we don't think she'd ever been away but by the way to get bikes we'll look forward to working with a. millville result leaves a third in the table five points behind manchester united and seven adrift of leaders manchester city and now seven clear of chelsea while liverpool who are also hunting a top four spot if they sevens four points off a champions league place. elsewhere cyclist and the schleck look set to be awarded the twenty ten tour de france title after alberto contador was stripped of the yellow jersey for failing a drugs test during the race schleck who comes from luxembourg had finished second but now looks set to benefit from contador as guilty verdict the spaniard had tested positive for the bounce substance clenbuterol claim in his failed test was due to eating contaminated meat the twenty nine year old will also now receive twenty eleven get out italia title and remain barred from the sport until august after receiving a bank dated two year ban the case has taken months to resolve after various

appeals has something slighting chiefs have criticised. and in the meantime tennis while the one novak djokovic has added yet another accolade to his collection as he was named the world sportsman of the year at the laureus award ceremony in london. know the djokovic. well the twenty four year old serbian was in imperious form last year lifting three grandsons trophies and enjoying a forty one match winning streak plus two from the previous season last month dr which clinched the australian open title to become the first man to win three majors. well meanwhile kenyan long distance runner b.b. and chad are you two was named sports woman of the year after winning the five thousand and ten thousand meters at last year's world championships in south korea . pound was allowed out were named the team of the year that gaudio side won their domestic football league for the third time in a row and the champions league for a third time in six years the president found yourself to accept

a new world. moving on to formula one now and two time reigning champion sebastian vettel says it will be harder than ever to try to retain the world title this season his red bull team have unveiled their new car the r b eight which uses the step or lowered nose design the team hopes the new vehicle will and then a third straight constructors title but that'll things any design advantage they'll gain over their rivals will be less effective than in previous years as the teams prepare for the start of the first race in melbourne on march the eighteenth. you know the last two years we had two big things taken away the double diffusers plus for this year the system around the blown exhaust so you know we're missing that and therefore it's i think difficult to really create a difference we see obviously we hope that you know our cars better than all the others but it will be difficult and i think the cars will be fairly similar as in the gaps will be even closer than they have been well meanwhile williams were the

last team to pull the colors off their new kill the u.k. based outfit have reunited with engines of liar read over twenty twelve the team marked its thirty fifth year in a high octane sport williams are nine time constructors champions and will be relying on a new driver bruno center as well as passed on maldonado this season eleven out of the twelve f one teams and i'm headed in spain for pre-season testing. to catch our ice hockey now and see that my moscow have claimed their first win in a row with a five three victory at home to lucy where to go within six points of a discard in the western conference follow the number we're cruising in this one right from the beginning when the news copy i have putting them in front after fifteen minutes and that was shortly followed by a strike from putting things in bulk up to make it to know before pocket i've grabbed his brace and many were thinking it was gave over this point and those that weren't almost certainly were when the home side scored a fourth at the start of the second period however maxine in that poll which put on

back to syria and maxine. craven paid for two months to now a swiftly restored their three goal difference because of him because of finding the net this time severe did rally late on to make it five three but that's how it staged now extending their winning run to five games. boxing now and colombian welterweights ignacio mendoza failed to show up for the official weigh in had a wednesday's banter with russian habeeb alex thirty have here in moscow the fight is part of the inaugural we'll boxing t.v. event bringing together famous fighters from around the world twenty eight year old south american mendoza who has a record of certain three victories from his forty one points wasn't present as his flight had been delayed twenty nine yards out like that there has one pool of his fifteen bats looking at six in the process and white in a sixty three kilograms overall for fights will take place during the event including a cruiserweight back between russia going to get the last whose thirty three wins and just one defeat could be

a handful for jamaican opponent which of course. i give him a lot of respect to choose the fight with because i never know not about him he chose to fight me so i give my whole lot of respect not a fighter turned me down. you know he chose the five it's like your mother was bringing this all to just put my. next step to the level of gun crime in crime and another and this is the next step doing some kids and a step with a stop over second i got to go over to get to my next step. and finally brotherly love might prevent the church go heavyweight boxing champion from fighting each other but that wasn't an option for mixed martial arts king shovel you monica the russian came up against his brother in a somebody told me last weekend although the pair to find a technique find solution as robert father man explains. the minutes bush will soon be on the street is still to me any good this is a flashback the russian has been the greatest ambassador of the sport he came from for years the last weekend was the. realtor it lost amber of mixed martial arts

came back to the competition he had won six times before. but somewhat championships in front of a home crowd in moscow the thirty five year old was going for his seventh domestic title shot for you personally for bunny to have a rest now head of a few more fights i'll have to know if i'd like to thank my opponent it was good to get back to the met for a competitive fight and i want to thank god. for my work. and the nose and dissipated by divans was simply inevitable in the final of the heavyweight class the other place his younger brother four time russian champ an example and men who also earn big respect in the global enemy arena some i have been looking to see a rumble. i. want we're left with

just a seven second muscle clearance. yes many expected an exciting fight that the two brothers had never fought against each other before they came out and produced an elegant finale for the competition the younger brother gave it into the elder one in a very dignified way for each of the press he was. clever they've been saw no end of tough action and here is the proof.

while a heart full of courage is often the competitive edge way comes to martial arts and let's close with a solid example of that the super lightweight final was. despite being exhausted by flu and high temperature and having already won the title three times before leiber godunov holds on to them to a crisp through the mystic crown. the smell the. even for me because i came from the famous somebody seventy training school based here in my school so i felt great

responsibility i had to win so. it's one of the no r t. how that's all the sport for the saving by for. news today. again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations are.

it is clear that efforts to end violence must be accompanied by a dialogue between all political forces syria's president confirmed that he is ready for such work breaking news this hour syria's opposition signals it welcomes russia's mediating efforts in trying to bring them and the government to the negotiating table this after president assad assured russia's foreign minister of his readiness to talk to all political sides and promised syria's new constitution will soon go to a vote. and as russia steps up diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis in syria major european and gulf states recall their own bassett is from damascus. and greek standoff clashes on the streets of athens as protesters voice anger at massive new

job cuts while coalition members struggled to agree more austerity measures to secure a vital second bailout. was a discovery that could reveal previously unknown lifeforms russian scientists drilled deep into subglacial lake in the coldest place on earth or the significance of the rare finding but our correspondent in antarctica. nine pm in moscow i matter as a good to have you with us here on r t our top story this hour both the syrian government and opposition leaders say they would welcome russian mediating talks between them this was the reaction after russia's foreign minister held negotiations with president bashar al assad in damascus after that meeting sergei lavrov. moscow will continue its efforts to settle

a crisis in the middle eastern country diplomatically or he's a group is going to has more from damascus. going to sit back for an hour foreigners are the result of their meeting or be ready for tomorrow or the opposition. political ocean. or the dialogue with the opposition when our approach is based on a clear and simple goal to stop civilian deaths the region needs peace syria needs peace it is clear that efforts to end the violence need to go along with the start of a meaningful dialogue between all political sides today we've received confirmation from the syrian president of his readiness to participate in that process we will continue to work with various opposition groups but anyone who has more influence on them than russia should also work with them there another important issue there are forty four year in the green light for. volume arab league are in fact the. most violent. so they could

be who are all right. if you wish and their. issues are. four hundred or mentioned poll you need to look for that and. there now we believe the commission you can working on very well bring in our literature you will be guaranteed people to meet with community need and you can hear the recordings of the works of the foreign minister. the whole nation like little to write me that is there are going to be analysis of old white short we. are over it going to be all of our. constantine coast achad deputy chief of the international affairs committee at the state duma says today's meeting in damascus sends a very important signal that should be recognized by all countries wanting to see peace there. during the talks to do is that the russian foreign minister mr lover

of mr asset as far as i can see has again confirmed that the political the locus still possible that the authorities are related to arrange a referendum on a draft of the new syrian constitution and there on the basis of this constitution new. large scale political reforms make take place this is a very strong message and they believe that these ministers message should be heard should be taken into account by the syrian opposition unfortunately for the time being the message of the received from abroad is completely opposite because the messages they receive now are from the united states from the union countries from the arab countries is that there is no space for further political dialogue that mr r. so it should go should resign and that the opposition should not accept any proposals

for this political dialogue this in message is completely wrong this message means that the countries which stand behind this should take their part of the responsibility for what is going on in syria including bloodshed being. in syria and i believe that the outcome of the talks today in damascus should be acknowledged recognized and supported by any county to reach. good progress and calmness to the people of syria the gulf arab states along with spain france and italy have withdrawn their ambassadors from syria saying the government there has failed to end the bloodshed that decisions were made just as foreign minister lavrov was visiting damascus gulf nations also said they were expelling syrian army boys from their countries as a protest against the regime. the u.k. also recalled its ambassador from damascus monday and the u.s.

closed its embassy there for more insight on all of this we're joined by i'm arwa cough a member of the syrian social club in london so first of all as a syrian what's your view of russia's diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict in your country. well basically the diplomatic efforts you know are you know put into two segments a the segment who wants to be proactive who wants to find a solution to the segment who is interested only in regime change now what we have called for from the very beginning is that you know the regime or the syrian government is strong by the way president assad still commands a comfortable majority in syria according to a recent opinion poll by a conducted by hugo fifty five percent of syria said they did not want him to go now faced with that fact you cannot force the whole country like syria to change its president so the only you know constructive way is used to be proactive about this we have factions and let's see how we can mediate a let's see how we can guarantee that no more bloodshed all little block is going

to be allowed so i think the russian approach is the basically the right one because you know raising the finger or rick sharing syrians on how to conduct their business and how to go about running their business is not going to help at all it is only when you mediate i've heard. opposition figures key syrian opposition figures call for the entire position to go actually to moscow and speak with the russians. have some concerns that if they go to damascus and speak face to face with the syrian government the syrian government is going to stipulate certain conditions and they would feel that they are in a better position to negotiate so perhaps you know the you know the russian was coming into the framework could allow the opposition to feel a little bit more secure that this is going to be you know a neutral ground there is going to be a guarantor of negotiations and things can do work. now what do you think of the

diplomatic signal that it gives arab and european powers undertaking the diplomatic withdrawal while at the same time russia sends a minister lavrov to the country to try and bring both sides to the table. well basically the countries who have failed in their attempt to impose sanctions or sorry to impose measures that could lead to intervention for intervention in syria are going to continue basically with their efforts to undermine any diplomatic effort that is conducted either by the syrian government or any diplomatic or political initiative that is set by the syrian government or any diplomatic effort that is said or launched by by the russian government they want people underground in syria to feel. only the rebels in a sense all those who have opposing the regime to feel that the. hope is still there that a foreign intervention or

a military thing could actually happen and that they are backed by the outside and this could only lead to complicating the situation even more actually. why do you think this dialogue is so important for the country. why do i feel that what's already this dialogue is so important for the country. well basically according to the to the political latest political initiative set by the president launched by the president some four weeks ago. you cannot basically syrians all syrians whether they support the government or they support the opposition nor there are no way of going back to the pre march fifteenth one party at all situation it's unpractical it's not going to happen basically so what you need to do is to bring people back from the streets you have to give them something that they have in their opinion hard fought for and they have to have some game and also

those people who have stuck with the regime only for fear of the worse but they also have some reservations about the current or the previous conduct of the regime about. lack of democracy lack of perhaps even. some corruption they will also want to have some change and you have to justify all these feelings but the the issue is that the regime is not going to go for all sorts of subjective and objective reasons the opposition does not form a credible and reliable substitute the what is being proposed to the people is very ambiguous we don't know what sort of regime is going is it going to be a puppet government that is appointed by riyadh or even though how or is it going to be an independent syrian thing is the syrian state going to be a secular state as it is right now everybody feels that they are syrian or is going to be a religious state where people would have to be identified according to their ethnicity

or religious affiliation so in a sense these are all questions that have led some people who might not be happy with the policies of the current government to stick by the cover of the current government and say well this is the best option we have and you have to appease those people later on by saying well we have made some significant change and things are not going to. be going backwards again so there is a new constitution some multilateral multi-party elections and so on and so forth and people could actually have a platform to engage in a new political life in syria and that has to be not theoretical that has to be very effective and that has to be very real and a superpower like russia china and some international community guaranteeing this could very much lead to people being convinced that this is a viable option it's not only a facade. that the government is only launching to keep itself in place we need

a transitional period where we need to incubate some opposition because the syrian opposition now is scattered amongst figures and people who have more of a specific objective when we run out of time but inside our work half member of the syrian social. stay with us here at r.t. will be coming back to the story later on here in the program. but first public anger again spills into the streets of athens where thousands of anti austerity protesters gather in front of the parliament police used tear gas to disperse crowds trying to break through a cordon around the parliament building this is greek trade unions are holding a nationwide general strike in response to fifteen thousand job cuts it's one of the concessions the greek government made to appease international creditors but the long delayed agreement on debt bailout terms still failed to materialize and the talks continue on tuesday greece desperately needs one hundred thirty billion euros from international creditors to avoid default and large kind of geodes are

owed us a lecture at the university if you do that via g. and told r.t. the government remains out of touch with the public. their own thinking in terms of getting gets another. load but the problem is exactly that we are already two years into. the increasing that. bailouts bailouts the need to. extreme it cannot be christened to be more precise so instead of us there is no end in sight i think that it's time for greece to do on its own terms we can no it's great society cannot take any more of these the needs of these told him and then and try to sort of reconstruct. back to me this country. remember you can see live pictures from the greek capital on our website as thousands gather in front of the parliament to protest austerity measures all

that's happening exactly twenty years after the european union treaty was signed max keiser and stacy herbert check out the e.u.'s record after two decades in existence the full program coming up later here's a preview. of the internet was last year to have a coup d'etat and get rid of happened and they could have been put in a populist government and they couldn't save themselves but they. they fail to do that so it's finished for them ireland similarly is toast no help for them whatsoever portugal under the bus spain now italy they have twenty five hundred tons of gold if they can hold onto it they're in good shape but i suspect that the current government will sell that italy's gold at will is a deal with the i.m.f. because they are totally corrupt and this leaves only germany if at the end of the day. coming back now to our top story negotiations between negotiations in damascus

between russian foreign minister sergei lavrov and the syrian president bashar al assad russia's ambassador to the u.n. commented on the outcome in the situation of the country in general for on this we go live to our he's a marine a poor and i is joining us from new york so marina one of the main points that ambassador vitaly churkin touched on. that's why russian envoy to the un vitaly churkin addressed the media just a little while ago reaffirming russia's commitment to bring a peaceful solution to the conflict in syria of course addressing the fact that russian foreign minister sergei lavrov is there right now and trying to hammer out an agreement in which syrian president bashar al assad and the opposition groups will come to the table and begin some type of dialogue and baster churkin did also underscore the fact that when russia made its amendments to a draft resolution that was voted on saturday he said that if the security council

had worked two or three more days there could have been a consensus reached in this circumstance particularly relating to syria the council should not bypass any opportunity to act in the unity if a chance had been given of course to consider russia's amendments which russian officials say are were not excessive there could have been some type of resolution adopted instead we saw that russia and china did cast a veto on saturday there at the press did one member of the press in attendance just a little while ago did investor churkin if he believes that the arab world is angered by russia's actions and he reaffirmed that there is. no kind of problem created between the relations of moscow and the arab world let's take a listen to what he had to say. you know create the image of i think. there is

a very good russian saying which. i think should keep in mind those in the world who may be upset about our positions in this case taking on syria but there is a very good russian saying in my solution in doing this it would be like this don't spit into it well you may well need it for a drink of water. there you have it words coming straight from russian investor to do you have a tally churkin again addressing the press just before noon in new york city reaffirming russia's stance on trying to bring peace to syria right now you have russian officials there are trying to get some kind of peace process rolling because as we saw after heavy closed door meetings and open door meetings among security council members of western countries were not willing to to consider the the rushed.