as usual kurdistan has often felt like a separate country altogether even at the height of iraq's most violence and bloodiest moments now with the current crisis treading the country to pieces it's closer than ever to becoming one kurdish soldiers are now in control of territory that used to be disputed but no one here seems to think that the harvest would dare march on them but i have food faith in the forces we won let's anything happen. for some the prospect of a divided iraq was a welcome one do you think that iraq will remain one country as we know it's after this crisis may be as good may be that iraq will have to be divided will have area and the sunnis and shias will have there is no one in kurdistan is lord we have oil we have a strong army. they may help or oil but fuel is running scarce for days now iraqi forces battled with isis for control of the country's largest

oil refinery this is one of the first things you notice here in erbil these massive gas lines some of the cars have been here for hours since the morning many people in fact camped out overnight to try to get online so they can get gas frustrated residents line up to get their share authorities have limited each individual to thirty leaders that's less than what it takes to fill two tanks the people we've spoken to said there haven't been lines like this for fuel since big outbreak of the u.s. led invasion back in two thousand and three and although there are shortages here in erbil parts of northern iraq have run out of gas even on the black market and so people are stocking up they say that they don't know what will bring the fear is that it'll go a lot worse before it gets better that's a sentiment we heard from many here and it's not just a nice fleeing the violence we encountered shia refugees to. octo gonzi job or came here six days ago from baghdad baghdad the situation has gone from bad to worse

people are arming themselves and getting ready to fight on another always saying the future is bloodshed and violence but if something doesn't change iraq will be a come from the new phones and widows you see caffein over erbil iraq. money is off the shelf break. there's a media leave us so we leave the media. by the scene push the security play your party there's a bill. for shoes that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers

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here with me to my was a this is our weekly ukraine finally signed a trade agreement with the this week the failure of the country's previous leader to do so is what sparked the ukrainian crisis leading to the current civil conflict however the new leader and says this is just the first step of closer ties with you . we see that. ukraine is european country under the forty nine article will have an opportunity. for the membership perspective this is a very important carrot for ukraine to work up. well financially challenging europe still doesn't appear to be quite ready for ukraine the use commissioner for enlargement has said kiev still needs to prove its european credentials and that reforms brock's energy commission has won the bailout for greece is peanuts compared to what we needed to save the kids economy the president of the european commission says the e.u. is simply not ready to welcome ukraine right now and that sentiment is also echoed

by the foreign minister of europe germany which comes as no surprise to financial expert patrick. ukraine which last year was in a catastrophic position how it's signed a free trade association this year is going to associate with the european union out the point when it's on the brink already of economic disaster this is a catastrophic move for the ukrainian economy the only winners either this or a few sadly deluded egos whether they're in brussels whether they're in washington who believe some horror of that they've achieved a great geopolitical victory for the people of ukraine there are no jobs to be hard here there's only going to be job losses. early on said washington has been blaming russia for fanning the conflict in ukraine and threatening sanctions unless it stops but america's plans are facing staunch opposition from western businesses sent here's why russia being an emerging market with a growing income has been quite attractive for you with companies another

possibility of being out of from that market is making american business bosses nervous but just who is involved in russia well boeing buys nearly a third of its titanium here the country's also one of the fastest growing markets for pepsi u.s. car manufacturers also have a huge interest in the russian market with general motors and ford selling tens of thousands of vehicles here last year the chamber of commerce and the national association of manufacturers have launched an ad campaign to explain just why new sanctions will backfire they say it will leave u.s. companies scrambling to keep up with firms from other countries earlier we spoke to the president of the franco russian chamber of commerce and industry here's what he said. it should have been because they actually. put it you could see. white no. talking about it going to be called sanctions so we need to raise our voice and tell them that they should not do it again they should use diplomacy to do so dude

the ukrainian the crazies using and taking into host g.'s companies whether they are us your pin or french company is something which isn't acceptable for us what the sanctions are doing is isolating the united states' economy instead of isolating russia they were meant to isolate russia but given the trend of world trade for all of the exports that russia has and for diplomacy it's their eyes and they're actually running an isolating the united states it's a very strange business logic it doesn't make sense logically so it has to be political. austria too doesn't seem to be all that enthusiastic about more sanctions or vienna in moscow this week struck a major gas pipeline deal with president vladimir putin in attendance and other issues of ukraine came up during a light hearted exchange done no internal don't feel turned their president putin

was. those. you have nothing. to hold that you're. a little cold. bird to the south stream gas pipeline deal between austria russia isn't sitting all that well with washington find out why and i won't cite. for thousands of israel boundary refugees from africa the search for a better life ends up in torture camps they fall into the hands of ruthless smuggling gangs who demand money for the hostages the migrant flow through sinai is very intense up to three thousand people per month coming from the east african state of eerie tria alone the human traffickers report here plight torture and even

mutilation rape and psychological pressure against their captives if the families refuse to pay the ransom it's claimed the hostages are executed more than four thousand people are estimated to have been killed since two thousand and eight and around a thousand thought to be in captivity right now. that is by the region president calling for an investigation the local authorities have turned a blind eye to the kidnappings israel's prime minister once even described the refugees as infiltrators iran esta foreigners is a swedish retreat and journalist and activist trying to raise awareness about the victims of torture by putting their plight on the big screen. shot the actual moment she. was.

there were melting plastic bags and dropping it in their backs this is the burns. merriment asked of foreigners stressed in the interview to r.t. that she believes there's a big difference in the way captives are treated depending on their nationality i have seen kids children that are two years old being tortured the torture is not any other tortured like you see the horror movie or something it's where people are tortured twenty four hours a day last year and more original woman was kidnapped in the same area and it took about a week for her to be released americans getting kidnapped in the sinai. it took only twenty four hours to release them so this happens all quite often to westerners as well but they're out with a base and they don't get to experience the torture as a free country so it has to do with race you're going catch the full

interview recorded for in the now with an isa now on our website. well young model reporter know we can make the documents detailing what nature's outgoing traded to land his job in the first place. the united nations steps in to safeguard the rights to water for the people of detroit where the bankruptcy city has cut off supplies to thousands of low income as we haven't paid for their bills. politicians and the u.k. have been sounding the alarm over the influx of immigrants from romania and bulgaria after brussels lifted employment restrictions but the latest figures show the numbers are working in britain has actually dropped since then meanwhile it appears many brits seeking better opportunities have chosen to leave the u.k. and settle down in romania as are. reports. michael is

british but spent most of his life outside the u.k. his father worked in the military and the family has done its fair share of globetrotting regional media where mike decided to settle down on a board he's been running for five years now the option is my life and my still night life you know i like to party and it's one of the reasons why i went into this business i love the people of the climates the country. you know and the media then welcoming since the beginning of this year they've been able to travel and work all over the e.u. some british deputies worried immigrants could start flooding in even suggested running a scare campaign to put them off coming to the u.k. the remaining press saw the letter side of the situation and started campaigning for british citizens to move here and work instead since romania's accession to the e.u. wants a thousand and seven brits no longer have to register when they move here so it's hard to say the exact number of them living here but according to the british

embassy it's somewhere between three and four thousand and some have even made a business out of helping other newcomers get started in this. and three. another british ex-pat who's left the u.k. eight years ago after his eighty company went bankrupt he makes a living here by helping other ex-pats register firms find staff by property and offers other help with foreign businessmen may need when setting up shop rumania has a long long way to go before it could be perceived as let's say a western european type country but for a guy like myself yes i would recommend anyone to come here romania is far from the wealthiest of the e.u. states in fact with the average salary of less than four hundred euros per month it's one of the poorest to the surprise of many word of a mass exodus of the medium's to the rest of the e.u. this country has actually given thousands of westerners opportunities they couldn't find at home you got this kind of. grist. matt says the business

headlines of the week in venture capital but if you're watching us in the u.k. take a backstage look at. the federal migration service of russia has recently received more than five thousand requests for political asylum from ukraine its citizens these requests come from refugees who are fleeing the conflict in the eastern part of ukraine in fact i personally know people who are from the ukraine who are now essentially trapped in russia because their native regions are at war with the kiev government there is a classic mainstream media talking point about russian aggression and russian imperialism which gets repeated constantly in fact so often that is not even a question but if you stop to think about it if you were trapped in a region at war and you were going to escape odds where would you go into the heart of the aggressors in imperialists no you go in the direct opposite direction

interestingly enough in both this conflict and the two thousand and eight war in georgia the overwhelming majority of the. g.'s flee towards russia excluding some sort of bizarre stockholm syndrome it seems that for people in break we are publics in ukraine and georgia russia is a safe haven they often say that people vote with their feet and in the case of the most recent wars in european history it is clear whose feet are voting for whom and no mainstream media talking points can deny that but that's just my opinion. you can. google. google. google. google. six dramas that can be ignored.