ukraine the southern republic of crimea sets a date for a referendum on further autonomy from kiev as thousands rally against the rise of ultra nationalism. a new clue as to the whereabouts of the ousted president has he announces a news conference in southern russia the missing ukraine's interim leader is illegitimate and asking moscow for protection. amnesty international accuse israel of using excessive force against palestinian protesters in the occupied lands saying some killings could be tantamount to war crimes.

for most of us into this is r.t. international with twenty four hours a day the rise of ultra nationalism in the capital is causing tensions in ukraine the center of unrest is now in the center of the autonomous region of crimea a local parliament there was voted to hold a regional referendum which could push them even further away from key have control well even if it's going off for us and joins me now so you go some political moves then going ahead where you are now tell us more about what's happening and what the implications are. well the crimean parliament has released a local prime minister from his duties basically dispersing the the government as well and has set a date for a referendum over whether or not to stay with ukraine and this date is may twenty fifth which is the same day when the new off the reason key if are planning to hold

nationwide presidential elections in fact they've said that crimea is have no rights to hold any sort of referendums independently under new laws which have been passed recently in kiev and now in the meantime over and over the night here in the capital of the crimea a group of unknown pro russian activists got inside the building of the local parliament and raise russian flag on top of that they however did allow deputies to enter inside and there are no reports of any sort of aggression from them now also several thousand people gathered outside of the parliament as well pro russian activist with russian flags and well the people that i've spoke with they're very concerned about the things that have been happening in kiev especially about more and more nationalists coming to power there and they say that they are ready to protect their national identity just to explain the east and southeast of ukraine where we are now is heavily populated by ethnic russians now all of this is coming after clashes emerged. after clashes erupted on the wednesday also in front of the

parliament between pro russian activists and wants most of whom are a crimean tatar arse and it started as a rally but then political tension grew into ethnic one. bar more grain here in the crimea national slogan. i love how far more grey here in the crimea national slogans are being shouted alongside pro russia once they share the same went but definitely not the same political views was. there were there was a little we all came out today to show that without our approval no decisions will

be made we see the crimea as a part of our grains or the sea is the majority of people here support russia in the u.s.s.r. the crimea belongs to the russian soviet republic until nine hundred fifty four when the then soviet leadership decided to transfer it to the administration off so he did crane and when the u.s.s.r. collapsed in one thousand nine hundred one and the crimea was left as a part of independent ukraine but the last few centuries mainly ethnic russians have been living on these lands alongside minorities including the muslim crimean taught ours will the crimea always used to be russian and was passed over to the crane unlawfully it's time for justice to prevail the square in front of the a local administration building here in secret all we had was. division was a political changes and you know what role ukrainian and gulf war pro russian with

the russian flags there for you was actually here and the tension was reaching the boiling point. even though i knew several lesser extent on him ost of the crimean tatars have been siding with the ukrainian nationalists but they were never able to agree on the march i was about tatars want their own crimean tartar government as it was but the idea is too far fetched to me at this point however nationalism is far more important than logic of the majority here are expecting the local crimean authorities to exercise the political will and not oh well a new ethnic conflict in europe to break out i you go to school of art. reporting from the grey me. meanwhile a video has surfaced online of alexander he's a former mercenary who fought in chechnya and current leader of the ultra nationalist group known as the right sector now it shows his method of dealing with the remaining authorities. look. it's. not just. that you know it's.

volage into a prosecutor's office in central ukraine and attacked an employee while demanding to see the prosecutor who was not there then began to terrorize staff members assaulting one of them and threatening to tie him up and drag him out quote like an animal when a man of radical views which could joined ukraine's ultra nationalist party in one thousand nine hundred one in the chechen war he fought alongside the militants and pride himself in personally hitting three tanks and killing a number of russian soldiers he's previously been accused of organizing in the fascination attempt on a fellow party member and was convicted of kidnapping a businessman and causing him grievous bodily harm despite all that he ran for ukrainian parliament and twenty twelve and now stands at the helm of the country's nationalist movement the whereabouts of ukraine's ousted president viktor remains unknown but he did release a public statement earlier today suggesting he's in no mood to give up the fight to

hold on to power and let's cross live now to auntie's ski so lexi any idea what yanick overages next move will be. all the unocal which saga has largely resembled a hollywood thriller something along the lines of catch me if you can he fled the ukrainian capital five days ago after a huge outbreak of violence here ever since his his whereabouts have been unknown some have been speculating that he is still in ukraine and the new ukrainian power in kiev which eventually came to power here after unocal which led were quick to brand him as a criminal to slap a wanted tag on him and to declare him as a fugitive but apparently young a call which at least on thursday it became apparent that he may be resurfacing in russia first of all he published a statement handing it over to several russian use agencies saying that he was still the legitimate president of ukraine elected in a constitutional manner every decision made in the key of parliament in kiev

according to an accord which was illegitimate and he was willing to fight until the very end to bring the constitutional order back to the country at the same time he said that he and his competitors have been receiving death threats from people he described as extremists and that's why he asked russia to provide to provide protection for himself some rumors and those are sources not yet confirmed by any official in russia have reported that in fact the russian government granted this protection for unocal which but now the latest news is that one of the officials close to the ousted ukrainian president said that the other which will hold a press conference in the south than a russian stuff on dawn on friday at about five o'clock local time certainly a lot will be clear if this press conference takes place and which would probably clarify whether he got a political asylum from russia and what his next steps will be of course we'll be monitoring this press conference and the developing situation against surrounding

the ousted ukrainian president very closely live from kiev and thanks very much indeed for that update well with the country more polarized than ever there's no better time for the austin president to speak out that's according to international relations expert mark sloboda. while technically still the having rights says the president of the ukraine after being driven out by this putsch in kiev he's released a rather powerful statement we have seen a complete deterioration of the situation in kiev this putsch has shown that they really have no power. to control what is going on certainly not in the entirety of the ukraine but even more locally the ultra nationalist mobs which which they cynically made an attempt to ride the tiger of their violence into power are now in control of the streets so. i guess at this point must feel he has

no alternative except to try to restore order to the country. meanwhile comments on the crisis have been coming in from very high level ministers from nato countries for more on the reaction we're now joined live from correspondent lucy kavanagh so we see so far who has said what. hi there bill well nato defense ministers are expressing a lot of concern over ukraine as well as their perception of the kremlin's response the nato secretary general rasmussen called on russia not to do anything that would quote escalate tension or create a misunderstanding he told a meeting of the nato ukraine commission in brussels the latest developments in the crimea were quote dangerous and irresponsible the polish foreign minister referring to the seizure of government buildings as a very dangerous game also raising the alarm of the new german defense minister now

she weighed in at her very first nato summit in brussels let's take a quick listen. to what's you on the situation in the ukraine particularly in crimea fills us with great concern it is of the utmost importance that we prevent a breakup of the ukraine and that special forces in the country are strengthened. so lot of concern about whether ukraine remains in one piece or not the russian foreign ministry meanwhile issuing a statement in response to all this saying that the nato defense ministers were sending a quote wrong signal in their statements urging all sides to refrain from making what moscow referred to as provocative statements the foreign ministry also stressing that russia is not moving troops anywhere in ukraine seeking to calm the alarm that's really been raised here and this alarm not just coming from the nato ministers but reflected in the western press as well the news has certainly made front page headlines with

a lot of speculation that moscow's decision to hold military drills is linked somehow to the unrest that's a notion which the russian defense minister sergei sure disputed saying that the emergency military drills were routine and largely unrelated to the developments in the ukraine he did go want to say that russia is of course closely monitoring the developments there and there as well as around the russia's black sea fleet which remember is based in the crimean now of course when it comes to russia the main concern is what the future holds in terms of ukraine and nato is something that's been on the table and of fear ever since the breakup of the soviet union we have to keep in mind that back in one thousand nine hundred seven we did see nato set up a special joint commission with ukraine in order to oversee relations later in two thousand and eight there was an agreement that key of could eventually be considered for nato membership but that had been put to rest at the time a lot of questions now whether ukraine will you visit the issue with the change in power of course it may be too soon to tell but certainly not too early to worry as

far as the kremlin in skin cerned given a strategic position on the map we'll have to leave it there bill back to you lucy thanks very much indeed lucy coming up live in but then well the western media has a longstanding history of making moscow to be the bad guy that's the view of political analyst dmitri babich. of course. people in the west and there are nationalist role in the us in ukraine our interest in burma is in russia russia has no intention to recall a terrorist of the former soviet union by military force. our government and our nation and we don't need new territory so this is just that they exit your door the global media in general all the media internet media newspapers television they will live to attract viewers so it's very it's a very handy way to attract viewers by creating the sort of pain but i think it's irresponsible it's clear to me about how to process russia will not intervene

militarily you mean rationals we'll never fight ukrainians. in the military we. so all in my view this is all just and. i'm sorry break made in russia showing them even if russia does not start the whole war before it media and started for it well for more analysis i can talk to run abroad and he's a german and nato campaign or live here or not international now of course those military drills that literally just started to happen very close to ukraine's border they are a cause for concern it's hardly surprising though you know the main. nature want to enlarge to a crane and i think this is again a political social and just saw the interests of national so i can on the stand a lot of the national elections but on the other side in such

a dangerous situation looking to the history of hugo clay here at the end of the nineteenth and looking to the was a job then conflict in one country and engage with and there's that. is really destroying so i really would to ask everyone to be very cautious and to avoid too and live mcconkey what we need now on top of any kind of speculation about military aggression and and to have a more demilitarize i give it and i think all the sides have to come to run paper together and the negotiating how to ensure that will come together what makes you think that nato is very keen now to get some sort of presence in ukraine we've got a map here showing the other nato bases which are after all pretty close to russia's borders anyway so why would later be so keen on ukraine you know crane

is darker hogzilla the russian. empire and to enlarge their western influence in europe is just some high interest to get more in plant i think they don't want to have a crane in the european union by menu you including that it is too expensive for them so the first step to get the train had a model of western control was to enlarge the military and to get the crane into nato and you think that it is likely to happen yet occurred which of course vetoed any chance of nato its presence in ukraine he's lost power now does that mean that nato could get its wish you know for me this is no question there's a vision of nato. yes even different insurance in the vest not all of their armor and because the role of the german government and they're in transplant is much

more cautious and bold. more. east of europe so there are different interests but i think the rest is looking for yours in the historical china. because now to create this deep deep in the economic situation in ukraine is horrid bad and you know there are the nationalists. who want the come to go to the west so they are playing with our child but i have not sure when that will happen i hope that train people who are going to come and being more independent i think the chance of rain is to be between east and west and to be something like a bridge between east and west and to look that they can the best from both sides just just briefly what you make of the comments from the likes of john kerry who's mourning russia about any military intervention in ukraine what you think the

ukrainian people make of this rhetorical and somewhat safe inflammatory. remarks that could actually intensify the situation even more because despite those drills there is absolutely no indication that russia would take any military action what against its own people. you know first the best thing can just above all the united states should be barry cry that we have this carping about and mention that i'm looking to this n.g. invention of the last ten or fifteen years i can even afghanistan iraq and other. dimensions maybe you have nothing but i think russia must be so stupid to go to training but they should want their so i think this is a political fight. now and the poor form in the united states was going in the cold war atmosphere and trying to develop a code in europe again not. finding any solution in the direction

question we're going to run a broad german anti nato campaign alive thank you very much indeed for joining us here not international great talking thank you note to stay with us very closely because of course we'll be following all the developments in ukraine more expert opinion is also available online at www dot com more international news stories coming your way after a short break. economic down in the final. deal and the rest. will be. a.

pleasure to have you with us today. the international is accusing israeli forces of using reckless violence in the occupied palestinian territories a new report from the human rights group goes as far as to suggest some killings may actually be war crimes. as the details. this amnesty international report that

is some eighty seven pages reviews the behavior of the israeli army in the occupied west bank of a period of three years from two thousand and eleven to two thousand and thirteen and what it found is that the israeli soldiers behaved in an excessive and reckless way resulting in the death of multiple palestinians in what some might say is war crimes as you can well imagine the i.d.f. has dismissed the report it says that amnesty international has a complete lack of understanding of the situation on the ground and that in fact during the same time period there was a marked increase in palestinian violence on the israeli army nonetheless the report documents the death of some forty five palestinians in this time period it talks about a pattern of unlawful killings it also says that in addition to these there were at least two hundred and sixty one people were seriously injured by live ammunition and an additional eight thousand who were seriously injured by other means including rubber coated bullets in the same time period there was only one israeli

soldier who was brought to book he was sentenced to one year in prison with five months suspended and allowed to remain in the army albeit at a lower rank britain is widely greeted the leader of the u.s most powerful nation shall only german chancellor with all the trappings of a head of state remaining in the angle of merkel's good books is seen as essential for prime minister david cameron if he has any chance of renegotiating the u.k.'s relationship with the european union well that remains extremely unclear whether she will be won over as reports. for german chancellor angela merkel's visit to london it's a red carpet welcome fit for queen dubbed by foreign secretary william hague as britain's most important partner on seeking e.u. reform and the first german chancellor to address both houses of parliament starkly different to british prime minister david cameron's low key pub lunch with his french counterpart last month all that seemed to be placed on getting the backing

of europe's economic powerhouse redrawing loved his relationship with brussels after all. if not of course in this europe incentive on both sides to find a suitable agreement so what exactly does cameron want for the u.k. curbing immigration by possibly putting a cap on workers from europe entering the u.k. at restrictions of benefits claims for migrants castes aren't protections from financial regulations on britain and repatriation of certain powers back to westminster did name a few but the question is what you want in return but would be some wins for the u.k. but you could imagine it's a tit for tat. they would have to accept something in return amid all the fuss summer of lowering the excitement of the british foreign office has repeatedly advised ten downing street to bear in mind that any reform will require the agreement of all other states that naturally germany won't do anything against its

own interests or weak. financial transactions tax once again which could cost. three point five billion pounds you have. it's actually the long term strategy seems to be very different. has many more friends around the world should really be focusing on. the world. and in the end it still boils down to this one who wants a little less europe while the other wants a whole lot more of it. yes or sylvia r.t. . more news with me in the team in just over half an hour from now in the meantime insight into ukraine's unfolding crisis with the former american ambassador to the country that's coming your way after a short break. in

two thousand and seven one of the first things released by wiki leaks was a secret video recording that actually looked like a video showing two american political just opening fire on a dozen people in iraq this is not a means to live in a society of images of violence become normal this is what the sense of isolation and lack of empathy look like. we try and experience from post. disassociate. and body into action. we also have seen from certain kinds of. i absolutely am frightened of the potential games desensitize people we know they can because the military uses games. as. old as war it is not so bleak but it is chilling and chilling exacts a penalty of the killer. people for whom. it is defined by the popular media.

hello welcome to worlds apart the crane which only means a country a lying on the. and while this may be refers to geography it is also

a pretty accurate description of its current political situation where is ukraine having to discuss that i'm now i'm joined by john hirst the former us ambassador to the country ambassador herbst thank you very much for talking to us pleasure now russia and the united states perhaps not surprisingly differ a great deal in how they characterize the events unfolding in ukraine for russia it's a coup d'etat for the united states it's a democratic uprising or a democratic revolution and the images that are being broadcast from kiev are also strikingly different the russians see swastikas being painted all over central kiev and man armed men in balaklava storming government buildings while i think many americans have been shown those inspired faces of. protesters who are living and breathing democracy why do you think the contrast is so stark well first of all there are many swastikas being painted in kiev so perhaps you who are paid for

laws of the government is no longer in power to steal coal which is government well that's not exactly true because our reporters are on the ground in kiev and they actually like you can see swastikas all over central kiev i mean. we don't know who actually is behind that but the sheer number is pretty is pretty staggering there's a. point of analysis which says cui bono who benefits the only people who benefit by swastikas are those who want to try to discredit the protesters so the idea that the protestors are busy putting up and symbols of hitler i think proposed for posterous what about armed men in balaklava because they're like reno for for a fact that they're behind the siege of the government buildings and by now government institutions city halls have been taken over by protesters and in a lot of for ukrainian when this apology is what about down while the true this is . and it's also true this is a reaction to for use of

a process governed by micio to coach the psionic over to was the beneficiary of this do you think those democratic aspirations so young which would be free and fair election in two thousand and ten and unfortunately since the time i was president he has put increasing authoritarian strictures on the opposition so that led opposition to take up arms to continue with to enforce their democratic aspirations mischaracterizing the situation we say they took up arms to the point is the best you know to covert and this is why he's no longer in power he authorized the use of live force including snipers as a form of crowd control against largely own protesters this is a this is a crime this is a crime well i think his argument would be that it is the protests started opening fire against the police and riot police but i think one thing we can agree upon is that was the oric is very very complex in ukraine is certainly complex and the key

psychological difference between the west and russia i would argue is that the west as usual hold for the best and russia as usual fears the worst and probably there are in democratically inspired protesters and i think we can also agree that there are some radical forces the question is of course. you know what is the share percentage of of each of the group and what i would like to ask is if russia is proven wrong and this in a revolution this uprising is all about democracy then i guess we will all benefit but what if the west is proven wrong and those ultra nationalist anticipated forces prevail would that be to the detriment of all the parties involved have you ever heard of george orwell absolutely in one nine hundred eighty four yes george orwell said totalitarian politics or characterized by the use of smear words like anti semitic.