britain's euro skeptic u.k. independence party makes huge gains in local elections securing over twenty percent of the vote sending a message to worried governing conservative party. u.s. u.-turn america is now considering sending weapons to rebels in syria amid reports of an alleged government led village massacre. and killed in a baghdad bomb blast the latest deaths in iraq which is suffering one of the worst ways of violence since the withdrawal of u.s. troops two years ago our top story this hour. around the clock around the world international news and comment from our studio

center in moscow britain is governing conservative party is dramatically losing seats in local council elections with the former political side of the euro skeptic u.k. independence party making impressive gains but the results show that ukip has so far grabbed twenty six percent of the vote well coming second in the election in south shields pushing the tories into third place. is following events which could have long lasting repercussions for british politics. south shields used to be the seat of former labor foreign minister david miliband and it was seen as a real litmus test for how people are feeling at the moment and labor managed to keep hold of that seat belt with ukip lipping at their heels so they've come in second and it's significant because what it shows is a pattern is emerging over the past six months you can't have come second in four by elections most notably in eastley very recently and it's showing that you can't

this was a party that was until very recently seen as marginal one senior conservative minister described it described them as clowns very very recently but it looks like they're having the last last this is a party that's noticeably euro skeptic they want to see britain out of the european union they're not happy with the way that brussels dictates policies for the u.k. how much money the u.k. treasury forks out for the european commission every month and the fact that they've got such gains shows how fed up with british people are with the political status quo in this country look pattern emerging is very clear the ruling coalition party the conservatives i'm a liberal democrats have sustained losses in council seats quite significant ones in fact labor have made slight gains nothing to write home about this was really the night of the u.k. independence party that counts so far the looks like they've gained an average of

over twenty six percent of the vote in the wards where they were represented in so overnight we've seen a real change to the british political landscape because there are now going to be ukip councillors all over the u.k. some might end up holding quite significant power and it's you know this is a party as i said it was seen as a very marginal until very recently it was the place none of the above azziz a place where people launched their protest because they were so fed up with the established status quo that the lib dems the. conservatives and the labor party but that has all changed overnight we've seen nigel farage the leader of the he came dependence party appearing on television this morning saying he's delighted with the results so far that he's he says that it really shows that ukip is a long lasting political party their success hasn't been short term and the chairman of the conservative party this morning had to concede that clearly their

party is failing to get their message across and they're going to have a think about what they can do to change that well let's have a look at those results so far they're still coming in in the u.k. we have of course the three main political parties and the rising star of the political scene in the u.k. the u.k. independence party we can see here that the conservative party they've suffered quite a significant defeat losing three hundred twenty seats so far we can see the labor party not doing too badly with two hundred sixty significant gains they're gaining those seats and the liberal democrats the tories the conservative parties partners in government the coalition partners they're losing one hundred six seats in the u.k. independence party there it is with one hundred thirty six councillors getting a seat in the u.k. so far now many see this as a potential threat to the three main political parties and the next general election in twenty fifteen. stevenson he's editor of the u.k.

political news websites politics dot co dot u.k. he's been talking to us here. here at r.t. and he says it's too early to predict that ukip could perhaps win those parliamentary seats in the next election in twenty fifteen but by touching on issues like immigration it really is clearly striking a chord in u.k. politics. although they're getting a decent vote in this year's local elections which are for councils around the country they're not necessarily going to be actually be be running any councils there will be councillors where there weren't before but they're not actually going to be in charge anywhere in twenty fifteen when we have the westminster elections city to find out who are going to be our next m.p.'s. there's going to be the small matter of who runs the country to decide and there is a strong feeling here that a lot of the support for ukip is because they're the new protest vote. when it comes to actually becomes the general election it's likely that that support could

do indoor there's no doubt that ukip are gaining support on the doorstep because of strong feelings about immigration in this country fears so a new wave of arrivals from the european union could put pressure on public services and i don't know i think i'm a general sense of xenophobia which while mainstream politicians don't like to talk about if you could make it into westminster that would be a real sign that politics in britain is heading firmly towards the right. with all supporters of the three traditional parties lured away by britain that could be changing and we'll be watching the results rolling in throughout the day to keep you updated. we will be ongoing economic woes in europe push some people in the hardest hit countries towards a life of crime and we've got the details a little later in the program for. the first off the whole book for two years

washington has confirmed it is now considering whether to arm the syrian rebels the dramatic twist comes a week after u.s. officials claim to have unconfirmed intelligence pointing to the use of chemical weapons by the syrian government washington's possible new approach comes amid reports that president assad's forces have carried out an alleged massacre in the village or he's going to has the details so far the administration has been reluctant to arm the rebels directly although its allies have been doing that for the past two years there have been persistent reports of increasing radicalization of anti assad forces you have an al qaeda affiliated group operating there and the opposition generally welcomes their efforts of the concerns are there now the administration says it's rethinking arming syrian opposition fighters secretary hagel said he is ministration is considering a range of options he also said he personally has not decided whether it would be wise to provide weapons to the rebels so there is nothing definitive in those remarks at this stage but the context of recent events has created

a certain momentum and this kind of momentum may end up bolstering those forces on the ground and actually result in more violence because those fighters want weapons and they want heavy weapons now president obama said if there is proof that our side of the government our stuff works if used chemical weapons in syria that would be quote a game changer again he says the u.s. had evidence that the weapons were used but had no conclusive evidence to tie it to the assad government right now both the rebels and the forces blamed each other for the alleged chemical attack in the. much in aleppo the syrian government requested the un to send a mission to investigate the incident the un finding team has been on standby and ready to deploy but then the un chief appears to have changed his plans for the investigation there's russia's foreign minister with more on the syrian government asked the secretary general to deploy a team to investigate this particular situation the secretary general stated that

he is ready to do this but a couple of days later he sent a letter to the syrian government demanding a nexus for the international experts to all teary to read through the entire theory to the of syria as well as in a site and any person this team would like to talk to or to visit and this is something which really defeats the purpose of immediate. investigation into a specific reported case of the use of chemical substances to have. in your sights to any person in syria. resembles very much the security council resolutions regarding iraq and we all remember the end of that story so now instead of him getting a concrete incident be you one want access to all sites and this inquiry has once again throw off the united nations into the center of a possible pawn for weapons of mass destruction where he places they go. the fear again is that politics may get ahead of fact. iraqi authorities say

a bomb blast at a sunni mosque north of the capital baghdad has killed seven people during friday prayers the country's suffering some of the worst violence since the draw of u.s. troops in two thousand and eleven the u.n. says more than seven hundred people were killed in iraq last month alone clashes between security forces and sunny protesters started in cook sparking a wave of violence that quickly spring when iraqis accuse the government of corruption and political system with the prostitute they also know that sectarian tensions could escalate and see a return to full bloom what you see coming off examines the impact of national struggles everyday life. bombs may still haunt baghdad but these young men are more concerned with burning the rubber in a country where daily life is based on trying to avoid the dangers these iraqis are

turning to danger as a way to avoid reality facing the rule of speed testing the authorities it's an unexpected sight in post-war iraq fund a grim statistic half of the country's growing youth population is on able to find work. the biggest problem is financial support day everyone is constantly trying to find work but in baghdad there are very few jobs i'm myself i'm unemployed. ten years after the war and i've been iraq a full of contradictions but for young men like omar the motorcycle is one way to escape the deal of frustration of life here in iraq the reading of the. adrenaline may be one way of coping with uncertainty but not for saba hasan hussein she now spends most of her days at home with her daughters trying to rebuild a life shattered by corruption in the household chores are

a far cry from her former career as a journey. but she's too scared to return to work she had been investigating corruption and prison abuses when she herself was detained and thrown behind bars the charges have been dropped but the family have to sell nearly everything they own is just to cover the thousands of dollars and bribes to secure her release. in this country money can buy you can buy your high position on this can buy your freedom and if you get accused of something in iraq you could be executed just because you can't afford to pay to save your life. it was a year long ordeal that by her account involved beatings and sexual assault she says that she's become a victim of the same corruption she once tried to expose. from victims to victors in a country better known for violence and divisions this youth football school is one of the few bright spots that stands out sunni shia and christian kids play here on the same field and that's exactly why the school was opened fourteen year old ali

doesn't like to talk about the day his father was killed instead he spends his time training on the field hoping to one day play on iraq's national football team but for now a more pressing desire. so i want the security situation to become peaceful elsewhere maybe one or two people like you know how much they pay him many people are killed every day by explosions and even bad things so i want to rock to become safe like other countries. it's a wish that's undoubtedly echoed all across iraq for the past decade left nearly everyone with a tragic story to tell and yet somehow life goes on you see catherine of our team. for years iraq has been divided by roadblocks and checkpoints they're meant to make the lives of iraqis safe but also trapped files and seemingly endless traffic jams

you can see that reporting for you to page in a moment. and you live from the russian capital with twenty four hours a day much more to come here on tea for you this hour including a hunger for change to force feed even mates who refused to eat at guantanamo bay leads to an cry from the un we've got first hand accounts of a lawyer he's visited his hunger striking clutch at the prison. but also had previous on the majestic gallery opening of a new stage of some petersburg's renowned but in ski fit to sign it says the delta's in its mission to rival the best venues around the world wealthy people through the country and brings you special coverage of the old show and just a few moments from now.

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the news continues here on r.t. lawyers say more than two thirds of the detainees at guantanamo bay are taking part a hunger strike which is now lost at almost three months dozens of extra medics were sent this week to care for the prisoners twenty three of which a shackled and force fed through the nose twice a day attorney lieutenant barry wing guard who can be visited his client there says there's no indication the u.s. is trying to resolve the crisis. my client's an actually very. he's been forthright now for about q. we. find that we are in fact. we're seeing more and more painful every time. when it comes to guantanamo. than for a deployed. trying to return home. here i. perform in fact you know prisoners report to me. during

solitary confinement and no effort whatsoever. to work for well i guess that's why you have an offshore prison so you can pretty much do what you want relief from the media whatever you want it to be. a client today i've been here eleven and a half years. with a crime i need we're going to get a trial you want to hold me for ever you want to eliminate any you want. what do you think you don't need for this what kind of country do you come from and how many of the people were split. meanwhile muslims in maine and america say they're facing increasing levels of prejudice salty's every month to examine some instances of discrimination based on religion in the latest edition of breaking the set is a quick preview for you. we're seeing a ramping up of hate crimes and hate speech against muslim americans in the wake of the boston bombings most recently about anger was directed to mohamed salim the somali american cab driver who was assaulted by

a man he had picked up moments earlier luckily before this attack salim sense the man's temper and recorded the entire over cation on the cell phone take a listen i am judging you here. born people of all over the world oh me yes yes you are a few read your heart so i'll not article if you're muslim your best why are you a bunch of me very sad especially considering how solemn is the furthest thing from some extremist here's. he had a sane response. it was sergeant. to get the full story and much more from breaking the set it's coming up at the half

past midnight g.m.t. the entire programs also available on our website r.t. dot com. some news in brief from around the world a u.s. military refueling plane crashed after takeoff near the. border in central asia no news on the crew the plane reportedly broke into three pieces as it went down in an uninhabited area shortly after leaving the airport which is used by nato in its war on terror in afghanistan earlier this week an american cargo plane crashed in afghanistan killing all seven people on board. pushing a massive wildfire covering eight thousand acres in southern california towards malibu almost one thousand firefighters are battling the blaze which broke out early thursday morning it's forced the evacuation of schools university and currently threatens over two thousand homes and businesses. clashes have broken out

in the west bank between israeli soldiers and palestinians protesting against israel's ongoing land confiscation policy and settlement expansion the i.d.f. the israeli defense force used tear gas and rubber bullets on the demonstrators in a village near nablus there were further clashes between police palestinians near ramallah. also the date the child at the top prosecutor investigating the murder of x. prime minister benazir bhutto has been ambushed and shot dead in the capital islamabad charges have been brought against ex president pervez musharraf in relation to bhutto's death in two thousand and seven their one has yet claimed responsibility for friday's attack meanwhile in karachi an election counted at least three year old son was shot dead on their way home from friday prayers latest forecasts paint a gloomy economic picture for the e.u. with the european commission predicting deeper recession in two thousand and thirteen the eurozone is expected to shrink point four percent this year and growth

is expected to be slower than had been hoped their predictions come after the e.c. be slashed the interest rate to record lows of naught point five percent but robert oulds from the euro skeptic brews group think tank says that it won't make any difference for the troubled e.u. economies. within the eurozone there will not be any change because they have one common sense it won't actually help the economies of southern europe particularly spain portugal italy and greece which we can all count together as countries that are struggling as a result of their being the e.u. single common see the euro france as well is also suffering economically and has unemployment rising we're seeing a separation between the french and german economies so cutting interest rates by this small amount won't actually really make much difference we need a vatican change of policy within the e.u. to to bring about economic growth eventually the will have to be a breakup of the euro that's the only way to restore economic growth it's the only

way to get people back to work if they can have their common seize depreciate and of course that the the new of tapering to do which markets that were to be returned that would then increase in value and that would help the disparities within the eurozone which has been created largely by the single currency to need to be a radical change or course unemployment will just keep on going up. while some citizens living in europe's most debt ridden countries have been resorting to increasingly desperate measures lottie's peter all over has met one such man who turned to crime after three decades of on his labor in order to make ends meet. portugal is certainly beautiful but its current financial woes making it a living hell for some with one portuguese man claiming that the crisis has driven him to trying. to work for over thirty years in construction before being laid off today he's a convicted bank robber. i needed

a few hundred euros for medication also we had no food at home this is what i bought for the money that was stolen i think about a thousand euros i've turned to crime after he couldn't afford to pay the medical bills for his now ex-wife who suffers from m.s. . by own branch because of what they did to me he gave me loans and crazy interest resource have to take more land. they robbed me so i robbed i'm not pride but i think the state forced me into the business so what's going through your head as you're walking down here knowing that you're about to commit a crime. and i had a small plastic toy guns that were not meant as i was approaching the bank i saw a policeman nearby there was a bag near the street so i said to the caucus should check it out i hope this would be obstruction then i went to the bank and did what i did it was all over in five minutes. just keyboard what he needed then turned himself into the police after spending a year behind bars part of the conditions of his release that he maintains

a twenty meter distance from the bank on the remains angry with the portuguese government who he says are encouraging this type of behavior with an unfair welfare system say. it's so disgusting their mentality they gave me nothing when i needed most that i've broken the law and i'm on their radar they give me help they don't notice people unless they get into trouble with. concerns echoed by those who represent the rights of workers in portugal. the government worries more about pleasing germany than looking after its own people there is a lot of anger out there and the more people think they are getting a fair deal. the more the sangar snowballs this is the danger of keeping people in the limits of poverty. portugal has high unemployment and crippling debts of one hundred eighty billion euro around one hundred twenty percent of yearly production the end of the crisis is certainly nowhere in sight

asked if he feels remorse for his crime i do still it's very clear some of them are so i feel remorse for what i did to the bank workers and really scared the hell out of them so for getting what i needed any way i could. i don't feel the slightest bit sorry for taking from. r.t. lisbon. after months of sound checks and acoustical tweaks and petersburg learned skiff it has held its dazzling opening bell on his ambitious new stage the seven hundred million dollar high tech venue is the first new russian opera house to aspire to global significance since the time. combined with say took his seat for the spectacle. critics though was simon's that yes we're on thursday actually have the grades open a present of a lot of it putin was yet as one of the guests and the show was a star studded event and i must say that everybody was not even for us to buy up the performances but there were also impressed by the insides of other marines be

associated to now today of course that it is open it to the public with a voice had a plan that was to get a seat into that auditorium and it's packing up as you can see right behind me right now because of the talk is all about building outside it still resumes and the question that everybody is also being sigmoid in assessing classical city's wava the building more than the buildings now yesterday i spoke to just the diamonds here is that the architect of muddy to see if it's a jeep and this is what he had to say for sixty dollars over people thought it was terrible into school when charcoal ski performed his first color concert of the first track sun and good company the point about some pretty is one of the most beautiful cities does amazing continuity over the streets still so in order to make you move. them into. the two ways. in a melody. would just. stand and controls two streets the

world order morea stands and controls through its enclosure extends through like the church. and it's good to see you can see the only because it's really the holy of holies. write it off because of it and martin and this is going to show the glitz and glamour of the day of the taking of today because of people finding out that it's a must and what do you make of this the main bus today or so i'm not sure people are here for the building or to see the competition between the shoes and the dresses i think i would i think it's i mean. well i don't want to cage it it's been ten years in the making of closer towards one billion rubles i'm finally this ground building with this with it's full on explore behind this is a good and well takes on i really do think that. forget about the kid from the cd i think it's all b.s.

that aside let's talk about the artistic side the amazing technical beats that will be achieved on the sage now two nights and for the decades to come you know it wants and i think everybody who is the public is definitely to enjoy the program of money you need to get the attention that it's all valid and ballerinas on stage on this new stage that you do stay with us we'll have mostly you in a while. back enjoy that grand opening off he goes behind the scenes this is what it takes to make it in the highly competitive. nation. credit take three. three. three. three. type free. download free broadcast live video for your media projects free media hearty dot

com. welcome to teal one i hear you can feel of how. deep this is there are three choices in life i first used to work in i'm a killer daughter come and live on a miserable way like a slave. the second is to jump the wall and catch the american dream because most of their cars and lose their life. just as they come on the number of an organization.