an e.u. commissioner tweeted integration talks with ukraine have been put on hold in kiev wants official confirmation of this and are still thousands of pro and anti-government protesters on the streets of the ukrainian capital. the american people would be warned to react. to support the people of ukraine. u.s. senator john mccain joining other american and the politicians who are putting their full support behind the ukrainian opposition. also this week syria is shaken by another wave of atrocities with islamic rebel forces said to have massacred dozens of civilians in the latest in this series of attacks. on desire linda said to exit its three year long bailout program the prime minister saying citizens for their resilience but warns that the economic situation won't change

overnight. hello there i'm andrew farmer you're watching the weekly here on r.t. international our round up of the top stories from the last seven days now a senior u.s. official tweeted that trade deal negotiations with the with ukraine have been frozen because kids demands are unrealistic but ukraine wants official confirmation of that message sent by enlargement commissioner stephan fuel election as more. well we have a statement by one of the european officials who is responsible for the enlargement of the european union particularly doing eastern direction with the staff of your labor tweeted more on his official account that i quoted words and deeds over the

kremlin president and government regarding association agreement with a review of further and further apart the arguments have no grounds in reality with the global just a few really also went on to say that several days ago in brussels when he was meeting a delegation of ukraine's government he had warned that they no further discussion about the association deal this condition doggedly are committed by the crate to cite the deal i did not know they were going on signing this deal has been put on hold because the great insight had no i'm certain that this latest statement by the european official also puts huge pressure on the culverts because he has been saying all along continuously during press corps it is the leaders with the european officials in their opposition that ukraine would not step down from the euro integration. to sign the euro association deal right now in that year is the future meanwhile the protests are continuing everywhere across the brain more than definitely more than one hundred thousand people are now in the central square of

the iranian capital and we're watching the situation to see how the latest statements by european officials late may or may not and the protest as even more what a senior diplomat says that kiev is demanding too much cash from brussels to pay its debt and kickstarted struggling economy sun media would also mean huge bills for ukraine to modernize itself to european standards and those could run over twenty billion dollars dollars annually the foreign affairs editor of chronicles magazine told us that bees offer is designed only to save the blogs political aspirations. b. you all heard very few beers agree. which would have opened. west european industrial products without the possibility of your creative ministry export to the east any longer the e.u. will doesn't exist as it and we are looking. old.

german or central europe which is germany austria benelux perhaps pounce and they have. geopolitical interests in ukraine all along meanwhile the news of any deal possibly being frozen brought out hundreds of thousands of pro europe demonstrators but president thinks he has plenty of supporters to win these people on the right there waving his party of regions flag after coming to kiev from all over the country for the weekend high profile e.u. and us politicians have made it clear they are aligned with the opposition american senator john mccain is that and he says the u.s. could take action against the ukrainian government we do not want to impose sanctions it is not our desire to do so but obviously the american people

would want to react. to support the people of ukraine in case of violence and that's just what we have done you know other cases throughout the world. before mccain's arrival in kiev assistant u.s. secretary of state big story noland handed out snacks on maidan square on wednesday but what are high profile american and european politicians doing there among the protesters legal experts and blogger alexander mccord has told us why who thinks these officials are constantly turning up in the ukrainian capital. but the reason they are there is bluntly because i think these people want to detach the ukraine from russia as they see it and they think that by supporting the protesters and here they might actually achieve that the problem with that strategy is that it's simply not working the bonds between the ukraine and russia economically and culturally ethnically and simply too strong and i think for american politicians

and indeed european politicians to go to the ukraine and to try to do that is actually very unwise and very dangerous and he simply exacerbating making worse the differences the divisions in the ukraine which are already very great and you can read more about mccain's meeting with the opposition on our website and r.t. dot com has also got a live got live updates on the timeline there with a fairer breakdown of everything that's happening in the ukraine. now in syria government forces attempted to reclaim the town of address near damascus this week that's an al qaeda linked fighters have reportedly carried act a series of massacres there our sister channel r.t. arabic filed this report. r.t.

sources in the military say radical islamist fighters entered the town of address and massacred local civilians according to the latest figures at least eighty people were killed in the districts which the syrian army has now liberated entire families were killed other families were kidnapped and are being used as human shields in the battle against government forces. that are out. militants from jabhat al nusra and the army of his lawyers seize control of all the streets and cross roads very quickly snipers took positions on the roof and houses they carried out the massacre the first reports said twenty had been killed but today we're receiving updated figures it's a horrifying situation in a scene of murder atrocities and fear r t sources in the military also say that some of the kidnapped families have been transferred to areas south of the town they're now being held in strategically important zones which the rebels have been

using as a base of operations in these places are heavily fortified sources also say the total death toll in an address may in fact increase because the syrian army has not yet liberated the entire town but international affairs and defense analysts lie just as they believe that without american support these on this won't be the leading element in the resistance movement. well it's important to first realize that the east let me strudels they don't want peace they don't want. to be settlement of this you don't want them don't want to take over syria by force if necessary if the government doesn't surrender for a sunday the damascus is not going to sprint or so we have a situation we united states great britain it were favoring their peace talks in geneva two and they were triggering also the. treaty is syrian army but

that doesn't include according to these let me say none the less in my opinion in the u.s. government they would like if not to bring down the moment to syria at least to destroy the country so i would say that if the americans though support the slightest these let me just are going to be the leading elemental the resistance of the rebels. meanwhile according to the u.k. based syrian observatory for human rights the syrian city of aleppo has become a target of airstrikes which have claimed at least thirty six lines fifteen vacations are said to be children stay with the latest updates on the country. now in the wake of ireland's bailout exit the country's prime minister has made a televised address to the nation thanking citizens for their patients and resilient resilience which made it possible he also stated that the government when

i focus on creating jobs and making sure that the country never returns to a culture of speculation and creed but and he can he also warned that the economic situation isn't going to change overnight tester syria explains why. people know that in that decision they endured the three years of very very deep you had salaries going down and you had their benefits of being slashed a lot of deep spending cuts so what the government really is trying to do. is symbolically stepping out of what they call the shackles of the kreutzer hoping that this will really give that morale boost to the people whoever they are there is no illusion here that there are still high unemployment that have to be tackled as well as the very high number of people skilled young workers leaving the country moving to countries like australia or canada to pursue better opportunities some of the businesses here construction businesses starting over again here in dublin however when you go just one hour out of the capital the story is really different

and has come through the worst of the crisis but we shouldn't underestimate the size of the crisis it faced because of the enormous holes in the banking sector which in turn resulted from very cavalier lending by the banking system very state citizens and taxpayers have had to pick up the bill for the mess the banking system was the government already said that austerity policies are actually going to be continuing so if this is to be seen as a success it's going to be a psychological or moral do sting success in terms of exiting again more closely monitoring of the troika economically there's still a long long way to go for our land to really be calling itself success ahead in the program a protest. i campaigned against a draw floor that would impose tough and authorized demonstrations turns violent as people accuse it of attacking democracy also coming up south africa is looking to

the future is nelson mandela is laid to rest but some migrants sure later in the program we hear their fears the tension under the surface is it to boil. the. economic down in the final. days. and the rest. if we.

should have you with us today. hello again russia's president made it clear he's ready to defend traditional values during his state of the nation address this week and also said that the country does not aspire to be a superpower or to lecture others on high to conduct their affairs but is ready to defend itself whenever necessary. has the details. it's traditionally become the place to be to find out the president's vision of the president and his plans

for the future every year russia's top politicians businessmen economists and elites gather at the kremlin to listen to his idle address first head of just returned from there as well and here are some of the key points why the reporter had to make russia isn't looking and dominating the rules but that doesn't mean it has to stop protecting its sovereignty and traditional values. we know that there are even more people around the globe who support our position in terms of ensuring traditional values these are the values of traditional family and the value of human life including religious life that is not only material life but also spiritual of course this is a conservative position but the point of conservatism is not that it hinders the movement forward and upward but that it precludes the movement backwards and downwards back towards chaos and a barbaric state. diplomacy was another point in the president's speech or

specifically recent breakthroughs with syrian chemical weapons and the rein in nuclear programming many animals to greet these are examples that diplomacy still works by the time when russia. suggested. the process of chemical disarmament stars in syria. very few countries in the world were keen to support the so-called obama option which would have been yet another bombing of the at another country so i think this is a very important lesson. lesson on how the crisis of this time should be sold u.s. plans to build an anti missile defense system in europe one of the biggest sticking points in moscow's relationship with washington was of course also talked about the president's message was simple without a threat from iran what's the point of building it. moscow does see the shield as a threat to its national security and putin says powering up russia's military is one of the ways to protect against it. you know when you look at what you do if

you're in a city that was more sinister that it's a no country should harbor illusions of achieving military dominance over russia we will never let it happen russia is ready to meet those challenges both political and technological that we've got all the potential needed our military doctrine as well as our military equipment allow us without a doubt to ensure russia's security finally it referring to the current situation in ukraine which you said moscow respects the desire of those partners who want to be closer to the e.u. as long as decisions aren't made by hotheads and are based on dialogue you've got to get off r.t. moscow. and other news thousands of staged a violent protest in madrid venting their fury over a draft law that could enforce tough action against unsanctioned rallies. about two dozen people were injured and seven arrested when angry crowds attempted to surround the spanish parliament activists condemning the proposal which would

impose hefty fines for offenses searches burning the national flag calling it an attack on democracy the bill is likely to pass into law with a strong support from the conservatives who do hold a majority in the legislature but activist doris bene guest says the protesters need to show they are not ready to give up without a fight see. the need this is only the beginning we need a lot of efforts to stop this legislation but we don't want this year to end without at least starting to demonstrate against this draft law and yes this is only the beginning because it will take some months for the law to be considered and adopted yes well hopefully achieve what we want but that is not the last time we need more people as this protest was mostly spontaneous we want to make our voices heard now we wanted to forget and will always want it how much they won't be able to shut us up and we aren't afraid. we won in southern spain a cave dwelling community is also standing its ground hundreds of activists formed

a human barricade this week to resist being forcibly moved from their homes the residents say the government wants them to make way for a luxury resort we see careful off went to meet the defined set list. hammering out an existence on the outskirts of granada sprucing up a front yard with some of the best views in town it's an eclectic community that's literally burrowed into a mountain the residents of the hill of san miguel have going to word of dozens of caves in two bonafide homes we've been living here for two years now and really not a word community it's the kind of place when they brews help each other out. it may not be a life of luxury there's no running water or electricity but for residents like anna that's not a problem when it does. the live long play this doesn't mean we've done

nothing but i'm down with everything here. but those who have made their home here may have their days are numbered although they've lived here for years now the city council has been fighting to get them off the land. these are in proper houses and it is a residential area of the city that the caves are unsafe for any humans to live and that they could collapse at any moment. it's an argument this resident simply doesn't buy one tony opara has lived on the hill of san miguel for more than eight years he believes the city is over exaggerating the dangers in order to help developers get their hands on the land actually one of the first united fans here and that's why house is because he's already. said with the arx to protect the roof. they need to be done even in a venue and he's willing to do everything to keep on living here and how the oil

for a. big site is to. give me the city council wants to clean up the hill years ago developers announced plans to turn this area into a tourist attraction and we think that's what's really behind the eviction but for now only eight caves are facing the risk of eviction irma is one of the residents who could lose her home she too suspects and i'll tear your motive that would be like giving up the city council wants to shut down the kings but they don't want to tear them down that's why we think they really just want to get the land to use it for their own purposes another concern cited by the officials is sanitation the caves they say are dirty and the air. has been described as a slum that sits above the city we may be very clean not so their residence the city council isn't likely to abandon its plans to evict the residents but for the

people living in the caves of san miguel giving up is simply not an option reporting we're not a spain for our team and health of saudi arabia delivers a severe punishment a political activist is sentenced to four years in jail three hundred lashes and a travel ban after calling for a constitutional monarchy and criticizing the ruling family you can head to r.t. dot com for the full story there plus. the hippie slogan make love not war can be punishable as an italian protester may end up in court after kissing a riot police officer we've got all the details on our website. lawmakers in yemen have called for a stop to u.s. drone strikes the nation's parliament passed a law banning unmanned aerial attacks though it's not a binding vote and it's seen as a recommendation to the government the initiative comes days after one attack reportedly hit a wedding motorcade and killed civilians well earlier political activists media

benjamin told r.t. that drone strikes which are claimed to be weakening al qaeda are actually pushing more people to join it every time there's a drone strike that's the best recruiting tool for al qaeda and killing people in a wedding party i am sure that this will lead to not tens but probably a hundred people joining al qaeda and this guarantees the cycle of violence will go on in perpetual war the drone strikes actually are a support to al qaeda it doesn't get rid of al qaeda. some more news making headlines around the globe now in sweden violence erupted in stock in the stockholm suburb with anti fascist protesters clashing with far right supporters rioters hurled rocks bottles and firecrackers at least two people were injured and twenty eight arrests were made police say the suspects could face a maximum charge of attempted murder. but the might in berlin hundreds

of people have marched in solidarity with residents of a refugee camp the demonstration took place after it was revealed that eighty people living there are facing eviction germany is currently the only country in the e.u. to force an initiative that bans asylum seekers to remain within the confines of the state that they are registered in. there are some mandela has been laid to rest of his ancestral home after ten days of international mourning for south africa's former leader he's gone down in history as the man who vanquished apartheid ambridge racial and ethnic divides but with mandela's passing some africans fear the good fear the ghosts of past may return as paula slayer reports. don't lean software fijian south africa from the congo because of one man nelson mandela causes the one more loud of the do side of the. camp but now he's gone

and only means afraid she and other foreigners like her will be kicked out i think that there were tears well thought in the eyes because they don't one foot in the area in that spot in there that taking their jobs millions of africans have fled their troubled countries in search of a better life in south africa but more often than not they've swapped one horror for another with no money work or prospects a handful have made this place a methodist church in downtown johannesburg home if you're a green or you for your german or if you're fringe and you come into this country you were in to experience what experienced here one of the things apart it did for instance was that it divorced us from the rest of africa who failed is struggling to support his wife and five children in a brutal attack she was beaten so badly she miscarried he was left for dead the

crime being foreigners in a strange land i think we could we had felt. that and right after life i think i should want to lead the world in south africa prejudices run deep not only are african foreigners accused of taking jobs away from locals they're also held responsible for accelerating crime so if who is doing it in the way they're going to do the work to do is good and. what we have to give them a sense of going home though is not an option political instability acute poverty and violence awaits them. for twelve long months has been too afraid to step foot outside to stretch and now with mandela gone she's more afraid than ever to says something and by the flooding of. no one will talk about the flooding that's as night falls the schools close providing refuge to people seeking

sanctuary in a country that doesn't want them. south africa without international i'm back with more news in about half an hour's time coming up though the minister in charge of ties with europe tells r.t. what his country has gained and lost since joining the e.u. four decades ago worlds apart is after the break. wealthy british style it's time to right let's go to. the. markets why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy cars a report on. the

. economic downturn in the final. days the longer the deal and the rest because i was doing a little bit every week. i . well welcome to worlds apart this year marks fortune years since arlen joined the

european union but you don't see much liberation here and that may be due to the fact that few have paid a higher price for this integration than the arash people each one of whom already contributed almost nine thousand tourists in taxes to effectively safeguard the euro was that worth it well to discuss that i'm knowledge joined by the country's minister for european affairs pascal donahue mr donahue thank you very much for your time i know that when arlen was celebrating the thirty if thirtieth anniversary of joining the euro there was this whole program of exhibitions and conferences to solve their creation but we don't see. that level of celebration this time around and i wonder whether it is due to all this perhaps it reflects maybe a broader more skeptical reassessment of joining the e.u. well the main reason for the change in diet mood is the scale of the economic crisis that audience house and jerked over the last five years. we gone through

a period in which our economy went through a very sharp decline we saw on employment go up do we had to deal with a very very difficult. crisis within our banking system. and because of all of dos it's understandable that people are not read the mood to celebrate anything. because of the difficulty that many people feel. we are seeing for the first time now in five years some saw and the scale of difficulty is coming to an end we're seeing up. private sector create jobs for the first time now since two thousand and eight and our economy is now one to thirty year of grote. hope if you were to come back in a few more years time to look at the next face of where we stand you'll see a very big difference from where we are now well being did hope to see

a big difference couple of years from now but i think some would argue that one of the reasons why people are so skeptical about this whole european integration people in ireland i mean was because of them having to incur all that private banking doubt upon themselves and. i wonder whether you think that our land would have been pressured and obligated to be all that banking dad if it wasn't a member of the e.u. citizen number of assumptions in your question that i would challenge i think they're wrong the first assumption is that there is a majority of people skeptic skeptical of the number as it is certainly increased from saying it has increased thousand priests but that's very different from saying are inferring that the majority of people are against. us average or two i think you know this is emphasis and it's growing we were able to as an inference in your introduction as well on your question the. a majority of people.