in the big stories of the last seven days one way russia sanctions bill now only needs donald trump's approval to come into force. as russia condemns those proposals as the legal. block fears its business is going to be here. says an iraqi army unit trained by the u.s. is. suspected i still members in mosul. venezuela heads to the polls today to vote for a new constitution designed to change the country's constitution itself to a furious protest by the opposition that's left at least five dead this week.

hello some of the thirtieth of july just. go i'm kevin this is watching the weekly first the new round of sanctions is just a signature away as congress waits for president trump to put pen to paper the senate passed the bill on thursday washington says it's in response to what they call russian aggression in syria and ukraine and for alleged meddling in the u.s. election but as cullum open find out of the week there might be much more behind the initiative to the sanctions bill that was passed it targets many parts of russia's economy it targets mining targets finance and russia metal manufacturing but one part of the bill that was specifically singled out. it was the energy

sector of russia's economy the bill penalizes any company that cooperates with russia's pipeline projects it's about sending a message to russia to hold mr putin accountable for his actions we will take tough action against russia the bill is targeting the construction of a key natural gas pipeline into europe citing what it calls detrimental impact on european energy security furthermore in the same paragraph the bill talks about exporting more of america's resources in order to create american jobs strengthen u.s. allies and strengthen u.s. foreign policy now that all agrees with a key component of u.s. energy strategy america's global dominance in energy policy. is not just a vital element of u.s. economic policy but it's also a viable element of u.s. foreign policy and one of the most important actions we can take is to use our

massive shale gas resources to begin shipping liquefied natural gas overseas so there you have it but what does selling gas to europe have to do with protecting the sanctity of america's voting machines the point is it hasn't got to do anything with the geo political sphere with the frozen conflict in the ukraine though with syria and it actually hasn't got anything to do also with an interference of russia into the us elections this has to do with the approach of the us administration to make deals to get their economy going and so this is very commitment rather than political u.s. leaders say that they don't like russia for all kinds of reasons but one thing they don't mention is that russia is a key exporter of oil and natural gas competing with the big monopolists america's european allies are now crying foul saying that the usa is interfering with their energy policies with these sanctions the us bill could have unintended unilateral effects the impact the e.u. use energy security interests america first kind of mean that europe's interests

come last at this point russia accounts for thirty eight percent of the european union's natural gas while the usa only accounts for two percent of the e.u. is natural gas imports you can bet some slick wall street syndicates would like to reverse that lineup so when you hear this explanation of the sanctions the mere fact that russia tried to affect our elections this stunning breach of all right as a sovereign nation decades of unchecked russian aggression whether it be in the ukraine in the crimea in syria don't forget about this one we must continue to focus on how we get our gas here in the united states our natural gas to europe to our allies so they're not so dependent on russia. meantime e.u. leaders reacted on pleas of washington's pro new sanctions and its attempt to free europe from its reliance on russian gas they say their economic interests are being

ignored here germany's even threatened the u.s. with countermeasures is one reason why europe's leaders are unhappy that the sanctions could impact the nord stream to pipeline a huge project that a major tire between european countries and russia's energy sector firms from germany austria france and the netherlands have agreed to invest almost five billion euro in it around half of the project's total cost so a lot at stake once completed it should provide northern europe with russian gas according to reports multi-national businesses in the energy sector like b.p. like exxon mobil have been lobbying against this new measure now in congress so to have manufacturers like boeing and ford peter all of us got more. well it's the potential impact that these sanctions could have on both the the business and energy sectors here in europe that has e.u. officials hot under the collar there are potentially huge fines for e.u. businesses that would enter into energy projects with russia many of those blue

chip european companies of course are heavily involved there what we've heard from the german foreign ministry is them saying that it can't be accepted that the industrial policy of another nation be passed off as sanctions while the german government spokesperson also came out saying that industry can't be targeted and if there will be a response if the sanctions or when the sanctions go through it's not just the germans though the french foreign ministry issued a statement saying that well they believe that the sanctions impacted upon the rights of private individuals as well as corporate entities to an extent that they believe may go beyond international law the austrian chancellor christine can he posted online he said that politics and business should not be mixing when it comes to making decisions like this it's not excluded that they also follow that they

also follow their economic interests. we don't complain about that unless it does not affect our own interests but right now it really affects our own interest negatively impact of do you plan sanctions notice a very negative form. especially for the energy sector because under sanctions under the threat of sanctions especially energy pipeline exports from russia so what options remain for the european union when these sanctions or if these sanctions come into being the european union could decide to impose sanctions of their own on the united states now this could take the form of e.u. . bank suspending u.s. company's ability to take out short term loans but let's be realistic this would be a nuclear option from the european union i'm not sure if the european union you know has the courage to to take action against the u.s.

. on their. frankly i'm worried that the u.s. will be able to impose these sanctions notwithstanding the e.u.'s opposition to it the ball right now is very much in president donald trump's court and whether he signs that or not it could change what type of reaction we get from here in europe to these new sanctions from the united states on russia's energy sector. russia's patience is also weighing president putin says that moscow can't tolerate offensive actions anymore. so the news of these sanctions are completely illegal they go against international law and the rules of the world trade organization we're being very patient and very reserved and we can't endlessly tolerate aggressive behavior towards our country these actions can be perceived as aggravation you are and i would even say exceptional cynicism. and russia's foreign ministry is also

responded it's asked the u.s. to reduce the number of diplomatic staff here in russia it's estimated that between two and seven hundred people are going to be sent home or fired but the american embassy hasn't given an exact figure moscow says the number of stuff must be cut to a four hundred fifty five that would then make it exactly the same amount as it got in its embassy in the u.s. meantime russia's also said the two diplomatic properties used by washington will be seized next month it'll take back a warehouse in the south of moscow and also in riverside would treat one of the capital's parks it was used by staff members for leisure and barbecue get togethers . to viet nam is that this is a response to the unlawful actions of us and most importantly to the anti russian made in the u.s. congress and the russia for exactly no turn on capitol hill and we're not ruling out any steps to bring the censors this bill is a tool of intimidation for the entire world it's a consequence of our only willingness to follow america's political coup. the us

secretary of state's explained the thinking behind the sanctions bill he says that russia should take steps to improve its ties with the u.s. and hope sanctions won't be needed in the future the russian embassy in the u.s. said that it's puzzled by rex tillerson statements on the sanctions that we got makes most opinion on it. it's not the most logical thing to say we want to improve relations therefore we are imposing sanctions next to listen his statement was trying to be diplomatic and lessen the impact and be less insulting to russia than the that he might otherwise have been ordered for that i think that's why you have a logical statement explaining these sanctions to which was not really any sensible justification at all we think about american foreign policy from like one nine hundred forty five forward it's tough to find many great examples of what we've accomplished what the american forces foreign policy it's stablish meant expected

what they're trying to do you know i think it's time for a total and complete overhaul of how we conduct our international business. weeks after the city of mosul was finally freed from islamic state in iraq more details of the liberation and merging in front of the report came out in the week from human rights watch suggesting one iraqi military unit executed dozens of suspected members of ice or without trial this is how international observers describe what they saw in mosul. a group of iraqi soldiers that fool naked men down an alleyway after which they heard multiple gunshots. through the doorway of a damaged house the bodies of a number of naked men lying in the doorway they said one of the dead men was lying with his hands behind his back and appeared to have been handcuffed and there was a rooper around his legs to sixteenth division soldiers the school said one observing showed the seven head of with the soldiers said was an american female i said sniper who are the hard to care potato it was not clear whether the

decapitated you're alive. this is one of a series of reports that human rights watch has issued on the final weeks of the battle in mosul against isis and in these reports what we have seen is numerous extrajudicial killing by iraqi forces of men they say were linked to i without any charge without any file simply executing them on the battlefield really all the iraqi forces that are involved in this fight against isis has been committing rampant abuses including war crimes we have yet to see a single incident be properly at investigated by the iraqi or any commanders to be held accountable. the report claims that the executions were carried out by an iraqi unit the played a significant role in the liberation they'd received american training and assistance while fighting isolated twenty fifteen now on saturday spoke with much

love he's a security official in baghdad province he told me washington bears some responsibility for the crimes committed by the sixteenth division i got to warn you some of the video coming up here and i find upsetting the sixteen division was formed by the united states trained by the united states controlled by the united states so definitely if there's any human rights violation it's very obvious that those who. controlled or formed this division must understand all must pay some type of at least moral responsibility because i mean nobody here sympathizes with isis supporters or isis members so but from a legal point of view yes this is an issue that needs to be looked at there is an investigation but is it enough why did of deep enough we still state of war. the horrors of war as well as the devastation that followed the liberation

of mosul were documented by photographer. in the last couple days we witnessed there was really this this tremendous push to just crush the remaining fighters who were very deeply entrenched i guess in the city there's this vast tunnel network i guess that is sort of existed for thousands of years you know dating back to mesopotamia but the spiders have also dug in their own tunnel network system underground in mosul and there was just this and it was a very aggressive push by both iraqi forces and the coalition to just pretty much annihilate their remaining fighters kind of at you know i will result in being kind of a heavy civilian cost i think that what you know what the mainstream media sort of sort of does they try to they try to generalize you know the conflict in what's happening they try to package it into these very easily accessible headlines you

know like most of those liberated and so you know you read that headline and you think oh you know the battle is over you know the operations are over and you know everything must be tied up and tidy but that's just not the case so i guess that that was one of the biggest shocks to me was that you know there's this this narrative that you know the fight is over and you know it wasn't the case at all and the scale of destruction in mosul is just you know it's an unimaginable hell the city is littered with. you know unexploded ordinance from you know from airstrikes and it's just going to take you know decades to rebuild this city unimaginable the place has been through. with us this morning with. the latest this weekend you won't see international with me kevin though in. this sunday's venezuela big vote the day to elect a new assembly troubles expected on the streets as a result is just one of the stories ahead in our use review of the week.

here's what people have been saying about rejected in the senate it's full on awesome the only show i go out of my way to. say really packs a punch. yampa is the john oliver of party america is doing the same we are apparently better than. c. people you've never heard of love redacted tonight my president of the world bank so take. me seriously send us an email. what politicians to. put themselves on the line. to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president. some want to listen. to going to be

pressed to see what before three of the four people. i'm interested in the water. should. again and so to venezuela as the embattled government there prepares to hold a key constitutional vote today the country's opposition are calling for a further wave of protests despite its despite a ban on street demonstrations which in the last week alone of already killed at least five people but the country in the economic doldrums and experiencing a political deadlock president would do rose called on venezuelans to elect a new body today it's set to be tasked with rewriting the current constitution over five hundred representatives will be chosen from key groups in society but the opposition believes the president is just trying to extend his powers here and he's undermining democracy is

a look back at how the situation flared up and escalated earlier this year. i. in the last couple of days we've managed to secure an exclusive interview with the venezuelan president he told us the opposition's tactics are alienating many people in the country. you know get up we continue the search when you're going to get not

only the opposition has been saying the same thing for eighteen years they used to say about hugo chavez you know about me for the last four years i thought for a moment really is no more the way to resolve a conflict in our country but than through democratic means. your through you know how you're weeks starting. the opposition also engage in a direct dialogue and join the national constitutional assembly but they refused since they are not the only thing they are positioned in doing which is taking steps back in order for me write down your situation is dire. political isolation sic get out on that they are moving towards the far right here and they will trust yourself on the strategy of the acts of violence stricken and live in the very destroy you voted for them your position is also of the venezuelan people voted for them in the past mean it's up to them another of the big stories of the week there's no magic solution to the refugee crisis says italy's interior minister he

was speaking at a gathering of european officials in china zero monday he also stressed the need for a common e.u. strategy there is no magic solution no nation can alone deal with the migratory flocks and no nation is sheltered from it italy's because being the most vocal over the refugee issue and so on the front line it's received most of the new arrivals coming by sea from africa so far this year almost one hundred thousand of reach the italian coast by hook or by crook. traveled to rural areas in italy to see how the crisis is impacting life there are still in bed till a small town in the mountains which after a government decision was forced to accommodate dozens of migrants. i hope the mayor of this town mr cheever talk explain the system to me. on giordano. the prefecture didn't tell us in advance that

migrants were coming and i thought everything would work out so the government told us that it would help us to cope with the migrants there already many problems like unemployment issues with infrastructure health etc that's why some people around here are angry because the government chose to invest money into the relocation of migrants instead of time with additional funds. this looks like the hotel we're looking for they entered through the gates but stayed outside because there was no electricity the hotel hasn't been used for years to host tourists my next step was to try and talk to the migrants inside but they wouldn't let me behind a locked gate was a dodgy looking men he claimed to be from a cooperative that had been put in charge by the authorities filming he said the mayor said that a very low percentage of people who are here are actually refugees most of them are economic migrants is not true. no that's not true the migrants are well integrated

the mayor has never even contacted me he is lying i went on to ask where the migrants were from the man claimed they were all refugees out of. nigeria niger guinea became the fast just as i was negotiating we saw a couple with a tray of sweets turns out some locals were indeed glad to have the new neighbors finally he let me in without the camera the refugees said they'd only got warm welcomes from locals and were ready to become sicilians i can tell you that the migrants and refugees have everything to live a normal life there the question though remains whether they will be able to integrate into the local society and whether all the locals will be ready to accept that number of refugees our journey continued to another small community where migrants haven't arrived yet but the government's intentions have already caused quite a debate in the usually quiet neighborhood. a very small abandoned school

local government wanted to place sixty my gran's in that small building i think we have a chance to talk to the lawyer who is representing the local community. first which is not a problem will be that of the rest who are putting migrants here into buildings like this is racism the risk is that the shelter could turn into a ghetto because the migrants will have nothing to do here having blasted the rest of the betraying roman crisis italian officials seem to have taken up the strategy of a nationwide melting pot will be watching how it's put to the test you leave the train go r t in sicily. your slim has been rocked this last week palestinian protesters clashed with israeli police over the implementation of strict security measures at temple mount also known as shareef hundreds of protesters were injured.

the crowd. was accurately was was was. and it was. the holy site was cordoned off by israeli authorities are for a deadly shooting there metal detectors and video cameras had been installed in that spot outrage in the muslim community our middle east correspondent paula slee is got more on the story. i'm standing here in front of the dome of the rock which has been the scene of violent clashes for the past two weeks we are hearing that more than a hundred people have been injured the number of palestinians who've been killed in the last two weeks of violence has now climbed to six israeli police reinforcements

particularly. around the old city many of the arab east jerusalem neighborhoods were closed off and at the same time roadblocks in and out of the west bank will reinforce we're hearing from the israeli security officials that they will see a harsh response to anyone who throws rocks or stones at the israeli police israel says it will remove metal detectors that would put up after two security guards were killed two fridays ago but the palestinian president mahmoud abbas says this is not enough and he insists it is well returns to the way the status quo was before that incident the latest measures are that only people over the age of fifty to come and pray here i'm talking specifically men women of all ages are allowed some of the entrances to the mosque are still closed and because of these measures the mood on the ground is still tense there is a lot of frustration amongst palestinians that i've been talking to some of even said that if israel doesn't remove these last remaining restrictions they will be a third intifada or a third palestinian uprising but outside the temple mount compound the mood is

jubilant people have been throwing sweets and chocolate saying that this battle for al aksa has been won by the palestinians. jerusalem it's now exactly twenty six minutes past eight in the morning moscow time r.t. news and stories of great features two twenty four seven and don't forget we're out about are up and keep in contact with us that way to uncover know it more so but for now for a good morning from moscow. i . would. say yes that. was. so thanks the world. yes to all this is all the oh. oh

. so. public will. when the ruling classes protect themselves. with the fine. middle of the room six. million more you'll need.

this is the parking lot of the american embassy and. you can buy nuts which are called lime and beans while you're waiting in line for an american feast. but i only. knew. what. was what is he. not only. little but he. when i looked at the norm was what has he done as we.

there are three ways to get into the usa you can apply for residency but the chances of getting one are next to impossible. you can also cross the border illegally not an easy task the third option apply for a tourist visa and overstayed so you remain in the country secretly. but to qualify for a tourist visa you still need a very very good reason.