of harking back to the cold war as brussels moves to boycott the euro two thousand and twelve championship in ukraine it's the latest developments in the handling of the former prime minister yulia tymoshenko who's serving time for abusing power. and the founder of wiki leaks prepares to take center stage once again very interview show right here on t.v. on tuesday interviews the new president. of the arab spring revolts. but that's it for me the news team for the moment i'll be back with more on those stories and. that's next which today focuses on the potential changes that the upcoming presidential elections in egypt will bring to the region stay with us for that. if you. want. a lonely and welcome to cross talk i'm peter all about countering revolution a little over a year ago the arab awakening started in quickly inspired millions in north africa and the middle east what is the current state of this awakening is democracy in civil society truly on the margins or are the powers of reaction again controlling the narrative and political outcomes. to cross-talk the counter revolution in t

and that takes place more than 3000 miles from nato's headquarters in brussels, where troops from all 28 members serve with troops from 22 nonmembers, partner countries have joined in the isaf mission. only nato has the integrated command and control structure that could manage such a complex undertaking. and 7000 more soldiers are maintaining security in the balkans where casework continues to play a crucial role. including are fighting the insurance of a safe and secure environment during the serbian presidential elections that will take place this coming sunday. presidential and parliamentary election. made it was also conducting maritime operations under nato flag. and as you know the last few weeks we successfully concluded a critical mission and libya that saved countless lives. there really isn't an issue today that is of national security importance that we do not work on with our european allies. countering terrorism, dealing with weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile proliferation, addressing cybersecurity, enhancing energy security. the list goes on and on. when

the cold war as brussels moves to a boy called. the latest development in the. former prime minister. and the founder of wiki leaks prepares to take center stage once again the host of his very own interview show right here on. the new president of course where the arab spring. and you can. still. be. a lonely and welcome to cross talk i'm teetotal about countering revolution a little over a year ago the arab awakening started in quickly inspired millions in north africa and the middle east what is the current state of this awakening is democracy in civil society truly on the margins or are the powers of reaction again controlling the narrative and political outcomes. can. start. to cross-talk the counter revolution in the middle east i'm joined by v.j. prashad he's in chicopee he's a professor of international studies at trinity college in hartford and author of arab spring libyan winter in los angeles we have a rough day he is an ambassador for the national american rainy and council human rights activists and columnist for harvard international review and in

shipments who have come from lebanon into syria so who's got time answer now is washington and certainly brussels with nato of the what they know about about that ship if we follow where the facts lead in the coming days i think there's going to be a remarkable. result in investigation of exactly what's going on. and watching r.t. now the world's most famous secret spiller is here again to unleash further controversy with his shows next episode airing on r.t. this change of course julian assange she's already spoken to the hezbollah leader in his first international interview and over six years and brought together two political extremes from both sides of the atlantic laura smith now joins us live from london with the details of the next upcoming storm laura good to see you so what can we expect this time around who is the guest for songs on cheese today. well this is the third episode of the program and the guest this week is the first president of the new tune is the president. of course is where the arab spring first really kicked off and the jasmine revolution as it's come to be known was on

or have a have come from lebanon into syria so who's got time answer now is washington and certainly brussels with nato of the way what they know about about that ship if we follow where the facts lead in the coming days i think there's going to be a remarkable. result in investigation of exactly what's going on. chris hedges author and u.s. war correspondent says under the guise of democracy washington is pushing its own interest in the region. i don't think anyone in the muslim world thinks that we care much about human rights or democracy we have since the first gulf war planted military bases some the size of small cities i think there is at this point absolutely no credibility i'm talking about within the middle east when the united states claims that it would like to bring liberty or democracy to syria my feeling is that everything should be pushed through to create some kind of a ceasefire rather than pass a resolution that calls for assad's removal or resolution. that calls for intervention or anything else there's no real formal opposition you know it's a sort of a mess and they just

brussels the eastern ukrainian city of knepper patro slowly getting back to normal after its residents were left in a state of shock by a series of bombings friday thirty people were hurt ten of them children and doctors continuing to treat the injured police meanwhile sifting through c.c.t.v. footage of the blast sites parties like sarah reports. for some residents of new but a bit off skin ukraine their regular tri majority through the city was cut short because the ultimate just. from my chair when i heard splosion that those were smashed the windows shattered remember when i got up there was smoke and dust everywhere and women were crying. i was selling tickets when it came out of nowhere i grabbed my knees trying to hold on there was blood all over i got out sat down on a bench and blacked out it was a powerful blast the trousers i was wearing were all covered in holes i couldn't see if my legs were injured but it's not like it's a horror of previously unseen in ukraine's third largest city for homemade explosive devices hidden in trash cans detonated one after another a tram stop

evidence in support of that regime change so who's gotten an answer now is washington and certainly brussels with nato of the world what they know about about that ship if we follow where the facts lead in the coming days i think there's going to be a remarkable. result in investigation of exactly what's going on. the syrian conflict balancing on the brink of civil war is also costing the country's economy daily alleged terrorists are destroying industrial sites under the pretext of fighting against president assad but he's accent of arka has more now from the syrian city of aleppo. lifetime of work burned overnight. this is one of a growing number of businesses in syria destroyed by those claiming to advance the cause of that revolution this factory was a classic example of syrian interpreter ship one hundred and fifty employees producing textiles for furniture it was never churning out a lot of profit but provided a distant living for its people all of which is now gone north routes no warnings one evening in fabry a group of young man threw molotov cocktails into the building the owner sa

evidence in support of that regime change so who's gotten an answer now is washington and certainly brussels with nato of the world what they know about about that ship if we follow where the facts lead in the coming days i think there's going to be a remarkable. result in investigation of exactly what's going on. the political leaders of the syrian opposition been calling for foreign military intervention but that's something many people on the ground there refuse to accept as artie's acceptable reports from damascus. almost everyone in syria these days is in opposition to something ready to lash out at opponents at any moment and seventy six year old my feet mohammad is in opposition to that he says syrians are so worked up about politics that it's become difficult to make people smile but he found a way. i like dancing in the street and i like the reaction it produces in people i feel free this way. even he can't stay away from politics when i ask him about his biggest concern his sass syria should not dance to somebody else's tune. we don't need any countries meddling in our food. while

this vision and version of the obstacles are getting bigger from voters rallying behind their anti brussels candidates proposal supporting bad border controls some e.u. leaders have dismissed them as populist threats but the question is are they merely still threats or is this growing resistance already the tip of an iceberg tell us are still here r t brussels. it's an hour quarter past the hour here in the russian capital the eastern ukrainian city of the net profit off slowly getting back to normal after its residents were left in a state of shock by a series of bomb explosions on friday thirty people injured ten of them children and while doctors are continuing to treat the injured police are now sifting through c.c.t.v. footage of the blast sites with this report. for some residents of new bit of skin ukraine their regular tri majority through the city was cut short because of the earth and i just got up from my chair when i heard splosion but those were smashed the windows shattered remember when i got up there was smoke and dust everywhere and women were crying. i was selling tickets

brussels well with skepticism and major issue in the french presidential election member states on nervously awaiting the outcome of the but not web site r.t. dot com we're asking you what the main challenge for next french let me say for your sake main task will be very big but. i think the point of quarter think the most difficult task starting the economy rest of it's almost equally spread so far you see the biggest. challenges and using tension with immigration bill clinton on conflicts. caro's tahrir square world food anger again on friday as the gyptian vent their frustrations towards the country's current military rulers whatever the same people who are condemning the current leaders for failing the demands of the revolution themselves stand accused of trying to monopolize power and the surf reports for many egyptians the ongoing political wrangling is pushing democracy to the sidelines. protests nation after the revolution toppled president mubarak egyptians have continued to use people power as a way to force change the sights the sounds of protesters on cairo's tahrir square have b

brussels. skepticism a major issue in the french presidential election member states and the awaiting the outcome of the vote on our website at www dot com we're asking what the main challenge for next french leader would be so let's say the main task will be bearing the eurozone debt burden both of you think the most difficult task of kickstarting the economy and the rest of it's almost equally spread amongst the biggest challenges in defusing tension of integration and involvement in foreign conflicts. cairo's tahrir square will fill with anger again on friday as addiction islamists vent their frustrations towards the country's current military rulers are the same people who are condemning the current leaders for failing the demands of the revolution themselves stand accused of trying to monopolize power etc first now reports from any objections the ongoing political wrangling is pushing democracy to the sidelines. that protests nation after the revolution toppled president mubarak gyptian si

the dutch should stop babbling to the dictators in brussels, he said on monday. >> the government is doing anything that can and deteriorating conditions for seniors. >> the eu commission rejected the portrayal of the situation. >> this is basically because it is good for the dutch citizens, and decisions, by the way, have not been taken by brussels. >> the dutch finance minister, for his part, attempted to calm markets ahead of tuesday's bond sale, saying holland could still meet that target next year, despite the failure of earlier talks. >> for more on this, we asked our brussels correspondent about the reaction there to the political crisis in the netherlands. >> there is certainly dismay at what is happening and dismay at what is clearly the perception in some capitals, particularly in the netherlands, the governments are being dictated to by brussels. whatever the spokesman said just now, there is a perception, and that he is the same in france as they go through the presidential election, that voters are now casting votes on the basis of largely economic matters, austerity mea

i'm actually going to brussels next week to meet with nato. one of the agenda items is in fact, operation unified protection. what we've got to do is we've got to be candid with each other. i can assure you i will be about what they can reasonably expect us to provide. what nay need to provide in terms och isr, the analysis, fusion of intelligence and operations. and investments that hay need to make in order to close some gaps that here to for they've relied almost exclusively on us to provide. i actually see this as a positive thing. >> general, what do you think are the greatest risks if the united states intervenes? >> in syria? >> yes. >> first of all, you know, on occasion i've been portrayed as saying this would just be too hard, so let's not do it. i want to assure you, that's not the case. if asked to do something, we absolutely have the capability. but in terms of my concerns and how they would translate into military vices i have to be very clear about the military objectives that i was being asked to achieve, and i'd have to be cle

i am alert to that and i'm going to brussels next week to meet with nato and one of the agenda items is operation unified protection. we have got to be candid with each other. i assure you i will be about what we can reasonably provide and what they need to provide in terms of isr, the fusion of intelligence and operations, and investments and to make to close the gaps here to fore they have relied almost exclusively on us to provide. i actually see this as a positive thing. >> what do you think are the greatest risks if the united states intervenes? >> on occasion, i have been portrayed as saying this is too hard, but not do it. that is not the case. if asked to do something, we absolutely have the capability. but as far as my concerns and how they would translate, i have to be clear about the military objectives i was being asked to achieve an i would have to be clear about how those contributed to some outcome that we would all understand and probably agree upon. if the outcome is just stopping the violence, that's one the outcome. just stopping the regime is another. i can build

election and the voting still to begin is a canonic misfortune bruising is tyranny and in a little brussels leave voters radically split. the months three council unites in ordering the one of a mass observer mission to syria but russia and the u.s. are divided over the details of the move. plus bahrain is on high alert to safeguard a formula one grand prix which is going to have the spider wave of anti-government protests and a brutal crackdown that's left one death. and a big impact on the small screen the world watches as whistleblower julian assange makes his debut as a t.v. host here on our team stirring up a range of global reaction. to the russian capital you're watching r.t. on marina josh now's the day that france decides future with million set to vote on a new president but this year polls open to a very disenchanted public in a country suffering rampant unemployment a staring and economic despair our thesis are still you know reports on the runners and riders aiming to restore french fortunes and there are sometimes far reaching promises. it's election day in france round one of

but france's relationships with berlin and brussels have hit a rough patch the french election if you look at the campaign in france i think because on the right side there is mrs le pen this is a plan once to reintroduce her for the french franc the french currency christmas all along wants to renegotiate the for the of the treaty on the fiscal compact income of nicolas sarkozy is no exception pledging to freeze france's e.u. funding and bringing back border controls over in the left corner. roundly rejects europe's budget belt tightening pact people are uneasy with the fact that they or contributing to the failed policies in other parts of the u. then people don't really understand why is it there's more and more legislation coming from the european level in member states have to adjust it for the mostly pro europe french public it's about jobs and social security just as brussels and berlin want tough cutbacks. and that doesn't rest easy with voters who gave a resounding no to giving the e.u. machine even more power seven years ago even though it's been a perfect tool to offload a

defense secretary leon panetta in brussels for nato meeting denounced the actions of the soldiers. >> i strongly condemned what we see in those photos, as has general allen. that behavior that was depicted in those photos absolutely violates both our regulations and, more importantly, our core values. >> reporter: u.s. troops in afghanistan have to stop anti-american sentiment. they have been accused of burning copies of the koran and in one case killing 17 afghan villagers. in brussels, nato members decided wednesday to stick to the planned withdrawal of international troops by the end of 2014. >> let me stress that there is no change whatsoever. it is in the interest of the whole international community to see strong and highly capable afghan security forces take full responsibility for security by the end of 2014. >> reporter: that statement by the nato secretary general came the same day that afghan defense ministries say the country will need at least $4.1 billion a year from international community to maintain security after foreign troops leave. nato is due to discuss long-term

i'm going to brussels next week. one of the agenda items is operation unified protection. what we have to do is be candid with each other. i can assure you i will be banned need to provide. in terms of isr, the infusion of intelligence operations and investments they need to make to close some caps we're here to fourthey relied exclusively on us to provide. i see this as a positive. >> what you think are the states? >> on vacation i've been -- on occasion i've been hard. that is not the case. it has to do something, and we absolutely have the capability. i have to be clear about the military objective is that i was being asked to achieve. i have to be clear about how these were contributing to some outcomes that we would all understand and agree upon. what is the outcome? but the dishes stopping the if it is just stopping the violence, that is one outcome. i can build from that outcome. i can build military options andthe other responsibility is to balance the rest to the mission. what would be the cost of doing this? the risk to the forest is a zero sum game. -- to the fo

what everything really changed between paris and brussels. the chorus early is no europe for what europe for. europe for the bank curves europe rock trade europe for. business oh he's it a europe of cities a europe of social rights and the rest of the continents watching too knowing that whoever its next partner is a honeymoon phase is out of the question just are still here r t brussels. plan to rector massive financial buffer around the euro zone has been a welcome by everybody with manny nations reluctant to commit their cash and commenting on the idea investment advisor patrick young doesn't have much faith the move will help save the euro zone. this is how absolutely accounted for the euro zone there is no way no matter how large the sea of guards are no matter how high big bazooka it is that the i.m.f. is currently assembling nobody can afford to pay for italian government debt it is simply impossible we are pushing nations on the mediterranean fringe of europe into if we expect that they're going to stay in the euro zone it's a tragic

i'm going to brussels next week. one of the agenda items is operation unified protection. what we have to do is be candid with each other. it they need to do what they need to provide. they relied exclusively on us to provide. i see this as a positive. >> what you think are the greatest risks of the united states? >> on vacation i've been portrayed as saying this is too hard. that is not the case. it has to do something, and we absolutely have the capability. i have to be clear about the military objective is that i was being asked to achieve. i have to be clear about how these were contributing to some outcomes that we would all understand and agree upon. but the dishes stopping the violence, that is one outcome. the other responsibility is to balance the rest to the mission. what would be the cost of doing this? the risk to the forest is a zero sum game. we are deployed all over the world. if i am asked to do something in syria and the secretary says i need this option, my response ability is to make sure i understand this and that by articulate the risks not to the miss

in brussels, nato members decided wednesday to stick to the planned withdrawal of international troops by the end of 2014. >> let me stress that there is no change whatsoever. it is in the interest of the whole international community to see strong and highly capable afghan security forces take full responsibility for its security by the end of 2014. >> reporter: that statement by the nato security general came the same day that afghan defense ministries say the country will need at least $4.1 billion a year from the international community to maintain security after foreign troops leave. nato is due to discuss long-term aid for afghanistan at a meeting in the united states next month. but many members of the alliance says financial difficulties of their own. for them the afghan mission looks increasingly hard. nhk world, kabul. >> multiple attacks in kabul on sunday and monday were among the worst violence afghanistan has seen in weeks. the taliban has now released a video of militants it says played a role in the offensive. the footage was apparently performed before the acts began.

i spoke of this war in afghanistan at nato headquarters outside brussels, belgium, yesterday. i spoke with leon panetta and secretary of state hillary clinton. they sat down with me for an exclusive interview in brussels. listen. >> madam secretary, mr. secretary, thank you for being with us. >> we are glad to be with you. >> let's talk about afghanistan. $2 billion a week in u.s. taxpayer dollars being spent to maintain the troop level and the existence to the afghan people. is this money well spent right now? $100 billion a year for another two and a half years? >> well, first of all, wolf, we are in a transition and as we transition, the afghan security forces are stepping up to protect their own people and as we saw over the weekend with those deplorable attacks luckily, they were not successful and that was because the afghan security forces which our soldiers and others of the nato alliance have been training and mentoring. so i think that if you look as we do at the progress that has been made on the security side and other indicators and health, education and the econo

as more from brussels how the museum director has started burning artwork he's calling this the art of war basically it's a symbolic protest against the way that the economic crisis the european debt crisis is being handled up at that until this point and he also says that over a thousand artworks are already doomed to be destroyed anyway because of the government's indifference to their situation subsidies have been cut to the cultural institutions and again this just brings about the message that and no one and nothing is spared from these harsh cuts being imposed by governments in europe because of the debt crisis and it's the same story you have here. and cultural heritage of italy being prized assets and it's going down the drain the same goes with its workforce its assets their human assets bearing the brunt of all these cuts and this is a symbolic protest follows what we've seen recently already suicides a suicide attempts in greece and italy as well over pension cuts or loss of benefits or loss of jobs and this is the type of this is all the protests may be changing but it goes

nato is getting more help from russia in the afghan war at a ministerial meeting in brussels the sides discussed expanding the vital transit of military cargo to afghanistan through russia's territory and moscow has provided the alliance with corridors and railway routes and the link is vital as pakistan blocks the nato supplies from crossing its territory after the airstrike that killed twenty four pakistani soldiers six months ago and as the alliance prefers to withdraw troops from afghanistan. and it finds itself in the midst of a string of scandals involving extreme breaches of discipline by u.s. troops often says recently published photographs of soldiers posing with the remains of afghan bombers show an isolated incident of young people caught up in the moment before my army sergeant mathis show ru says this is actually part of a trend this congress see needs to change and it needs to start revolving around a few bad apples or whatever it needs to start being really getting real about the fact that these aren't isolated incidents and furthermore it's only a matter of time until t

live in brussels thank you. patrick young the executive director of investment for advisers although we. could be treated as a drug for the problems that highlights the very serious indeed. the truth of the matter is that i think it's difficult to keep seriously the idea of simply seeking attention through destroying our works when actually wouldn't be a great deal of a better idea to have these artists and indeed these artworks being sold so they could actually go somewhere to try to help some of the pensioners i mean it strikes me that it is a rather ludicrous protest rather say to do all draw attention to. the fundamental underpinnings of many europeans see it and that means that the us to much of the money that he would spend on the social status whether it be in art whether it be in pensions whatever it is is coming to an end europe and the euro zone cannot of ford it's socialism. this is artsy a twenty two million dollar fine the punishment for perhaps america's most controversial financial giant penalty c

defense secretary leon panetta in brussels had a meeting and denounced the actions of the soldiers. >> i strongly condemn what we see in those photos as has general allen. that behavior that was depicted in those photos absolutely violates both our regulations and more importantly our core values. >> reporter: as a string of incidents of u.s. troop in afghanistan has strengthened anti-u.s. american sentiment. they have been accused of burning copies of the koran and in one case killing villagers. in brussels, they decided on wednesday to stick to the planned withdrawal of troops by the end of 2014. >> let me stress that there is no change whatsoever. it is in the interest of the whole international community to see strong and highly capable afghan security forces take full responsibility for security by the end of 2014. >> reporter: that statement by the nato execusecurity general the same day that they say the country will need at least $4.1 billion a year from international community to maintain security after foreign troops leave. nato is due to discuss long-term aid for afghanista

troops but the problem was addressed in brussels today what exactly has been said. is indeed a lot of condemnation with regard to scandals related to soldiers or forces u.s. forces cities committed against afghan people u.s. secretary of defense leon panetta had condemned those actions but then he said that this is a young soldiers committing this acting in the heat of the moment however this is not the first start or is it an isolated case now the l a times pictures. of the soldiers posing by the side corpses we've had in the past a koran burning incident as well as absolutely zero in aiding on afghan corpses this does not go down well with the countries involved the afghan people or the american people as well and again afghanistan is in the spotlight right now but this is not the first time the u.s. has been involved in such stories iraq for example a recent video has emerged of soldiers also committing atrocities this is just the tip of the iceberg though what it comes to obstacles they have to deal with it in a can is done this is a p.r. image disaster for this

missile defense shield is not a russia or live in brussels thank you. activists a gathering near a moscow court today in support of a feminist punk band whose members were arrested on hooliganism charges back in february or the court will consider whether to extend custody which expires and now in less than one week the group rushed to the altar of russia's christ the savior cathedral in moscow and performed what prosecutors claim was a blasphemous song of the five women who took part three were arrested and charged in our face up to seven years in prison performances drawing huge public response and a wave of criticism from russia's orthodox church. a twenty two million dollar fine that's the latest punishment dished out to america's perhaps most controversial financial giant goldman sachs and the penalty came after revelations the bank gave inside information to us preferred clients allowing them an unfair advantage over other investors and as always our very own kaiser report coming up next hour here on r.t. has the lowdown on that. it makes sense th

>> let's listen to leon panetta in brussels yesterday. >> this is not who we are. it's certainly not who we represent when it comes to the great majority of men and women in uniform, who are serving there. i expect that the matter will be fully investigated. >> now, he may say that, that this is going to be fully investigated, that this is not who we are. this is not what we're about but it comes on the heels of videos of marines urinating on dead bodies and the massacre that afghanistan is still dealing with allegedly, one u.s. soldier murdering 16 -- i think it was 16 afghan civilians. when you take all of this together, can this resonate the fact that the u.s. is condemning what is happening here and say it's an isolated incident? >> reporter: they are, i think in the eyes of many, become a troubling trend, breakdown of discipline. this is the fourth big investigation the u.s. has said it's conducting so far this year after the misconduct you've described. investigations themselves aren't going to quiet afghans. there's not been this immediate backlash of violen

the defense secretary in brussels saying the actions depicted violated american rules and core values. >> this is war. i know that war is ugly, and it is violent. i know that young people sometimes caught up in the moment make some very foolish decisions. i am not excusing that, i am not excusing that behavior, but neither do i want these images to bring further injuries to our people or to our relationship with the afghan people. >> the american military's reputation in afghanistan is on the line. in january, a video showed a range urinating on the dead bodies of afghan insurgents. in february, violence erupted when its was thrilled that koran had been burnt by accident. in march, a u.s. army sergeant was killing -- and charged with killing 17 afghan civilians. the administration says the strategy in afghanistan is clear, the latest episode is ugly and embarrassing, but it is unlikely to change much. >> as the military deals with this latest setback on the ground in afghanistan, nato ministers maintained the war is still on track. hopes that the afghans will be able to take responsib

defense secretary leon panetta and secretary of state hillary clinton attended a nato strategy session in brussels of the photos panetta said, "this is not who we are." he also explained why he asked the "los angeles times" not to publish the photos, a request the newspaper rebuffed. >> this is war. and i know that war is ugly. and it's violent. i know that young people sometimes caught up in the moment make some very foolish decisions. i am not excusing that. i'm not excusing that behavio behavior. but neither do i want it to bring further injury to our people. >> riots broke out when it was discovered that copies of the quran were burned at a country. and that unrest claimed six american lives after video surfaced in january showing u.s. marines urinating on afghan corpses. last month, army staff sergeant bales charged with killing 17 afghan civilians in a nighttime shooting rampage. nato's top official sought to tap down the ange they're the latest incident might create. >> these events took place apparently a couple of years ago. i consider them an isolated event. obviously, i hope there is no