targeting heavily crowded areas in damascus we have one next to the main guard in damascus we have one close to a mosque and we have two. motives in damascus university and this one is the difficulty of it and it killed fifteen and it was twenty wanted and this massacre it also happened with another one that happened yesterday also with the shelling of . the state news agency and we have also a hospital that was shelled and you have many a situation that was shelled as a kind of a group of shooting of mortars all around damascus in order to make it to spread fear among the citizens of damascus we're seeing increasing violence now in the capital city and also understand more violence in the suburbs itself tell us more about what's happening just outside of the city. outside this it did out we can divide the step of the into two separate areas where it is completely save going on normally and we have one area school down a year where we have a big fighting going on for the last three months now it's heavy heavy heavy and heavy battles going on we have india that's going on from being cal

targeting heavily crowded areas in damascus we have one next to the main god in damascus we have one close to a mosque and we have two. motors in damascus university and this one is the difficulty of and it killed fifteen and it was twenty wanted and this massacre also happened with another one that we're shooting off. at the state news agency and we have also hospital that was shelled and you have many a situation that was shelled we have we have this that is addition of the. latest one that allows every state of the arab state to provide weapons to day to day bills simply without offending back to the arab league and without making any decision or going back to the need for the resolution from the arab league or any other institution and this means that it will get smaller planes from arab states like saudi arabia they used to give weapons but now they have a kind of legitimate cover in order to continue supporting this russia has stated clearly that. this kind of act is not. enough we continue and it's going to increase the bloodshed of. syria so it looks like syria's future is so

and so it was the return of authoritarianism. >> narrator: the damascus spring was over.six years later, another spring. when news of the successful revolts in tunisia and egypt spread, the long-oppressed sunni majority believed their time had finally come. in largely peaceful demonstrations across the country, syrians defied their president, in spite of increasingly brutal attacks by the police. the center of resistance was the town of hama, where bashar's father had famously crushed a sunni rebellion almost 30 years earlier. >> the regime has a playbook. if you're faced with a crisis, go back to the playbook and see what we did the last time we got through a crisis. so the last time they got through a similar crisis was hama. so you have a protest. you have an uprising. you suppress it. the playbook does not say negotiate with the protesters, so there's no negotiation. >> that one very high-ranking turkish official told me that what's going on inside the leadership is that bashar's mother herself is telling him that these are the same events, that they remind her of wha

the fighting intensifies in damascus, all commercial flights are canceled from the main airport. russians had to come off fort as cyprus gets a cash bail out. >> i felt i had a duty to help my fellow citizens. >> a woman on a mission, meet the new attorney general in south america's most dangerous countries. voting, has finished the referendum expected to approve a new constitution. it was a condition of the power- sharing deal between morgan tsvangirai and robert mugabe. it would only be allowed to have to get the 05-year terms. he could still serve another two terms in office despite being in power since 1980. the loss to be stopped from vetoing legislation. the role of prime minister would be scrapped and replaced with two out vice-president. >> robert mugabe votes on the draft constitution. that is not allowed. we want peace in the country. >> the prime minister morgan tsvangirai party says an official was adopted by state security agents. she hopes the referendum will lead to a better zimbabwe. -- she cast her ballot. she surprised about how peaceful things seem. >> no one i

joel rosenberg's damascus countdown is about an islamic messiah determined to destroy israel. gary lane asked joel about his new book, as well as iran's real-life christians and the trials they face. >> what about the christians there, and what is happening to them? >> one of the things i wanted to do with the book is sort of highlight that there are muslims coming to faith in jesus christ, but under extraordinary circumstances. but it is not fictctn. it is real. and what pastor abedini's story tells us is that this is a very serious crackdown that the iranian regime is making, not just on christians generally, but they're trying to crack down primarily on the pastors, believing if they could crack this system of house churches, that they'll be able to rip up and destroy these networks and sort of crush christianity. but the lord is showing the people of iran that shi'a radical islam in its purest form is not the answer. it is creating the perfect storm of conditions for muslims to look elsewhere for hope, for truth, and many are coming to christ as a result. the lord never te

is pulling out many of its personnel from damascus.h noting we have not seep assad, the president, for quite a queue days. there -- a few days there was a video allegedly showing him meeting some of the syrian people. we can't confirm when that video was shot but its worth noting, he, too, appears to be laying low for whatever reason right now. >> shepard: let's bring in michael ohandlan. specialeess in defense and foreign policy. >> hi. >> shepard: where are we now in this conflict? >> i think you and jonathan have been summarizing it well. you can say the insurgents have some momentum but everytime you feel like you make that case they suffer a setback or we're remind of their fractious nature, and the regime is still get can weapons from iran and i'm not seeing we're seeing a shift in. i it's a stalemate with successes on either side. the insurgents are doing a little better but not persuasive they'll take the country or drive assad from power. i hope sew but have not seen enough evidence. this could be a settling into a long situat

the funeral of an influential supporter of the syrian president is taking place in damascus. he was a senior cleric, well known to syrians. he was killed in a suicide attack in a mosque on thursday. the government has blamed opposition fighters for the attack. we go live now to beirut. tell us about the funeral and how it went. very prominenta figure. oft to show how prominent, the most 500 influential muslims in the world, he is ranked 23rd. he is very highly regarded and considered an independent figure. that is why in his funeral, which you are looking at pictures of right now, most of those people who are speaking are very much giving him a lot of praise that you do not see for many other clerics. what makes it significant is that he is a sunni cleric of kurdish origin, and he still supports president assad, and he was a very big supporter of his presidents before him. their strong opponent to the muslim brotherhood in syria for many years. his assassination has been condemned not only by those who support the government but also those in the opposition politically. they

gazans in damascus attend the funeral of a prominent sunni preacher killed in a suicide attack on a packed mosque on thursday but also claims of the lives of forty eight of us. boosting political and energy times china has a new president's first overseas trip as caesar the signing of multibillion dollar deals with russia this is beijing seeks a partnership to counterbalance you as global influence. live from moscow this is archie with me to bob would say it's good to have your company with us today. in a last ditch attempt to rescue cypress a from bankruptcy president. says heading to brussels to meet e.u. officials that's as his country struggles to meet the conditions for a ten billion euro bailout the super parliament has ponce a number of bills covering key elements of the rescue plan but that wasn't enough which is that is why the troika officials cyprus has had to deliver a decision on the plan that most controversial aspects proposed tax on bank deposits which just spot an outrage and panic across the nation the deadline is on monday when the european central bank warns it will cut

is with me now hi there we just heard reports as well loyalist clerics being killed in a blast in damascus small screen position when times get invited to an arab league meeting and cattle to talk about its role in syria's future was this latest rebel priorities you think. well the mainstream media will have difficulty in reporting that one kevin because this is a sunni cleric who is pro by sharia law yes he's been killed in november square in the mustard district of damascus reports started coming in in the past ten to twenty minutes ago so we're very sketchy reporting at the moment that twenty get is the figure that state syrian t.v. is giving so how is it that the anglo-french should we call them backed. rebels are they rebels are they terrorists those that want to overthrow president assad how is it that they're going around killing sunni clerics in a mosque in damascus perhaps they won't even be able to report about it at all because it's so against the mainstream media's idea of sectarian eyes in syria between shias and sunnis course ocean all eyes now on this new u.n. sponsored inve

of other top stories from us thousands in damascus attend the funeral of a problem so the preach it killed in a suicide attack on a packed mosque on thursday the also claimed the lives of forty eight others live comment on that coming up this hour. and strengthening the alliance the new chinese president's first overseas trip sees the signing of multibillion dollar energy deals with russia this is beijing seeks partnerships to counterbalance u.s. global influence. low they're very good evening if you think it was a little bit dark here then it was because we like a lot of other millions of people in fact from the rest the world in the middle of earth we've got to break it to broadcast the news to you but moscow is still in it for about an hour it's nine pm here we've been turning off the lights in solidarity of the world wildlife fund conservation hour as a saver to break it for a bit but the rest of moscow is in darkness at the moment let's show you some landmarks this is the normally lit up kremlin beautifully lit up normally but look at the scene there now this is all to show solidarity

activists say amateur pictures show tanks in this town southwest of damascus. rebels briefly took control last year, but it has since come under intense shelling by the military. other internet pictures reportedly showed damage after the government's artillery shells in an area of the bacchus province -- of damascus province. 's opposition has elected a new interim prime minister who it hopes will unify the area. ghassan hitto's first task will be to form a cabinet. who is he? used is 50 years old and to be an it manager. he is american educated and has u.s. citizenship. he moved to turkey to coordinate opposition aid. >> syria's new prime minister, as far as the opposition in exile as well as their international supporters are concerned. ghassan hitto's first priority, forming a cabinet. based inside syria, the interim government will need to establish legitimacy with people living in the 60% of the country estimated to be under assad forces.ti- >> tomorrow there will be a speech, and you will hear in introduction of the highlights .f the plan for the near fut

. >> meanwhile, the fighting continues, especially in the capital of damascus which is 18 battleground of the country's a civil war. >> the un is pulling half of its 100-member stepped out of that city as the violence increases. >> rebels have been firing mortars right into the heart of damascus. forces hit back, attacking rebel-held areas. so far, the government has held control of central damascus but the capital is now beginning to see the violence that has laid waste to other parts of syria. in the east of the country, the opposition had a setback. the founder of the free syrian army narrowly survived in suspected assassination attempt. he is being transferred to turkey for treatment. off the battlefield, the syrian opposition is being pulled apart by deep political provisions. the head of the coalition resigned on sunday, apparently frustrated by internal power struggles. the recently elected prime minister lacks unanimous backing from within the opposition ranks. these developments are being watched with concern abroad. >> on the one hand, we hope that the opposition pulls togeth

. >> meanwhile, the fighting continues, especially in the capital of damascus which is 18 battleground of the country's a civil war. >> the un is pulling half of its 100-member stepped out of that city as the violence increases. >> rebels have been firing mortars right into the heart of damascus. forces hit back, attacking rebel-held areas. so far, the government has held control of central damascus but the capital is now beginning to see the violence that has laid waste to other parts of syria. in the east of the country, the opposition had a setback. the founder of the free syrian army narrowly survived in suspected assassination attempt. he is being transferred to turkey for treatment. off the battlefield, the syrian opposition is being pulled apart by deep political provisions. the head of the coalition resigned on sunday, apparently frustrated by internal power struggles. the recently elected prime minister lacks unanimous backing from within the opposition ranks. these developments are being watched with concern abroad. >> on the one hand, we hope that the opposition pulls togeth

like babila in the suburbs of damascus. once a prosperous place, but now like much of the rest of the country, a wasteland in syria's civil war. dominic caine, al jazeera. >> north korea has announced it's entered a state of war against south korea. that's according to south korean media. it's all part of the ongoing battle of words between the two countries. soldiers are readying for battle while rocket units poised to fire at u.s. targets. on thursday the united states flew b-2 bombers over the region, causing north korea's allies to call for an easing of ensions. translator: it worries us with the action of the northern community the actions taken by north korea that have been demonstrated by military activity. we cannot let this get out of control and it will spire into a vicious cycle. translator: upholding the peace and stability of the korean peninsula serves the common interest of all parties. we hope relevant parties will work together to push around for the turnaround of the tense situations. >> rescuers are racin

the movement is a much-needed diplomatic boost for the sources in damascus. there is serious opposition remains deeply divided on issues from strategy to political leadership. than that internationally, he is viewed by many as the face of serious opposition. in a speech to delegates, he praised the arab world for helping syrian refugees and said western countries were looking on as the syrian people suffered. >> in the name of our oppressed people, we are calling for full support, especially in the right to self-defense. a seat of the united nations and other international organizations, and for a freeze of regime funds. stolen from the syrian people. they must be kept for rebuilding and reconstruction. and although he has taken the main seat for the syrian delegation, there are deep rifts within the national coalition. the house has played an active role in syrian opposition politics by encouraging a choice as transitional prime minister in level-held areas. the u.s. based executive has little support. the cracks in the national coalition have allowed other

public comments that chemical weapons have been used in syria, president obama said the regime in damascus will be held accountable. >> when you start seeing weapons that can cause potential devastation and mass casualties, and you let that genie out of the bottle, then you are looking potentially at even more horrific scenes than we have already seen in syria. international community has to act on that additional information. >> the president spoke at a news conference with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu who is worried that syria's chemical

the movement is a much-needed diplomatic boost for the sources in damascus. there is serious opposition remains deeply divided on issues from strategy to political leadership. than that internationally, he is viewed by many as the face of serious opposition. in a speech to delegates, he praised the arab world for helping syrian refugees and said western countries were looking on as the syrian people suffered. >> in the name of our oppressed people, we are calling for full support, especially in the right to self-defense. a seat of the united nations and other international organizations, and for a freeze of regime funds. stolen from the syrian people. they must be kept for rebuilding and reconstruction. and although he has taken the main seat for the syrian delegation, there are deep rifts within the national coalition. the house has played an active role in syrian opposition politics by encouraging a choice as transitional prime minister in level-held areas. the u.s. based executive has little support. the cracks in the national coalition have allowed other

the hotel as housing workers in damascus. states has promised to cooperate with the afghan government on security. eohn kerry said he was on this same page. jennifer glass reports. afghans have been waiting a year to take control of the prison. step towardsall the transformation that occured in years before. let there be no doubt that transformation for those that were the uniform of the united states does not mean the end of the mission. >> the violation of sovereignty and caused friction. sharing in the riding a ofl informed that service information intelligence. >> there wasn't a case for continued detention under afghan law. >> we're very comfortable that toereignty with respect prisoners is fully protected. they pledged continuing support even as the forces are packing to leave. when they agreement nato mission ends. unitedgree with the , wees and bringing an end much prefer a peace process rather than fighting. >> they were encouraged to abandon the violence and encourage the peace process. hopes that officials will spe

we say that to ourselves all the time but they don't believe it in damascus and they don't believe itmoscow. we have got to make them believe it interesting point for michael that they simply do not believe in damascus and moscow that this is the end game for president assad. he still believes and his back is in moscow that he can survive all of this. >> shepard: speaking of assad. we heard so little from him. last few days nothing. >> this is very interesting. there have been all manner of speculation and rumor about his whereabouts and well-being on the internet. but we haven't seen him. now, this picture was published by the state syrian news agency today. they say that it was taken today. we cannot confirm that and at the moment, we simply do not know the whereabouts of president assad. he may simply be hold up in the presidential palace. he could already have fled to the west of the country that is his real home. >> shepard: jonathan, thank you. syria joined two other notorious nations to block a treaty on international weapons. the syrian's banned together with iran and north ko

his own rank and file in his own follow was to open negotiations with a butcher a stage regime in damascus is no two ways about it this is a regime that's killed its own people maimed its own people and despite. fact that the syrian national council and even if you are an army of elements within it and al qaeda supporters inside the country that are. hell bent on destroying the regime are going out of his way and repeatedly offered in the last two months with the us support i hasten to add. and initiatives that results in greater peace what was acid response to that i said demolished president assad demolished miles of her family home in damascus the day after michael made the offer for diplomacy and peace talks so i don't think it's just the fault of the rebels here think it's important to realize that the shuttle i said and his supporters are not really in the business of peace because they've got everything to lose and the opposition has everything to gain ok matthew the opposition have peace in mind you sound like a nasty lot to me excuse me sure well i don't think all of them are an a

providing humanitarian aid to the community and that i are located to the southwest of the capital damascusis not yet clear who's behind the attack with the opposition blaming the army while the government says the area was recently targeted by rebel strikes. now after the break war on the far from glittering side of go would in colombia. part. of freedom. i. feel ready to clean up pollution. and bring new liberty and. salute free i. i would. like to be reduced to a. syrian diary on our two. wealthy british style. was. that. markets. finance scandals. find out what's really happening to the global economy in the kinds of reports on r.t. . for the past ten years colombia has welcomed foreign capital with open arms in his turn the new president juan manuel santos places mining at the center of his development model in bogota the independent expert coolio fiero denounces an incestuous relationship between the multinationals and the colombian political class. no it's whatever but it isn't just an impression it's a reality that there exists a very strong link between these companies and the poli

thousands in damascus attends the funeral of a prominent sunni preacher killed in a suicide attack on a pub moscow thursday that also claimed the lives of forty eight others. international news and comment live from moscow this is all she was me you know hello and welcome to the program. cyprus an international lenders have managed to strike a long awaited agreement on taksim bond deposits of over one hundred thousand euros held with the country's biggest bond customers who keep large sums of money in other banks will also be forced to sacrifice part of their savings to the country's aging economy. the nation's details for us. what we have now is we agree with forty one percent toxic for the positive above one hundred thousand euros in the bank of cyprus that's the country's biggest lender and four percent on deposits of about two thousand in other banks so this has been an important information piece of information that people here have been waiting for and this is a good part of that package of cyprus is trying to put together before that sunday need to be in brussels where they wil

mortar shells hit damascus university in the heart of the syrian capital. 15 students were killed. state run tv reported that the shells struck a cafeteria where students gather. the report blamed terrorists, the government's term for opposition forces. they say they're not fighting near the university. they claim government troops carried out the attack. the two sides are struggling for control. opposition fighters are reported to have carried out surprise attacks around damascus airports. they are trying to prevent iranian claims from landing. they have long provided support to bashar assad. >>> people in cyprus are lining up to do something they haven't done in weeks, withdraw money from the bank. tell us more about this. >> they do have a limit on how much they can withdraw but at least there's someone at the bank they can talk to. people in cyprus are shuffling back toward some sense of order. international backers came in. now managers have reopened banks for the first time in nearly two weeks. people have joined the lines to withdraw their cash. some are relieved and others

cleric killed by a suicide bomber in damascus say. he was also a high profile supporter of the embattled president bashar al assad. told us any muslim scholar who goes against the rebels is now at target. clergyman or let's say going to school those who are not with the opposition were targeted or were killed we can remember the names for example but others were killed because of having an opinion different done position but everybody believed that what happened is unjustified and cannot be explained we have extremist groups systemic seem to group jihad these who are fighting against the government and the mr before he was killed last friday in his last speech he said that we should fight with the syrian army and you should not fight with with this opposition groups so this raises a lot of controversy and controversy and discussion in the syrian society and this lead into this killing and we have mr kind of. the permanent assume the. spoiler who lives in he said beforehand that all people who are with the vision in even muslim schools

and thousands in damascus attend the funeral of a prominent sunni preacher killed in a suicide attack on a park mosque on thursday that also claimed the lives of forty eight others. kevin at r.t. tonight busy news night first and straight to the news that cyprus and international lenders that we hear have struck a deal now to impose a twenty percent tax on deposits of over one hundred thousand euros held with a bank of cyprus customers who keep large sums of money in other banks will be forced to part with only four percent of the save exists get the latest details smarties tests or a seller either test the details only literally coming in the last couple of minutes that's the gist of it does that mean this is all sorted now or not. we still need to wait for even more details but that indeed is the latest and this is the long awaited legal way the for that percentage we've been waiting on a constitutional whether it will be on the council of the one hundred thousand year or so you know we have now was an agreement for one person talks for the positive above one hundred thousand euros

and thousands in damascus attend the funeral of a prominent sunni preacher killed in a suicide attack on a mosque on thursday that also claimed the lives of forty eight others. by their very good have you with us is kevin owen here at r.t. tonight so the big news this hour the russian tycoon and kremlin critic boris berezovsky has reportedly died in london news of his death was first broken in a post on a social media web site apparently by his son in law as sarah first she's in london for a series of the details only been coming through literally in the last sixty minutes or so what more do we know at the moment. well confirmation the moment coming for a former. ski lawyer he said he received a phone call from london it's also thought his son in law the information about the death on facebook the police here haven't confirmed that yet but it looks like. died today at his home in sorry no circumstances and details of the circumstances of the death remain unknown at this time some reports saying that it's thought he died in the past. of the moment as he said no information from the pol

of acused damascus significant escalation of the conflict. al-shabab has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in mogadishu, which let as many as 10 people dead and many more injured. the lease believe government officials -- police believe government officials were the target. 10 years ago, americans led an invasion in iraq based on the idea that hussein had weapons of mass distraction. he did not. the bbc has uncovered intelligence from senior iraqis that could have changed the calculation. peter taylor has this exclusive report. >> tony blair insisted the intelligence was beyond doubt. it was anything but. >> what appeared to be gold in terms of intelligence turned out to be full. -- fools gold. >> there were two highly placed sources closely placed to saddam hussein who said that iraq had no wmd. the first was iraq cost foreign 'snister -- iraq cost -- iraq foreign minister. mary handed over $200,000 -- murray handed over $200,000. he was given a less than -- he gave the intermediary a secret list of questions. a sign had been devis

the government has been shelling rebel capitals in northeast of damascus.hese are explicit pictures from a lot of. pictures from aleppo. thousands of guns were seized that were destined for serious stored in a warehouse and are thought to be worth more than $1.7 million. turkey has begun restricting the flow of aid into syria. only two aid organizations are allowed to cross the border. hatais a report from province. >> getting food to people inside syria is their main priority. the turkish humanitarian relief group is one of the main groups that are leading the efforts to have people dead inside india serve -- to have people inside syria. >> we get donations from turkish citizens and people in charity groups around the world and operate under difficult circumstances and providing aid will not solve the problem. when need to supply them with help so they can rely on themselves. >> and other charities from our and muslim countries send other aid. there are many items ready to be transported to syria. provides flour and fresh bread. this will make a thousand p

mortar strikes have increased in and around damascus in recent days as rebels fighting president assad's forces try to enter that city again. >>> as the holiest days of the catholic church calendar year are upon us, pope francis took part in a holy thursday ritual, a show of humility mirroring christ washing the feet of his disciples prior to his crucifixion. he went to a juvenile detention center in rome today, washed and kissed the feet of 12 young inmates held there. the banks were open in cyprus again today for the first time in almost two weeks after political leaders there accepted a financial bailout from the euro zone partners that will hit a lot of people's bank accounts. imagine your atm suddenly working after being idle and empty for days. michelle caruso cabrera of cnbc is there for us tonight. >> reporter: brian, this is a line outside one of the banks in cyprus, the country's largest bank. these people are desperate for cash because the banking system has been shut down for nearly two weeks. authorities expected runs like this, so they put in control measures to stem people

nd the funeral of a main supporter of president assad has taken place in damascus. putin's most -- biggest critics has been found lead in london. berezovsky's death is being treated as a suicide. emma, has there been any sort of reaction yet to boris berezovsky's death in russia? >> yes, in the last few hours, fell he isity. putin's press secretary goes on russian tv and said berezovsky had written to the president in recent months saying he wanted to come back to russia and he was apologizing for the mistakes he had made. of course we have no verification of that from the peam amend -- family and reaction to this will very much depend on which side of the fence people sit on. to some he was very much a hero, he fought against putin, but to others they say he didn't seem like that at all. >> yeah, just talk us through why he was so famous and well known. he had been for many years the very heart of power in russia, hadn't he? >> absolutely, felicity, and he had a real fall from grace here, if you like. he started as a mathematician, then made millions and millions i

fighting now in damascus.we have been getting messages from the syrians that there was heavy fighting right up close to where the president lives. it certainly would have been rattling his windows. tol he then decide negotiate and to save himself? politicalnegotiated deal as the best means to get a sustainable, new government that has to be agreed upon by the different sides to the conflict. that does not mean we will ask the supreme military command to implement a cease-fire. we would like to see negotiations. hass struck the regime offered to rescind a delegation, but i do not know if that is serious. the genevao discuss framework for a transition has noent in which assad part. >> thank you very much for your question. i would start by saying when i was there in january, it was with a group of young activists, including young women who had to give up their dreams of being lawyers and finish their college education. i got a serious -- a series of tax messages from them to promote a campaign to organize that w

a bombing in the heart of damascus. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell also with us from jerusalem tonight with more on these late developments. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. on syria there is no daylight between the u.s. and israel on the threat next door. today that suicide bomber blew up a damascus mosque killing 42 people including a prominent sheikh who supports the assad regime. opposition leaders denied all responsibility. this is just another sign of vulnerability in a regime that has thousands of chemical weapons. today president obama warned assad and his forces that the world is watching. the president said they will be held accountable if they use chemical weapons or let them fall into the hands of terrorists. but in secret testimony this week, congressional committees were told some of these deadly weapons are, in effect, locked and loaded. and that the regime plans to use them. israeli intelligence agrees, i'm told, and believe the trigger could well be if ale

. >> it requires on the road to damascus for him to change his mind. >> where does italy go from here? could we see new elections? >> nobody wants to see new elections. i think what will happen now is president of peloton a will do something similar to what we did in november 2011 when he appointed the current prime minister, mario monti, the former european commissioner. he may try to do something like that. he may look to people like the former premier, the current interior minister, or the former european commissioner to try to take -- put together a short- term government whose major responsibility will be to guard confidence for the international markets and in the meantime, the only item on the agenda will be to change the current electoral legislation. >> thank you so much for that update. the restrictions in cyprus on account access could remain in place for a month -- that is the word today as thousands of people headed to banks to withdraw cash for the very first time in nearly two weeks. there was no run on the banks as some had feared with crowds lining up patiently. >> cy

. >> it requires on the road to damascus for him to change his mind. >> where does italy go from here? could we see new elections? >> nobody wants to see new elections. i think what will happen now is president of peloton a will do something similar to what we did in november 2011 when he appointed the current prime minister, mario monti, the former european commissioner. he may try to do something like that. he may look to people like the former premier, the current interior minister, or the former european commissioner to try to take -- put together a short- term government whose major responsibility will be to guard confidence for the international markets and in the meantime, the only item on the agenda will be to change the current electoral legislation. >> thank you so much for that update. the restrictions in cyprus on account access could remain in place for a month -- that is the word today as thousands of people headed to banks to withdraw cash for the very first time in nearly two weeks. there was no run on the banks as some had feared with crowds lining up patiently. >> cy

the rebels have clearly penetrated parts of the capitol, damascus.iring barrages of mortars, often toward the presidential palace itself. the security forces returning those mortars with interest. and the white house themselves are saying, quote, we have noticed an increased tempo in attacks. i spoke to michael o'hanlon of the brookings institute and he says we should not jump to the conclusion that this means a conclusion to the civil war is about to come about. >> as you know from looking at baghdad, many times cities become a battlegrounds and it just becomes a prolonged area of intense back and forth. and certain neighbhoods are more on one side, certain neighbors on the other. civilian population suffer. it doesn't mean we're nearing the end of this. >> the bottom line is,. >> the rebel does not possess the fire power. >> shepard: we heart heard from assad. >> very interesting. the whereabouts of president assad. there have been a lot of rumors and speculation about his potential whereabouts, and we haven't seen him. this is a picture released j