war waste and wages fell out israel's choices in a parliamentary election underway now with voters expected to forge an even more hardline government at the ballot. but while israeli settlers flocked to the polling booth to push where they think the country's borders should lie we hear about the bargain hunters spearheading the charge into occupied land. of a century of cooperation taken with a pinch of salt the german and french leaders honor fifty years of their post-war alliance amid sharp political and economic divides casting a shadow over celebration. and a complete information blackout american citizens are spied upon by their own

f.b.i. but the bureau refuses to explain why they're tracking or why individuals are being targeted. by from moscow words seven pm you're watching archie with me and he said now wait it's good to have you with us let's get straight to our top story this hour and israel is reporting a record turnout with millions queuing at ballot boxes nationwide for the snow parliamentary election but few doubt who will win with predictions of an even more right wing and hardline government at the core of the vote are three issues rocketing living costs iran's nuclear ambitions and the peace step with the palestinians owing to his uncompromising stance prime minister benjamin netanyahu is expected not only to hold onto power but solidify his sway over israel holds and

publications in general agree that it's the center and the left leaning parties that are expected to be net losers more perspective now on of voting with gershon baskin cochairman. co-chairman of the israel palestinian research and information center he joins us live i know almost all predictions suggest a shift to the right among the voters could you explain why for us. well first of all i think it's still early to predict what the outcome of the elections are going to be we'll know in about five hours from now what they will be the polls have presented various findings jesting that mr lieberman mr netanyahu and lieberman's party it will in fact have less votes in this election than they had combined just two separate parties in the last election there is a right wing religious party which has sprung up and gaining a lot of seats in the polls but again we don't know what the final outcome will be i think that it's it's early to predict that this is going to be a more right wing

a more hardline government i think that you know is going to have a difficult time forming a coalition why then are we hearing all these protections talking about more right wing voters well because it's clear that the likud party of leap of nothing you know which has been joined by lieberman will be the number one party with a larger show and that's showing that is the public seems to be more right wing but i think the vote is going to be widely split be between a number of parties which will present themselves in the center and often you know is going to have to rely on the center party center right center left in order to form a coalition the tend the trend of thinking is that not in your will not want to form a right wing radical the hardline coalition government based on the religious right and the ultra orthodox parties but he will seek to form a coalition with the more center parties this is

a at least what the analysts are saying here in the people who follow netanyahu very closely he might be in a situation where he can't form a government with the center parties and he will have to rely on the right wing religious parties in the ultra-orthodox parties and then it will be a much more hardline government. if that is the case what are we to expect that in terms of foreign policy changes less some more willingness to compromise with palestine. well since the government of israel hasn't done anything to move the peace process forward in the last four years we shouldn't expect any change the government will continue to hold to its position that there is no partner on the palestinian side that the leadership of mahmoud abbas is not a leadership which wants peace in the eyes of the israeli government and therefore the israeli government will attempt to keep the status quo in place which has been rather comfortable for israel we have had no real terrorism there's no uprising taking place in the palestinian territories the separation of the west bank and

gaza has played into israel's interest and i think that the government of israel will seek to preserve the status quo for as long as possible the question is how long is it possible for that to continue. i want to talk a little bit more about jewish helmets one of the parties that is being predicted to win relatively big during an election like you said it's still early but it's an ultra right pro settler party how large is the support for settlements among israelis in general. well this party is expected in the polls this morning to get about fifteen seats out of the hundred twenty so together with supporters from the likud we probably have twenty five percent of the public who firmly supports the continuation of building of settlements there would probably be an equal number to the left which are strongly against any building of settlements and a larger percentage in the center i don't see it more as a tactical issue with regard to negotiations with the palestinians that if there is

a palestinian partner we can move forward with the palestinians then those people would support abandoning settlements withdrawing from settlements freezing the building of settlements but the public here is very very split pretty much down the middle between those on the left and those on the right right but if we see wins for jewish home at combined with netanyahu his party like you said which is a possibility where does that put him with nets now his i should say plans for settlements where does that put the peace talks with palestine just briefly for us put that into perspective he still he still needs to form a coalition government with at least sixty one seats his own party and the jewish home party will not be enough to form a coalition he will have to then either turn to the center parties or to the ultra-orthodox parties or to both if he brings in any of the center parties that's going to be a moderating influence in terms of foreign policy and they will push netanyahu to move forward on the peace process issue also

a lot depends on the position of the united states of the new obama administration and how much pressure will come from washington on not to you know determining whether he or not he will move forward. and cochairman of the israel palestine research and information center thank you very much for your time. well one of the most pressing and divisive issues of this election has been settlements as we were just talking about with mr baskin it's a theme that has the that the right has campaigned on tire of this one man though brought his own perspective to the issue infiltrating the ranks of diehard said there's filmmaker nimrod kaymer known for his prank documentaries has this from the west bank my name is no more than is really citizen living here among arabs in white chapal don't you one housing crisis at all time high the thing is there is another one in jerusalem i can also live among our allies and i think i can get them much better deal with the wise over the.

i will in my leg would like to see the flood to buy i'm here with some investors from england. we want to invest in this because i'm hearing the property value might go up he's been told that one flat is one million shekels his father's flat in the building that this whole new area called zero eight and one begins after those heels despite a few haters in the us almost all these really critical support to building and selling charming flats on palestinian land the latest talk he won east of jerusalem took hello i'm here to show a new client wants to buy property in this area is a big you want investor understand it's the only building currently built but if i can show him more. outposts. you know an extension occupation two state solution who cares as long as the property is

cheap is a jew man leaving london i want to cash in on my jewishness and like be in touch with my roots. so it's all jewish yeah yeah any non jewish parts because. not from here many people say he is not being constructive in the peace process but look how many settlements it constructed i'm helping. to build a new settlement. this is the future for israel i believe and i'm afraid that if i buy the house and i get a document saying it's mine some day palestinians can scum and say no it's not yours because they keep listening to that in the u.k. . you see. there's a chance for him to there's just one thing and. it's funny how those small actions had like international meaning. the moving of stones

like monumentally. it's like messing with international law. this is the most disputed area you never noticed it just because people told us. but he says it is like a good place to build a new flat you think they'll build in this area like because my friends want to be like to buy something before we even constructed i was coming up and. it says this is the fail stone being set for the new god willing of the one facing the holy capital of his i pay so much money for rent in london anyone in london and here. and in the big city thing is cheaper and more comfortable it all starts here so beautiful all of us is ours. you can look down and palestinians this is the new area being built opens if you want i just called this real estate it's called

hideout three they said all the flats in this part of town and i say no to sixty three percent and then it will never be evacuated today selling more and more how come all the cleaners of the city and all the bills are you should be jewish label . should. mean to him. i want to see an. agent to get to the phone the legalities. of. the company. are you selling your house by any chance that. my life.

earlier i talked to the man behind the film this is what he had to say about the mentality of the settlers. some of the people i talked to are going to give up their house. into the settlement of the entire west bank and they told me that jordan is also the kind of part of the jewish state just call told me that if someone is going to a victim which they don't believe in but if people going to happen they're going to even make more money because the government would pay them compensation for the victims if you just go there and you buy a float you can sell it to local jewish americans so did you actually buy into this . i mean. money with me and i didn't go all the way there but just got the best

and i almost bought it because why what why didn't i it was such a good deal you could make lots of money presumably. yeah i mean. i am jewish actually not all the way. thirty two parties are vying for the one hundred twenty seats in the knesset and already their leaders are talking coalitions and the division of power will keep you updated with news and analysis of what they're up to today and beyond the close of the polls which is that eight o'clock g.m.t. . how will change with to run develop we'll settle it expands just isolate can there be peace with gaza what's next in relations with america we'll let you know who survived his snuff election on january twenty second. israel decides. parts of glitz and glass in berlin as german and french leaders celebrate fifty

years of their country's alliance now hugs and handshakes come despite their not yet agreeing on how to cure the eurozone debt contagion or overcome deep foreign policy divisions assessing whether there is more than highs in franco german relations right now here's our peter oliver. well it's certainly a meeting that's filled with pomp and circumstance but they as they celebrate the formal icing of the friendship between former foes but what we are seeing though is that the hoping that the celebration can paper over some of the divisions between how a couple of course france and germany the two major economies and the well the two biggest voices in europe really when it comes to how to tackle the eurozone crisis all around wants to see more spending to promote growth where is. stuck to her guns saying it's only through austerity that any kind of problems in the eurozone can be perhaps fixed now there's also rising concern here in germany over the state of the

french economy the german people and german finance is looking to thinking well we don't want to get caught up cold if you'll recall and he sneezes it was a expected that the french economy went into recession at the end of twenty twelve hours also when it comes to matters of defense military matters germany and france not agreeing either front certainly pursuing a policy of intervention we've seen not in libya we're also seeing that right now in mali where is germany they have said that they were going to contribute any of their troops in this was backed up by. the finance minister here in germany and a key member of a christian democrat party when he said that germany didn't want to be a major player in foreign policy said going on to say that well after hitler and auschwitz how could they be a major player so there is a difference there between how france views its place in the wider world and how germany based on well the two countries relative history so this meeting all smiles

and handshakes however that there are some deep underlying cracks in the relationship between europe power couple. political scientist judith to think there believes that francoise laws attempts to counterbalance germany's austerity push will only prolong europe's agony. well i mean certainly that was something that was very important for him in his election campaign and it was an important aspect in getting re-elected and he has had the minor success of having the growth pact to the fiscal pact but you know i think that i'm going i'm active and probably are very focused on their start of politics and i don't think there'll be an agreement that was before the cold war it was germany that carried the economic weight and france that carried the political weight now there's been a shift towards political weight for germany as well at least from a french perspective so that certainly has made cooperation more difficult. anger

inequality raise tempers in the russian capital a gay rights demo in moscow. as church activists target campaigners details coming up. short of prepares for a snap parliamentary election with the u.s. backed monarchy saying it's the beginning of reform but the powerful muslim brotherhood boycotting the boat saying it's a gimmick more after a break. there

are twelve cities in the united states in which half of the people with hiv aids lives within a year of a diagnosis of. over sixty two percent. are diagnosed with this is a problem that frankly is substantially preventable it was like the big elephant in the room and nobody wanted to talk about it they were really good public health campaigns people were really focused on this problem you certainly should be able to have a lot less h.i.v. a lot less human suffering. here with archie live from moscow americans are being kept in the dark about how and why they're being followed by the nation's security agency

a civil liberties group in the u.s. asked the f.b.i. to spell out what techniques it's using when it tracks citizens but is going to can explains the reply raised more questions than answers. everybody knows that the f.b.i. uses all sorts of tracking devices on cars cell phones and whatnot everything that can carry g.p.s. the american civil liberties union filed the request under the freedom of information act asking for the justice department to review the f.b.i.'s guidelines their internal memos as to how and under what circumstances they track people as of now there is no clear understanding among americans of when they will be subjected to tracking possibly for months at a time or whether the government will first get a warrant this is the justice department's response more than one hundred pages of completely redacted material except for the title so to the question how when and why the government can track its citizens the f.b.i. responded with this takes a lot of ink to print out something like this some artistic souls may think of the

painting black squares by live each we're certainly not sure of the artistic intentions of the u.s. justice department or the meanings they put into these black pages but for civil liberties advocates here this is what government secrecy looks like actually it was last month when president obama signed a bill that essentially allows the government to spy on anyone they want under some kind of a general warrant as opposed to an individual word in other words it allows the national security agency to vacuum up as much private communication as possible with something like a promise on the authorities part to be really careful about when and how they look at it but civil liberties advocates argue that the bill of rights is not about the government promises of good intentions but about legal guarantees so president obama may be very convincing when he talks about individual freedoms we heard the words in his inaugural speech this monday. but here is the f.b.i. version of their freedom. gay rights campaigners here in moscow have rallied

against the so-called gay propaganda law being considered in russia but their public kissing campaign tactics lead to trouble are. the story. several dozen gay rights activists trade staging a kissing flash mob in moscow right outside the city duma but were interrupted by a group of radical orthodox christians who didn't hesitate to use their fists as you can see to stop them as a result several people were injured including some journalists the police did in the attackers the protesters that the rally was against a draft law banning gay propaganda in the sea it's really not clear from this draft what propaganda is so they're afraid they're going to have to go underground to see that it's a tendency in russia for such gay rights rallies to scrimmage is with radical n.t.v. rights activists but it's really not something which only happens in russia just recently we we've seen several members of the ukrainian women's group firman

attacked in paris by radical anti-gay rights activists of the girls at some point even had to run from the angry crowd and the police had to step in to evacuate them to safety in other world headlines car bombs have killed seventeen people and left dozens injured in and around baghdad police say one of the blasts through a busy market in the north of the of the city around midday at least two soldiers were among those killed and twelve more people wounded earlier in the day a suicide car bombing targeted a checkpoint south of the city kill file. or two more that's according to these. britain is considering boosting its military assistance for the french combat action against islamist in mali so far it's sent to war planes and says there could be further the just circle support the move follows a deadly hostage crisis to neighboring out tyria which was in retaliation to france's invasion at least thirty seven foreign nationalists including french

british and americans were killed during the terrorist siege of a gas plant that was stormed by algerian forces at the weekend. well after two years of simmering and sometimes violent protests against corruption and inept authorities jordan is finally getting a parliamentary election they can call the vote to appease those demanding change but it's reports now it threatens to push the country further into crisis beneath the calm facade here in jordan is a simmering crisis the kingdom has remained relatively stable amid the wave of regimes falling in the arab spring wednesday's parliamentary elections are part of the reform efforts undertaken by the government and an attempt to quell popular dissatisfaction. i'm optimistic that our political system has taken a big step forward if a parliament wants to enjoy respect to the very first thing it needs is to be elected as

a result of the fair election that's what our future parliament is going to be but a balanced parliament is something that is highly unlikely to come out of this election is being boycotted by georgia's most powerful political movement the muslim brotherhood citing a new law that critics claim gives an unfair advantage to regime loyalists the islamists and their allies have branded the elections as worthless. one of the most like why do people take part in the spectacle called the parliamentary elections elections the way they are now and all the petain in rules the way they are cannot be taken seriously they do not represent the people's will band in many mideast states up until the arab spring jordan's branch of the muslim brotherhood has been a licensed political party for decades but seeing its own contemporaries come to power in egypt and tunisia it is now openly seeking a much larger role require the muslim one of. the muslim brotherhood a boycotting the elections because this lore is not in their interest but other

parties are boycotting the elections because they will be held according to undemocratic law i'm there to meet with king abdullah and says that he's serious about reform but there are other threats on the horizon. our main problem is that konami unemployment and inflation are rising at the same time that the cost of products is soaring there is considerable unrest among the population was the country has long struggled economically and relies heavily on aid from the western and gulf donors last november saw an eruption of violence nationwide protests over cuts in food and fuel subsidies and other conditions imposed by the i.m.f. the courtroom billion dollar emergency loan and other financial and political. cern is the flood of syrian refugees hundreds of thousands have fled to jordan with more pouring over the border every day there are worries that the syrian conflict may

follow its people into the kingdom where the woman is striving for more power a tough situation on the border and a dire economic crisis jordan is finding itself caught between a rock and a hard place due to the boycott the elections are unlikely to produce any meaningful change and the one stable kingdom looks to be in for a long period of uncertainty you see counseling of r t amman jordan. well that wraps up our main news blog here on our team this hour coming up after a break it's abby martin breaking with that they with.

more news today violence was once again flared up. these are the images go world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations rule the day. what mystery is hidden deep the niece. says it is a north welcome here. laid for intruders. into the supernatural cannot rise from nowhere. a human be possessed by the spirit.

mistress of the cave. to live on one hundred thirty three bucks a month for food i said try it because you know how bad the less bad luck. i mean it. sounds i know that i've seen really messed up. in the area so closely. it's. worse for the. white house to give it to the radio guy and for sale minutes from a cook off if i want to quote for a budget because you've never seen anything like this i'm told.

you guys happy inauguration day everyone yet some very special day that comes only once every four years except this year it also happens to lie on martin luther king day so to celebrate this occasion president obama some more. and with this hand over dr king's very own bible interesting but that's not the only book the bible obama is just not extra part of look he took the oath of office over president only in the bible as well just to say better stack them bibles so well the saving grace be enough to turn is that ministration around well let's find out on a very special break in a set started now. we're going to do is have you ever seen anything like that.