advertising telling you are not cool enough and lets you buy their product please. fix all the hawks that we along with our. walker bush. um i didn't question a line from the council on capital for r e t falling station doors have been smashed open ballot boxes forcibly removed and people injuries just two hours into the region's referendum on independence from spain we'll be bringing you all the latest from the ground. i'm going to carry on with a roundup of the week's news including tech giants google facebook and twitter and

joining in the hunt for the increasingly elusive looking alleged russian election madness plus. the euphrates river and close it is isis it's that they shelled the city and climax dates days in syria look numbered as those driven out of the city of de ever thought and across the euphrates river. and welcome as you're watching the week here on r.t. international the latest headlines and a roundup of the news the shapes the week but finest we start with breaking news from catalonia when voting on independence from spain is now under way several people have been injured in clashes with military police civil guard officers have forced their way into a polling stations across the region they broke down doors as activists inside

tried to prevent them from entering with a number of people dragged away by offices. i it was the it was . and they can say spanish police detaining protesters who were blocking the way for police big calls simple god offices in riot gear can be seen cranking away people sitting in the road scuffles also erupted between protesters and the police less now across life to a correspondent whose dad made it all him again a question over who is outside

a polling station in boston lona with dana can you give us an update on what the latest situation has been three hours those parting stations are open now are people still continuing to arrive to try to close the votes. yes it's true people are do still continue to at write and they still want to vote and they are voting specially in this calling station right behind my back now this polling station is still operational but at the same time we've been receiving conflicting reports spanish authorities say that they have shut down more than a half of polling stations across the region and especially here and the castle and the capital of barcelona but at the same time local authorities are saying that seventy percent of polling stations are still working are still receiving people who want to come and vote now spanish authorities also say that the the blame the catalan regional police for this crisis for this quite violent outcome this sunday

morning they say that for cutler and police political interest and political criteria's are more important than fulfilling their professional judus and this is why civil guard has to interfere and do something that they do not want to do meaning that they have already violently clashed with the citizens of different neighborhoods around the barcelona says he now we do know that just two blocks away from here there was another polling station at a building of a school and just an hour ago police raided that building and forcibly removed people out of there they broke the windows of the school as. they pushed people out they used force against ordinary citizens against students against elderly people and the many of those people were forced to leave the building of the school came over here and right now i am still rounded by a crowd of people who just want to vote and to defend their democratic rights they

want to express their opinion now we have been here at this square very close to the school building from the poor am in this morning talking to different people now there's been a crowd of people here at night protecting the building of the school and all of them told me one thing that for them it is very important to have the sprites who hopes. discounted has been mobilizing for the last many years just with these objectives to be able to express ourselves and to say what do we want for this country for the future he does a mother but it's raining all of that or because we love the grocery we want to hold we have needed to do extreme actions such as sleeping in schools such as coming here hundreds of persons at five o'clock in the morning spending i have been standing here for hours and we will be here all day if necessary because they don't want to let us speak. the atmosphere is changing really quickly over here and

now this early morning every thing was peaceful and everyone was friendly and now we can feel fear among the crowds and other worrying thing is that i see a lot of children here a lot of smile children families that came here bringing their kids together with them family members elderly people so if the situation here gets out of control as at the other falling stations the consequences of this could be very drastic. just touching on a bit more on the people who were in not crowd back today but this crowd this increasing. oh my. over the hours that many of those inside these polling stations which is schools of course the parents with children who are for maintained those buildings up to the end of lessons on friday to ensure that they would be able to that cause the most today also a lot of elderly people we've seen in the crowds now they knew that would trade had declared this vote is illegal they knew that extra police forces being deployed to

the area do you think they have been shocked by the amount of force that the riot police are using and do you think this is going to be down to spare rights throughout the day or are they in it for the long. haul absolutely they were shocked and that's for sure they never expected such a violent approach towards their peaceful gathering to which they're peaceful i desire to vote and to create protect their fundamental human rights i've talked to different people here and they never x. axis police to use force against them against their children against their elderly people and if you have a look over here we've got small children here just a family has just passed me by with a three kids not less than six years old so we've got a lot of students here and the whole area is cordoned off now in terms of whether they're ready to stand here till the ends well i believe they are because they are

very determined to end these spent nights protecting different school buildings so for them it is a matter of protecting their democracy protecting very right to vote may need told me that they're not only voting for or against the independents who are against the referendum they're just here to protect the right to vote and they want to express their opinion not quite the voter referendum organizers didn't say they urged voters to defend the polling stations but i always maintained that that should be a peaceful resistance to any police action do you think as things. escalate throughout the day we mind seems to move violence from a becomes a loony and the people who are that to vote do you do you think haven't spoken to the people that things will remain peaceful long pause regardless of what action the police say. well they are determined to remain

peaceful and they're expressing that in every single symbolic gesture that they can find sometimes they do start to sing songs or they laugh they clap and they put their hands up in the air we've seen that before and this is a symbolic gesture showing that their hands around and they're just here as a peaceful movement as a peaceful gathering to vote it is important that sometimes they do clamor and she put their hands in the air just expressing that and they are determined to remain peaceful and that is why they're so shocked that police is using force against them . ok that's medina question of involved alone or with the latest medina thanks but now with about back to you shortly. with the latest updates thank you very much. a video has also emerged online of officers confiscating boxes and ballot papers from a council on polling station with photos photos trying to stop them. i.

place can be seen taking boxes away you can hear people in the background on this video shouting in whistling at offices police also reportedly these boxes and ballots in the days leading up to the referendum and we discussed the issue with several political experts who told us the spanish authorities are discrediting themselves. for we was not. the wisest of the moves on the other hand thing the spanish government felt that the hand to do something and they had you so adamant that the do not allow the referendum that at this point they have to do they have to do something so it may have

a political backlash and more people would be willing to support the independence of catalonia i really do feel that anything that looks like a clampdown from national government on a regional government on democratic expression of speech and expression of use is not the way forward for any european union member state six thousand civil guards were deployed in the region arriving on cruise ships chartered by the spanish interior ministry they'll be staying in barcelona interlock tobler third spanish government doesn't have reasons to worry about losing this region catalonia covers six percent of the country's territory and accounts for twenty percent of spain's g.d.p. the region is also responsible for more than half of investments into startups and almost a quarter of foreign tourists choose to go to council linea as perhaps one madrid is so desperate to stop this referendum from taking place.

i. think we members of the former government have been judged. and barred from public positions. because we'll let. them. get on with. the stuff in it that you know to. give. this

finicky a dentist. with you. look . at the roots of the council on crisis go way back into spanish his story. by now you've surely heard about cats or learned desire to go it alone the prosperous region in northeast spain accounts for almost a fifth of the country's economy and believes it's paying madrid way more than it gets back catalonia is trying to seven point five million people posting its own language culture and history which is why many brands consider themselves a separate nation. but it has been in spain since the fifteenth century that steve king ferdinand and queen isabella. the origins of the modern says sation its

movement let's fast forward to the twentieth century brain becomes a republic in cancer learn you get the statutes of autonomy but six years later franco comes to power and takes that away three decades of franco's oppression only posted to catalyze desire for independence and after his death and spain's transition to democracy catalonia got its will tanami back but not enough as many locals believe when the country's can stitch new course limits on cancer and claims to nation it started a chain reaction. with protests and symbolic referendums in cities and towns across the region some cancellations now and interest pressure the decades are frankly sick to the region how would a non-binding independence fight back in twenty fourteen about eighty percent said yes to independence but it was declared illegal by spain.

whenever both you and democratic catalonia is pressing ahead god. seems more determined than ever to be independent. majority has shut down many referendum related websites and the spanish civil guard raided the center of telecommunications and information technology in barcelona well wiki leaks coeditor julian a song has dubbed the government's actions as the first into that war have also created a member of a website that helps the voters to find a polling station that's open we spoke to a member of the council on pirate policy which is also helping referendum related websites to stay active. they are doing the right thing because it's not a matter of that but then it's a matter of democracy and some other people rights over rights are being replaced by hardinge government because they are prosecuting big all over again it's different with science they only hold information the refrig in britain all

fall. on the. cumple for a president that couple has seen signs from frankly. with spanish the society divided in europe through long she refrained from taking sides thank you to the end tunnel issue for spain well that's something that some people in council lonia who accuse the aid of turning its back on their region's rights to vote i don't even media briefing this week journalists have tried to pin down the block to get its view explained. the double star in freedom of expression whilst found that four thousand got in other sound out for. you condemn it when they shut down cambodia daily but you stay silent when a member states starts playing with freedom of expression. private websites if they start arresting jewelries how can you say this is cause you do it all that we don't

have anything to say i mean this is freedom of expression anything else that we can help you with today. it's an internal constitutional problem according to the e.u. and the house to be sold into frame or called internal order for league over there of spain. the problem is that this is true until on t.v. when certain issues arise like this in the last few days the issue of freedom of expression which is not only an internal constitution i mentioned. being. the. body you choose if you want to. constitutional or not or dishonest because you cannot afford it that's what and as police try to continue to try to stop this vote from taking place in catalonia our teams both here in moscow and our correspondent in barcelona will be updating you

on the situation throughout the day stay with us for that. going on to other news now major tech firms are cooperating with the us all by handing over information supposedly were later to russian meddling in the american presidential election twitter and its statement also took a swipe at r t talking in very good looks at the latest efforts to root out alleged russian trolls the internet is now trying its hand at hunting down even the slightest sign of moscow lurking in the shadows facebook twitter and now google are all gearing up to testify in congress on pesky russian meddling next month. twitter has released a report with the name just made to fill headlines russian interference in two

thousand and sixteen u.s. election bots and misinformation now it sounds spooky but the findings are more than a little vague twitter apparently found and shut down a grand total of two hundred or one suspicious accounts that broke their spam rules and while russia is mentioned in the report those accounts aren't actually proven to have concrete links to moscow what was clearly laid out however was this channel spending on ads shockingly proving that r.t. uses social media and buys advertisements. facebook released similar findings earlier revealing four hundred seventy in authentic accounts then admitted most ads run by those accounts didn't even reference the u.s. presidential election at all so the kremlin is so sneaky that it was able to rig an election without mentioning the actual election pretty impressive facebook also said russia spent one hundred thousand dollars on those ads and other words less than one percent of how much candidates spent campaigning on facebook. while stories of how moscow sway u.s.

voters with a bunch of social media ads continue to dominate the mainstream media the most shocking social network right. lation is all but ignored what he weeks has posted an email conversation in which facebook's chief operating officer seemingly proposes helping hillary clinton's campaign head. i still want hillary rodham clinton to win badly i'm still here to help as i can i'm thrilled at the progress hillary's making things and supports looking forward to working with the first woman president of the united states. google is also accused of having close ties to the clinton camp a leaked memo written by clinton's digital strategist surfaced online in it he talks about eric schmidt boss of google's parent company and the work that he's done for clinton i have been kept apprised of the work being done by eric schmidt's group and others working directly and indirectly with your team on the whole i am comfortable with where we stand and confident in our roadmap to launch day and

beyond but if you're waiting for these special committees and investigations to be set up into whether facebook or google actually help the clinton camp don't hold your breath just in case but i think it's a witch i think they don't care about what hillary was doing and they want to their very biased against that from pain so far they haven't showed me and that was a that was a pro trump that was paid for by the russian government i just see what's happening in this post-election period as a result of a bunch of sore losers that were shocked that they didn't win the election but i think that the responsibility for us ought to be is what has our government done has our government been involved after they're in power and unfortunately we're involved too much around the world. also this week one of the big allegations against russia took a major blow with three u.s. states saying the department of homeland security provided them with both

information that the h.s. earlier told twenty one states their systems and been hacked during the election but the three states in question said that the information was not timely ney's but also wrong and that the agency should apologize but it seems news of alleged russian meddling just won't go away everyone and everything it seems is being accused of having connections to moscow including reddit the drudge report website and even the n.f.l. scandal caleb moore can also new yorkers if they could distinguish real from made up accusations against russia which scandal was said to be the result of russian trolls by a u.s. senator was it a n.f.l. players not standing up for the pledge or for the flag was it be confederate monuments or c. the california independence movement california to find its way a you're right see because i don't know i really don't know do you believe that kid who is a russian agent is it alexander ovechkin matt drudge or tom cruise tom

cruise no doubt us a b. and you're right which is used as a tool for russian propaganda according to this same u.s. senator is it a fox news be read it or see snap chat. read it yeah you're right about that i would say b. and that's what yeah the same guy said that read it down right now do you buy this idea that rush is everywhere russian trolls or influence. do you buy that i think it's all over the internet so it has to be true the country prefers to quick explanations without any facts we discuss the recent allegations with media analysts line along brant budowsky a columnist for the hill news website. it's troubling to most americans here is that the latest example involves playing race cards in american politics from some russian sources to try to divide americans there are allegations with some that

didn't at this point who are the russians russian government russian people people who speak russian what we don't know anti fracking and black lives matter how is that going to help donald trump oh i know because it causes chaos details don't matter just mentioned russia mentioned r.t. and we're off and running president putin and everyone else knows the exact truth the whole truth about what happens when it. is to stop it stop whether anyone will admit it or not is not stop stop interfering in the american system stop promoting racism or racial division promoting any political candidate or party in the united states by not doing the things that were on the news now that they are doing one question what is the what is the best evidence you have take all the time you want the best evidence you have of anything that you have attempted to accuse russia of

you know the senate intelligence committee democrats and republicans in the f.b.i. every law enforcement agency every count of intelligence agency in america many many and most republican senators and republican members of congress republican and i'm a liberal democrat republican agree with every word i just said about what russia has done i'm trying so hard to play along i swear to you i'm not trying to be don i don't understand what if somebody were to pay an ad for black eyes matter n.f.l. boycott whatever it is so what if they were to buy an ad that is on the news already how is the russian buyout story somehow worse deeper affecting people more than the other story i'm hearing ten thousand times on ten thousand other platforms. well have more on our breaking news story as police continue to crack down on voters in house alone often

a short break stay with us. in case you're new to the game this is how. the economy is built around corporation corporations from washington to washington the media the media the. voters elected the businessman to run this country business if. you must it's not business as usual it's business like it's never been done before. local blogs sell you on the idea that dropping bombs brings police to the chicken hawks forcing you to fight the battles that still. produce offspring to tell you

that every gossip and tabloid lifestyle for years to get. off the bad guys and tell me you are not cool enough to buy their product. is all the hawks to me along the border. the old hello welcome back well we're continuing to bring you the latest on our breaking news from catalonia where voting on independence from spain is now underway several people have been injured in clashes with military police civil guard officers have forced their way into polling stations across the region they've broken down doors as activists tried to prevent them from entering with a number of people dragged away quite aggressively by offices. thank you ok. all right thank you ok.

ok. ok ok. he was. in a cafe spanish police detaining protesters who were blocking the way for police vehicles civil guard offices in riots get can be seen driving away papal sitting in the road scuffle couples are about to between the protesters and the police that we cannot cross live to our correspondent dana cotton of a who's a polling station in boston learned she's been bringing us the latest throughout the day medina it's been just over three hours since polling stations opens can you bring us up to speed on the latest please. while

the situation trying to violence really quick as soon as the polling stations got opened now before that the atmosphere and still average single polling station a meaning a school building was quite friendly people were gathering there and started to gather there in the middle of the night and sound were even sleeping there and spending their nights there just to protect the school building from being shot down by police security by police forces now right after the palling station she got opened. spanish authorities show police forces raided the buildings of the school and they used the violence against the citizens against the citizens of different neighborhoods around the area of cuts a line and especially here in the capital city of wasilla now we're standing in one of those neighborhoods where the palling stations are still open to a word people are still here and we do know that in just two blocks away from here there was some violent clashes between citizens and please.