top diplomats from the united states and russia meet in a bid to salvage syrian peace talks even as rebel forces turn their fire on each other in an unprecedented turf war. pulling no punches the u.k. looks to claw back some control over its legal system as a european court denies british judges the right to sentence criminals to life without parole. and pay up on move out low income families bear the brunt of washington's overspending as automatic budget cuts forced them out of their homes by the millions.

you're watching r t international live from our moscow headquarters where it's just after nine in the morning thank you for joining us nearly seven hundred syrian rebels have been killed in the past nine days in clashes not with the regime but with other opposition fighters extreme islamists and moderates have turned on each other in what's become a savage turf war meanwhile the chances of success at an upcoming peace conference are dimming by the day weston ten days left before the geneva two conference is scheduled to take place hopes for proper peace talks just like the stakes are high there's no other solution for the syrian tragedy than a political solution but just when it seemed reports of atrocities carried out by al-qaeda linked rebels had pushed the west away from the m.c.g. rhetoric. we don't have the assad regime on one side and terrorists on the other it is the regime that is fueling terrorism. mixed signals are once again being

sent statements which some experts queen and up contradicting the facts on the ground these are cynical statements the western military alliance has been recruiting right from the outset and it's confirmed by numerous. reliable sources nevertheless it seems any anti assad words are music to the ears of the syrian opposition whose main precondition has been and still is for him to step down. the most important aspect of today's meeting is that we all agree that al assad has no future in syria there saad family has no future in syria. this is despite even the former head of the cia and the ex u.s. ambassador to syria iraq and afghanistan admitting that as soon as it's gone jihadists will quickly take its place with the clock ticking and geneva two becoming closer it's still on knowing whether the syrian opposition will be taking part in what is clear though right now with all these mixed messages coming out of

france perhaps the chances of its success are slipping even further you got pissed off our t. shirts. in a few hours time u.s. secretary of state john kerry and russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov will be giving a joint press conference after their talks in paris say with r.t. to hear their latest plan for bringing peace to syria. meanwhile john kerry says he's confident that the rebel council will attend the peace talks despite its apparent reluctance but journalist john white believes this will have little impact on the ground. it seems clear they're saying see very little credibility on the ground they can deliver nothing on the ground over the rebel factions or what associates you. see or most of them and we have the fake teeth to other groups so the us administration is increasingly desperate to try and cobble together some kind of syrian opposition and they can do business with but the syrian opposition

itself the city national council no really only exists say of syria and it only exists. u.s. patronage so this is increasingly seems like a feel process that is about to hit the buffers the opposition government in exile is now warning the northern syria which is largely held largely held by rebel groups is in a state of anarchy the syrian national council has little authority over fighters there and seeing what influence it does have passover to islamists john white also told us that western governments time's running out for that. many of these you want to pool you know actually saving with assad because if you look at the situation on the ground is growing increasingly desperate you have a sunni fundamentalists pulling into the country causing mayhem who are intent on the country into a killing field so assad for all those people is the west of all evil at least with the assad government we have

a government in the twenty first century the alternative is a regime is to keep it somewhere in the seven said i don't think there's much to discuss for the stakes so high. as the syrian war drags on the is reaping the benefits in today's cross talk we hear how the terrorist network has managed to gain so much ground and who could be behind it. well one of the western media and politicians told us al qaeda was defeated or at the very least on its last legs the same media and politicians today tell us a very different story i'll quote it is very much alive and fighting indeed across many countries of the middle east it is betrayed as a deadly minutes in this edition of crossfire we ask what is al qaeda today who supports it and who benefits from it. you believe.

britain is struggling to claim black back control over a part of its legal system from the e.u. the u.k. government insists it has the right to sentence the worst criminals to life in prison with no chance of parole but as laura smith reports from london a top european court says that practice runs roughshod over human rights setting up a legal showdown. if we're talking prison sentences it's already very breath and to me in life but if the european court of human rights has its way it will become impossible for courts in this country to hands down the most severe punishments that exceptional criminal might never become eligible for parole condemned to die in jail the a c.-h. all got involved after convicted killers notes to complaints with the courts saying it was deemed moralizing notes to have a chance of release last year the courts the greens and having no rights to review

contravene big european convention on human rights the justice secretary is set to fight the decision in a lengthy legal battle but many say he should go a step further and leave the court altogether the legitimacy is pretty much nonexistent. but not a proper court made up of. often of politicians rather than lawyers many of. the members a tiny countries or countries with. very poor human rights record i mean we're getting a lot of interference in our legal system. from them and i think it's completely completely unreasonable i think we should make our own decisions aren't arrangements about the but sentencing there are fewer than fifty prisoners serving whole life terms in england and wales for the severest rights one of them's more bridges he was sent down last year for murdering well schoolgirl who he's launched

an appeal another killing in maclaughlin has already avoided a whole life because of the. he murdered a man while on day release from a murder that is and meanwhile the u.k. government is entering into a lot of expensive fights with the calls of team and bright. just the courts interfering with british justice. a day it's been set for iran to start reducing its uranium stockpiles of other country looks forward to an easing of sanctions the u.s. senate is raising the prospects of new obstacles we'll be reporting on that later in the program. also on its way as ariel sharon is put to rest israel's defense force rolls out hundreds of soldiers and an anti-missile defense system just to provide a safe burial for the prime minister. pensioners and low income americans are being forced to find smaller and cheaper homes or see their

rental costs soar the second year of automatic budget cuts known as sequestration could hit over two million households artie's marina met one of the victims of washington's overspending. my brother and his family inside and brown's home so this is home for me a lifetime of memories are displayed everywhere you look one of my friends were there with me doing this in eighty three year old has lived in her one bedroom new york city apartment for thirty seven years this is the first played out for mercy from h.p.d. but it's a few months ago city officials told her she has to downsize her options move into a studio apartment or see your seven hundred dollar rent triple the only thing i know is they heard the word sequester whatever that means you have this ng is the city agency that subsidizes rent for low income new yorkers is facing a thirty six million dollars reduction due to budget cuts known as sequestration.

as a result thousands of seniors like ann are being forced to shrink their lives into smaller and cheaper apartments and that physically able. to a will or i'm going to do it my friend if you're sitting on a saddle i can't afford to stuart so what i'm going to do with my life is in this disappointment civil rights attorney norman siegel who represents many sequestered seniors calls the downsizing campaign inhumane i can't dismiss the possibility that the effect of this will impact disproportionately on seniors and poor people because in the bigger picture the people who are in power and make these decisions . know that seniors might not fight back and it's a problem playing out nationwide potentially affecting more than two million low income american households in the coming year that's according to one washington budget think tank but it's when social cuts drag in the nation's unprotected

pension nears that experts say the effects will prove explosive what happens to a family watching the government of the contrary stick it to grandma when she's eighty years old you're making enemies you wonder why people join the tea party you wonder why people join occupy wall street while many times the reasons are grandma in the current era of budget cuts the country's elderly most in need of government assistance and stability are being displaced vulnerable citizens forced to spend their golden years suffering the consequences of washington's debt and overspending is like putting somebody in prison that didn't commit a crime that's the way i see it what did we do because this deficit and why are you going to balance it on the back to the seniors marina porton. new york. germany is bringing islam into the fold it's become an official religion inserted comments as much to the dismay. some ruling party members say the move is simply

about scoring political points that story's coming up after a short break. choose your language. of choice week over the internet or. some other. choose the news good consensus you can. choose the opinions that you. choose to stories get in high life choose me access to. to speak your language clerks close programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on the t.v. reporting from the world talks about specifically i p interviews intriguing stories for you to. slim try. to find out more

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looking. to fifty. january the twentieth has been set as the official start date for iran's six month plan to scale back its nuclear program in exchange world powers have agreed to give the iranian economy some breathing space easing crushing sanctions but this might smooth smooth progress on the deal so far the u.s. senate is already considering new penalties against iran if it fails to follow through on its pledges president obama however has promised to veto the bill should it be passed warning that such an approach could derail the historic diplomatic breakthrough with tehran reached back in november political analyst patrick henningsen thinks it's in the interest of many countries for tehran to be reintegrated into the global economy. the fact of the matter is the reason there's

just a talent with iran is to have got two factions we got the militant pro-war israeli faction on one side that could never have peace with iran no matter what and then you have the fact that the world the west and the world needs iran they need to liquidity from petrochemical exports they need trade there's a stack of global stagnation economically right now and opening up i ran into the world trading theater is going to do a lot to increase trade and obviously move money around the world and goods and services back and forth at a time when it's much needed so there's two two camps here battling it out one to keep iran closed and other counsel would like to see iran open for trade. a company in the u.s. is stopped lending out its guns it's found its customers were turning to firearms on themselves and increasing numbers find out what the owner has to say dot com.

also there the russian government goes online to ask citizens for their ideas and criticism as it puts together a new strategy for cyber security get the details on our website. the israeli army is sending around eight hundred troops to guard the funeral of former prime minister ariel sharon wary of possible disruptions from gaza sharon was deeply unpopular in the blockaded palestinian territory and his death was met with celebrations there but his legacy is also controversial inside the jewish state his art his policy or reports. the former israeli prime minister ariel sharon is being very good later today at his ranch in the south of israel perhaps more than any other is really figure he is loved and reviled in equal measure the iron dome anti-missile system has been activated over the south of the country because his house is in the vicinity of what could range from gaza and of course israeli security establishment are concerned that her mass and other militants might try to

fire rockets to disrupt the attention of the funeral and the arrival of world leaders to pay their last respects when it was announced over the weekend that sharon had died there were celebrations in gaza where sweets were handed out and posters of him were burnt chevron always justified his actions saying that they were for security but he leaves behind a very insecure and vulnerable jewish state at the same time he's regarded as the father of the settler movement but his project to forcibly remove eight thousand jewish settlers from gaza ended with them feeling betrayed and extremely angry today they are more than half a million citizens who live in the west bank and they vow that that will not be repeated they say that today in some area which is how they refer to the settlements in the west bank will continue there are still many who are. angry because of. the girl's rupe and because of the threats

the imminent. like these with the blood in the suburbs and this is something will still remain are as part of his. at the end of last week tel aviv published plans to build one thousand four hundred housing units in jewish settlements in east jerusalem and the west bank the palestinian chief negotiator said that this is a slap in the face of the u.s. secretary of state john kerry's attempts to negotiate a successful mideast peace plan paula severe r.t. tel aviv. let's take a look now at some other world news in brief at least eleven police and police officers have been injured and up to forty people arrested in protest spreading across northern spain rioters attacked police cars smashed windows and builds barricades demanding the release of those detained in previous demonstrations what started on friday as a peaceful rally against

a road redesigning plan escalated into violent clashes when riot forces were brought in. crowds of protesters are descending on central bangkok and an attempt to shut down the thai capital they accuse prime minister of being a proxy for the brother of former leader who now lives in exile and are demanding his resignation officials have sent eighteen thousand police and soldiers into the city to prevent anti-government protesters from blocking off major highways. police in egypt have fired tear gas at supporters of the ousted president mohamed morsi during clashes that cairo's main universities nineteen people were detained and several injured as hundreds took to the streets to protest the latest outbreak of violence which has become a familiar occurrence for egypt comes just two days before a planned vote on a draft constitution. well muslims across germany are looking forward to easier

times ahead as islam becomes an official religion in a number of provinces but as peter all of our reports the move has come in for some strong criticism leveled at immigration as leveled as immigration levels continue to rise. daily prayer in bremen. this region was one of the first in germany to make islam an official state religion nearby lower saxony is the next in line with at least three other states expected to follow in the near future the change of status allows worshippers to have their religious holidays officially recognized burial rites carried out and classes taught in schools. but what does it mean to the islamic community in this part of germany to have their religion officially recognized by the state. perhaps in the future it will help the building of a mosque or a school it will also help to bring communities together over the last ten years

both sides have made efforts to build bridges and aid integration and they don't mind critics of the move claim this is being done to score political points here but hundreds of you can interpret this as a slam if occasion germany but i see it as more politically motivated politicians telling muslims islam can belong but the majority of germans don't want this. only nineteen percent of germans believe that islam is compatible with german culture that's the lowest in europe thirty percent had specific concerns such as terrorism and almost half thought there are too many muslims in germany only around five percent of people in the country are muslims giving leave to the idea that the real issue for germans may be immigration not islam and i think it is more a question of getting people in big numbers into germany than having a problem with the. they mix it up and they don't recognize it's

a different story islamic leaders recognize that they have work to do to improve the image of their religion. we have a duty to change perceptions and prejudices unfortunately the media plays a big role they only show negative stories about was the names this makes it harder for us. whatever the public perception of islam in germany more and more federal states is set to follow suit and germany's almost four million muslims the same rights as the christian and jewish communities peter all of a germany. next up a look at why the staple food of millions rice is at the center of the global controversy over genetically modified produce. wealthy british style. time to.

market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's cause or a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on r t. i know c n n m s n b c news have taken some lots lately but the fact is i admire their commitment to cover all sides of the story just in case one of them happens to be accurate. that was funny but it's closer to the truth and i think. it's because one call attention and the mainstream media works side by side with joe actually. on here. and our teen years we have

a different approach. because the news of the world just is not this funny i'm not laughing dammit i'm not. you guys sort of the jokes will handle them. plug. over. did you know the price is the only industry specifically mentioned in the constitution and. that's because a free and open process is critical to our democracy trade albus. role. in

fact the single biggest threat facing our nation today is the corporate takeover of our government and across several we've been a hydrogen lying handful of transnational corporations that will profit by destroying what our founding fathers once told us about my job market and on this show we reveal the big picture of what's actually going on in the world we go beyond identifying the problem trucks and rational debate and a real discussion on the critical issues facing us to find her job ready to join the movement then walk away from the big picture. the the. look of it was terrible a. very hard to take out. once again on a plane flight has never had sex with the perfect hair no please.

please. please. please please. look at the people. live.

live live. live . right from the scene. first rick. and i think you're.

on our reporters' twitter. and instagram. to be in the know. we speak your language anybody will not advance. news programs and documentaries in spanish more masses to you breaking news a little eternity of angles couldn't stories. you hear. destroy all teach spanish find out more visit eye to eye. to news a secret laboratory to mccurdy was able to build a most sophisticated robot which all unfortunately doesn't give a darn about anything tim's mission to teach me the creation and why it should care

about humans and we're going to this is why you should care only on the dog call. this genetically modified plant is at the center of a controversy a controversy about how we deal with one of the most powerful technologies mankind has ever created. a technology that is polarizing society. the protagonists include a now retired professor at e.t.h. who believes his golden rice will save children throughout the entire world a swiss agricultural chemical corporation and first wanted to commercialize the miracle rice then changed its mind. and a country where tests are being carried out that would be prohibited in other places.