dozens of civilians are massacred near the syrian capital damascus as an investigation reveals mass executions and kidnappings carried out by the islamist rebels. as the european union puts ukraine integration on hold u.s. senators joined protesters in the capital kiev throwing their weight behind the opposition's pro western ambitions. now mexico is gripped by mass anti-government demonstrations with protesters accusing authorities of stripping the state of its wealth and people of their future.

turning out of the russian capital you watching r t international with me marina joshing welcome to the program. fierce fighting continues in the syrian town of on the outskirts of damascus as the army tries to push rebel forces from several districts an investigation carried out by r.t. discovered the mass execution of civilians carried out by all qaeda linked groups survivors described her reflects scenes of brutal executions and of people being used as human shields our colleagues from artie's arabic channels spoke to an eyewitness of the massacre. no. r t sources in the military say radical islamist fighters and heard the town of address and massacred local civilians if cording 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. militants from git by the looser and the army of

islam seize control of all the streets and cross roads very quickly this is asian became terrible they were killings outrage and feel are not in the fight on man came to the city or they carried out the slaughter the worst thing in their crime was when they showed people in the baker's or when they kidnapped people and many were beaten our 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 these places are heavily fortified sources also say the total death toll in address may in fact increase because the syrian army has not yet liberated the entire town. at the political analyst patrick henningsen told r.t. that events an odd draw show that western encouragement of rebel forces is only delaying any hope of peace in syria if there's any western governments who want to

have any dialogue or engage in dog with these groups these are the same western governments of saying that we don't talk to terrorists we don't negotiate with terrorists and here just the mere idea of wanting to include the radical islamic element into the conversation and for the future of syria is ridiculous just on the basis of western policy over the last twenty or thirty years doesn't make any sense at all what it does though indicate is that there are there is involvement absolutely by western and say agencies that do have links to some of these radical jihadist groups and that has been proven throughout history and is also the case today the first thing that needs to happen for any peace talks to succeed is the western governments cannot be involved in any way shape or form either through proxies which is intelligence agencies or third parties with army financing equipping giving aid of any kind to the syrian opposition of course we'll

be keeping a close eye on syria throughout the day and for the latest updates as well as more eyewitness reports you can always log on to our website r t v dot com. now here craig is locked in uncertainty with both the government and the e.u. sending mixed signals over possibilities for future integration as thousands remain on chios main square demanding get agreement a senior official signaled that all such plans are in a spirit hesitant if the u.s. it seems to have assumed the role of decision maker has argued like airships can now reports. trauma care. bremer oh there's very few americans when you. hear john mccain's media conference in kiev was rich in loud statements thinly veiled warnings to moscow we need to make it clear. to the

russian government that i'm here putin that interference in the affairs of ukraine is not acceptable to the united states of america or to any other free country in the world followed by explicit threats to kiev if the movement and membership and the e.u. does not achieve that is going to have very serious effects here in ukraine and in us cray cray malaysians he accused russia of interfering but many question twice he was there in the first place it's not the first time john mccain has been seen paying a visit to those the united states is currently lending its support to he had a photo op with some syrian rebel kidnappers now it's a world boxing champion turned politician and mccain is not the only american politician in ukraine his appearance of gifts independence square was preceded by u.s. assistant secretary of state victoria nuland handing out cakes to the protesters the reason they are that 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 in kiev they might actually achieve that the problem with that strategy is that it's simply not working the balance 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 but as u.s. officials seem keen on pushing the e.u.'s deal through. to brussels all but shut the door and signing it through a tweet from the man in charge of e.u. expansion it's unclear whether it's a matter of the e.u. not budging on ukraine's pleas for more financial help upon signing the agreement the previous offer of six hundred million euro was branded as humiliating by unocal which or brussels rumored willingness to seize any talks with this government this

latest statement by the european official also puts huge pressure on the coverage because he has been saying all along continuously during press corps this is the meetings with european officials and the opposition that ukraine would not. hear integration. he was all expecting to sign your association deal with here is the future and with the news that this prospect is as remote as ever the protesters resolve is now also being hardened by a rallying cry from the newest arrivals from america let's see reporting from kiev in ukraine. to discuss the american sanitary sela support for ukraine's opposition rallies with international relations professor mark sloboda and he thinks their involvement is driven by anything but genuine concern over the authorities handling of peaceful protests. senator john mccain hasn't shown any such concern for occupy wall street protesters when they were brutally repressed in the united states and driven from zuccotti park and from the main centers of american cities

across america or with. protesters in europe against neoliberal austerity measures when tens of millions receive like treatment over the last two years indeed just this week in spain in the united kingdom and in italy we saw police repression of peaceful political dissent john mccain hasn't. shown any concern about this what john mccain has always been concerned with is he views russia as a geo political enemy of the united states of the greater trans-atlantic community and he like many a western officials is viewing through this through a cold war lens of trying to separate russia from the ukraine in order to in his mind keep it in a permanently geo politically weakened state. political turmoil a crackdown on protests and an economy in limbo life in egypt is no easy just ahead

as we take a look out whether the dreams of those who took part in the arab spring uprising almost three years ago. plus. no warm welcome for new members as immigration and finance drives a wedge through the european union. the . economic ups and downs in the final months the on the deal and the rest because it's going be casey will be if we told me.

one of the wonderful strong arming allies the new knowledge base i describe you know both. a pleasure to have you with us here on our team today i'm sure. you know more you know i mean people name is ali baba. going to a mobile solti. sadly i've got another family. i'm still looking for mine. all the good life. from my place in the world. literally

have no place to live. no. chewing on the bread that you bought with the last money you were able to beg and all i can say is get out of here. there are only two possible outcomes to the situation you never get of miami and it's all about fancy cars chicks the other option you die in the ring breathe deep breathe deep think. you're observing. the power. of the productive and to be good to close with your meet those who to be able to work it will be or give to go speaking to the region the whole reason that is going

to be created is. so well in germany ukraine they say has greece and spain italy so many other every piece of land in reach they could bring siemens they could bring their banks they could extend their produce one million people come to . a munch is. welcome mat you're watching our t.v. international coming to you live from moscow mexico's been hit by tide of protests as people call for the government to stop selling outs to corporations compromising country's future recently congress approved an energy reform to private eyes the state run oil sector a sticking point which has brought hundreds of thousands of people out on the streets across the country while the bill has now been approved by more than a third of the mexican states but what began as

a protest against the energy policy overhaul has now turned into a nationwide discontent with entire government r.t. spanish correspondent witnessed one such demonstration. protests against the energy reform have been held in all major cities across mexico it's a new demonstration of power of those who oppose what their government has approved without they consent we can't forget that there is three points of the mexican constitution that will be modified under the new measure for many mexicans this new era in the energy sector just means the beginning of the end of the country's independence many also believes that the whole process has been just a farce and that the decision was really already made even before the debate began the rapid approval that the reform is getting in the local delegations only strengthens the position of those who think that politicians of mexico aren't on the side of the people on the side of commercial interests losing that is there not

interested in asking the people they don't care about what we think at all this states will have to reform the truth in ten minutes they know know what they are doing there to train us the streets are the only thing we have now and will do all it takes to defend it and symbolically protesters in mexico city the nation's capital chose the square of independence to kick off their massive march pressure tension and frustration been building up here it's now only about energy reform they talk about education reform about to transfer overseas indeed it's just the mexican people coming together really demonstrating they just are not happy with their policies. and it actually action center activist khalid mob and believes the government itself is the source of the unrest. the oil in mexico this is something that the mexican people you know have called claims for themselves they say it's their property they say belongs to doubt but now just like so much of the wealth of

the world's being privatized being handed over to private corporations and being utilized to make profits for for some capitalists and that's that's an outrage and that's why the people are are rising up against it that's why we see all these massive outcry because the people of mexico will have really made clear that the government of mexico doesn't represent them that represents interests in the united states and they would like sovereignty and independence i can find more stories we're covering on our t. dot com that's our web site and they're all you'll see three hundred lashes for calling for a constitutional monarchy saudi activists are punished for criticizing the ruling family and dad further for years in prison plots. the preparations for world cup twenty fourteen could be undermined as workers and brazil call for a nationwide strike over the human cost of construction more details on our t.v. dot com. right.

first street. and i think that you're. on our reporters' twitter. instagram. to be in the. welcome back you're watching r.t. international now showing symbols like this could land you in jail in egypt a fifteen year old boy was arrested last month after he brought a ruler to school bearing the sign of a muslim brotherhood prosecutors claim the boy was inciting violence the brotherhood unites millions of people who oppose the interim government in egypt but they say their voice is being quashed as bill two reports is just another reason why a man egypt sions are looking elsewhere for a better life. omaha meet a young egyptian design student sits in his favorite downtown cairo cafe talking

about a better life abroad three years on from participating in two thousand and eleven revolution omer is frustrated with the state of the country he says once he finishes his studies he'll have to leave you i have been. here your story for four years and then you don't find a job at the end of it there are better chances are side egypt there i can find the freedom to work with the skills that i have that is one of the most important reasons forcing people to leave egypt there are eight million egyptians already abroad and others and looking to join them as the economy flatlines in the political instability even if the economy of the country will grow in the future the double digits there will never be able to accommodate every new job seekers there is going to be always a percentage of the population that would seek job elsewhere job outside the country youth unemployment rates are at a staggering seventy seven percent and that may well rise after years of turmoil

for young men like almost seeking work abroad is often the only option but it's not just the economy driving egyptians to leave some fleeing amid a growing crackdown on political freedoms a growing numbers of activists are now facing jail sentences after the military installed government enforced the law banning protests without official permission daily battles between student protesters and security forces broke egypt's campuses police and the army continue to patrol the streets here where we need democracy freedom better health care and social justice to fulfill the main demands of our revolution the police need to change the whole regime needs to have a better ideological way of dealing with egypt or more people will go the government hopes and new constitution and upcoming elections will help stabilize egypt but until egyptians can find work and enjoy basic freedoms. before was to leave. for our. now take

a look at some of the stories from around the world starting with the philippines where a bus has plunged off a raise section of motorway onto a van in the capital manila twenty one people are reported to have been killed and twenty others injured according to local reports heavy rain and traffic conditions may have played a part in the. proposed bill that will shoot romania's and these from probes over corruption has led to a violent protest in the capital bucharest crowds broke through a police cordon outside the government headquarters chanting slogans and demanding the proposal be dropped the man is president of whose signature is required for the bill becomes law as condemn parliament plans. and israeli soldier has been killed by a lebanese sniper on the border with lebanon the soldier was treated at the scene but died later in hospital the lebanese army has been put on high alert do you fear

of reprisals by i.d.f. troops the region has been hit by sporadic violence since the two thousand and six lebanon war when israel fought a month long battle with hezbollah fighters. this agreement between e.u. member states is growing as its newest members remain a bulgarian prepared to gain the same rights as other citizens of the e.u. freedom of movement and banking are driving a wedge between nations that fear of lot of benefit hungry immigrants an unfair competition as boyko reports it's supposed to be an ever close a europe but the european commission the body responsible for keeping the twenty eight country club together is facing a growing number of complaints from its members in january as the newest members remain ians and both carians will be able to travel to work and live anywhere within the euro zone. but the u.k. prime minister david cameron's not exactly offering open arms to change the rules

about every move with people moving to countries for a job is one thing but i'm not favor of people being to be able to claim benefits that's why we set up a series of measures this week to put beyond doubt that there isn't a freedom to go and play by the same sentiments have been shared by many in france so it's no surprise that views not going down well with the european commission it argues migrants boost these countries economies rather than sponge off that governments but immigrations by no means the only issue the yukon to greet on god only what we're facing right now is essentially has been lost and i'm not talking about. u.k. or break them equates always being outside and inside europe i'm talking about their. european banking union has long been on the cards designed

to offer the same confidence to a depositor in a greek or spanish bank as enjoyed by someone in a german one but richer member states a worried it'll only end in bailouts for banks and other countries last time ministers met to discuss the union they wrapped up early because of a lack of progress and speaking of money brussels has strived for tax harmonize ation but cost your mind back to recent scandals about google and apple housing their headquarters in ireland with a corporate tax rate of just twelve and a half percent compared to thirty four percent in belgium and you'll see that harmonized nation is a long way off you're seeing economic effects of a shed from greece across the eastern europe germany but without political control over those things happening it's a very on turnabout situation to have. london and coming up on the program peter valley's gas. alan surveillance again security and discuss the actual purpose of america's national security agency and the way.

they're calling obama's happy smiling sophie photo with the danish and british prime ministers at the mandela funeral an international incident but before we rail on obama for doing something stupid a funeral we need to clear one thing up the washington post says that this action occurred at the memorial service after the funeral was over and trust me after about three hours of serious lectures at a conference or some sort of super long wedding most of us would just be banging our heads against the wall out of boredom and i'd probably check my email about seven times obama's place know i said most of us but the president isn't supposed to be like most of us because he represents all of us it's one thing when you're

fourteen and too stupid to realize that sophie photos at the wake after grampa's funeral is a bad idea but it's another thing entirely when one of the most photographed and powerful people on the planet takes a selfie at the memorial service of someone he claims to respect although i might sound annoyed this sophie is pretty much irrelevant this is just a big error of etiquette there are plenty of real concrete things with real consequences to be bad at obama over like our being religious wacko rebels in syria or signing into law the n.b.a. i wish with all my heart that we only had to be angry with obama over some minor etiquette errors but sadly they're just a drop in the obama bucket but that's just my opinion. though many people know me is that. i'm a. family. i'm still looking

for a good life. so my place in the world. i literally have no place to live. on the bread that you lost money you were able to beg. is get out of here. there are only two possible outcomes to this situation you have a hug you got a miami and it's all about fancy hot chicks the other option you die in the ring. why is the price of gold so high. demand global demand do you think oldest money. the value of the only plays we have to live of the water that we need to survive

it's not compared to. gold we're not going to eat gold we're not going to be. we're not going to drink what clearly. is and is in a desperate economic situation absolutely right what we're wrong to do is say therefore any kind of economic development from the outside is going to be a benefit their only purpose is to extract as much money as possible to feed into the global financial system. with hard. political economic system that's extremely exploited or. first of all is a question whether mining should even be carried out altogether can it be done in a way which doesn't destroy people's lives resources in the. well you know those are pretty serious questions mining is not

a one to moment problem it's happening in asia in africa and south america in central america in mexico and it's even happening in canada and the united states. you know. it's. a low in welcome to crossfire all things considered on people of all the scandal that keeps on giving the steady stream of snowden related leaks no longer surprises

but the all encompassing scope of spying still does even online gamers have not been spared all the while the powers that be are hesitant to rein in the n.s.a. in fact they appear only want to make legal what is now illegal is it time for an international bill of digital rights. to cross-talk the surveillance state i'm joined by my guest suzanne nossel in new york she is the executive director of the pen american center and in washington we cross to eugene puryear he is a national organizer with the answer coalition are at cross talk rules in fact that means both of you can jump in anytime you want you to if i go to you first in washington ever since this scandal with the n.s.a. broke with the as a result of mr snowden we've gotten one leak after another and we've been told today that it's only about one percent of what he is willing to through other people obviously now to expose and i watch all of these leaks coming out and at

first i had to be like most everyone just really quite shocked and amazed and now i'm not shocked or amazed anymore the only thing that really concerns me because i'm in media is this how encompassing it is it seems like it's people are kind of dold by it i mean they just know this is we're calling this program digital octopus and even when we see that symbol i don't see the outrage in the grassroots why is that. well i think that we've seen some outrage i think here and over twenty six in washington d.c. there are many thousands of people protesting it but i think in some ways it's such an all encompassing program it's very difficult for people to wrap their mind around it needless to say the government is doing everything possible to sow misinformation about this program in the populace that i'm not even one hundred percent sure people know what they can do and what is going on because it's so all pervasive and the government is so consistently lying and i think that certainly having all this revealed has a chilling effect on protests in this country whereby people are now very concerned

about if they speak out how will that be seen how will that be held against them their actions their movements their writings who they're talking to how will that all of fact their ability to be effective in the public arena and i think we're seeing not only a conversation but a really internal conversation amongst people in terms of how they challenge these sorts of policies and i think in this new terrain it's very difficult to say how do you react to that because you change kind of jumped to my next point or actually my most my last point here is it does have a chilling effect on descents and you know people are going to being far more careful in what they say and we still don't know to what extent it is all encompassing because one leak out or not i mean gamers now though they're watching gamers i mean my goodness what a a wonderful way to spend taxpayers' money what are they trying to get by studying gamers when my point is here is that everyone is aware of it is it sinking in to just how maybe dangerous this can be.