big business against. almost half a million people protesting in catalonia as madrid decides to impose direct rule. key officials and call for a regional election. he has been under scrutiny with. britain's times newspaper. all slamming this channel and. the pentagon hails the liberation of the syrian city of rocket from islamic state by u.s. backed opposition forces though the city has been left in ruins. broadcasting

live. in the week's top stories with our weekly program this is. now hundreds of thousands of people have been on the streets of catalonia expressing their support for or opposition to the move for independence it follows madrid's decision to impose a direct role and strip the local government of its powers spanish government is also calling for a regional election within six months leaders have branded the move a coup. but you have to know this measure we are going to implement has a lot to do with the goal of holding an election in catalonia the region will have to hold an election within six months but mine tension is to hold it as soon as we recover. the spanish government has carried out the worst attack against scotland institutions and residence since the orders of the military dictator francisco franco we. were hawaii in

a greatly irresponsible act christ all boundaries band asking and effect a coup d'etat to ask the democratically elected government. of powers to madrid and the dismissing of officials alleged to have broken the law is expected to be approved by the senate within days and while the cattle on parliament will not be dissolved it will now be stripped of its capacity to elect a president. protests continue in the streets of wasilla and across the region of council anya now people that gathered here in this area of the city earlier well they were against the independence and many of them were from different a union shops the region now they came here this sunday with their families and with their friends they brought flags shelf spain and they were shouting slogans including out of a spine you know which means a long live spain at the same time on saturday we saw tans of thousands of either

a protest or is that also a ticket to the streets of boston lawn and they were supporting independence and they were supporting the results of the referendum that took place on the first of october now all these people now feel that they are. it will in no way stuck in a state of limbo and at least for the next six months now we managed to speak to some of them here in the streets of barcelona and. it's nonsense that the council in the region wants to become independent it's about territorial unity formed in the roman times spanish unity is worth fighting for against the nonsensical actions of the council on board was eat me though we've come here to honor and express respect to the spanish on forces because they're insulted and blamed in catalonia the children of the civil god and national police offices are told in school that their fathers to reduce the spanish constitution does not forsee any referendum because it's illegal and most of all it doesn't foresee

a referendum to break up spain for centuries spain was one it won't break up to do the will of criminals poesy differing mood among people industries and a lot of uncertainty really old this shows a deep crisis that the region is at the moment and it is indeed the biggest constitutional crisis this country has seen in decades now many believe that the inability to really go. ways out of the situation between the spanish government and the a local catalan officials outlets to this particular situation to this crisis now spanish government gave the catch a leader up until last thursday to back away from proclaiming independence out or to be ready to face the possibility of a direct rule coming from a treat. catalan as story it is that kept confirming the independence however at the same time they're also kept suspending the declaration of independence and all

these allowed to the events of saturday when the spanish government and nouns that it is in vogue king article one fifty five of the constitution for the first time avar and this measure can only be applied if a regional government does not comply with the obligations of the constitution so now spanish prime minister calling for a snap elections to take place in this region within the next six months he is also calling for the dismissal of the local government asked the local government allowed to this crisis but important detail is that all these measures should first be approved by the majority of the spanish senate but nonetheless what we're witnessing here is a big crisis not only a constitutional crisis but also a crisis within the the nation within the catalan people who spoke to thomas harrington a professor of iberian studies he says exerting this kind of pressure in a democratic country is not legitimate. what is the role of force in elective

democracies in the twenty first century. i think the consensus of the cattle on site is a very strong one and i can't imagine that the people who are rightfully elected in the september two thousand and fifteen elections going along with a new election after the government that they were elected to form part of is is overthrown by the central of artes and i think president bush among makes a very compelling fight when he says well if this can be done to us what other things can be done to other people if you're going to sit by and let it happen throughout the week in madrid has been tightening its grip over count along at last monday to independence leaders were arrested for the roles that they played in organizing the referendum one of them is the leader of the catalog national assembly the other is the president of an organization that promotes the council on language and culture since then barcelona has seen even bigger demonstrations uniting hundreds of thousands of people thank. you

thank. god. god. god. was. back always i'm going to pick that up sock one of us has god was that it's now take a look at how spain has been cracking down on catalonia has pushed for independence .

to those in charge in the council and government who are the protagonist in this challenge to walk coexistence i ask them to cease illegal activities they should abandon their objectives. we are now applying to one five five because no government to talk in

a democratic country can accept that the law will be ignored violated or changed and this has all happened under false criteria and they impose that criteria on everybody else. well hot on the heels of catalonia referendum to break away two major and regions have finished voting for greater autonomy on sunday the regions leaders explain how they see the stark ballot. we want to overcome the inability of europe just solve problems and face up to them by offering a new dimension we want to a more united stronger europe one that takes into account the specifics of territories this is what can be simply called the europe of regions. page of history will be written in any case village so will be the see before we want to initiate this in the amount of the democratic and compatible in line with the constitution these are the areas first referendums of their kind and with more than

fifty percent turnout in veneto the vote is considered valid although the votes are non-binding meaning that they won't change any powers they are expected to send a signal from locals unhappy at having to subsidise the poorer parts of the country and referendum on a greater autonomy has been much anticipated in both regions for more than sixteen years now the metal and lombardy are two of italy's economic powerhouses together both regions account for almost a third of italy's g.d.p. and almost a quarter of the nation's electorate they are home and two top tourism industry hot spots including milan and venice we spoke to university of milan politics professor marco but sunny he believes history has been made here. we are witnessing for the very first time people that go to the polls are asking or rather negotiate and i would they have more autonomy we just want more autonomy we want

more of our money in our regions and never happened before why the birds were just fiscal slaves of the rest of the country so we're failing to people the nations and . and a for the very first time i say no we don't like it it's going to be a big change it's going to just put the issue all the north back into the political discussion so first right now it's a call from all our autonomy that is we want to keep more of a money on this it's not clear from the legal point of view or constitutional point to be how it's going to happen but from the symbolic point of view it was incredible you know more i guess to not have more than sixty percent of the damage to people maybe forty five fifty percent of the lombards will have voted for that so that's really a very clear sign in national politics islamic states itself reclaim capital of rock i was liberated this week but there was a heavy price to pay that story and much more after

a short break to watching our two international and the weekly. one else seems wrong. just don't call. me all the things you have to say pal it just they become educated and it gets really equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground. but will these again in a moment you say are working but do they are damaging both sides it gets to the reality. of damaging the russian economy and the russian the financial system and i know a lot of people who are looking for creative ways to get better results. and

welcome back this is the weekly right here on our t.v. international now r t has faced a week of intense scrutiny with this channel coming under sustained attack for what critics call its kremlin propaganda. r.t. has been in the spotlight for a while under fire from government officials the media even think tanks here are some recent highlights. boris johnson led the charge in the u.k. house of commons with an attack on opposition m.p.'s who've appeared on this

channel if you study the output of russia today it is a scandal it is a scandal that members of the party opposite are continuing to to validate the date and to meet. that kind of propaganda by going on those programs but some of his fierce criticism of the foreign secretary of peers to have missed out a bit of important information his own conservative colleagues have also appeared as guests on the channel as well as someone closer to home his own father stanley johnson was interviewed by going on the ground i was. just last month. at. the times newspaper claims there are now calls by the labor party for the u.k. media watchdog to investigate artie's advertising campaign on the london underground they even contacted us for our take on the matter later saying our press office refused to comment except we did two questions do you wish to

respond to this complaint which advertising agency created the adverts for r t what were they made in-house. high probably not much point in responding to a complaint to an authority that does not regulate out of two advertising the out campaign was develop. in house by the other team and fully proved by all u.k. vendettas we are glad to say many in the u.k. are engaging with our advertising understood thanks for swift response. and it gets better one thing tank recently completed the mom of the task of compiling a list of all the thousands of guests who've appeared all our shows ever from politicians and journalists to academics and thirties and even groups them into

categories and then dismisses them as useful idiots many people in europe and the us including politicians and of the persons of influence continue to exhibit troubling naivety about r.t.s. political agenda these useful idiots remain oblivious to r.t.c. intentions and beast its legitimacy by granting interviews on the shows and news casts so only useful idiot list john mccain one of the most vocal critics of russia even film director rob reiner gets a mention in the celebrity section he's now part of an organization called the committee to investigate russia as not to mention u.s. senator and former presidential candidate bernie sanders as well as none other than the current american president donald trump i guess that's finally the smoking gun of russian election influence former first lady michelle obama gets a mention although her name only appears in the program description she was never an actual guest checking the episodes would have confirmed this back to boris

johnson himself he's listed on the reports official guest list taken from web site descriptions for the comedy show news thing well they may want to double check that one as well it's pouring johnson. welcome here. are we going to get a chance to fight the spanish before america and russia kill us so. you saw. a portion of the reporters sponsored by george soros as well as the u.k. and u.s. embassies in the czech republic it certainly spares no criticism of those giving interviews on this channel. we decided to ask some of our guests that were mentioned in the list of useful it is what they think about that description. development is somehow trash it gets more and more aggressive across europe the

political debates and one of these games they are playing. they are destroying the reputation of politicians they don't like i don't think that it's fair to say that we are simply here is russian stooges i am not anti russian but sometimes i'm quite critical of russia over syria and over the detention of political prisoners like dad and others. you know of course everybody has their agendas but i think it has certainly not tried to constrain my expression or the expression of many other people i know i work with a network we speak our mind and we're critical of the west when it's appropriate and were critical of russia when it's appropriate. the reality is there is a dissident voice in the u.k. the only very rarely gets any airtime in the mainstream media. is the only place that has been providing a regular platform for what used to be dissident voices in the u.k.

but now much more mainstream voices. this week at the pentagon confirmed a victory for coalition led kurdish troops fighting islamic state in the syrian city of raka the defense department in the operation as a significant breakthrough. we're having a great success against what was once known as the core caliphate iraq in syria and now we're actually in the beginning i think the stone age and watch for the caliphate is morocco. however the latest pictures from iraq show that despite the victory it is now a virtual ghost town the destruction you see here was caused by eisel militia shelling and coalition airstrikes agencies also say huge effort will be needed to end the city's humanitarian crisis eisel claimed as a defacto capital in two thousand and fourteen the first major offensive against the terrorists there began two years later it used to be one of syria's largest cities but now it is mainly in ruins. but.

recently called nation after losses were ready to demolish the whole building to target one member of i say they have no problem killing civilians. we ran from death and fear any human being would be afraid the sound of the planes makes us afraid they were shelling the civilians destroying buildings their houses rakhal was destroyed by coalition aircraft only ten percent hit their targets the rest hit civilians. the un estimates that's an average of twenty seven people are being killed in iraq every day. and they seem to be no really the

scapegoat for these civilians their level of suffering friends relatives family of the children it's actually. it's just targeting. the humanitarian relief teams are only now beginning to arrive there has been a destruction in the larger supply there is a political mission of food because of course the area was under siege for such a long time there is a severe lack of medical services medical care hospitals that are functioning a severe lack of blood of course and so there is a massive massive humanitarian need on the ground. the french parliament has adopted a controversial counter-terror bill giving increased powers to security services

the new law is drawing. widescale criticism from rights advocates who fear it will curb civil liberties the police will now have even greater powers to search homes without a warrant and conduct to stop and search operations on the streets the law also lets authorities wiretap communications more easily including phones and e-mail places of worship suspected of being extremism may also be temporarily shut down the architect of the law is the president himself he says this is an alternative to the current state of emergency which has already been extended six times. want to secure the anti terror draft law on the reinforcement of internal security has been adopted by a parliamentary majority and it will come into power in november the first when the state of emergency expires the state of emergency was effect however we've seen in recent months that unfortunately doesn't protect us from the reality of certain facts because any state of emergency can protect us and totally reduce the threat

of france's state of emergency is due to be lifted at the beginning of next month it was first issued following the terrorist attacks in paris in two thousand and fifteen but many fear the new move encroaches on even more basic freedoms we gauge the reaction on the streets of paris and. no i don't agree with it and i'm sure we can do things differently i don't think it is the way to solve the problem of terrorism. i think that when you look for something to have real reasons for doing so me personally am not against it. but i really don't think it will help to fight any terrorists it will only harm personal freedom and i believe it is designed more to control the people. i think we were to have the means to control people there are already laws in place we know we are in the control and i phones are being monitored if they were now able to get into our apartments i don't believe the goal is fighting terror. earlier the un also slammed the anti terror

bill it warned of the measures if implemented would limit freedoms in french society political analyst dan glazebrook warns that without policy changes the new law will not be enough. and deal with the root causes which is the brutal foreign policy on the one hand and then the alienation of entire communities systematic institutional discrimination racism on the other hand if you're not going to deal with those even the most vicious police state will not be able to stop being some people who decides to lash out unfortunately at the you're never going to be able to keep your population one hundred percent safe because your whole farm policy is about setting fire to two other countries that does it for me this hour i'll be back in about thirty five minutes with a full look at your news watching the weekly right here on our two international stay with.

you guys i made a professional is powerpoint to show you how artsy america it's good for the greater media landscape is not all laughter all right but we are a solid alternative to the bullshit that we don't skew liberal or conservative and as you can see from this bar graph we don't skew the facts either talking at lefties talking at righties oh there you go above it all look out world is in the spotlight now every glee i have no idea how to classify is not actually took me way more time than i care to admit there's a real irony going. away from the point where it's always well that's what. it always. seems. wholesale surveillance you feel you have all meanwhile as soon. as the interim has used the social new oil and always on the story goes it's garbage in real jenny.

what politicians do you should continue to. put themselves on the line to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president the interim. i want to be rich. but you're going to be the first to see what before three in the morning can't be good. i'm interested always in the waters in the house. there should be. your launching an r t america special report when they love him the spuds you installed me as well that's but basically everything that you think you know about civil society have broken down. there's always going to be somebody else one step ahead of the game. we should not be the smallest of the normalising pile. we don't need people that think like this on our planet. this is an incredibly tense situation.

watch the hawks founded by three young americans who love their country but we have to constantly question our government watching the hawks brings the stories the give voice to the voice as we dig a little deeper we get the stories of the average one else is afraid to touch is afraid to talk about because they don't want to upset their corporate sponsors or interrupt their government access now is the time more than ever but we may need to question more. we're in this post truth world bird world words have to matter again it's about educating people and giving them contacts instead of telling them what to make dialogue is far more valuable than debate.

my parents only one this is america's lawyer recently news broke that film producer in hollywood studio film executive. harvey weinstein had been sexually assaulting women for years using his position power is a way to keep victims quiet is the story unfolded a clearer picture of serial sexual abuser emerged and why scene was forced out of the company that he founded the biggest question is why it took so long for these revelations to come forward when so many people in hollywood were clearly aware of what was going on so that will give you some insight into the mind of a predator like weinstein and call out the people that helped him cover up his history of sexual assault everything in hollywood is far from glitter and gold and later in the show all talk to you about the reasons in d.c. block the reporter from publishing the facts about weinstein sexual predatory

behavior leading young female actresses and models without a voice in it all is all about money so don't go anywhere america's lawyers start now. or. just a few weeks ago the name harvey weinstein wasn't even close to being a household name even though he had been a major hollywood player since the 1980's weinstein was a film producer in a studio executive who co-founded miramax and later formed the weinstein company weinstein had worked on films like pulp fiction and the english patient and good will hunting and during this time not many people outside of hollywood even knew or cared who weinstein was but then on october fifth the new york times ran a massive investigative piece on the.