the cash strapped european union amounts a crusade against the continent's banking hobbs' declaring open season on account privacy and tax evaders alike. russia's mediation effort in syria against the sounds up from the one but faces obstacles from powers that failed to arm the rebels forces that despite evidence of atrocities committed by them in the ongoing civil. than the rockies struggle to restore basic services of its structure left in tussles by the american open clear patient become tree is devastated by a series of bombings that have left dozens dead. and

you saw in russia and around the world this is all to see with me hello and welcome to the program banking privacy could soon be a thing of the past and europe that is if you regulators have their way your clients have been pushing hard for access to all account data on the continent and even switzerland no member nation has found itself being squeezed and as aussies case appealed they were paul's the prospects for the alpine banking hub looking good. so what do we know about switzerland that while the mountainous country sells tasty chocolate is home to some of the finest watches it's a great place to ski but when it comes its banking sector well that's when it also is getting a little bit secretive after nearly one hundred years this secrecy attracted some of the world's mega rich to the country now to qualify for the front. the rich are

not actually allowed to work in the country but must have a net wealth of at least two million dollars and this is them has attracted more than five thousand affluent x. patches to this nation of only eight million people including. twain now well they are foreigners collectively gave seven hundred million dollars in federal and local taxes made it is that could be going into their homeland treasuries this cozy arrangement may soon be a thing of the passes the e.u. can't stand no such juicy tax incentives the e.u. is also piling pressure on members luxembourg and austria as well as san marino and dora and monaco which are actually not members of the union now luxembourg recently changed its chain just last month that actually agreeing to lift bank secrecy rules for european union citizens who have savings that so what all these tax haven

countries actually expected to do that well quite simply explode the e.u. want to be able to check out bank tea towels of any individual whenever they want without requesting permission first and considering in cyprus the banks are worth seven times as much as the country's g.d.p. and a lot about for example they're worth twenty two times more the situation could be catastrophic than if you put it in that way so in a wall where banking secrets are no longer kept these havens may have to find another way to seduce the great. european regulators are being pushed to take drastic action due to wind revenues and soaring dead adding fuel to the fire are a series of tongue scandals involving top politicians and businessman court stashing the fortunes and illicit accounts under seal explains they could be many

more of these revelations if the bailiff financial secrecy is lifted. because of this increased efforts from e.u. leaders and the pressure being piled on them there have been a couple of scandals that had arisen over here one of them in france which involves general he's a former budget minister who had had to step down from his position because he had lied about having an offshore account and is also under investigation for possible tax fraud now over in germany another prominent figure who was the boss of one of the world's biggest football clubs by in munich also admitted to being involved in tax fraud and is under investigation so as efforts to increase among leaders we can possibly expect some more big names to come out as such now also recently we know that there has been a massive leak of data to the international consortium for investigative journalists now this data includes the name of some of the world's wealthiest people the politicians all the guards very public figures which reveal a lot of their wealth parked in various offshore accounts in the world no

journalists have been sifting through this information but so have governments including the british and the american governments leading to some sort of a global effort which is precisely what the e.u. wants to lead to they really want to make this a global exchange of relevant banking data as they say so as we have seen them really impose strongly on cyprus we can expect some political pressure to be piled on the likes of switzerland and liechtenstein as they start these talks and as leaders try to find ways to bring back some of that money to deal with the crisis that they're in. to keep her apartment to taso banking secrecy rules is london itself a banking hub and let's now get more on britain's role and there's a way of pool not so deputy leader of the u.k. independence policy mr not so very well welcome to the program well of course that they smooth is a major interference into the country's politics but from all points of view maybe

you're saying they hear. is right in doing that. of course they're not right in doing this it's an invasion of privacy into the private lives of people and if you choose to put your money in another country or for example switzerland then that should be private bowe a lot of this i have to say is being pushed by the americans because that is an agreement which is being pushed through at the moment called the forum accounts tax compliance is called fact basically and what the americans are saying to the swiss at the moment is that you have to open up your accounts to those we have to be able to see what american citizens of got in the bank accounts and it just seems as if the european union has piggy back onto the americans in attendance to invade the privacy of people who've got their money and accounts which is places like san marino stan and indeed switzerland yeah and how thought from your point do you can brussels go to force the states to surrender that bank data given that the majority

of them i don't even parts of the. well of course they have many of these countries over a bottle in particular switzerland because switzerland switzerland's biggest trading partner is the european union and we all know why they're trying to do this we all know what the a ten it's basically to harmonize banking across the european union to create a banking union which is what the germans in particular ones because they know in the end if they are going to people's bank accounts like they've done in cyprus if they are going to do this the big a country's they need this banking union and in many ways they will need to be people's bank accounts to ensure that the euro continues because bailouts are going to keep coming of course we know that slovenia is now in serious trouble spain has on employment which is a youth unemployment which is around sixty percent in greece we have soup kitchens on the streets of athens we have people leaving children on the steps of churches because they can't afford to live so they will be more bailouts in the pipeline and

obviously the european union has to look at different ways of raising that revenue . and how far will this go in improving the economic fortunes that. well the whole thing is a mess and the problem that they have at the moment is that they have a series of countries in particular in the mediterranean states italy greece cyprus and spain and portugal who quite frankly are trapped inside the currency that they shouldn't be in and if they really wanted to get their economies kick started they would leave the european currency the euro they would set their own xchange rates and get their exports moving because that's the only way that these countries will break out of recession and it's the only way that europe can get its economy started and quite frankly if we were good europeans and it's brutal to people the mountains of brussels were good europeans this is what they will allow to happen but they won't because the auto was the flagship of the whole project which is to bring your together in

a european superstate. several british territories are also used as tax havens the cayman islands the channel islands what's being done about them. well of course we are protect the moments from these rules both down the line that we will not be what we're seeing at the moment is pressure being put on the european the british via the you book the germans are already saying that much of this was in the mean treaty change and the treaty change those kick in it means that there will have to be a referendum in the u.k. which is what the majority of people want david cameron has promised in two thousand and seventy and if we get that referendum polls are showing at the moment that britain will leave the european union and this is just another incentive to do so. deputy leader of the u.k. independence party thank you very much indeed. thank you big coin and online currency is set up to get around the bank's comes under siege by the government. in

reports through the internet can you see that it uses the lettering my interest system and raise in fear that it will be snuffed out before it really gets going that's coming up in about ten minutes time. because athens to launch direct negotiations between the conflicting sides in series now receiving support from the united nations secretary-general ban ki moon has become the latest in a string of high profile figures visiting russia to discuss the syrian civil war and has given the green light to russia's talks initiative is going off is following the diplomacy in the black sea resort of sochi. and secretary general and russia's foreign minister announced that they completely agree that the conflict in syria has to be resolved without any foreign military intervention and it would be full respect of syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity at the same time mr bond even supported the idea of this joint conference which would involve both of

the syrian opposition and the authorities however through diplomats also listed some of the key stumbling blocks at the moment first of all the opposition is still very divided and it's unclear who can represent it as a whole at this conference or secondly according to a foreign minister. it will be nice to see all the regional players there are taking port including iran and saudi arabia which makes all of the problems with washington prior to meeting with the moon in his interview said that if the syrian authorities are ready to take part in this event then the rebels are still making preconditions. that will play in contrast to the syrian government which has responded quite positively to the russian american initiative the opposition's on that was quite vague they said that they welcome any initiatives that will help stop the violence but before that assad must go reiterating their stance which has

been the cause of the deadlock for many months. visit to sochi continues this diplomatic marathon that's been happening recently russia was earlier visited by u.s. secretary of state to the prime ministers of great britain israel and other officials with syria of course dominating the talks however some problems are still remain for instance with the united states one john kerry visited russia it seemed that they were completely on the scene page with moscow but as soon as he left he started again calling for president assad to resign and promised to increase the support of the rebels which was just be to be backed by president obama so definitely a lot to talk about for u.n. secretary general as he's still set to meet with the russian president later on friday of course we'll be bringing you all the details as it happens the smiles and handshakes sealing that agreement on syria come despite

a new resolution recently passed at the u.n. general assembly the document which was opposed by only twelve nations including russia clearly favors the rebel forces the armed opposition faces accusations of atrocities on daily bases and you know a question of race here with the details. there's been an avalanche of international coals from those who support the syrian opposition so just saying they shoot receive more weapons and that the non-lethal aid their goal ready getting is not enough and what's been largely ignored by the rebel backers is a surge in videos posted online allegedly showing the cold bloodied revenge killings that these people are resorting to in the civil war this is the latest video which purports to show three syrian soldiers being ags acute it by opposition fighters on the town square and now the rebels shooting eleven that's right eleven government troops in they had reports of this atrocity came from the city of data

order in the north east of the country and this is the video that's caused an outpouring of anger in recent days a rebel commander seemingly cut out the heart and lungs of an un uniformed soldier and bites into them an act which left even the syrian opposition shocked and appalled of course it's very difficult to verify evidence coming from the war torn state but let's look at the statistics provided by activist groups they argue that the death toll and the syrian conflict peaked when the gulf states and the united states reportedly sent more weapons through the region and then flour when arms were restricted before increasing once again when the supplies allegedly resumed that might be just a simple coincidence but nonetheless suggest that arming the syrian opposition may be causing even more bloodshed. more news coming

out for you in just a moment. is it turning into an overblown scandal or a reflection of the foreign policy poorly thought out and executed the terrorist attack on the american diplomatic outpost in benghazi last september has become a political football to attack the obama administration and the recurrence of mistakes were made but is there a proper focus on the most egregious ones. the old. technology innovation. developments around russia we've dumped a few jerks covered. this

is all she welcome bach in iraq at least eighteen people have been killed in an explosion outside a mosque in the northeast of baghdad that brings the death toll to forty four in the space of two days after a string of bombings across the country the latest such a violent as has crushed hopes of restoring infrastructure still in turn after the u.s. invasion this accountant found out. it is the land between twin rivers ancient day in mesopotamia modern day iraq and in baghdad there's no shortage of ways in

which water is used to wash cars to clean shop fronts to store freshly caught fish before their gutted for sale everything it seems except drinking it nobody drinks the city because we know it's not clean since my wife had to my own books on what comes out of the tap a second time in eight and it makes us sick how can we drink can't water is just one of the many services that still lagging in post-war iraq despite years of promises and billions of dollars spent on reconstruction many neighborhoods lack sewage systems there's no trash collection in some settlements there are barely any streets iraq central power is sometimes on for as little as two hours a day this mess of wires is a common scene all across iraq it connects homes to private generators people have to buy electricity to cope with the hours of daily blackouts ten years after the war it's a symbol for much of what's wrong with the wrong approach going infrastructure and

reliable services in the title of bill walker c. and corruption. the energy crisis has meant more work for album area and electrician who says he now earns about four times as much as he did before the war the grid is in shambles and breakdowns are frequent but he says the government is simply not serious about fixing it. it's the citizens who suffer in the end not the government the services are so bad the power system has really deteriorated there were billions spent on fixing the grid but there's little to show for it. the government has promised improvements in public services but officials say it's a monumental task force structure has been put to the neglected end of the previous regimes and the damage is enormous there is a need to rebuild everything that's required tens of billions of dollars but the dollars are flowing along with and largely because of oil that's what accounts one

hundred nineteen billion dollars budget here at the college were fine reproduction more than doubled in the here and that to go even higher oil industry has been counted as one of the few right country that's been playing by violence and rampant corruption transparency international ranks iraq as the most corrupt country in the world which in part helps to explain why services are still lagging most of the reconstruction money was squandered through fraud and abuse just one example the government awarded one point seven billion dollars worth of fake electricity contracts it's a paradox that frustrates many iraqis theirs is one of the wealthiest pieces of land on earth but its people are some of the poorest. nowhere is that contrast more stark then here the landfill on the edge of baghdad many of the families living here have been displaced by the war but now they're waging a daily battle just to survive services are simply nonexistent for the conditions

a horrible there are no schools for the kids who have no electricity no real houses to get a drink of water we have to travel for columbus's it's very difficult to live here . for now they must remain among the refuse uncertain like the rest of iraq as to what will come on the winds of change lucy catherine of baghdad iraq. sometimes even communications services can be a source of dispute between countries they walls but no whistleblower drooler song husbands of america's communications technology actually threatens the sovereignty of other nations on our website. leaves don't stop the music it could soon get much harder to find your favorite shoes online as opponents of internet privacy plan an unprecedented provide protection campaign more details for you.

being dependent on line current sibby to coin has a serious snog up to u.s. authorities blogs the account of dollar a business that allows users to convert u.s. dollars into bitcoin and back again the department of homeland security says the peer to peer currency runs rough rough hold over new laws that require online transfer systems to identify its uses as she is going to work night explains the move is a roar as a warning shot to the fledgling currency the u.s. government has made no secret of the fact that it is keeping a close eye on the point but now it appears the close eye includes a crackdown on the decentralized digital currency the department of homeland security sees the company known as the wall which allows customers to transfer

their u.s. dollars into the points on tuesday washington shut down while his ability to process point payments now the u.s. warns alleges that i don't want these property was operating as an on the license money transmitting business because to wallow wasn't registered with the the with. hartman of treasuries financial crimes enforcement network now some economists believe the timing of this case is no coincidence see the popularity and press surrounding point is skyrocketing and the use of electronic currency is growing more appealing to investors and customers around the world this of course threatens the long held grip that governments and beggs have had on currency regulation and interest rate manipulation this new york city bars last restaurant behind to be known as ever to get its septic point last month so far the midtown business has

reportedly processed more than twenty thousand dollars worth of transactions in the morning now while wall street remains less than eight kilometers away from here the financial industry to its disappointment its former move from the way in which the business of that point is operating at we're in from new york very important part. and let's not take america bitcoins bond granted to see what's called the u.s. government so concerned about being dependent on one currency the concept was first floated in two thousand and eight by an i.t. an expert whose identity is still unknown inspired by the financial crisis bitcoin was created to met individuals transfer money directly and even splendid in some shops while avoiding transaction fees their online currency has become more and more popular with people using across the globe the value of each bitcoin spikes to two hundred sixty six dollars in april that dived over concerns that governments

would climb down on the money. and christopher hartwell who is a markets on the list of things the u.s. will crush any alternative currency which threatens national security. well. this is probably on a slow and expeller rating downward spiral i would say once the government started getting involved in the hitting and these crucial node that are necessary for becoming continue to actually operate. i don't see how it can really continue on a predator or now this doesn't mean that just because it's the engine the coal mine is being basically hounded out of existence doesn't mean that there aren't going to be imitators or other types of alternative currency that are going to exist but i think one of the specially when the united states government really gets my go

after something especially something kind of alternative like that it really has little hope of surviving even though it had done a very good job of being very centralized bill a bill has the crucial act the one thing the government is honing in on them. and on to some other international headlines in brief now twin blasts have hit a sunni mosque in northwest pakistan killing at least three people around fifty others were reported injured with many in a critical condition a rescue operation is currently underway the search crew try to pull people from under the rubble the taliban has previously claimed responsibility for it simulate stocks in the region. work in goal of bungie i have a big question i could plant in texas which left fifteen people dead last month investigators are looking at whether faulty batteries on the bug me where have sprung the fire which caused the blast the double explosion happened the moment the flames touched tongues filled with chemicals and destroyed nearby homes and schools

. a gay pride parade in the georgian capital tbilisi descended into chaos after a while it's a question still of the event talking to activists police will see just as the parade is to process fearing for their lives trying for the against iran when in reality intrude your homosexuality remains. a traffic accident and on a spectacular hunger in the australian city of melbourne a truck turned over and was left dangling over the side of a motorway bridge throwing the driver on to another motorway twenty metres below he survived but something serious injuries and was hospitalized in a critical condition that accident caused major traffic delays during the peak our brains have to be called in to save to take the truck off the bridge. to stay with asphalt pito about the latest edition of course talk coming up shortly.

a fairly dickinson university study has revealed the twenty nine percent of americans think that a revolution will just happen in america but needs to be done in order to protect individual liberty if respondents consider themselves conservative than that number is bumped up to forty four percent that's nearly half also fox news found out that since nine eleven the percent of americans willing to sacrifice their personal freedom to reduce the threat of terrorism is at an all time low this number might sound trivial but it only takes a tiny percent of the population actually start a revolution i mean how many communists were in russia at the start of nine hundred seventeen and how many were there at the end revolution may sound like a nice thing to a growing number of people but the media wrongly portrays revolution as some fun

video game battle where freedom fighters topple the statue of the dictator and then democracy just instantly comes about and life is good and happy i'd ask you to ignore movies like v. for vendetta and look at history revolutions cause horrible destruction that could take decades to repair i guess what when your economy collapses because a revolt infrastructure breaks down and the shelves go bare also professional revolutionaries get their supplies from somebody and a foreign powers would have say fundamentally revolutionaries they would want something in return aloha and goodbye alaska if you look at history then you'll see that revolution is brutal and ugly and it's truly the last resort but it still is a resort but that's just my opinion.

hello and welcome to cross talk where all things are considered i'm peter laveau is it turning into an overblown scandal or a reflection of foreign policy poorly thought out and executed the terrorist attack on the american diplomatic outpost in benghazi last september has become a political football to attack the obama administration and hillary clinton it appears mistakes were made but is there a proper focus on the most egregious ones. to cross-talk the benghazi affair i'm joined by raymond tanter in washington he is the president of the iran policy committee and author of the upcoming book arab rebels in iranian dissidents also in washington we have raymond mcgovern he is co-founder of veteran intelligence professionals for sanity and in atlanta we cross to jay bookman he's a columnist and blogger at the atlanta journal constitution.