waves it's a black flag iraqi cities with thousands of refugees and. counterattack insurgent forces. one in syria. groups engaging in fighting the growing divisions among those. threatening the upcoming peace talks . with trust and politicians affecting the way people see the common currency as they look for a replacement. security being a major concern of the upcoming winter olympics in sochi we take a look at how city is making sure athletes and spectators are protected.

the past seven days top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly. thousands of iraqis are fleeing their homes in the anbar province which is turned into a war after al qaeda linked militants took control of the two cities the army has yet failed to retake the occupied territories that have been declared an islamic state by the militants as iraqi military gathers its forces for a decisive assault. looks at what is empowering the extremists in the region. you know they run on chaos emboldened by the fighting in syria these al qaeda linked militants overran parts of iraq including the city of. we have said earlier

about the serious situation will actually go into iraq and this is what we were warning about chaos in neighboring syria deepened as the u.s. and its allies threatened the syrian government sending the signal to the rebels to fight on to the detriment of a political outcome islamic groups have now taken over the opposition movement there and have even chased the western backed leader of the free syrian army out of the country to be asked you to relieve it along because if you kick it they're going to come out and that's what we did when we invaded iraq you know three and it can bite not just somewhere far in a war zone but here in the u.s. american intelligence and counterterrorism officials now say islamic extremist groups in syria with ties talk to a recruiting and training americans who have traveled there to get them to carry out attacks when they return home there are dozens of extremist islamist forces that are operating both inside syria and over the syrian borders walk has been

a breeding ground for extremists since the u.s. invasion now residents of other parts of the country are bracing themselves for the iraqi army's assault as it attempts to drive militants out of seized areas the u.s. is supplying hellfire missiles and other weapons to help the iraqi government in the fight the last thing for needs is more missiles we heard the u.s. government say they decimated al qaida is needed but the groups that continue their cause expand and what they thrive on best is chaos the u.s. backed chaos to iraq and in syria washington support for armed opposition has benefited extremists in washington i'm going to check on our quiz. the jihadists behind the occupation of fallujah and ramadi of the infamous islamic state of iraq and the levant it's one of the most powerful al qaeda branches estimated to be six thousand strong with it cells threatening the entire region well the organization

was formed by sunni insurgents in april two thousand and four a year after the u.s. launched its invasion of iraq and many members of the group are fighting in syria now against the sad and their forces rapidly gaining influence among the radical elements in the devastated country even lebanon has suffered from the group's activity with it being behind the latest bombing attack in beirut and this chemical he's a former danish intelligence officer who served in iraq believes the country's army won't be able to wipe out the extremist forces in my opinion. has never been on the run it might have been downscaling due to pressure but once this pressure is lifted the organization is back in full force and it uses these. pauses to to regain its strength the fighting ability of the of the isis for instance is very strong but very contained to localized battles and one thing the isis and the

rebels has is staring at it they want to continue fighting and the iraqi army really hasn't got a chance to fight these militias. and to or to already kate them. meanwhile in neighboring syria the strengthening of al qaeda linked groups is led to growing infighting between once allied rebels fierce clashes between rival opposition factions have killed at least seven hundred people this week almost one hundred of them are believed to be civilians who were executed by militants from the islamic state of iraq in the event well the outbreak of a civil war within a civil war has prompted some western politicians who previously rooted solidly for a sounds removal to change their stance now here are just some of their latest statements of former cia director michael hayden said that the assad regime is beginning to look like the lesser of all evils and the former u.s. ambassador to syria iraq and afghanistan ryan crocker he's agreed that assad is not as bad as the as you heard is russia has long been warning of

a threat some opposition groups in syria pose and foreign minister lavrov has welcomed the realisation of this in the west well infighting within the ranks of the syrian rebels is threatening the russia u.s. brokered peace conference that's due in this and two weeks from now and the world's top diplomats are in paris right now to pressure syria's main opposition group that's the syrian national council into taking part in let's discuss what might come out of it i mean the one issues political analysts are writing covering the middle east and she joins us live from beirut. the first day of talks then in paris it's over and yet the syrian national council has failed to give a definitive answer on whether it would attend those future talks in geneva why such hesitation. well i do because the external opposition and that has been backed by foreign governments hostile to syria's president bashar assad has spent the better part of two and a happy years predicting demanding reckoning. downfall so they

kind of boxed themselves in with this one repeated demand the sole demand and so they find themselves in a very embarrassing position today i suspect they will come to geneva they will just take their time in getting there to make it look like there is actual debate on the issue but when they really voice and represent the entire opposition there in syria. no in fact you know the media continues to repeat this continues to refer to this group as the syrian national council as as though they are not positioned they don't represent anyone inside syria they've not been elected by anyone they've been selected and these this group is paid for you know their salaries their wages their infrastructure is paid for by foreign governments so they shouldn't even really be discussed in context of syria solution because they don't really represent anyone. talks at least with one of the various factions must be positive . oh you know because they are the least representative of all the groups i mean

there are syrians inside syria there's sort of a peaceful old style opposition that still exists. there is you know the various militias are the ones are going to have to deal with ultimately because you're not going to be a political solution without dealing with that military situation so i think you know the fact is that in the summer of two thousand and twelve there were one hundred countries of the transistor a meeting in paris and this time there were eleven so you know the reality is is there already we understand that they are not representative in any way. but that the syrian national council leader and indeed the french foreign minister of earlier reiterated a sad should have no role of course in syria's future that's been the mantra for quite a while how productive is is making such a statement ahead of these talks that are of course supposed to take place without any preconditions it's not productive it's political posturing we shouldn't see it as anything more neither the s.n.c. and france are representing the syrian people series

a sovereign state and must arrive at its leadership with the south most likely by elections and only the syrian people can decide their lead pleasant representatives in government not mr prime minister mr heger anyone else so despite the rise of extremism and of course the clashes between the opposition side is still viewed as number one enemies anybody by the opposition on the west. well we've been hearing recently a change in the discourse more of the lesser evils the discussion you know whether in fact assad might be better than some of the extremists we're seeing on the ground now. but you know in my view we are hearing some changes particularly from the united states i think who are so worried about this extremism in control of spreading throughout the region and you know it hitting at their interests that they have started to change the discourse and even initiate contact with former foes like iran by the geneva nuclear talks that we couldn't conceive of for a year ago and any chance of

a united syrian opposition not likely know at this stage not at all forget about it it is you know become a turf war and money power the stakes have become so high after three years and i think the parties more entrenched. the external opposition and the militarized one it's inside syria the only one that i think are by people and really should be the only ones of the peace talks in geneva are the peaceful opposition within the country who have been marginalized by the west and the gulf countries from the start or a very briefly your view on these peace talks what effect will they have look it's been a circus so far we've been distracted by who's being invited then you know and so these these statements posturing before the the talks i think unless we're realistic about a military solution on the ground targeting militants terrorists that is you're never going to arrive at a political solution and my fear is that this geneva circus continues to the extent

that it becomes institutionalized like geneva three and i just have a four and five and six in the same way the middle east peace process was over twenty years ago that will absolute destroy. cannot afford that you know i think we go to geneva nothing comes out of it nixed it until we do have something viable political analysts specializing in the middle east live from beirut thank you very much indeed for that very interesting get your perspective. support for the e.u. and some of the worst european countries has plunged drastically in the past five years data comes now from a new regional poll a study suggests the tumbling approval rating is linked directly to the budget cuts and economic woes take spain for instance where public supporters at a record low or ireland which is just successfully exit its bailout program despite that the aftertaste of the e.u. is a sturdy dictate is still driving the numbers down the euro skeptic u.k. used to top the critics list with only around a third actually back in brussels now it's even lower than that dropping down to

less than thirty percent. well if money makes the world go round then so it seems to vultures refreshing the reports now from paris on the system evading the cowboy bankers. these colorful rich tangle of notes and not just money but they have a real value you can go shopping with these bills in your wallet. at the restaurant . the idea of alternative or so-called complimentary currencies that people of businesses agree to use for transactions within a particular area a district quarter with just a street may look like something from a kid's game but the reasons behind it are far from child's play you know his. particular first prodding of local currencies stay within the region develop like ticks second that ideological you have a lot of confidence in official common sense i mean people want to have something

we understand that they can control and that they can trust not just something that is printed you don't know how with new control and leads to speculation alternative forms of money have a history stretching back decades and appear to be growing in popularity especially tough financial times on the resume you nothing bang splay a lot with money and often risky games but they'd be under the day ordinary people have to pay for mistakes and losses this is why people want to have a currency that they will be sure will serve them and not go disappear somewhere in fiscal paradises global finance system so manx today's maced famous headline grabbing alternative currency is the digital big coin but there are dozens of others and he's worldwide in france europe's second largest economy people exchange services and goods via at least twenty different types of complimentary currencies and their numbers are growing. that the slain is behind one such project the

monthly outside paris she says she never considered paying with anything other than euros until they had bandages over. tentative became clear to me was an hour ago road but as with the euro is that it's definitely not just a mode of exchange but it also became a mode of speculation to feed banks my local currency and support local projects and develop a real economy on the ground which means it works for us the people. now because restaurant is part of the project and with a flower shop and then any supermarket it is on king. here. that are people in the world of finance that will nothing else but to make people pewter all for their own benefit why should we allow them to do that let's take a indicates this restaurant accept cash the red means to fish a no peach in french but also energy and the slogan was over your seed is used to express someone is in good health and full of energy which the local currency is

hey in france certainly seem to be experts claim complimentary currencies will never replace an official one however if trust is undermined it hard enough in conventional money people may start looking for a different type of change. from france. international water that makes the land the boil oil and gas called for take a back seat in the future because experts predict as populations rise big blue gold that the fight will be also. becomes a fertile ground for the far right with calls for foreigners to leave them for the army to be ready to go into action if the need arises all the details later in the program. approximately sixteen percent of the imports came from illegal fishing. the

european union is ironically taking fish for. some of the poorest nations on earth so this is a very serious and very urgent problem that needs immediate international action. on the territorial waters they fish they load the fish into the ships and leave. today illegal fishing just taking the bread out of our mouths. right on the street. first street. and i think the church. doors.

security has been beefed up in sochi the host city of the upcoming winter and then picks tens of thousands of police officers have been deployed and access to the area is strictly monitored scott takes a look at what else is being done to keep the games safe. the twenty second olympic winter games in two thousand and fourteen are war there to defeat the sochi. as soon as russia's black sea resort was awarded the game seven years ago some observers to question the choice of host city such as close proximity to the volatile caucasus region was they argued a cause for concern. and the recent twin terror attacks in volgograd some seven hundred kilometers from sochi have reignited some of those worries

organizers say security has been their main priority since day one from the very beginning of the construction phase. made those months to prepare the special measures to stop them from the screening of their own materials checking in all the venue. incredible measures of the security to provide this safe environment here with less than a month to go now until the games begin tight security measures are already in place around forty thousand police and security offices are expected to be on patrol for sales of dangerous hunting equipment but by and for the duration of the games there's also a controlled zone stretching sixty kilometers along the coast and twenty five kilometers inland and encompassing all venues. in terms of security so it is

a special case because this whole area is authorized visit is only there are security details from a number of countries including the u.k. and u.s. working here. and those security forces will be coming together to protect places like this is the brand new purpose built train station in the olympic village is going to be one of the main transport hubs during the games moving thousands of spectators with the bulk of the work now complete with all venues and transport networks built and tested sochi. now just waiting for the sporting world to descend pull scott's r.t. . and all the hundreds of the cross russia and beyond on our website r.t. dot com just look for the follow the flame section but also online we got the story of radiation spreading even despite efforts to contain the last of those leaks readings of hit eight times the japanese government safety standards even at the edges of the contamination. tens of thousands of fingerprints of u.k.

students are collected in school databases without any consents causing outrage among civil liberties organizations and parents now more on like. oil and gas conflicts will be superseded by water wars in the future and that's the warning from experts and as the world's population grows access to clean water resources is rising in price let's have a quick look at this map now these blue dots are the places where conflicts over water disputes have broken out since the nine hundred fifty s. now these include small process as well as some more serious large scale clashes that have been one hundred seventy eight disputes and the number of such hotspots is rising one example is the tension in the middle east where the struggle for water is a key issue in some ongoing conflicts. reports. the bible tells us that within a short distance from here jesus turned water into wine two thousand years later the great american might be turning the wine back into water bubby carballo has

been living in the golan heights for over thirty years each day he attends to his very art in orchards keeping his wine in a center that was once a syrian bunker he is proud of the wine he produces but knows that in the absence of water none of this would be possible i don't know should be water is important because it's the second main resource that we have other than the land each crop needs water and without it you will destroy all the crops and destroy all of the farming here it can turn the government heights into a desert and it's not just about the golan heights rainwater from its catchment feeds into the river jordan providing a food of israel's water supply the disputed region was seized from syria after the six day war and residents of the golan remember that water was a key issue in the conflict and one of the stands here understands the importance of the work that all the water supply of israel because every door was raining here

all but one is prone to the security of god that's all we can say that it is and must. respect the resolve to have football over what the fall says it's a worldwide rule that whoever controls the water controls the land but the problem is in some places there's very little water to go around bring you have the common water officials by several foreign nations is always a possibility of pressure reaches conflicts that should be manageable was put out of control and examples of possible conflicts are plentiful syria's major water sources travel through turkey and iraq making it vulnerable while jordan is reliant on a river with syria bill today egypt. also recently expressed concern over countries using the upper now to generate electric power in the dry landscape of the middle east water is

a prize more precious than diamonds in its absence famine and drought are quick to follow but this is a region that very seldom needs an excuse for war and water shortages might just tip the balance here r.t. in the golan heights. it's not a quick look at some other world news this hour police in egypt to fire tear gas at supporters of the ulster president have been more siege and clashes that car is going university nineteen demonstrators have been detained and several injured in fresh outbreak of violence comes just two days before planned vote on a draft constitution more than one hundred fifty thousand troops will guard polling stations amid fears of more protests by pro morsy activists. now out of control bushfire is raging in western australia are threatening both lives and properties and emergency warning has been issued for several suburbs officials say fire brigades will be unable to reach some remote areas urging people to do whatever they can to protect their homes. and also in a while the more than

a dozen people have been injured introduce three detained with a protest in spain's northern city of burgas turned violent people were voicing their anger over high rents and developers forcing up poor residents police resorted to rubber bullets off the protesters torched rubbish bins and vandalized banks and shops the rally followed friday's clashes over corruption claims surrounding a new. nationalism seems to be on the up in japan with far right groups protesting against immigration and demanding a reinforced army as artie's election found out the angry rhetoric is forcing some difficult questions. it's become a tradition in japan when some foreign officials are subjected to verbal abuse on this particular occasion japanese nationalists made their feelings known loud and clear to russia's foreign minister china and south korea have also been in their crosshairs one for an island dispute the other for sending too many labor migrants

to japan you know the latest protests korean workers were described as cockroaches which needed to be exterminated this man is one of those behind the nationalist rallies in japan he says he'd like to see japan a more closer citee more and more there was an openness and we've been to open to the world now foreigners come here and commit crimes i want us to return to pre-war period where we were closed and self-sufficient despite criticizing the government for its immigration policies the movement could not be feeling more comfortable since twenty twelve when she and so are there was reelected as prime minister such rallies have been on the rise. those are not only foreign nationals and delegations getting the stick from japanese nationalists there are locals who have directly suffered from their country becoming more far right these schoolteachers have been protesting because they lost their jobs for not complying with what they call ultra nationalist regulations in schools will not let us see below should be made as an obligation to listen to the national anthem before classes i told my pupils spawn

of who were not even japanese and it wasn't obligatory to stand up and then i got fired but it's not only about instilling national pride speculation is rife that with all this stronger japan hype is eager to amend the nine hundred forty seven constitution namely article number nine which braves japan from having any kind of army other than for defense purposes. in the increasingly intertwined world we can ensure the peace of our nation without proactively taking a role in the peace and security of the world why don't we take steps forward on the issue of constitution amendment but not everyone is buying it and more far reaching goal could be reshaping the regional balance of power. base been talk among high profile politicians including former prime minister is launching a public debate on whether japan should have nuclear weapons it never materialized but it's something that the ruling elite has been pondering for years now and

non-pacifist japan let alone a nuclear power would send shock waves across the region say experts but for now even with nationalist voices getting louder polls suggest that such ideas are still some way from becoming reality sixty or seventy r.t. reporting from just by. with more of the weekly in just over half an hour from now in the meantime we take a look at illegal fishing in west africa that's after this short break. what a country experiences a tragedy like the recent terrorism involved ground there question is what to do about it i mean we have to do something right let's never let a good tragedy go to waste one do remember recommends getting rid of the moratorium

on the death penalty for prayers groups including terrorists because the death penalty is the perfect way to punish a suicide bomber also the still a member failed to mention high level crap the krauts in the government as those who could possibly face the firing squad perhaps that was just an honest oversight i'm not against the death penalty in some rare instances but punishing terrorists after the fact doesn't bring victims back the focus needs to be on the source of terror. some soldiers can play around all day with weapons because a government gives them a salary weapons and training some people are recruiting arming and training new terrorists you don't need to usher in a massive surveillance state to stop terrorism or go death penalty crazy what you need to do is hit the funding and training source hard if you can i mean how many of you guys out there could make a remotely detonated bomb a c four on your own without help almost none of you see for doesn't grow on trees someone pays for it but that's just my opinion.

of the.