today's news on the week's top stories from r.t. international an amnesty for rioters comes into force in ukraine as the country's opposition cozies up to western politicians at a security forum in munich despite moscow once again warning that even with dance taking sides in the unrest plus. young children about to die from a lack of water they threatened us with machine guns there would be us three at a time and killing us. party becomes the first foreign t.v. channel to gain access to the besieged syrian town of hadera after reports of rebels massacring dozens of civilians there including children. traditional family values take center stage in france as grounds rallied to protest against the policies of francois long. and one of the biggest

names in the world of digital currency is arrested over accusations of laundering over a million dollars worth of bitcoins. what you are here national coming to you live in moscow with me. now an amnesty has come into force in ukraine giving rioters in downtown kiev and throughout the country's west fifteen days to disperse and leave all government buildings amid the seeming triumph of the country's opposition front man at a security forum and munich whereas a score pledges of more support from washington and the european union meanwhile russia's foreign minister has called against taking a one sided view of v.m. rest in ukraine you are going off reports from germany.

clearly the west has already taken the side of the protests or so u.s. secretary of state john kerry said that the time has come for you have to decide whether it's what one country or what the rest of the world and he added that washington supports the people of ukraine but some have been calling this a one sided approach and criticizing it including russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov your produce what it is look at it from there are some fundamental questions that need to be answered in particular about the situation in ukraine how does fuelling sriracha that are becoming more and more violent to promote democracy why is there no condemnation of the siege and even still occupying government buildings were those who burned police officers show racist anti-semitic and nazi slogans why do many leading european politicians encourage such actions while any violations of the load hold are dealt with harshly some strong words there from russia's chief

diplomat also added joking that next time they meet was mr kerry is going to ask him what grades he had in school asking how many countries this you think are in that group that he called the rest of the worlds. well during discussions in munich both boxer turned opposition leader vitaly klitschko and ukraine's foreign minister have had their say with a top diplomat blaming his opponent for the increasingly nationalist violence in his country could go however divert us the debate by blaming the violence on police brutality security consultant chuck joiner who used to work for the cia and the f.b.i. gave us his thoughts on the ukraine's handling of the situation. if you are in the situation where i've seen videos of police officers on fire that's a deadly situation and they certainly in the united states would have the legal right to use deadly force in response to that so if

a police officer perceives that there's a threat to themselves or somebody else they can respond with pepper spray but tons personal weapon strikes electronic control devices if the threat rises to the level where they think either they or somebody else are being threatened with death or serious bodily harm then they can respond with deadly force i think throughout the history of variety you see if there's not a strong police presence then the the tag and eyes of the agitators they become emboldened and they become more violent and more aggressive so there needs to be a strong police presence in those circumstances to control the violence. and of the latest polls show two thirds of ukraine's did not support the turmoil that's and goals to the western regions in most of which local administration offices have either been stormed or besieged and many say all the country is under

the threat of civil war are just policy you're traveling to one of the hotbeds of the unrest. this is the regional administration building event notes on card skin western ukraine where at the till a week ago the regional governor had his office but as you can see just liking kiev's there is now a giant barricade surrounding the building with snow tires and planks of wood radical and and he russian this is the heartland of nationalism where anti on a copy of sentiment runs deep and that's the way an italian and her comrades want to keep it the twenty nine year old entrepreneur has been here since the building was overthrown she says work can wait this is more important. is supposed to have no president than to have you know called which but with the opposition as fragmented as it is that tully is the first to admit no yanna coverage could well mean an alkie whitley bishop along with the problem is that we don't have any

person to replace him and we will need to take someone from their position which won't be easy the sentiments blown across central and western ukraine where regional offices are being picketed and seized by protesters i believe a group of writing radicals some wearing masks stormed the municipal building chanting you have the power they used fire extinguishers and wooden sticks against police. in china gov demonstrators set up barricades made a vehicle pass and sacks of snow they demanded police is the building was similar scenes played out and she can see where protesters trying to set night to furniture they smashed windows and threw stones at security forces. the anger has moved even further westwards. ski protests to send ukrainian hymns while ignoring the governor's attempts to disperse them. in

a van or from coffs those now laying siege to the municipality buildings have forbidden any symbols or symptoms of the ruling party. they claim it goes against the will of the ukrainian people no one knows where the head of the administration is there are parts of this building that are still functioning for example the day to day running of the city but on a political level everything is come to a standstill all this process might. lead to door. of the country all scorers so i also result in some year spots in the long term perspective. despite the criticism of the army coverage these protestors have nothing better to offer. ivana from coffs western ukraine. you're. not at the bottom and these are live pictures from we're despite the amnesty there's still

a mass anti-government rally underway authorities are saying up to fifty thousand people have gathered in the battle in the panel square well we'll be bringing you the very latest on the turmoil there on air and a line. wanted to see modern so you see. well it's been over a month since reports emerged that hardline syrian rebels captured the town of outside damascus dozens of civilians were allegedly slaughtered and sauza as displaced the rebels still occupy key parts of the town making it hard to verify information coming from there are just marie ivanovna and her crew were the first foreign journalist to make it inside and speak to the survivors. address is just a twenty minute drive from damascus but the highway runs through an area firmly under rebel control so instead we take a newly created pass driving through high moans of sand and piles of old tires the

army uses to shoot its convoys from a tanks it's maybe longer but it's a safer route talking about where the first foray into vickery to get this close to are dry after the siege began a month ago it's still not clear exactly what happened and they said industrial city last december back then reports emerged of numerous killings and violence after abjure was attacked by militants belonging to al-qaeda linked groups and the free syrian army. they stormed into the city and they kept the civilians in their buildings using them as human shields which made our mission very difficult this is why it takes so long we want to avoid civilian losses. to reported allegations the dozens of civilians had been executed that people were beheaded and burned in over ins and one claimed the doctors and patients were killed in a clinic we traveled to address hoping to verify these reports but there is still no way of getting into the besieged areas of the town to confirm if any of that

actually happened we got as close as the army can there actually to address the old town admiral blood and the work his house in complex nearby a drum a lear both are now besieged. with maybe some banknotes here to separate other are below and that room aliya and to prevent the militants uniting these corridors go all around the besieged cities with the army watching the area day and night. this is one of the checkpoints of the syrian army behind this wall is territory held by militants and the soldiers strategy and mission right now is just to watch this area and to shoot if they see the enemy approaching. and this is actually all they can do for any military operation could threaten the lives of those who remain hostage and with no access inside it's impossible to tell

just how many the are but luckily most of the residents managed to escape address we meet some of them two kilometers away they shelter around what used to be a large sum and factory but in this hotel's me he doesn't go to school anymore but this place because a terrorist attack this weekend we had to skate they occupied and we cannot go there they're older blocked he says his father is a government employee this is why it is dangerous for his family to stay we ask where they live now. the hours mother appear from the darkness of a room barely ten square metres and a silence and everything what is happening is wrong there was no need for any of this see where we are now what degree we have reached now it's a question that many here are asking because these children haven't seen their mother for a month full ready seriously ill she couldn't get her medicine due to the siege

with her condition deteriorating she was sent to hospital far from her family. we were living in peace and now where are we i wish peace would come back to all of syria. a month later it's still not clear exactly what happened another drug most of those we talked to here in this camp fled before the militants arrived but occasionally we meet some who didn't escape so quickly and alone and up they were looking for anybody serving in the syrian army and also the virus so the syrian soldiers beheaded at the sewage system. we were in a group of about twenty people they were beating us three at a time and killing us i saw with my own eyes people stoned i still see them in my nightmares. like this sort of they cut drinking water and they prevented the bakery from working for us and young children are about to die from a lack of water and they threatened us with machine guns. once an important

industrial and peaceful city has become yet another syrian battleground for weary forces whose three year long confrontation has left well in excess of one hundred thousand dead and millions displaced and yet it's another place where no side looks able to win and it's the ordinary syrian people left to pay the price roof notional tea from our driver in syria. well coming up here in our senior national reinforcing afghanistan. we will support a unified afghanistan as it takes responsibility for its own future is no fault that the taliban in the future well join the peace process with the government of afghanistan volatile country faces the looming threat of a resurgent taliban of kabul and washington wrangle over a post pullout security deal to end the thirteenth year war. that tens of thousands of people have been rallying in paris and the eastern

central hub of leon and the latest wave of demonstrations for traditional family values are just bitter all over in the french capital demonstration we're seeing right now is the latest in a wave of unrest that swept across france the campaign is that are out on the streets marching through central paris they say that they are marching in defense of traditional family values now they say they're against proposed changes to the law that would make alternative ways for homosexual couples to have children legal naysay that they want to quash proposed laws that have been put forward now the demonstrations that we've seen in the past have on occasion to violent haven from the other week we saw so cold day of rage a day of anger across the country with thousands and thousands of people were out on the streets and not did end up in some rather unsavory clashes between the police on those those demonstrates is now all of this comes on a wave of also

a huge popularity full of the french president francois aligns popularity here at an all time low and he's pretty much the the most unpopular french president in recent memory and the people here in paris coming out on the streets to show that unhappiness out there lida. well still ahead this hour here on c.n.n. national testing the ice for future world records. al gore spot enjoys a staff of such as speed skating to make sure the surface for the upcoming races for gold are smooth as can be.

there's a media lead also we believe that maybe some of the scenes motion seen through the play your party years ago. in their shoes that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers from it's all politics only on our team.

well welcome back to watching r.t. international young american entrepreneur and a bit coy millionaire charlie sram was arrested in the u.s. this week the c.e.o. of the digital currency exchange bit instant is accused of laundering more than a million dollars worth of big going through the controversial website so grow no to be used by drug traffickers the twenty four year old is also accused of not putting necessary regulations in place to keep criminal activity out of the financial system if found guilty he faces more than a decade behind bars and he's now under house arrest after being released on bail financial analyst mark thornton believes the arrest was aimed at setting a political precedent not a legal one. the u.s. dollar is actually the major facilitator of illegal transactions of drugs human trafficking all sorts of nasty businesses most of the trade is done with the u.s. dollar not bitcoin bitcoin is a small player it is

a small percentage of its transactions are illegal that's true but the majority are for legal goods whereas the u.s. dollar is the primary player in international trade in illicit items but this was a political event not a legal or judicial event this arrest it was a political event meant to intimidate people in the big space and it was a perfectly foreseeable event as well all the makers on the beaches of spain may have to get used to an ominous on the rise and america sent a ballistic missile to fans to store to the area this of course has not been welcomed by moscow which has warned of a counter move more line. wants iran suzi arms benefactor is seeking compensation of over half a billion dollars which goes all the way back to the nineteen seventies on

a. matter of days breathtaking sprints false starts and photo finishes all on ice it's time to get your skates on for another look at why the sochi twenty fourteen winter olympics has god to offer. we've just arrived here at the adler skating center this is where the speed skating competitions during the twenty fourteen winter olympic games is going to be taking place now we've been invited inside to actually take a look at the four hundred meters in length a skating rink it's very important that this rink be maintained properly particularly for the skaters and they going to show us how they do that so let's go and see it. as you can see it's spectacular on the outside but the real beauty is how it works on the inside no expense was spared in the creation of the venue at the olympic park and you can certainly see where the money went

a crystal face piece is reflected by and you know walls and triangular stained glass windows the gray and white color of the building in hans's this impression even the facade is transparent so the spectators inside the arena can see out the focus of the arena doesn't disappoint with leading sports men and women coming forward to places. it features to competition tracks and one training track all designed to provide the best possible performance sport after. the quality of ice can make a huge difference in winning that goal and at adler quality is the main priority with optimum michael climatic conditions to show a world class surface but it's just the limb doing the games every forty five minutes we'll have to bring on machines and bring them on the circuit for. the four hundred metre of the circuit it's very important

that they do this because they'll be a leveling up ice rink as well as making pasta all week a limb pins will be skating. close on the machine is doing feature. the well the have to use every twenty five minutes during the games so that the libyans was beaten like that have a much smoother and last but. it's going to be all about speed speed and boys and the endless stadium and sochi is ready to bomb the thing. in sochi a lot. more of our tour of the olympic park at r.t. dot com and make sure you're with us while the games get going we'll be bringing you special coverage on air throughout sochi twenty four.

presidential campaigning starts in afghanistan as american troops continue their was drawn from the country kabul is still refusing to sign a security pact which would permit u.s. soldiers to remain in a fragile state after twenty fourteen arches losing confidence reports on how the taliban could be the ones benefiting from the friction between washington and the afghan government. after thirteen years in afghanistan washington is counting down together with our allies we will complete our mission bear by the end of this year and america's longest war will finally be over. but ending a war isn't the same as winning one when it comes to afghanistan peace is far from certain and the past ten years there were not able to build the afghan security

force forces to be able to face the challenges and this country and to be able in the future to confront the challenges and the taliban forces and the taliban fighters and al qaeda forces and the taliban have been active in the past two weeks alone the group has staged numerous attacks in kabul kandahar nimrods helmont and nangarhar are in fact ministry of interior incident reports reveal clashes with the taliban in a most of the eleven provinces bordering pakistan the group also controls several districts in parwan just a short drive from the country's capital some provinces are believed to be controlled by shadow governments that answer directly to the taliban be the one that's anyone not the taliban to run their own district government is just a theory but there is no real security. and it could get worse a classified american intelligence assessment warns that the initial objective in

afghanistan removing the taliban and disabling al qaeda as operations in the country could fail and that the talabani could return in full swing by twenty seventeen the u.s. wants some troops to remain in the country by the pentagon's logic the pursuit of terrorists is best based in the region same goes for u.s. drones and without american help the afghan army could collapse but the u.s. first needs the afghan president to sign off on a key security pact something he has been refusing to do so far. now our position continues to be that if we cannot conclude a bilateral security agreement promptly then we will be forced to initiate planning for a post twenty fourteen future in which there would be no u.s. or nato troop presence in afghanistan there's also the issue of talking with the enemy the consensus seems to be that the afghan war could only end in a negotiated settlement with the taliban not a military victory but that's proven elusive the taliban are internally divided and

the rift between kabul and washington has reportedly empowered hardline commanders who want to keep on fighting at the expense of those who support peace talks the u.s. war has succeeded in toppling the taliban regime and many afghans have seen their lives improve but those gains could easily be lost depending on who wins control over afghanistan a country that's once again could be up for grabs reporting in washington for our team i'm lucy catherine now washington to spend billions of waging war in afghanistan since two thousand and one it has cost the u.s. taxpayer just under eight hundred billion dollars and there are some bills still to come every american soldier serving in afghanistan this year will cost an average two point one million dollars more than sound billion dollars worth of equipment isn't going to be shipped back so we'll have to be decommissioned and use thirty four billion million rather dollar military h.q. will not be used and is now reportedly going to be demolished we spoke to jerry of

on dike a terrorism consultant and a former prisoner of the taliban you think the u.s. is not able to contain the group which continues to bolster its ranks. it is a continuous war for over twenty years they have continued to fight some of them and since the american invasion in october fifth two thousand and one they have if anything increased their their ability to attack their holding forth the united states even with its search in two thousand and nine announced by president obama has not been able at all to really curtail the taliban they are as strong as ever as committed as ever and i think this is one reason why there is such difficulty throughout nato throughout the west figure out how to leave afghanistan and what to do with the taliban now protesters have marched through central moscow in support of those accused of plotting mass unrest on the capital's ballade now square back

in may two thousand and twelve that's one party ousters clashed with police during a rally the took place a day before a bottom important inauguration twenty seven people were arrested after the protests turned violent and some were later released under a presidential amnesty late last year but others are still awaiting verdicts police say two thousand demonstrators took part in today's peaceful demonstration. now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world. nason scuffles have broken out between riot police and anti-fascist protesters and raged by a gathering of right wing golden dawn party supporters officers used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd there were several arrests after leftist rioters attacked a man carrying a green clad the gold on rally it was commemorating the deaths of three navy officers which broad greece and turkey to the brink of war in one thousand nine

hundred ninety six. highlands electoral commission says it is unable to announce the results of a nationwide vote after anti-government protesters forced the closure of hundreds of polling stations they disrupted the delivery of ballot papers and set up blockades the early general election comes after months of protests calling for the prime minister to quit to pave the way for far reaching political reforms the young rascal sparked by fears she was forcing through an amnesty law to latter exile brother back to the country. but up next we'll hear the dramatic stories from both sides of the us mexico border. take me to the ball game take me through the metal detector wait that's not how the

song goes well as the country changes sadly so must the national pastime the civil mariners released a statement that they like all of the teams for twenty fifteen are setting up metal detectors to screen all fans entering their stadium for get visions of hotdogs and home runs now everyone will be able to tell their grandkids about how their bags got searched because they had metal buttons at company name stadium baseball memories the team's management is also continuing their ban on bags larger than ford. by forty by twenty centimeters because if you're going to stick an explosive device it had better be compact their body maybe i'm jumping the gun metal detectors can't put your genitals or do a naked body scan they're probably the least intrusive coming form of security scan then again think about it they want to hurt some terrorist from blowing up a densely packed crowd of people in the stadium so the m l b wants teams to create densely packed lines of people outside the stadium before the game starts well these security measures really stop a psychotic terrorist murder nope but that's just my opinion.

that it is the fact is the place they take you to and detain you. there really root races and an educated they are racist so racist and rude they check out in reply to you they even look in your shoes. they also examine you in places that they shouldn't they treat you worse than a duck. they say that god takes his time actually never forgets icicle most times i hope that one day they will also have to go through this. i was trying to god and ask to give me hope and protection and that he protects all my grand.