officials raise the alarm over a corruption underworld sucking one hundred twenty billion euros a year from the european economy that's roughly the size of the u.s total budget and what could be worse report warns it may be just the tip of the iceberg. as the u.s. reportedly plans to back up syrian diplomacy with more weapons for the rebels and our t.v. crew visits to damascus school where children refuse to be victims of the conflict . with the winter olympics just days away and the gay propaganda boycott battle still in the minds of many we talk with members of the city's l g b t community to find out if the law has affected their life in sochi these are the latest pictures from the host city.

eleven pm in moscow i matter as a very good to have you with us our top story this hour even officials say they uncovered a corruption pandemic sweeping member states with one hundred twenty billion euros losses she deals each year they say that figure published in europe poured by the home affairs commissioner who warned that the scale of the problem is probably even broader and could be getting worse or he's peter all over highlighted for us the most worrying details. over half of those who were surveyed have said they think the corruption within the union was growing seventy six percent of those who were asked thought the corruption was widespread within the european union twenty six percent said that they'd been directly affected by corruption government effectiveness at tackling corruption though only twenty three percent thought that they were capable of doing that and seventy three percent

a huge number three quarters almost saying that they thought that the best way to get public services was through bribery just into who has put forward this report the e.u. commission or an unelected body they have made the headlines themselves a few times when it comes to some of the more leftfield laws that have been imposed upon e.u. citizens now their report didn't look into e.u. institutions and that's certainly raised a few eyebrows people wondering just how much more than one hundred twenty billion a year in backhanders of being going on if the e.u. it looked into themselves. plays an m.e.p. for the flemish nationalist environs belong party focused on what the report didn't say and promise to follow what up. problems in some member states are huge and widespread and the problem within the european union is that all the member states are in danger of being contaminated by this problem because when you are in the

euro zone for instance and when one of these member states in the eurozone has a big corruption problem well this problem will be felt by the other member states within the eurozone that's a problem with greece for instance so the problems in one country are becoming more and more the problems of the other member states would i find it surprising that with i fun interesting at the same time is that the european commission has made this report on corruption in the european union but didn't make a survey of corruption within its own institutions and didn't have any specific information about corruption with e.u. funded projects karl dolan e.u. office director of transparency international described with my colleague marina joshie what kinds of corruption a report touched on why brussels is so far refused to look at its graph problem. in

many of the newer member states of the e.u. there is still a lot of petty corruption that citizens paying small drives for access to basic services like health care. but in other countries the main corruption which so to do with political corruption that's the kind of conflicts of interests that are in the dealings that politicians have with business but how can they be effective here i mean on the one hand the our commission to investigate corruption but then on the other the high the corruption down really exists within the european institutions well the commission says that. the self assessment would not be credible. we don't think that's the case we think any government should have the capacity to assess corruption risks in its own institutions luckily transparency international is conducting its own assessment of integrity problems integrity risks in the e.u.

institutions and we'll be publishing that shortly a un report pulling no punches over britain's bedroom tax thing the levy on spare rooms is pushing the country's most vulnerable citizens further into financial uncertainty made a serious housing shortage. before we get to that u.s. secretary of state kerry's reportedly admitted washington suffered a diplomatic setback in syria senators who met with him privately as al qaeda is power spreads in the region the u.s. is looking at a new strategy that man can sending more hardware to the rebels or he's more important i reports from new york. kerry's comments reportedly came during an off the record closed door meeting on the sidelines of the munich security conference now according to the two senators in attendance john mccain and lindsey graham they said that the u.s. secretary of state admitted to them that he no longer believes the obama administration's approach to the crisis in syria is working and they say he talked

about supporting a plan to arm the moderate opposition in syria according to the two senators they say that that plan would be aimed at blocking al qaeda affiliates in syria from carrying out terrorist attacks on america now kerry spokesperson denies that he raised the issue of supplying weapons to the syrian opposition no according to the two senators that are mentioned mr kerry also said during the meeting that he believes bashar al assad's government is failing to uphold its promise to give up chemical weapons according to the schedule that's been outlined however russia's deputy foreign minister recently said that syria is proceeding according to plan and even this month the assad government plans on removing a large shipment of chemical substances and that process is said to be complete by march first while there have been some delays moscow says western officials are overblowing the situation russia says the reality is that when

a stockpile of chemical weapons are being transported it's not always easy to immediately get proper security for the entire operation now in the past few weeks u.s. statements regarding syria including the ones that i just spoke about have indicated that america is still beating somewhat of a war drama last week we heard america's director of national intelligence james clapper warned that damascus may be producing biological weapons he also said that syria's influx of extremists turned the war in a war torn country into a terrorist training and subsequently threat to u.s. . national security so here we have three years after the civil war in syria started it appears as though the u.s. is back to square one with no coherent progress being made on the crisis in syria and still some experts were say looking for excuses for a potential military strike or to arm the opposition or it is very few notion of visited

a damascus school to find out that inside the country many think that more guns are the answer. lesson of arabic and a student in elementary school these boys and girls may look like ordinary kids but they've already faced a lifetime of adult experiences they must look up there were ten beloved school a day and crossed the road i saw sarah and then a missile fell somewhere near my man my cousins ran for cover the next day when i went to school and teacher told us that sarah died god bless her was only. sarah's sister was also killed that day is now afraid to go to school a choice pons was a bravery that many grown ups would be proud of is what. i hear from my parents teachers and friends that there is a lot of people dying but i will not surrender i will continue to started to rebuild my country. amid the violence of

a protracted war the kids grow up there if asked so. i feel afraid because of this and i feel so because it's not ok to see kids killed like this it's not good the syrian kids die like this. is eleven years old the syrian conflict has claimed for his relatives he was eight when it started and his had no real childhood scenes how long i asked myself these girls why did they do so they have nothing to do with this conflict so why did. this story's not unique in almost every syrian school direct casualties like these. last november the entrance of the school in damascus old town was hit by three mortars four children and the bus driver died at the scene i haven't been able to accept these deaths until now they were my kids i can clearly see their smiles and hear their voices i

still see them in my dreams that nothing can justify this no religion no moment of thinking makes it acceptable. but life the principle of the school tells us must go on that. is immense both the children and the administration have been deeply affected but it's also encouraged us to continue or to change and are learning the mission of education is to bring in a new engineers a new doctors new teachers to build up this country we have to resist this violence and this will be anything between is an issue after a short break kids at this school in damascus are back to their classes but thousands of other syrian children all across the country still can't make it as their schools are destroyed and families displaced there were around twenty thousand schools in syria before the crisis today at least a feel for them a gun and even if the reasons school nearby parents are simply too afraid to let their kids out of this site once a thriving nation with

a strong education system syria today faces not just a crisis of the present as of the future to and. from syria. what i darted out for more from the front line in syria as well as latest reports on the flimsy shelter provided for those who fled the war. winter sports stars from all over the world starting to descend in sochi where the stage is set for the winter olympics let's get the latest in the build up to the games for martys martin andrews joining us live from sochi so martin officials from the international committee in the city now and they got a very special welcome from a very certain someone tell us more of that. that's right president putin arrived today ahead of the winter olympic opening ceremonies will take place on friday in fact if you look behind us in a spectacular vista that you see here you can see the fish stadium it sits forty

thousand people and tonight in fact they had a gigantic fireworks display was delighted many residents here in the hotel as a rehearsal staging rehearsals in fact they had a previous one on sunday so although fortunately all the people i've spoken to being tight lipped over what that olympic ceremony will actually be will have to look forward to that on friday in the meantime president putin arrived today his first stop wasn't to meet the delegates of the i.o.c. it was actually to the national park were put himself actually went into the cages to see one of the persian leopards and actually strips the creature of course putin himself is a is a fan of wildlife as are many people in this area trying to brief the animals and so much so that made the leopard one of the muskets the official mascots of the winter olympics that will open on friday as i said before he then met the delegates of the i.o.c. including thomas brock who is the president of the the committee and also

regarding the people who are here they'll be six thousand athletes they're making their way to salt before friday's opening and of course security is the main thing on everybody's lips obviously there's a great police presence patrol vehicles we've seen our ships in the waters behind us a total of one hundred thousand patrol members police army horses sniffer dogs you name it will be making tsotsi probably one of the most safest locations in in the world also earlier today r.t. spoke to the mayor of the olympic village mountain site regarding the farm businesses and what they can expect from the atmosphere that they're experiencing at the moment we spoke to sweat lodge take a. what she had to say. was that you did not just among the spokesman of many of their clients have been saying that back home they saw very negative media coverage about the sochi olympics some are even afraid to come here but when they arrived

they started wondering what all the bad press was about and revert impressed by what's going on here they see there's much less hassle and discomfort especially when it comes to security checks compared to previous games. and as president putin is enjoying a huge banquet with the i.o.c. committee there's live music from traditional musicians playing the ball like it's western music of course including songs as we are the champions of course the famous song by queen and of course we've got to speak about the main guests that are coming about forty heads of state a world leaders are coming to the opening ceremony for friday people have arrived already such as princess from the u.k. she was also in moscow earlier at the at the higher school of economics and also maria sharapova she is in town as well looking forward to the month of sporting activities that are to mess up with her and how excited she is to see the winter

olympics here in sochi. the students and they're impressed by what i've seen in searching i hadn't been here for a year and when i arrived yesterday i was amazed when i finally saw all the stadiums and then yes i really hope that everyone will enjoy their limpid games here in such him. and martin aside from security one of the elephants in the room sort of the speaking is russia's anti-gay propaganda law that's been passed but i understand that you spoke with and met some of the members of the so cheesy l g b t community what do they have to say about it. that's right i think the main thing on everybody's lips regarding the community is a broad of the the anti-gay propaganda law that was brought in last year i went to my the only gay club in sochi to speak to the owner and it was interesting how they said that actually all the information all the protests all the media exposure is actually in some are giving

a negative reflection to the gay community here i met up with as i said i was there on saturday night it was a great show and i let's see what they had to say take a look. thousands of athletes and visitors are expected to arrive this week and three billion people are also estimated to watch the winter olympics this month for some however the games aren't about spiritual progress they're about gay rights and the controversy surrounding last year's legislation that restricts children being given information about nontraditional relationships a similar law to the u.k. section twenty eight that was impost for two decades from the late eighty's we had to the city's only beach front venue my act old white house english cup that's been in the city for more than thirty years it seems as though it's being subculture is far more liberal than people think traditionally one of the more tolerant russian cities when during the soviet era russians from all over the country could holiday here. club owner and his partner a man had been

a couple for over thirteen years and they don't agree with the law they remain mostly unaffected by it and wealthy business is booming they describe the west's response as heavy handed and an overreaction. i think it really bad it negatively affects gay russian people because society blames them for spoiling the olympics for an important opinions are still divided on sexuality in russia and this club does give something of an insight into the reality of gay life here the one time in the club and i'm meeting people. it's like any other gay bar that i've ever been to be getting out of the backstage the performers are getting ready for tonight's performance in preparation for the club's new foreign audience english songs added to the show. the performance here can't believe the media attention bush has gacy has generated

in the west to be sobre would have spoken loudly in great numbers but the reality is that the issue is more complicated than it seems while some in the algae to c.-span brought him on let's bring in a new wave of human behavior and violence to the situation has to be paid in full and they gave me the ticket. let me see what. well people do not run the streets handed hand in sochi behind closed doors at such clubs people can be openly affectionate and one thing is for sure whether you have conservative cool liberal views this month is going to be a celebration of sports to remember. our tears at the heart of the winter olympics will be broadcasting daily from sochi throughout the games and on line twenty fourteen.

the horrors. of the b.b.c. news subtitles as we enter the chinese new year which is of course is called the year of the horse alas i believe the b.b.c. is forty in suburbia a lot more about the true state of the british and global economies that which is not allowed to be said publicly by the likes of the beloved b.

if you think about it the elites in government think tank and business have been forcing public assets and their populations to turn tricks bankers using the pip slap of debt until the finances plug those national assets one too many loads of debt and then abandon the nation screaming for more credit all the way of the factory. thanks for staying with us twenty minutes past the hour a new report has slammed the british. the so-called bedroom tax saying it's leaving

the u.k.'s most vulnerable citizens in quote tremendous despair ministers dismiss the un's findings out of hand. reports from one of. the united nations special rapporteur and housing released a report on the u.k. social housing conditions and call for the suspension of the so-called bedroom tax saying that it negatively impacts one's right to adequate housing as well as general wellbeing of the most vulnerable individuals and households now since the introduction of this bedroom tax that those who are of working age and receiving house it benefits may have found this money reduced if they are found to be living in flats with spare bedrooms at the u.s. report also says that britain is facing a crisis of availability and affordability with tenants finding themselves with quote a few rights and a little security but the u.k. is a house has this this this report as partisan and he says it's disappointing that the united nations has chosen to associate itself with a quote misleading marxist diatribe the outrageous i mean to accuse un report

of being marxist diatribe is to be like accusing. being a marxist organization these are basic human rights we're dealing with here this nasty party has to crusade against the poor in this country what they've done quite apart from already forcing the poorest families in this country to choose between heating and eating now they've got them worrying about shelter these are the basic tenants of civilization this. government has stripped from the poorest people in this country it's driven them to depression and even suicide this isn't the first time that the u.k. and the un have exchanged words on the matter but the u.k. government stands by its decision saying that this will allow the free not to have bigger flats for families that need it more and it also talks about tax savings of about four hundred eighty million pounds in the first year however this is likely to continue as campaigners say they will continue to fight it on human rights grout in fact a liverpool council is reporting david cameron to the united nations saying that

his government may be violating international rules on keeping people out of poverty reporting from london i'm tess are cilia. if you don't think much of the king of bahrain maybe it's better to keep it to yourself or else you could face seven years in prison thanks to some new legislation to defend the monarchy previously the punishment was a few days in jail but now any twitter post facebook comment or even casual disparaging word could lead to a hefty term for more on this under a law by rodney shakespeare chair of the committee against torture in bahrain thanks for joining us so protests in the country have been unrelenting for almost three years now so wasn't a toughening of the laws there to be expected. the khalifah. pompous preening twerps but it's worse than that they're known to have. table manners and some of them have offensive personal habits their power

comes to the result of poison gas lead shot. imprisonment talk and bullets but there's no loyalty given by anyone to the al khalifa not even from their own sycophants and placements pacemen we are getting out information that tells them tells us that everybody now wants them out but the al khalifa are trying to perf you. by giving itself some of the aura of what the british monarchy used to have when it was high treason to commit adultery with say the concert or the son or daughter of the monarchy but of course the day that's all gone. out clearly are now out in the open for what they are there are a lot of smelly scum in this country public opinion always gives a high percentage celebrities for money goes up and down in bahrain they wouldn't

dare take a genuine opinion poll because it would be no with even their own side in private telling the truth so this is the latest thing out of date maliki they are scum i should say it's probably a good thing then that you're not in bahrain saying this or you could face apparently some stiff jail time so how do you think the law would impact the situation in the country and how do you think it will impact the activists on the streets. well actually it won't make any difference there will be ready subject to poison gas lead shot torture and imprisonment bahrain produces on the streets the highest proportion of the population given it's only a small place of almost any country in the world and that includes iran when you get huge democratic demonstrations so it will not impact the only thing it will do is to make the khalifa regime even more ridiculous even more pompous even more self

preventing and even more smelly. i'm finding it i apologize hard to keep a straight face with some of your commentary but does the fact that the government is bringing in such harsh penalties what does it tell you about their the way they feel on the throne about how stable they feel as a monarchy what their endeavoring to create that aura that the british monarchy had and that the fourteenth had prior to the french revolution they think that by making these penalties sending a twitter which the king reads and then calling that virtual high treason they think that in some way their power will increase it won't it will only make them more and more ridiculous so i move. from the point of view of the khalifa this is something in the last stages of their power before they get overthrown in

particular they get overthrown by members of their own side all right we have to leave it there rodney shakespeare not mincing any words chair of the committee against torture in bahrain by experience well up next friday and slips by the b.b.c. and insights they give us into the global economy kaiser report coming up. more the building behind me will become the center of startup communities from around the world come together to talk about the best way of birthing new ideas. those times when the five most most of all one of the global financial posts will take place mosco.

the first recreational marijuana shops are now open in colorado finally the question of what effect legal marijuana will have on the american public can be answered with real world experience you know there are a lot of people out there with strong arguments as to why we should legalize this controversial play it firstly there are plenty of things just as bad for us as marijuana or worse like beer cigarettes anti-depressants and mystery fast food meats which are totally legal secondly young men are often thrown in jail for the absolutely victimless crime of smoking marijuana i can see punishing someone for drugs like crystal meth which can and do turn people into maniacs but have any of you out there ever heard of someone breaking into people's houses on a weed rampage no no you haven't the downside to all of this is that across america and while the world people are looking for change and they want a massive storm rise but when the masses are stoned out of their minds it makes

things in life that we shouldn't tolerate become very tolerable we now call allow us to make it through another day of our miserable lives so that we can live without going through all that effort of trying to make things better or challenge the system legalizing weed will just pacify the masses even more but that's just my opinion.

welcome to the can i was a report imax keyser welcome to the year of the horse sense of the b.b.c. news subtitles as we enter the chinese new year which is of course is called the year of the horse alas i believe the b.b.c. is forty and slip reveal a lot more about the true state of the british and global economies that which is not allowed to be said publicly by the likes of the beloved being if you think about it the elites in government think tank and business have been forcing public assets and their populations to turn tricks for bankers using the pip slap of death until the finances plug those national assets of one too many loads of debt and then a bed of the truth will set of a nation screaming for more debt crack all the way to the glue factory. yes welcome to the year of the whores stacey. max well.