also admitted not all syrian opposition members will want to gagan talks with the government but rauf cautioned against encouraging protesters to stay away from negotiations last week the e.u. imposed an oil embargo against syria and warned of further steps if the five month crackdown didn't stop but as we go to report sanctions seem more likely to affect the syrian people the authorities and the dealer is a master barber those small his shop was floored until it all ended in the snip. of many customers that would come from was forced when the kilometers away from damascus but now the flow has come down along first came the unrest then the crackdown then the west quickly stepped in with sanctions to survive is to put the economic pressure on the chief the political. the budge and the people of syria to achieve some adjustment aspiration at first all major credit card transactions

were stopped earlier this month but that mainly affected foreign tourists because syria runs its own payment system and those with syrian accounts didn't feel the pinch however the e.u. and the us are tightening their grip by imposing oil embargo on damascus so will that have any probable effect on the people here. of course sanctions will have a negative effect on syrian economy it's a diversified economy with a stable death which gives it a certain immunity against these sanctions. and this is not just government gloss in the face of imposed adversity syrian opposition figures are also unconvinced but for a different reason. the syrian government have chosen their path and no matter what measures are taken against them continue down that route. so anxious are sold as a precise weapon to hit the regime where it hurts but syrian analysts say they're too blunt a tool and it's the people who will suffer the most when you are talking about.

the what we call it it would be my life as a serious citizen because it's not only that but while the power dealers of the west in syria trade insults and blows for syrian workers like nigeria the daily battle is to keep his modest livelihood together while hoping for the best. i believe business will pick up again. even go r t damascus syria. russia can dammed western sanctions against syria calling them harmful and in effect have moscow stance has over has largely been an act held by its partners within the brics group brazil india china and south africa the. professor at the school of international affairs in india believes it's important the alliance is united in dealing with the situation in the middle east bric is a microcosm of the movement toward someone to want to avoid and you can only do

multiple lanty through joint action by bric nations it's very very important now that sanctions could be the final step leading to another military intervention by need to and its allies in the name of protecting the people of syria and it's important to prevent this no one because it made end up in a situation similar to what we have in libya where there is this transition and reach was dictated by western military intervention and propped up america said that they were leading from behind but basically the point was that france britain and the united states are now the arbiters of libya's destiny french are the companies and the telephone companies and british oil companies are talking about how they're going to be number one in libyan oil so we don't want to go down that path again allowing yet another country which is part of the so-called arab spring which is now increasingly being militarized through external interventions rather than allowing the for mentation to happen from within so it's important the bric nations put up this stand a united front and try to prevent you hundreds allusions as well as multilateral

sanctions that could be the slippery slope leading to full fledged war and other major unworldly or in the middle east. so i am for this hour here in our team incarceration at capacity overcrowded u.k. prisons are at breaking point as the government hands out tough jail sentences for hardline approach to street riders and looters. and as america's top commander in afghanistan bids his final farewell to the military we'll look at the problems he's leaving behind. palestinians preparing to march in support of a bid for statehood at the u.n. later this month could face more than they bargained for israel has given security forces in west bank settlements a license to shoot at protesters organizers insist the rallies will be peaceful and will not approach settler homes by israel says it's preparing for every eventuality our disposal here is across events for us. in some quarters there is talk of

a into fonda that some will say will be as bloody and as violent as the first two seculars of whom there are some four hundred thousand living in the land that has some two and a half million palestinians in the west bank all bracing themselves for violence as is the israeli army and the israeli police now for several months the israeli army has been preparing in an operation it calls operation some is seeds and it's now in the final stages of putting the finishing touches in place to this end we're being told that they have demarcated resigned around him in the west bank and what this means is that palestinians who approach beyond that red line will be shot tests by soldiers who will have permission to do this now there also has been intensive training in terms of security groups within these statements they have been participating in drills that the army's been undergoing says' even provided with stun grenades with water cannons as well as with tear gas canisters also being told

that some twenty million dollars has been spent on training the police alone that twenty eight thousand police officers have been mobilized around the country one of the focal point that they'll be watching is jerusalem which is where many fear most of the violence could erupt on saturday we saw the largest protests in this country's history way some four hundred thousand demonstrators took to the streets of ten cities here in tel aviv was one of the focal points a number of speakers a number of artists address the crowd they spoke about making history they said really that this was a turning point in the history of this country what protesters have been demanding for the better part of two months is this social issue justice really what they saying is that the netanyahu government needs to be focused on issues of security and focus on internal problems problems such as the high cost of living in this country and this is a criticism that netanyahu is facing a criticism that he is spending too much time on issues. the international agenda

law though they were addressing the real domestic concerns here at home just this past weekend to be expelled the israeli ambassador and for all military cooperation between both countries the relationship between israel and egypt is at an all time low after israeli fire mistakenly killed a number of egypt's in border guards so with that kind of regional isolation and certainly in the context that it's just several weeks before palestinians will be appealing to the u.n. recognizing the unilateral declaration of statehood there is a lot of concern that what is happening on the international stage is really becoming an excuse for them to tell you who government not to address real concerns that people have here i mean talking to protesters they accuse netanyahu of being passive of being under sponsible and of being out of touch with what people in israel are concerned about. as they are reporting their libya's rebel forces have surrounded the colonel khadafi held desert town of bani walid southeast of tripoli

saying talks with the former leaders loyalists have failed good obvious troops have been given until saturday to surrender with the rebels now preparing a file assault for more i'm joined by our. is in the summary it looks like down for gadhafi is remaining troops in media and was a rebel forces still assisted by nato airstrikes the question is why is it taking so long. well fighting in the area known as bani walid southeast of the capital tripoli continues despite the recent claims by the new government's interior minister to take control over what's thought to be cut off is made into the last stronghold within twenty four hours this battle is indeed very important for the rebels actually for both sides this is the size of one in terms of engine is six months long conflict here in libya the rebels need it because taking control of this area would officially mean the end of the regime and the colonel's fall

they've been preparing for this operation for quite a long time with nato helping them clean path towards. military facilities in the area. in the recent days but. what we're hearing from his loyalists on the ground in bentonville it makes it absolutely clear that this fight will not be easy and we'll actually be hard both sides this operation has actually started when the negotiations between the rebels and gadhafi loyalists on the ground on a peaceful surrender failed safe while islam has recently appeared on t.v. claiming that they will never surrender and they will fight to the death not surprisingly because this area by the way lead has always been known as khadafi stronghold and people from this area have since the beginning of this conflict here in libya been fighting against rebels all across the country and have been dying for khadafy and they're they've all the time been supporting gadhafi who's provided

them with very good emanation and the best weaponry so that's clear that it will be easy for the rebels to take control over these areas while they need it actually could daffy where rebels have been known and while the hunt for him not surprisingly remains the country's number one priority is thought to be right now with his sons in this area this is one. one more reason to take control of this area as soon as possible meanwhile the rebels are afraid that gadhafi forces could office lawyers they use people local residents as human shields and they recently called for old people in the area still held by conduct his forces to come over to his side from the scene there will not be any revenge for them and security could be guaranteed for them in that case one maria what about the

people how are they feeling about their first taste of freedom in the capital. well the national transitional council has repeatedly been claiming recently that tripoli is not secure and is not safe and that they're working hard to try to restore order in the country on the territory now controlled technically by the national transitional council but with we see on the ground actually makes. you no doubt that they are successful so far apart from humanitarian challenges the state of the country extra ease the currently facing such as severe shortages shortages of water food medicine and fuel politically situation is very unstable and it's quite unclear who is actually controlling the aaa right now this is full of armed people with unclear gender many of them very young with little knowledge of how to

use weapons and it's quite unclear who is controlling them national security the national transitional council has. claimed that they now trying to bring. these irregular fighters and they control but as we can see they're not successful so far actually. all right thanks very much indeed for bringing us this update from the libyan capital tripoli marie financial reporting there. two weeks since leaving capitol fell the interim government's already being criticized by its own allies a key rebel military commanders calling on the leaders of the national transitional council to resign for being asked off the loyalist political satirist ted rall says a new civil war seems inevitable i have some sympathy for alsa lobby and his call to get rid of all the former regime figures and it's not much of a revolution if you have former officials from the from the government that has

just been deposed certainly not you would see any kind of division like that uses in a scenario where a revolution is not fully realized and that seems to be the situation in libya any kind of revolutionary movement is an alliance of convenience but in the end where you end up with what shah masood in afghanistan once said in the one nine hundred eighty s. in the war against the soviets first we kill the russians next we kill each other in libya they have killed there and they have effectively killed the gadhafi regime and now they're going to kill each other. so your case chief prosecutor says the looters are being punished too harshly they can rest a grip the country in early august stopped people smashing windows burning cars and looting shops hundreds have since been given stiff sentences in already overcrowded jails are the prime ministers it has called tough love but as artie's either bennett reports the system be at a breaking point. prisons in england and wales have never been nearly

eighty seven thousand inmates are jammed in a record high just one and a half thousand short of maximum capacity now the government's hardline response to the recent riots across england means those spaces at disappearing fast we're now looking at literally what we can pack into the sardine tin and i think that's very unwise and we may well see the disturbances on the streets simply transfer to the prisons almost a thousand writers are in custody so far and there's plenty more to come the police are aiming to charge three thousand with seventy percent being put behind bars at this rate they won't be any space left by most prisons in britain wandsworth was at bursting point even before the riots just forty five people short of its maximum capacity of one thousand six hundred sixty five but that's already fifty percent

over its recommended limit and two out of three prisons current league see this certified safe limit inmates double up in cells smaller than nine square metres sharing and open toilets most prisons are in desperate need of upgrade wandsworth was built in the victorian period times literally stood still but nothing escapes austerity here especially when it costs forty five thousand pounds a year to howe's an inmate the prison building schemes been reversed despite prison and numbers doubling in the last two decades staff and now outnumbered paul to one . has actually only fractionally increased by a couple of percent but we're expected to do the same job of rehabilitation in such difficult circumstances in effect what you actually do you just work those prisoners and i don't think that is the answer to society's problems. the

government thinks it is encouraging tougher sentences to deter more writers like this man who got sixteen months for stealing just two scoops of ice cream but others fear that the cramped conditions this will only fuel reoffending if you send people to prison all of it and suggests that it is it is not by any means the most effective way of reducing reoffending we know that certainly with young people and with people on short term prison sentences up to seventy percent of people we're friend within twelve months of coming out now that cannot be a good use of resources and there have been better ways of doing it the prison service insists it has enough prison places for those being sentenced to custody as a result of public disorder adding there is substantial capacity in the prison system but the numbers suggest otherwise pushing an already stretched system to

breaking point either bennett's artsy london. well more news and eye catching videos of r.t. dot com for you whatever you want here's a taste of what we've got lined up right now. in america's ailing car making capital finds it can get out of reverse gear as the country's government admits it's failing to create jobs for its millions of unemployed citizens. to live music fireworks and a grand laser show see how the russian capital celebrated its eight hundred and sixty fourth birthday with a bang you can watch it at our team dot com or on our you tube channel. he used to.

be official. joined on the phone line called talk from the. video. feed now in the palm of your. as u.s. troops begin their gradual pullout from afghanistan concern grows over the surge in targeted killings and violent attacks in the country meanwhile the u.s. is top commander in afghanistan general david petraeus has bid farewell to the army after thirty seven years as he heads for his new job as head of the cia are just

military contributor looks now at what he's leaving behind the main legacy general petraeus career. of a counterinsurgency doctrine which he coauthored the u.s. marine general martin dempsey the importance is not only limited to a defect that general petraeus pioneered and led the way to recess to tate to revamp grade and to promote the counterinsurgency doctrine in the new century the most significant fact is that general petraeus coined doctrine that has ignited the intellectual and wakening all across the military services and well beyond the united states it was the first step into the right direction from the calcified my optic bunker mentality the conventional wishful thinking into the brand new

vision of the world that's one of the general of the trails to be older respected remembered and that my and for well beyond the military community because it was his intel actual endeavor with the coin dog training that precipitated depair a big shift in the military thinking from the conventional and complacent mentality to the unconventional and symmetrical model operandi. all of bring you now some other stories from around the world clashes have erupted between police and protesters outside a court in cairo where the trial of egypt's ousted president is resuming hosni mubarak is charged with corruption and ordering the killing of protesters in a february uprising which toppled him four policemen will take the stand to testify against mubarak at today's hearing. health concerns have cast a shadow over the upcoming trial of former french president jacques chirac the

seventy eight year old faces two counts of embezzlement punishable by up to ten years in prison is suffering from a condition which affects his memory the judge will consider medical evidence before deciding whether to postpone the trial or allow it to continue ensure ochs absence. when peacekeeping force in haiti has been hit by fresh controversy after a five year old wine peacekeepers were accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy video of the alleged assault has surfaced on the internet a u.n. spokesman says the perpetrators must be brought to justice while you are why has pulled the accused peacekeepers out of haiti. at least twenty five people are dead and dozens missing after a typhoon dallas surged through southern japan it caused massive flooding and landslides leveling roads and homes cutting off access to manny remote villages thousands of people are still stranded and awaiting rescue the storm is the most devastating of its kind to hit japan in several years. well sure they will be

exploring the ways of fighting the problem of plastic pollution that threatens the planet's seas and oceans first though it's the business news to be tree. no and welcome to the program pressure is easing in the gas a few between russia and ukraine key of says it will stick to the current agreement until a new deal is signed ukraine wants to renegotiate prices but is refusing moscow's new deal to bring costs down this rejected selling half of its state energy company nafta gas to russia's gas problem. as the details. experts are speculating whether this is the start of when you gas conflict and you gas war between russia and ukraine as very harsh statements are coming from both sides where ukraine's president on the core which has accused russia of humiliating

ukraine in the course of negotiations and saying that he will not tolerate a relation like this and may even take this discussion over a new contract when you gas price between ukraine and russia. at the same time we've heard a very sharp response from the ground. the press office of. russia's president putin to stated that russia is ready for any legal action should ukraine decide to take such measures the essence of this new conflict is that ukraine is not happy with the price it is paying for a thousand cubic meters of russian gas kremlin waits for some commercial offer to provide such discounts such as for instance a merger between the ukrainian gas monopolist nafta gas and the russian gas giant gazprom the many people of war in europe that there will be another conflict another disruption of supplies into the european continent as we saw in two thousand and nine course the situation now is pretty much different to what happened more than two years back because russia right now is not so strongly

dependent on the ukrainian gas transportation system as it was back in two thousand and. two so the markets now we saw with commodities traditionally oil is losing ground as investors speculate the u.s. and chinese economy weakening indicate fuel demand will fall to the world's largest group consuming nations brant is down more than. one dollar forty two. stocks across asia posting shop. for us to report. on friday. and was also weighing in on expert. in japan therefore the nikkei is down one point nine percent banks saying almost three percent at the close to move down to europe's sovereign debt worries coupled with the bad jobs data from the u.s. is leading european financial slow with the markets dropping significantly as

a result the of the federal housing finance agency alleges that major u.s. and european banks mis represented the quality of mortgages they sold during the housing bubble as a result royal bank of scotland barclays mentioned in the lawsuit are down seven and a half percent this hour in london. and here in moscow the pictures also negative though although not to the extent we're seeing in asia or europe the r.t.s. is down one point seven percent of my sex one percent and a quarter second to the main movers on the my six mainly energy shares are down however ross never slightly better than the market's down just point four percent financials are losing the most was burbank losing two percent this hour. good weather and the end of the grain export ban won't help russia sending this year's crop abroad experts estimate the total export potential of this year's

harvest is around thirteen million tons but the authorities say they will be lucky to export even twenty five million and it's all due to the inability to get the grain from the farms to the ports as well as to mystically that we achieved more than three million tons of green exporter in august and we hope it's going to stealing but as we see the railway system is now able to transfer more to the ports where the docks can handle shipments of up to five million tons amongst the real way system barely managed to transfer the august volumes so you can always log onto our web site r.t. dot com forward slash business for more news or join me in around fifty five minutes time for an uplink.

worldwide manhunt for him lasted for fifteen years. now one million year old warren was promised first come. little miss murphy or the west. for many years in. general and the serbian. parliament. one or two. welcome back you're watching our july from moscow these are the top stories leaving

rebels prepared to attack one of colonel gadhafi is last desert strongholds the town of bani walid that's after efforts to negotiate the surrender of the ousted leaders remaining supporters breakdown. russia says the u.n. must immediately call for all sides in the syrian conflict to stop the violence and starts talking the plea came after moscow condemned the recent sanctions which threatened to hurt the people more than the regime. and israel gives its security forces permission to fire at palestinian protesters in the west bank palestinians are planning a march in the area in support of a bid for statehood at the u.n. later this month. well next on our team a look at the attempts to curb the ever growing pollution that is plaguing the world's oceans.