dot com. london is expected to scotland the power to hold an independence referendum just as the ukraine's prime minister is pressured by his own m.p.'s to hold a symbol of them separating from the european union. a french ground operation in mali is nonstop the days of a heavy bombardment against al qaida linked insurgents amid a growing threats of retaliation against those who support the mission. and iran has a team of u.n. atomic experts hoping to make progress in nuclear talks while western sanctions shake the country's economy but not its people's resolve.

international news and comment online on the screen around the world this is r.t. scotland may soon get a boost in its push for independence the u.k. house of lords is set to debate providing edinburgh with the powers necessary to hold a referendum on a breakaway and peace at westminster already unanimously approve the move the scottish government wants to hold a referendum in the autumn of twenty fourteen this is the strong push me to put it within the u.k. itself where many feel they can be sure to part ways with the e.u. pretty boy has more well the pressure is really piling on the british prime minister david cameron because he's set to give a speech on friday where he wants to talk about renegotiating britain's role within the european union and that's a very difficult situation for him because there's a lot of euro skeptic m.p.'s who are piling on the pressure saying that you know

the status quo really needs to be changed at the moment at the same time we've got the british public we've recently learned that over fifty percent of them say in a recent poll that they would vote to leave the e.u. because that's fed up with the amount of money that. leaves from the british. budget every month goes over to brussels at the same time they want to see a lot of powers returned to the u.k. powers that are currently ceded to brussels to do with extradition to do with the criminal justice system to do with social policies as well so for david cameron it's a difficult situation and there's definitely a feeling that the status quo is definitely being challenge so along with the scottish independence and the possible referendum over that and britain's relationship with the e.u. it's all kind of on shaky ground at the moment we've got a group of euro skeptic m.p.'s within the parliament who say that they've actually got the backing of over one hundred tory m.p.'s who have just outlined

a massive manifesto for change and this comes two days before cameron's big speech and it's almost like a shopping list of demands of what they want to see changed about britain's relationship with europe and if they can't get that they're likely to say well why don't we leave you we have the british electorate who are very very annoyed with every issue with your feel that she's getting in the way of doing business. in their daily lives which is not one they really expected then you have a generational thing in the united kingdom a referendum on this took place in the mid seventy's so. i'm a middle aged politician and never in my lifetime has there been a chance to have a say on what their relationship with europe should be like so there's a big call for a referendum in the end i think and of course the government has been accused of trying to cherry pick the policies that they do want on part of that sort of membership within the e.u. and to purchase side of things that they don't want and reportedly senior officials

in brussels have said that the e.u. membership is not an menu and that britain can't just say we're going to renegotiate our terms it's not as easy as that so for david cameron it's going to be a bit of a tightrope on friday that he's going to have to walk and all eyes are on him for the big speech on friday. coming up we report on how those in britain an exit from the e.u. may find their case getting a little stronger than the unemployment a tad and unity crisis failed to dampen cypresses goodbye party in brussels with lawmakers praising it for exemplary leadership of the european union. but also moderate islamist accord protests that are. coming up we report on what the government sees as a conspiracy between people and judiciary to depose it. all that still to come for you but first french troops have fought their first face to

face battle with islamic insurgents in mali the ground operation comes after five days of intense air attacks there the army is aiming to prevent the al qaeda affiliated militants who sees vast areas in the north of the former french colony from moving towards the capital market but the operation has apparently led to the first retaliation mali militants have raided a b.p. gas field in neighboring algeria killing two people and kidnapping a group of around forty european and japanese workers well for more on the french combat mission and its consequences i'm joined live by the. spokesperson of marine use the president of the national front now do you think the attack in algeria could perhaps be in retaliation for this french intervention in mali there are strong algerian links to this insurgency are. well actually yes there are international ties on this level of islamism and jet fighters

but we actually supports the actions taking place in mali because this country is an old friends and we had to intervene to stop in to prevent what was going on in the north of the country. so there is there a general political backing then including your party for what faults well and is doing. yes also known as the president of france actually he was elected and he is the commander in chief of the army but still we have a balanced point of view on this question because we say what is happening in north mali today is the consequence the direct consequence of what happened after the revolution in libya which has given a lot of force there was a lot of money poured into these islamist militants who were in libya and this money was given. his socialist friends as well so now we see ok we're cleaning up the mess which is happening now in mali because of the consequences of libya well

many are saying the french intervention in mali is unavoidable but you couldn't have said that about libya. yes because in libya we supported the revolution who has helped islamist militants to get a lot of money and weapons now today we have to clean up the islamists in mali but still we are defending islamist fighting in syria so there is a kind of problem here or in the international level of the french politics. we were just talking about what's happened in algeria could perhaps this be an indication of what could happen on french soil is your government concerned about retaliatory attacks. yes of course they are the government is very concerned about the attacks now on the third level of four actually concerning the probability of being attacked by terrorist groups on our own soil it is linked to our international actions and wars that we are leading of course we are aware of that

and it's true it's a reality that's for true for that's for sure. now you mentioned earlier we saw a lot of countries under nato all gathering to support that intervention in libya but we're not really seeing exactly the same sort of support of the moment in mali for france all week we are getting some sort of help from the likes of the u.s. and u.k. but it's not significant just france feel slightly isolated known as i am with this one. france is still a great nation i think is still a powerful nation has a powerful army. who knows these territories will be linked to africa for a long time already mali has always been a friend of our country and there is no reason why we wouldn't help them and will be capable of doing it especially because you don't want to see this spreading around the regions and the territories and the countries next in the neighbors mali

for example. talking about causey he was perhaps hoping to score political points it didn't do a lot of good for his ratings do you think though you seem to be backing francois hollande and you're saying there's a lot of cross party backing for him could he actually score political points out of this but if we see french troops and after all they're involved in the first ground incursion at the moment coming back in body bags and indeed retaliatory retaliatory attacks on french soil that is a very risky policy for him that could backfire. of course always a risk to the side to have a war but this war is necessary because we don't want to leave our friends of mali alone that they would have been overthrown by islamist forces which i want to repeat again were armed by the libyan revolution and the money which was given by sarkozy and his friends but now we have to intervene because it is now the situation and it's very necessary of course it's always horrible to lose our soldiers the sons of our country in this war but it is our duty it is our one or

two to protect the people of the peoples in mali from what is happening today ok a little bit done spokes person for marine le pen president of the national front joining me there live on r t thanks very much indeed for your thoughts thank you. the u.n. atomic agency experts are back in iran for the second time in the more than a month tehran hopes this visit will bring clear progress but stresses a deal is only possible if its rights for peaceful nuclear energy are respected the west fears iran is seeking atomic weapons and keeps piling sanctions on the country but as maria for notion of found out they often have the opposite effect to what was intended. the u.s. maybe serious sanctions against iran are not targeted at the general public but there was barely a single person from the population of around seventy five million who hasn't been . i used to buy tomatoes and boxes and kilo now

they're selling them in pieces. with. iran's oil experts fell by one million barrels a day in the last year following an international embargo has taken sixty percent of the oil revenue the iranian currency lost forty percent of its value against the u.s. dollar causing twenty five percent inflation in october the highest in decades. behind this current. owners are suffering from rising prices and a lack of food and medicine the west sides the measures a range at making iran give up its nuclear program which may or may not be aiming to produce weapons the reason is the government that we have here they don't like the government they haven't liked the government for the last thirty some years and because of israeli pressures they do want to see the end of the government and having the sanctions to pressure the public opinion inside iran you know when

economy is about to be very good they're hoping people will go to the streets and protest and have a revolution but the fact seems to be the opposite i mean the cells in iran in carpets one of the country's proud sources of revenue once a critic of the iranian government has recently had a change of heart if for me it's for me than why for another people who vote for another country is not for me that vote for israel is not for being a father of five for american is not going to be there for me no. on the raft of war they want to ask me something to do that nor you are free of your free people you know this is the best way which my government. follow not only do they create anger among ordinary iranians and the iranians see their behavior towards their country as a civilized but people in the region and beyond see what the united states and the

europeans are trying to do so the image of the united states and europe is it has been severely damaged but iran's image has also been damaged one recent poll shows iran talks the least as the country with the most negative image popular stereotypes include doesn't your family just fanatics. in britain and many outlets in the united states want to create an image of. not only the you don't end government but also the iranian people iran has been under sanctions for decades but it's only following the latest round the country's economy has been a visibly shaking and even if some people here the wrong way now think it's down to the authorities mismanagement the majority still hold the u.s. and western responsible this pain behind we have been here for years and as the supreme was quoted here suggests well look with america even for a moment the tension it's represents will most likely remain here for some time to

come rational shakti teheran iran. the us is doubling its presence in spain this year and it's just one part of a push by symmetry because pentagon chief leon panetta makes his final european tour in the post. the suspected gang war claims life for the man dubbed the king of russia's mafia find out how he was killed in broad daylight in central moscow that is coming our way in just a minute stay with us. more

news today violence has once again flared up. and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. showing corporations are relieved a. he continues here in r.t. security forces have barricaded pakistan's parliament with three layers of shipping

containers as tens of thousands of protesters pressed forward the leader and islamic cleric has issued the government with a final ultimatum he's demanding the parliament's dissolution and sweeping election reforms threatening to spark a revolution if he is ignored when earlier the supreme court ordered the arrest of the prime ministers and brought in a bribery scandal or some government officials have called it a conspiracy between the protesters the army and the courts well let's discuss the possible regional implications with three of them charlie sheen at the school of international affairs joining me there in india from new delhi now in just a few short months dr carbury rose from relative obscurity to political stardom how do you think he's managed to do that. well you got a lot of media coverage for sure and media has been acting as the kind of watchdog of the people against the misgovernance of the corruption of the ruling pakistan people's party as well as the state governments which are run by the

opposition. box and most of leagues in the mainstream parties have been getting flak deservedly floor or feeling people's expectations on the economic trend and with the wars that have been having their source. in a lake of mediocrity is reasonable and many people of course have the suspicions that he's being prying by the military establishment in order before there we can be all of the civilian parties and that's the reason why he's getting so much believing and he's been to yes i'm going to you know savior and i'm a side of the country who is anti system anti political parties and these are poorly you know the common person grievances against the. establishment of the civilian side so i think you know his message has also recalled he's a genuine gillis kind of figure in these rallies brand of islam is moderate anger

and sooty and so i think all these factors he's a magnetic speaker and a good communicator with the masses all these factors and martyred although frankly speaking he's in many ways anti democratic because he has not indicated whether he will sell for disappeared in contest elections and has been demanding all these systemic reforms that mean possibly a deal of elections just littered for the next few months so all these factors mean that he's a complicated figure and i don't see. the well come out right. well that's what i want to ask you i mean you've said a lot of good things about him and also some bad things about him is that how india views it what do they make of him what does india think. i can't believe this is during the last year and. relatively. well received he spoke about the need for peace between the two countries and also for diverting defense expenditure towards the development needs of the poor in both

union bank this time so he even long still a sect of. moderate islam the. second which also has ties with northern india with what in the school and all that so there's a following for the brand of tolerant and open islam that he has poses so he's not an ideological view he's not anti india but very. concerned in india ease with the fans that he may be opportunistically riding on the coattails of the military and maybe using the. normal elected undemocratic forces likely to be she and the military he wanted to rise to power and as we know all pakistan's history is full of such figures who have taken the hired help of the military and i've literally been devoured by so there is always concern because the militar takes over it means more tension with india and more problems in kashmir and there hasn't fact been an uptick in violence. and ceasefire of the nations and barbara by nations or if you

want ok away from the regional implications let's look again at the domestic implications now in pakistan what would the government haps yield to cadres demands or perhaps could this lead to some sort of revolution some are saying this could be another arab spring could it get to that point. well i'm not sure if the main opposition leader has called on. the promise of revolution as a model for a strong energy car and my own feeling is that you know the media and some of the less democratic forces have a hand in fanning carberry and making him look more menacing and more. evolutionary down here really well one thing is for sure you know the government is under pressure not only from gaza but also in the courts and i don't think that also acting in tandem with garvie but what is happening in the all time era long

run in with the civilian government the existing one of prisons are dirty and you know they are pincer movement from both sides but. also do not quote an engine but what is happening is that it looks like the mass movement that is trying to recover as well as the judiciary seem to be taking cues from each other and timing the laws against the government almost simultaneously which means trouble for democratic institutions in the long run and i'm afraid that. allows levy for the military to remain the ultimate king maker and the property or behind the shadows and which is not good news for us all to show as a whole because by the standards not genuinely democrat knows we're in trouble all right thanks very much indeed professor and dean at the school of international affairs we appreciate on. summoned to the floor of the european parliament cyprus was asked to assess its actions over the last six months during which the country presided over the e.u. it was a period that so unemployment skyrocket britain the exit door and talks on the

trillion euro budget collapse as it turns out that's not how brussels sort instead even praise on cypriot leadership parties peter on of the polls. well it was all hunch aches and slaps on the back of them a piece went through what cyprus is done in their six month tenure as the e.u. presidency the president of cyprus saying that it was a time in which they the chief significant results and targets strange words considering that it was also a period in which the e.u. went through rising unemployment no agreement on an e.u. budget in which cyprus continued to ask for a bailout i have to say a bailout which from here in germany many politicians all across the the bundestag are very reluctant to approve this amid allegations of widespread tax fraud cypriot banks but what happens next the baton gets passed on of the e.u. presidency gets passed on to the island because the country has had its own problems this but on essentially saving to be passed on in the relay race of the

fiscally toxic island of course had to receive the e.u. and i.m.f. bailout money they've also had their own problems with unemployment and it's up to them to try and put that right in the next six months which they take over the presidency. peter all of that online for the moment fifteen years in jail for a name change that's a sense for the jackson family wish to use christian names to illegally change them in official documents. from the home germany set to bring hundreds of tons worth of gold back from sin the u.s. and france and find out why online dot com. and if you see right members to have a sentence suspended so she can care for her young son is thrown out of court you can find out why she wasn't successful at the moment at all to dot com. one of the russian nephews most infamous figures grandpa has been killed here in

moscow he was shot in broad daylight in the city center. takes up the story. often referred to in russia as grandpa his son has often been compared to al capone but his demise today is more reminiscent of the death of another american gangster john dillon the one of the biggest crime laws in russia was shot outside his favorite restaurant in central moscow and the law enforcement agencies have already reported that they have found six gun shells at the side believing this was a direct access anation attempt at ground bar he was delivered to a hospital but later died there without regaining consciousness now grandpa her son was almost like a textbook russian mafia gangster as it's always been perceived in the west mostly thanks to the hollywood movies he's been involved in many different activities the illegal gambling network the sales of weapons and drugs but many have been

reporting on him that he was something of a mediator a middleman. mafia talks and he's always been a peacemaker in a different mafia conflicts very well respected by many ethnic criminal groups in russia and it's not be not the first attempt on his life he's had quite a few over the past several decades most notably two years ago in two thousand and ten there was an attempt on his life when there was information for some time circulating in the media that he was even killed he was shot very seriously in the stomach had a very serious surgery and managed to survive today was not the case grand bar has died in hospital the law enforcement agencies are still investigating exactly what happened in central moscow and what led to the assassination of one of russia's biggest criminal lords but the main version which is now being considered is obviously some sort of gang war but that is of course is yet to be determined and investigated. now for some more world news for you this hour at least seventeen

people have been killed in two suicide car bomb attacks near the headquarters of the kurdish democratic party in the northern iraqi city of kirkuk officials said more than one hundred wounded no ones yet claimed responsibility attacks by insurgents are still frequent in iraq with the country pressured by ethnic and sectarian divides. two people have been confirmed dead after a helicopter crash in central london just a kilometer south of parliament in westminster thirteen others were injured after the chopper clipped a crane on a skyscraper in heavy fog it's thought the pilot had asked to change course because of bad weather. story building has collapsed killing twenty two and injuring eleven in the coastal egyptian city of alexandria rescue teams are on the scene searching for survivors not knowing what caused the accident but egypt has a record of lax enforcement of planning regulations. suicide bomb blast in afghanistan spy agency has killed two civilians and injured dozens more

a car laden with explosives was detonated by an attacker in front of the gates of the building five men wearing vests of explosives were then shot by security guards as they try to get inside the taliban has claimed responsibility. still bus drivers in new york have gone on strike leaving more than one hundred and fifty thousand students stranded they are calling for greater job security and something the mayor says he's not legally allowed to give them subway passes will be given out and taxi fares will be reimbursed for students trying to get to school it's the first time in thirty four years school drivers a taken industrial action. israeli police arrested more than a dozen palestinian protesters attempting to return to a camp in the west bank demonstrators constructed a tent camp on an area israel has marked for new settlements and to make a village of their own it was then cleared by security forces israel's decision to go ahead with its plan to build several homes in the west bank has been widely

condemned and is illegal under international law. and it's less than a week until we find out whether benyamin netanyahu is reelected as israel holds a snap parliamentary election on tuesday the situation in the middle east heavily dependent on the outcome the whole world will be watching the vote closely and you can watch our special coverage. how will. develop. isolate can there be peace with. what's next in relations with america. to survive his snuff election on january twenty second. coming up very shortly after the break a pita lavelle's crosstalk for you and i'll be back with a news team with more for you in about the team minutes from now stay with us this is also a line in the sky. what

could be some of the ever often. gone. under left nothing to live. so full of love and care for precious children. play on minds fragile shoulders. leave it to die. on are too. old for the. science technology innovation all the news developments from around russia we've got the future covered. in the news sigrid laboratory to mccurry was able to build a new its most sophisticated robot which all unfortunately doesn't.