i. will be a peace talks involving the warring sides and world leaders create a new mechanism for a lasting cease fire we look at whether the plan can hold. the belgian doctors face criminal charges for approving the euthanasia of a woman with a psychiatric disorder in the 1st such trials since the procedure was legalized at the start of the century. and the u.s. state of virginia declares a state of emergency and bans weapons ahead of a gun rights rally warning of a credible threat by. either

thanks for joining us this is our international. burling conference has raised the glimmer of hope for peace in war torn libya world leaders pledged to respect an arms embargo blocked military support to all parties in the conflict german foreign minister mass was cautiously optimistic. we have achieved objectives that we sent for this conference we now have the in our hands to solve the conflicts now we have to do is used to ski. this or that mass was talking about the may have been eased open by meetings handshakes and smiles between leaders who have not always seen eye to eye the 55 article final agreement calls for a lasting cease fire as well as to rekindle the political process attendees stressed again that there can be no military solution to the conflict the document

also mentioned the need for security and economic reforms on the ground the u.n. secretary general attending the talks warned that nothing would work without a functioning truce. 1st we need to have a ceasefire you cannot monitor something that doesn't exist so we need to have a ceasefire and we have a truce and one simple question is that all the participants to date to meet it to support the ceasefire and committed to put pressure on the parties to the conflict for the full ceasefire to be reached the 2 major warring factions head of the un backed government fires are military strongman khalifa haftar were both present however there was no direct contact between them and all communication was carried out through proxies and in direct conversations that didn't escape the attention of russia's top diplomat who was that. generally we think the conference was useful it's clear that the final decision is up to the libyans it's also clear

that so far stable dialogue between the warring parties is under reachable the differences of approach to great seal the suggestions the final document contains contribute to creating appropriate conditions for both sides to sit and talk or some politicians seem optimistic about the summit experts told us it's too early to guarantee a lasting peace in the appear at least for now. bill danger is the main virtue of these talks has been that the external actors will be able to move to agree but as we've heard the 2 main rivals couldn't speak face to face let alone agree and secondly there are perhaps 30 different subgroups fighting on the ground so that if maybe there was going to a cease fire that holds it could possibly be in the interests of both sides getting their various cohorts to us is not has not been easy so far off and there is the danger that each side who are looking to move or for getting international credibility in could or spy saying we're trying to keep the ceasefire but the

others are breaking it at the end of the day we're looking at a cease fire that's all we hope for but this is not going to east it's not going to really stop all out war we're talking about a cease fire a hold to a cease fire which is not happening today we can have a road map we can have a process for we have. more blandish not the forces dissemination let alone some level of governance that the 2 parties can work with so it's can be very difficult a long long way ahead we are in the early early stages of potentially what potentially help them for libya. a landmark test case for euthanasia rules is unfolding in belgium where for the 1st time since the practice was legalized 3 doctors face criminal charges prosecutors allege they illegally entered the life of a 38 year old woman the woman's family says that they've been broken by her death scott taylor has more. on christmas eve in 2937 year old teen nased

told her family she wanted to be euthanized but while teen suffering might have ended several months later in a clinic in the flemish city of get and that of her family is still ongoing because the 3 doctors who were involved are now on trial for her mother this will be belgium's fust criminal case concerning euthanasia since the practice was legalized back in 2002 which accounts for an average of 6 deaths as day the doctors insist they acted in good faith and are unfairly being painted as murderous but the hiring account teen sisters give of that fateful day raises questions over the competence and motives of the medical professionals. who likened her death to that of a pattern that is and p. and is having a shot. when

she died he asked all parents if they wanted to listen through the stones code to check her heart had actually stopped beating. belgium is only one of 2 countries which allows for euthanasia on psychiatric grounds and sees people suffering from depression gender identity issues and an erect resort to this so-called must see killing 2 months before her death as is required by your teen went to the psychiatry list doctor point who diagnosed her with a mild form of autism teen's family protest this diagnosis adamant she was simply suffering heartbreak and distress after a failed relationship. she knew that if she wasn't diagnosed with autism or asperger's she would have no chance of being euthanized as such they say the key

legal requirement that a patient be incurably ill was not met and so by injecting her with that lethal dose she was poisoned really confused by the diagnosis and in this particular psychiatrists solution of suicide it just doesn't it doesn't fit together for me i think that there is a danger especially from a mental health perspective when people play god is so to speak when we're making decisions now about life and death or when other people are making decisions about when to in their life based on things that can be fixed pretty easily in some cases mental illnesses autism is certainly very treatable one of my child has some mild autistic manifestations and we get through those you know it's certainly not a reason to kill someone or to commit suicide but this was far from the only irregularity they noted and when they launched

a complaint the doctors allegedly tried to block the investigation with the psychiatry even hitting back at the grieving family we must try to stop these people. it is a seriously dysfunctional one detroit family with very little empathy and respect for others this is not the fust time psychiatry to diagnose teen has come under scrutiny but in 27000 documents revealed the head of belgium's euthanasia review commission was concerned dr 10 point wasn't fulfilling all necessary equal conditions relations soured so much that he refused to accept any father patients referred by doc to temp aren't her colleagues are also worried that she's allegedly approved around a 3rd of all euthanasia cases for psychiatric reasons in the whole country she is not really a great person to go to in terms of her judgment for this kind of medical procedure

she has a personal and are for looking at euthanasia as a as a solution for these patients so perhaps patients seek her out when for the like this happens it just happens to be too much of this about one particular physician and that's why she's being called into question by 9 other psychiatrist in her own field in belgium that she's doing something wrong so clearly there's some more investigation we need to learn more about this particular psychiatrist and this particular event others have said dr 10 point doesn't expel treatment options available before granting euthanasia an allegation backed by teen sistas. instead of trying to go team to a better life team was deliberately led to death and pushed without the reasonable treatment options being exhausted and consequently without suffering being relieved the question is whose interest was paramount in this process the interest of team or the interest of others euthanasia is legal in just 5 countries and is one of the

most controversial practices globally stories like the teams reveal just how difficult it is to ensure that people's desire for personal freedom isn't tragically misinterpreted and abused we actually have to import the psychologist standing trial in the euthanasia case for a response she told us she cannot comment at this time all 3 doctors deny the charges. prosecutors have launched an inquiry after footage of a riot officer beating a protester went viral. good sense is not going to show you i. was in my. room. yelling at the other 2 like you because i just did that. i was. to france also filmed the aftermath of the incident at the yellow vests rally in paris on saturday and police tried to stop protesters getting close to the officer

was punching the man on the ground the latest in the line of accusations against police of the protests with another case already probing claims rubber bullets were fired at point blank range for the latest march in paris people expressed fury at the government's pension reform plans with clashes erupting between police and demonstrators a strike by public transport workers over the reformist called chaos to the capital for almost 2 months despite the government's promise to compromise agreeing to drop some of the most controversial aspects of the plans its plan with middle america which told us that much of the media ignores the violence by police and the demonstration. of different demonstrations that we've had past years have always been tearing up with violence there's extreme violence in the mainstream media and we only see the violence of the demonstrators and very rarely the violence of police forces and this is has this has become a very big issue in france where people from the left out from the right just don't

understand what's going on we've seen this practically every weekend through the you know best demonstrations this is one of the methods this is one of the many methods police are using today and it's quite paradoxical because french police was known in the past for being one of the police in europe in the world not using violence it was a french method of controlling demonstrations and then you can even when demonstrations were getting out of hand and this clearly shows that this is part of the past and they knew that this means policing extreme violence against demonstrators. the u.s. state of virginia has announced a state of emergency and firearms ban ahead of a gun rights rally monday's event seen as a credible threat by the government thousands of armed people plan to attend get more penthouse details. as the 2020 alexion get closer there's a lot more dividing america than just political personalities in virginia the issue of firearms and state regulations who can buy or own one is a big point of contention.

the claim that universal background checks are supposed to stop criminals from getting access to firearms this focus in reality they only restrict you'll feel going to discourage gun ownership and turn otherwise law abiding people into unwitting felons. in states that have these laws most of the geishas have resulted in middle of the night rates where gun owners have been killed or have their guns confiscated so on january 20th gun activists are having a rally demanding their right to bear arms under the us constitution and local authorities are cracking down saying that no guns may be present at the rally the prohibition is temporary and it will expire on tuesday after the rally and those

who would bring violence into virginia have left and returned to where they came from now local gun activists say this is an absurd restriction after all what is the point of having a gun if you can't have it on your person in order to protect yourself especially at a heated political rally where things might get rough they blame this restriction on the democratic party the governor and leadership of the democratic party have declared war on law abiding gun owners and they're tired of it it's basically people saying we're fed up we've had enough governor northam of virginia says it is absolutely necessary that there be no guns at the rally in order to protect public safety he's pointed out that militia groups have made statements about storming the state capital and other things that aren't exactly considered to be peaceful rhetoric no one wants another incident like the one we saw in charlottesville in 2017. we will not allow that made him and violence to happen

here. now gun activists say that their rights are being taken away they fear that gun access restrictions in virginia could soon spread to other states virginia is ground 0 for the 2nd amendment right now anti gunners want to take what they did here in virginia and and replicated in other gun friendly states there are some strong arguments on both sides if democrats oppose owning guns aren't they essentially going against the us constitution and various supreme court rulings that have said that owning a gun is a fundamental right for american citizens however isn't it

a bit on reasonable to expect that right wing activists should be allowed to walk around government buildings locked and loaded so sheriffs and virginia or elsewhere in the country have taken states is where they've openly publicly said they will not force what they view to be unconstitutional wall if you can't have universal background checks what is the use of having them to get into. you know we need a license to drive a car we need more safety and drive a car than to own a weapon that kills we have people in here there are collectors we have people in here that's just their that's their pastime that's what they do they don't have a criminal background they don't do anything wrong that is just how they choose to spend their money and their time i mean myself i just purchased a gun. you know. like a right to bear arms. should be for ever since the family business $66.00 were

staged. and they're all concerned victims of violent criminals will suffer under a new u.k. plans for rehabilitating perpetrators instead of jailing them story after the break . before george became. a. market manipulator and election he wrote a lot of interesting books and of course. rogers at the quantum fund which was one of the best performing hedge funds ever kind of invented the modern hedge fund and he's got a lot of things to say if you look at his old work and we're going to get into it. what politicians do. put themselves on the line they get accepted or rejected.

so when you want to be president and she. wanted. to go right to the press this is like the 43 in the morning can't be good. i'm interested always in the water. should. come back there are concerns that violent criminals in the u.k. will be left punished and the new plans for rehabilitation called tracks offenders with mental health or social problems could avoid jail if they successfully take 4 month rehabilitation programs but critics warn the victims of the crimes will

suffer. an important part of recovering from a crime can be take knowledge when the day our victim to whom the wrong has been done we would expect the feedback of victims involved in the pilots to be taken into account the full roll out the deferred prosecution scheme has already been trial didn't turn counties right across the country and could now be extended nationwide with the research indicating significant success participants must carry out 4 months of rehab to overcome underlying issues such as until health problems or drug addiction they must not reoffend in that period however different counties include different crimes in the scheme some only chose theft drug possession and 1st time offenses others though included more serious crimes such as assault domestic abuse burglary and criminal damage researchers claim that the new scheme is not only effective but also saves money. based on the people that the west midlands put into this experiment it seems

overwhelmingly the case that you are better off not prosecuting if you can get them into a proper offender management scheme that is a lot cheaper than prosecution and does more good or get opinion on the issue from political commentator andrew walker and human rights activist peter tatchell. the criminal justice system has 3 main targets to terence punishment and rehabilitation of those 3 the most important is of course rehabilitation when an offense has been committed because we don't want that person coming back into the criminal justice system we want to help enable them to get back as a law abiding citizen i do disagree with peter when he says that we have militated has to be the most important part of criminal justice i think polish that needs to be the most important part well i think it's one of those schemes that is very interesting re offending rates but doesn't do a great deal for victims i think the has to be an element of ensuring that people don't we have found there has to be an element of rehabilitation but also there has

to be a punishment for the crime looking at from the victim's point of view i think there are serious questions to be arsed and this this kind of scheme deserves consideration it's really sending rate is one 3rd of one 3rd less than the standard rate so i think it shows that these alternative methods do have a better success rates and those obviously good for the victims and for the wider society i think we do get it wrong in the united kingdom in terms of the amount of rehabilitation and education that we give to people convicted of crimes or accused of crimes thought we don't do enough for victims and one of the concerns i've got about this scheme is on some occasions it does not involve admitting guilt and can actually make it quite hard for victims to access things like compensation so fine about education fight about rehabilitation but we have to remember the punishment is important for victims as well. the un security council will convene monday after

russia's request to discuss the international chemical weapons watchdog report on the alleged chemical attack in civvies duma the work of the o.p.c. w fact finding mission into the april 28000 incidents been called into question after a series of expose there is published by wiki leaks one of the most damning and recent trove of documents was made public in late december it is done up as more. the o.p.c. w. is in crisis the body's image once pristine is now being crippled blow by blow or rather one leak after another and it's this video that could bring the eventual reputational disintegration of the watchdog. was. 4 the o.p.c. w. had been clear that it investigated the 20 team doomer attack analyzed this video 2 and the conclusion was unequivocal the syrian city was the site of

a chemical attack but apparently not according to the expertise of a toxicologist a pharmacologist and they by analytical chemist it was agreed among all present that the key takeaway message from the meeting was that the symptoms observed were inconsistent with exposure to chlorine and no other obvious candidate chemical causing the symptoms could be identified and there's another technical document that puts into jeopardy the official conclusion that the gas canister was dropped from above something the u.s. and its allies postulated before any investigation even took place and analysis suggested that it didn't which could mean only one thing someone deliberately placed this canister onto this bed someone who had unhindered access to the site in a fully rebel controlled area the o.p.c. w.

tried to cover up to expire into this expertise from existence not a wise move in the day and age when everything from nudes to president's conversations leaked online please get this document out of documents registry archives and please remove all traces of the deliberate storage would have been documents registry archives league documents. also mentioned dozens of o.p.c. w. employees questioning the professionalism of the investigation in which chemists apparently had less authority than american intelligence agents so much so that even a former director general of the o.p.c. w. felt like writing a letter to the body he used to steer. all of this barely scrapes the surface of just one link one trove of documents casting doubt upon the investigation one out of many to hit the o.p.c. w. over the duma verdict.

consensus really ever felt seen was that there were indications of serious inconsistency in the findings conclusion appears to turn completely in the position direction in the report. that the report does not reflect the views of the team members but deployed to do only one ever same team member a paramedic of the so-called if the same pool team was in dumont the effort from the people with employed the school team. the evidence of one among chemicals the container reacted weren't such chemicals to do group measuring radius of tells me they were in place bleach purposely singling

out chlorine gas is one of the possibilities is disingenuous. so for sure the watchdogs bosses have plenty to talk about though some might suspect it's not professionalism but rather honing of coverup skills that will top the agenda of this o.p.c. trouble you meeting. in other world news 5 people including a child have died after a hot water pipe exploded in the hotel in the central russian city of 6 of the south and burn injuries monday one is in serious condition in hospital. i. i and this time people report. it'll be the injuries in a new round of anti-government protests in the iraqi capital baghdad demonstrators tried to block major roads and to stop traffic on the eve of the deadline given to the government to make progress on reforms protesters waved iraqi flags as they

threw projectiles police responded with tear gas latest spate of a mess than iraq began in october a corruption and inequality $400.00 protesters have since been killed and thousands more injured in the rallies. i. finally thousands of italians gathered in belong on sunday to voice opposition to the conservative northern league party the saltines which organized the rally said 40000 to 10 did follow similar protests elsewhere in the country. club and you brought up today join me for more on our top stories in 30 minutes. the world is driven by dream shaped by one person.

thinks. we dare to ask. all my power to the kids in complete stable boy to night. people know who come to the. it's not. going to. get.

insured up to move this because a i'm not saying anything didn't show up just as the last. as i said it is not because i was it is it was. a 1000000. thanks. peter. hello and welcome to cross talk where all things are considered i'm peter lavelle

russian president vladimir putin has proposed some important political reforms what are they what are their significance and importantly why now and what about the claim of clinging to power. across talking some real news i'm joined by my guest he's a political analyst and editor and you know smee internet media project and in london we crossed alexander material he's a writer on legal affairs as well as in chief of the duran dot com our german crosstalk rose in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate i want to break up this program into 2 parts i want to talk about what these reforms are their significance and then i want to look at the critique in criticism of them on all sides ok let me 1st go to alexander macarius in london. this is a bombshell and really is what are the most important reforms. mentioned propose.