it's just after five pm here in the russian capital and you're watching r.t. now britain has sentenced to young men to four years behind bars after their facebook posts which they said were a joke called of others to cause trouble in their hometowns well now human rights groups are sounding the alarm saying the courts are overreacting by dishing out penalties which are far too harsh a bet reports it's part of the political drive for tough justice in the wake of the looting and disorder across england. four years behind bars for the riot that didn't even happen jordan black sure and perry sutcliffe kenan were banged up for inciting disorder on facebook no one turned up after their invitation to riot which they later said was a drunken joke but now they face sentences even tougher than most looters and our

worry is that it is an imbalance a four year sentence for example would normally be given to somebody for a previous bodily harm for holding someone up with a knife or even for. some form of sexual assault so it seems to me that that there is a danger that the courts are moving into disproportionate territory and that actually devalues our response to more serious crimes that governments encourage courts to dish out harsh sentences by using the public disturbance as an aggravating factor it's meant this man anderson fernandez could even be sent to jail for theft of just two scoops of ice cream because like this one denying bail to most offenders and ignoring any claims of previous good character of the one thousand two hundred seventy seven people charged so far two thirds have been remanded in custody that's way up on last year's rate for serious crimes just just

ten percent some offenders even being made homeless is their punishment with local governments taking away their houses but many say it's all simply cause more harm than good i think this is very unwise the move to remove people from housing interim move benefits because actually if we are seeing that some of the crime that we saw on the streets was an expression of people not feeling participating not feeling part of our communities then these measures are actually going to push people further away from society further away from our communities and far more likely to commit crime the facebook case is the first sign of the government's desire to crack down on social media sites like twitter were applauded by the west to mobilize. the masses in the arab world but they were also instrumental in the u.k. riots so now the prime minister wants it to stop we are working with the police the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites or services when we know they are plotting

violence disorder and criminality when social media fueled revolutions in egypt and tunisia britain called it democracy but now the shoe's on the other foot when troubles closer to home i'm very conscious that they are the new you know the. movement we would be the force that could we. are trying to walk. the prime minister says this is where britain fights back put it this fighting fire with fire could only fan the flames of civil disorder after bennett artsy london. for various prime minister david cameron has defended the sentencing saying they are sending a tough message but investigative journalist tony gosling believes the authorities must not forget their own past before condemning others. i think it's a bit rich coming from david cameron who and the government i mean who are many of

whom are we talking about george osborne boris johnson david cameron who were members of this elite oxford bullingdon club and i'll quote now one of the things they said back in ninety six was that they smashed the place up and boris set fire to the toilets i think they should take a close look at themselves and their club that they used to be part of a not for the drinking club where they would smash places up one occasion apparently two bottles of wine were smashed each by these people in a pub they look like vandals to me so they shouldn't really go lecturing the rest of us the last thing we need is a knee jerk reaction against our ability to communicate it's quite clear we have to separate the difference between ordinary communications and those kinds of communications which involve incitement to riot and to other kinds of criminal behavior well one of the ironies of this is as you try and restrict these internet sites what happens is actually if you if you for example as you gypsies do when they close down the internet in certain places during the tahrir square the

uprising earlier this year is that people actually come out in the street so they have a chance anyway and i think this is being used actually as an excuse to regulate more more government interference in the way we communicate which i think would be a terrible thing and the u.s. human rights chief is preparing to call for the international criminal court to investigate serious lethal crackdown on protesters well the u.n. says it's found a pattern of systematic attacks against civilians and has compiled a list of fifty alleged perpetrators inside the government of president assad claims the military operation has now stopped but starting with an arson has been finding out the presence of government troops is not always seen as a bad sign. the city of there is sort of maybe liberated but in the last few days it suffered a brutal occupation i mean nightly bandits blocked the raids put up barricades it became a day city were hiding they were just like hostages for more than

a week claim to be army fought against armed groups that had taken control of the city and had been terrorizing its residents. soldiers of the syrian army i live in the city of their near the iraqi border measure officials are saying operation is now over that the city has been freed from armed groups as you can see people are welcome in the soldiers as the way there is but in other parts of the country the troops live in assad's vicious crackdown a far less welcome in a similar offensive against so-called terrorists and the coastal city of latakia the opposition claims government troops killed almost forty civilians while human rights groups reported number of deaths in the country could be almost as high as two thousand some say assad is simply using his army to silence peaceful demonstrators across the country over than. the syrian army hasn't met any

resistance in the cities across the country were. maybe there was some so-called bandits among protestors and maybe they use the momentum to spread care but if so where have they been when the army. armed groups is just a theory invented by the state to have an excuse to enter the cities for a new liberated there is or life seems getting back to normal the markets reopened and roads that just days ago were empty again filled with cars but reminders of the recent troubles to hard to find and the most obvious one is fear or if national party syria. globalization analyst michel chossudovsky says the fire power some of the protesters have obtained raises questions about their motives and about where the weapons have come from i've been following this day by day since it started in

march in in daraa in the southern city of daraa and what we heard is islamists go. free as well as muslim brotherhood gun. was shooting at civilians as well as sure to get police and israeli sources actually confirming that these militia and i quote. all of them with heavy machine guns they say they they won't say that this is all the protest movement because that seems to be the the media consensus but then they say the protesters with heavy machine guns and. now since way are not peaceful civilian protesters armed with heavy machine guns so the question is we have to ask ourselves who is the source of this killing what are the what are the underlying causes of this of this insurrection israel has suffered

a number of consecutive shootouts sort of left the five dead and dozens injured while the attacks took place near its southern border with egypt with a gunman opening fire on a passenger bus a private car and israeli troops larches correspondent paula sleepier isn't tel aviv with more. and israeli best was fired on by gunmen using a k forty seven in a separate incident and israeli patrol vehicle drove over a roadside bomb and in a third incident a private vehicle was fired at by an opp eugene now we are hearing reports of a fourth incident but this is not clear at this stage as you can well imagine the reports sometimes conflict each other this does seem to have been some kind of shootout between the israeli army and militants but at this stage the figures we are receiving are finest people did and twenty six people injured now this happened in southern israel not far from the border we're hearing from the israeli prime minister's office that at least three of the gunman have been killed the israeli army is on high alert and they say that this is an it is an orchestrated

sophisticated operation is ongoing while the israeli defense minister ehud barak says there's no doubt that the fire came from gaza which is which is why some people here are now fearing that they could be another israeli gaza war operation at the same time it only adds to the fear that's already being expressed for several months now that the situation in the sinai peninsula is chaotic and this would have an alkie which is the way that some israeli experts have described the situation there just last week egypt send thousands of troops to the sinai peninsula to try and of the militants the second time that they have done this ever since the egyptian president hosni mubarak felt and this is an operation that is being supported by israel which is increasingly talking not about weapons being smuggled into gaza but what israeli officials call large shipments of organized military operations caches of equipment that are making their way into gaza and of course the question is being asked why was israel not better prepared for this but you need to remember that these radio direction border is

a long border it is not as frequent patrolled as are the borders in this country because of the israeli egyptian peace treaty and as i mentioned earlier the fact that some people say that this was so well orchestrated and so sophisticated is leading here is leading so. you know to say that there is some kind of foreign involvement some kind of foreign expertise in what we witnessed today. and still ahead for you this hour thanks but no thanks the new a c. you on things turned their backs on the single currency as of just deeper into a fight for survival. well turning to the skies now which are particularly noisy this thursday in the moscow region all the max international air show is hosting all sorts of magnificent men and their flying machines and i thought all the cobra is there for us to bring us up to speed with the latest developments.

one of the hard lights of the third day of mac's two thousand and eleven air show is this helicopter the helicopters made its name during this soviets war in afghanistan the am i seventeen that is soon to return to the country in order to help restore security there as nature is going to buy over twenty of such helicopters to deploy to afghanistan let's check it out from the inside experts say that it's very easy to operate this helicopter especially for our gun violence many of them were educated by the soviet flight instructors. we will be able to check out the insides of the cabin just the moments as potential buyers are already here to check it out for themselves and we can go. well of course this is not the only military aircraft that is the headliner of this year's air show monks d. fifty is another one lined together with america's f. twenty two and a half thirty five fighter jets the fifth generation fifty has been kept

a secret for a very long time it was displayed for the first time on wednesday but no one was able to get close to it as its features i still kept it secret what we do know is that its most prominent feature is going to be that it's. difficulty detected by radars but of course this airshow is not just about military aircraft we're talking big money a lots of deals to be sealed during the next three days including today of course as well where surrounded by hundreds of boy air bosses alongside the wars that were jet and asked to win t one so we're expecting a billion dollar deals to be sealed for the next couple of days but of course for the general audience the most exciting part of the show is air about six russian knights will be performing for them together with the troops. pilots and one of our correspondents the water actually found out what it's like to be on one of those

planes during the performance. engine jet. instruments. runway check and then it's takeoff for the russian aircraft to display team. their nine first class pilots have performed over two hundred times in the past nineteen years but they all have to start somewhere. andre is training to join the team he thinks he's nearly good enough but still remembers his first thought was so highly debated without any warning they told me i was going to do the next flight on my own i had no time to be scared there was no longer an instructor to want it was unforgettable takeoff you on your own controlling the plane then when you learnt you've done it i think you're a real pilot at that point. the us moves are just trying to hold the maneuvers they

practiced most weekends thinking of new tricks and practicing old ones for me but then for the work of a book we come up with stone and been researched them but it often turns are you peeping down before mystery of a russian came up with the look i'm told. the other stunts are based on the loop the loop is the basis for all aerial acrobatics. however it always comes down to time in the air even with years of flying and training experience between them it never becomes easy because the most cynical when you leave the cockpit you can squeeze a gallon of sweat from your suit what your knees are shaking for because it's extremely different than the stressful and anyway what you'll go through. so with that gut wrenching fare ringing in the my is i was told it was mine for the crowds on the ground this is an exciting spectacle but that's not quite the emotion that's going through my mind at the moment because i'm about to see what happens from

inside the cockpit. we did the loop the loop all the planes just me to supplant. it. but when it came to the fountain i nearly blacked out. white faced but not defeated i returned to. the ship getting. a. ticket. to. make. it. but i could also see some of the strains that go through. there there's no to get the news from you know the might be for the crowds but serial acrobatics aren't issued to the pilots it's always a difficult job that a terrorist

a pilot has to show his skill and the beauty of flight so next time you look up at those speeding planes spare a thought for the pilot in some way. from bottom to. other stay with r.t. throughout the day as we bring you more updates and live coverage from the max two thousand and eleven international air show in the moscow region. hands. closer. every single approach. shot shape our future flight try our two types to the max air show. now the czech republic is the latest e.u. country to back away from the struggling euro zone saying absorbing now would be inappropriate well it's just the latest country to be scared off the debt laden

single currency and some even ignoring legal obligations to sign up only three of twelve states that have joined the e.u. since two thousand and four have adopted the euro and it comes after angela merkel and nicolas sarkozy called for the promotion of a central economic body which would ensure euro zone members take more financial responsibility but financial expert patrick young says the european leaders are clutching at straws and risking the whole currency. the reason people wanted to join the single currency in the first place was because of safety the idea that they could trade in a single currency across borders and that that would be a hard trading currency block what we've seen in the course of the last number of months i mean actually going over a year or more annoying has been an increasing number of summers various bailouts every time we end up with this chorus of people telling us that everything's over and we've got frankly a ground opera of the euro that's turning into a farce everybody outside of the european union elite understands that the euro is

under incredible pressure a country like the czech republic thirty four percent debt to g.d.p. they've got one. of the debt to g.d.p. of greece why on earth do they want to join a club that's already being bankrupted by the least organized and worst members of the organization they're not going to do it they can find easily a way to avoid it the e.u. needs to get its act together it needs to cut the cancer and get rid of places like greece and through the might of the euro it needs to create a new unstable system and it needs to adhere to the rules because all of the euro zone members have a centrally broken the rules in some way shape or form the markets need confidence this is not caused by markets thinking that they want to destroy the euro as a reason for some form. vandalism it's totally completely in the hands of people like mr sarkozy mrs merkel and indeed all of those euro zone leaders they need to

lead they need to demonstrate leadership and they need to demonstrate strength otherwise the euro is dead. ok now to some other world news this hour thousands of people have gathered madrid to protest the pope's visit to spain angry that the cost of the trip is coming out of talks players pockets eight people were arrested in the eleven others injured during clashes between police and activists benefit the sixteenth is visiting spring to mark world youth day and the government has not admitted exactly how much it's costing the reports suggest it's more than seventeen million euros. to pakistan our fresh violence over the past twenty four hours of the city of karachi has left at least thirty nine people dead many of the victims were found tortured shop stuffed in sacks and dumped on the street and a former member of the country's ruling party was gunned down as he entered a restaurant for a post fasting meal with the killings are thought to be linked to ongoing rivalries

between gangs and political parties vying for power. turkish warplanes have attacked sixty sites in northern iraq targeting the kurdistan workers party it comes a day after nine turkish soldiers were killed and over a dozen injured by a rebel group in her t.v. province that's close to the iraqi border kurdish militants have been carrying out attacks against turkey for over two decades demanding autonomy in the area. well we have more news videos of all the latest updates on our web site that's our team dot com and here's what we have for you on line right now in an exclusive interview to our to me the prime minister of the caucuses republican unveils his plans for the presidential elections and describes how democracy is taking hold. and just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water people are savaged in truck attacks in russia's far east within twenty four hours.

now scientists say they've lost contact with an advanced telecom satellite that was launched early on thursday the joint a russian a french project dubbed express blasted all from kazakhstan should have reached orbit by now but according to reports it strayed off target meaning the satellite has been lost or the russian space agency has already set up a panel to investigate possible malfunctions the express was set to be one of europe's most powerful eyes in the sky and provide digital t.v. coverage across a large part of russia for the next fifty years. ok it's now time for all the latest business news with kareena.

hello and welcome to the business here in r.t. while the crowds at the mosque where show look skywards on the ground more deals are being made a new joint venture has been nell's between russia's ross technology and a french air space company south from the c.e.o. of stuff from told business our t.v. multi-million euro startup will work on state of the art navigation systems. you are very very few. countries and your world must realize that by the. program you do weeks premature received a biggish in the year preceding the hope the weapons. jerry would go to all three countries worldwide he would be good to see t.m.j. the whole the faults. he is very very sneaky going to spread you wise. and crude is losing ground up to climbing to the highest level in almost two weeks concerns about global economic recovery are

weighing on the price however the weaker dollar is given some support brenda blethyn is trading at just under one hundred and nine dollars per barrel while the w.i. has it around eighty five dollars per barrel stock markets across europe see shop falls as concerns about the state of the global economy continue to weigh on investors' minds senate firms are down up to switzerland's holton reported disappointing results it's five percent lower this hour mining stocks are down with and america losing three percent b.h.p. billiton declining three percent after approving investment to spawn a coal mine in colombia on trading on the lies x. has been told for more than an hour a few technical problems deals came to a stop just after four o'clock moscow time and resumed about sixty minutes later. suffered a similar problem and a total last year maybe the break was was what's needed as investors have been profit taking to wednesday's positive session of the lower oil prices are on giving

the market much support either and here is a snapshot of the markets movers on them isaac's close of the blue chips are heavily in the red and if you major is losing support from crude gazprom is down more than one and a half percent banking stocks are also lower as investors are pricing in the recent to klein in future as part of. for s. and p. five hundred electricity stocks are trying to rally after a heavy selloff passed what's. russia still giant heroes has decided to extend its coal mining business to companies investing almost six hundred million dollars into developing of mine in west siberia the project is expected to reach a production capacity of two million tons of coking coal i think two thousand and fourteen. gold is trading at a new record high as uncertainty about the global economy is pushing investors back to safe havens the spot price is now at one thousand eight hundred eighteen dollars

per ounce it's being fueled by a report from morgan stanley and dortch about which have cut their forecast for china's economic growth also but as well i decided to nationalize its huge gold reserves pushing gold futures to a record on wednesday central banks all over the world are rushing to buy into bullion in order to hedge against depreciating foreign currency reserves or prior from troika dialog believes gold is a great long term opportunity in the russian market the russian gold stocks drop something like about ten percent in the last two weeks time while gold prices went up eighty percent so i think this is not maybe the gold stocks right now not the best idea it's probably better to buy some liquid stocks but for those who are building new positions for me to i'm in long term i think this is really kind of food good opportunity good chance to buy them. that's all the business is now

joining me in about forty five minutes from. the.

russian would be so much brighter if you knew about some move from funds to impressions. for instance on t.v. dot com. for the full story we've got it for. the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers on.

welcome about half past the hour time to look at our main stories that we're covering today on r.t. british courts are cracking down to rioters with some stiff sentences but human rights groups accuse judges of overreacting by dishing out severe penalties indiscriminately to young men have been given a four year sentences for posting a joke message on facebook calling for people to loot their home town. party here is a syrian voices that welcomed the government troops moving into their towns but international calls a possible new president assad's regime for human rights violations as well as across cities against protesters are growing louder. and the moscow regions biannual international air show continues with.