'll find that people are facing each other in the streets in the ministrations. facing that type of violence from islamic groups egypt's president its government its courts its very constitution are now matters of heated debate one of the few things moved to gyptian steve seem to agree on after the long night of mubarak a new date is proving elusive tom bottom party. do sound promising some new shock revelations to rival the hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables published by wiki leaks two years ago the editor of the whistle blowing web site also claims the us is becoming a totalitarian state with the help of social media haven't called it already you see the full interview on our website at www dot com. the problem is that all

the time everyone nearly everything they do on the internet is permanently recorded every web search to know what you were thinking one year two days three months ago now you don't know google knows it remembers the national security agency intercepts the request of the u.s. border it knows will be. national security agency whistleblower who was research head of the national security agency's signals intelligence division describes this as turning a key to totalitarianism that all the infrastructure has been built for absolute totalitarianism it's just a matter of turning the key and actually the key has already been turned a little bit and it is now affecting people who are targeted for us drone strikes organizations like wiki leaks. national security reporters who are having the sources investigated is already partly turned and you know the question is would go

all the way. election turnout stumbled in kuwait it seems the opposition calls paid off a few minutes we'll tell you why changing the rules has enraged the voters plus the prime minister press in a public baying for blood dumping ethics inquiry says britain's free media needs to be reined in with regulation more but after this break.

the great russian warriors. prevailing over hazards and asperity. to reconnect and at the parades through paris. can they complete that triumph. with people's admiration for two hundred. government no longer represents the people the people are going to take the term. we. please just in the traditional flu to the money.

the way our economic system currently is not a. little slip. point. cut. em.

we speak your language. news programs and documentaries in spanish matters to you breaking news a little turn it into angles stories. so you hear. that spanish find out more visit i. think pro-government counted as one the lion's share of seats in parliament after saturday's election but these are misled opposition which boycotted the vote claim

the turnout was as low as twenty six percent dismissing the lawmaking body that is illegitimate the opposition protests until the u.s. backed monaco dissolved parliament catherine off reports from the gulf state. full voting in kuwait highly controversial elections may be over but the battle over the country's political future has only just begun lots of new faces in the newly elected parliament which is deemed to be far more government friendly than the previous assembly but that is because the opposition didn't want any candidates and oh boy caught of the vote not that protest was deemed to be a success with official estimates of placing voter turnout at roughly thirty nine percent in stark contrast to sixty percent voter turnout that we've seen in the last three elections in this country the opposition claims the turnout was in fact much lower and it's always the new body is illegitimate in fact they told the new assembly on constitutional according to the popular committee who are boycotting the election vote the new body doesn't represent the majority of the great people

and has lost the popular and political legitimacy the question is of course whether the opposition is now going to take its battle to the streets and whether the monarchy will respond with a heavy hand now what happens here in kuwait has implications far beyond the country's borders as an opec member any sort of on a rest is bound to have an effect on world oil prices the country also serves as a hub for the pentagon's ground forces with thousands of american combat troops stationed here as a military council wait to iran the gulf monarchies as a whole have been struggling to stave off the effects of the arab spring with varying degrees of success kuwait is largely seen as the most tolerant of all the trees but the worry here is that the trend could be reversed over the past few months the country has seen increasingly violent escalating protests between the opposition and security forces with the latter using tear gas stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse crowds political parties are banned as are political

gatherings of more than twenty people and activists are claiming of a clamp down against dissent here in this country authorities did allow thousands of the opposition demonstrators to gather in a largely peaceful rally on. friday of course the coming weeks are bound to test the limits of the government's tolerance as well as the self control of the opposition what happens here in kuwait could very well write the next chapter of the arab spring is the casting of party debate. some analysts say kuwait's regime will have staying power as long as it enjoys the support that comes with being a key u.s. ally the most important element in all of this is whether or not the opposition is able to stand up against this family the ruling class the ruling class in kuwait and most importantly standing against u.s. imperialism kuwait in and of itself is not terribly important but when seen in the context of the g.c.c. and seen as one of the most reliable u.s. allies particularly juxtaposed against what is happening in bahrain and we

understand that the united states in the western powers cannot allow the saw family to fall you have to see that kuwait is a launching point in a possible war against iran so all of these taken together really shows that the united states has both political geo political and then of course social reasons why they want to maintain the status quo. pretty free press and he could face his toughest regulation and three hundred years he crossed the line when caught hacking the voice mails of royalty celebrities and a murder victim. for reports on the inquiry that exposed the see the relationship between the papers the police and the politicians. revelations that the british press and gauged in phone hacking sparked a wave of public revulsion and kicked off one of the biggest media scandals. yes at times it threatened not just street. but downing street as well as the allegations went all the way to the heart of the

british government to douse the flames number ten ordered the creation of the leveson inquiry in order to investigate the claims and now two years in the making after a chorus line of celebrity witness says and millions in taxpayers' money the leveson report damning about the press and heavily critical of both the police and the government thought it says was that cozy relationship with the media cameron has been shown with hunt to have been actually batting for the murdoch empire was part of all of this so you know i think that you know there needs to be a bit more of a focus on the five years of the police. to do anything about these criminal acts lord leveson his recommendation is for highest standards of self-regulation by the press in forced by legislation and that's what critics fear could stifle the already declining newspaper industry and deal a huge blow to the freedom of the press in the u.k. is there any way in which you can be a little bit censored or

a little bit monitored and most people say no with britain now in the midst of a post leveson hangover is the country's two top politicians who are likely to be the most embarrassed david cameron might be suffering from some uncomfortable flashbacks back in october the prime minister promised to support the leveson recommendations as long as they went bonkers and cut to last week i have some serious concerns and misgivings on this recommendation they break down into issues of principle practicality and but david cameron's change of heart when. guarding the inquiry's findings what would be causing him half the headache that nick clegg might be nursing at the moment the liberal democrat deputy prime minister used to talk about liberal democracy a labor previous essence will be will be remembered as the government who took your freedoms away we want to be remembered as the ones who gave them back not anymore

here he is off to leveson published their report i have always said that i would support lord justice leveson reforms providing they are proportionate and workable and i will come on to why i believe that is the case as far as the report's corporate core proposal is concerned namely a tougher system of so for a glacial supported by new independent checks recognised in law recent polls suggest that over two thirds of britons have little or no faith in the newspaper industry anymore and with revelations about the strong links between the police the politicians and the media it's not only trust in fleet street that when dealing i think going to be the word you know obviously we've been very worried about murdoch and his press for some time but i think it's always gone on between should keep an eye on it and be aware of it. with opinions raging for and against new legislation it's turning into a no win situation for those in power by questioning the results of the inquiry

david cameron looked to his critics like he abandoned the victims of media intrusion for some good press which is what got the government in trouble in the first place polly boy k r t london. embrace the smaller radical islamists blame for a series of deadly attacks on churches and buildings in northeast nigeria there are conflicting reports about casualties but it's not at least ten dead the morning cars nor motorbikes rampage through two villages in borno state targeting christian worshipers and government buildings and were understood to be attacks by the bucko . around group. disabled people space stage of mass protest against government cuts in health care do you do austerity measures more than ten thousand people turned the demonstration many wheelchairs are with guard dogs the spanish government struggling to deal with the country's debt crisis right now which has left one in four people unemployed. exit polls suggest former prime minister pause on course to

win the presidential election in slovenia he reportedly received twice as many votes as the incumbent and. the votes was held only two days after the protests in the country's capital erupted into clashes that there fifteen injured. coming up some adventurous russians reenact the historic march towards paris during the napoleonic wars we follow the cossacks then all the way to the shelves elisei to this break. this is a legacy no one should be proud. of scrap metal littering pristine arctic landscape building stilton over their foundation pipes spewing black smoke over the snow covered peaks the traces of the soviet industrial activity on the bergen archipelago don't make a pretty picture the guiding principle here is the worse the better locals like to

tell the story that back in soviet times when norwegians were visiting barons were they also expressed amazement. at how prosperous this settlement was well times have obviously a change when they saw it lags they still attracting a region tourists are barons work i would then commerce watch native cash that's why when. our goal is common as was uncovered here a few days ago instead of throwing it away the local administration decided to paint it in you and put it at barron's work central square that in the nine hundred eighty s. there was a burgeoning mining community the soviet union was determined to maintain it costs to a degree located halfway between north america and western europe the bergen archipelago is part of norway with a special status that allows other countries to set up industrial bases here in the middle of the cold war it served as the use of czars westernmost outpost now it's

one of the last preserved relics. picture of the soviet union if it was cut off from any financial support for two decades it's a curious site for western tourists and i think it could be even more appealing for russians trying. to keep its presence on spitsbergen russian film until a coal mine here but in terms of profit is far behind local shops so we do. bill it is a big hit the defunct are incurred still helps keep the money flowing. it's all rushing through your show but you can't put a. link there on. your local administration is increasingly under pressure to bring the infrastructure up to more than standards. for its a not very popular with tourists if you come into a very authentic place like. it should stay the way it is that would be my wish i

mean that's the part of the you know authentic tradition. i should not like to have it in a shiny condition to be on us this time to change even for the better is not always good for business something that even a local band has become attuned to when they try to add the morning russian songs to their repertoire it left the audience called all they wanted to hear it was a song comfortably familiar. in lines of three arms length apart word march. in the provincial french town of montrose life is taking its usual laid back course

but today the townsfolk are in for a surprise russian troops from the napoleonic wars have. it's a great day. the likes of these men have not been seen here for the past two hundred years it's almost as though a full parade has travelled through time bringing with it all the splendor of the pure bred horses weapons and but with typical of the day. russian cossacks are here again marching towards. mostly but it comes from a family of cossacks and he's learned to sing the old version of the. when his horse became lingering the journey the silly had to trail behind the procession he still believes the question of who won the battle is relevant. but you would say the battle ended in a draw but it was an honorable droll there's no doubt the french emerged victorious they did override the battlefields and to have a seize the battlefield was the victor but even if it was a victory it was

a costly one. to ensure that good morning well over. at least for. the excitement of the grand tour of paris has still a long way in the future for the course i could just beginning to get ready for the journey. and it all started here exactly one year ago. hats on. vassily is making ready to ride his horse. just like a member of the family. and children. need to talk to him. he sees just like

a toddler he sees the world the same way. none of them has. even anyone to enter his stable. his head. to keep his head. means he likes and trusts me. with. nothing but intense training. tricks and how to shoot. straight.