it is now or just after six pm on friday here in the russian capital this is our city moscow says the u.n. resolution that put forward to try and end the bloodshed in syria is being manipulated in order to force regime change the original russian plan calls for damascus and the rebel forces to biden fighting and return to talks to avert a civil war the proposed changes to however craving the way for a military intervention and toppling president assad a russian official also voiced concern that the humanitarian situation in syria is being used as a pretext to punish assad for his cozy relationship with iran. from the lebanese based conflicts forum told us here at our two year that western interests are more focused on their own agenda rather than the well being of syria so this is actually

a project very much about regime change and the aim of it is that it's the way it's part of the war on iran which is effectively started and there were comments by the national security advisor from the us tom donilon by jeffrey feltman in his testimony to congress which has basically been very explicit about the regime change agenda of the u.s. they've been very careful up till now to acknowledge any kind of violence that's being perpetrated by any others apart from. the government forces in syria but i think just a few days ago the u.s. ambassador did admit that actually there is violence there is there are. actors active who are not government forces so i think what's been very clear is that this is a project about regime change and it's within this context the narrative of sort of pro-democracy movement. can text this is the cause. their

region changed. and one of the biggest disagreements are in the un over how to proceed with syria stems from the west's starts of holding assad personally responsible for all of the bloodshed it's a position that's drawing accusations of bias and intentional ignorance as r.t. sarah further explained. no midnight sun two man was an activist networking site such as facebook to call for peace in syria he phoned his family to tell them to watch him during an interview on lake who t.v. so i mean i saw him on t.v. and he looked well but it was to be one of the last times the family saw him alive and soon after that he was kidnapped he lived to a woman never returned we found his body in the morning and as recently mutilated it's too painful for me to remember that moment it remains unclear who killed him and his family thinks it may have been militants working for the security forces

after seeing him speak on television but in reality he'd worked at a sugar mill and was training to become a computer specialist like so many of the young educated people in syria right now he feels the need to be involved in the changing reality in his country syria in fact has one of the youngest populations in the arab world is schools like this in a generation studying the fact an increasing number of arabs have become better educated and better informed of them that parents or grandparents were there not any more aware that the school writes the more able to demand them as well. many young opposition supporters have taken their campaign online relying heavily on social media like facebook and twitter that have helped topple regimes like these in egypt and libya people's literacy and also media literacy has been enormously harvested recent decades by both education technology called trained but i think we should remember this can cut both ways opposition sides can try to get out their

message and can mobilize people but also even supporters of government so much less dependent on a single. station or single state newspaper between a regime under pressure and an increasingly militarized opposition many syrians fifteen left tracks in the middle. i have only one question what did they kill my son for a politician or a public figure various movements national and local exist in this country i don't understand when my son was killed you know you know and speaking before a crowd many of whom were young supporters of president assad this week once again repeated his promises of reform that was met with skepticism from the opposition and meanwhile on all sides of this conflict young politically motivated syrians remain committed to fighting for the political future of their country despite the fact that so many like him and that fight could end up costing them their lives

sarah r.t. . and the people of illinois crosstalk discuss the influences at work in syria from the arab league monitors to the protestors themselves or the program coming your way that'll be next hour here on r.t. here's a preview. they have consistence policies towards syria and i think they took this side of their civilians inside syria and they have only sorry to interrupt here i mean these are i don't understand when we use the term protesters civilians i mean a lot of these people are armed and there are no longer civilians or protesters there come back now and this is turned into a civil war and some western powers are supporting certain elements within syria taking a side in the civil war would you agree or disagree with that. crosstalk is about an hour and a half from now here on r.t.

british prime minister david cameron has arrived in saudi arabia that's the u.k.'s biggest trade partner and arms market in the middle east the gulf kingdom has been rattled by recent unrest in the arab world and has suppressed protests on home soil as well as elsewhere with heavy force correspondent laura smith has to tell us. this is david cameron's first trip as prime minister he's going to be meeting with king abdullah and also crown prince naïf well he's that they'll be discussing a huge range of issues really including the global economy energy security counterterrorism obviously the situation in syria and the situation in iran at the moment and this is an important relationship really for both parties saudi arabia is obviously the world's biggest oil exporter it's also got ninety five billion dollars or thereabouts invested in the u.k. and the u.k. and the middle east do about twenty three billion dollars worth of trade every year so a very very big partnership on both sides strong relationships with the saudis very

important to britain for advancing the ukase interests in the region saudi arabia has recently been hugely roiled and rattled by various developments in the region including the overthrow of longtime ally hosni mubarak and these recent tensions with iran and there is a certain amount of a lot of powerful opposition to this visit here in the u.k. a group of very powerful members of parliament the committee on export controls has questioned why licenses to saudi arabia for arms exports from the u.k. haven't been revoked in the wake of that trouble they have submitted questions and then publish those questions to the government on licensing of various equipment including bombs and components of vehicles and helicopters and also communications equipment and they're saying why given the unrest that we did see in saudi arabia it was very very little reported on what happened that license being revoked why

would the u.k. government trust the assurances that the saudi the saudi powers have given them about the end. of the weapons that they're being sold we saw violence last year during the arab spring brutal suppression of protesters particularly from this shiite minority saudi. of course is a sunni majority country there's a shiite minority they came out in the streets and were brutally suppressed and indeed just as late as thursday night we saw one processor killed and three wounded when the security forces opened fire with live ammunition on. the saudis the violence in iraq iran has a shiite majority and in the region they represent the interests of minorities in other sunni majority countries like saudi arabia so iran's accusing them of meddling there's also an accusation by the u.s.

that iran plotted to have the saudi ambassador to washington assassinated in october so there's all sorts of tension between saudi arabia and iran very worrying but nevertheless the british government is looking at carrying on selling arms to saudi arabia and even topping the contracts there's a huge order. seventy two already on order and some people are saying that possibly the control be expanded to include forty eight more. of amount of money at stake for the u.k. government but also reputation according to this powerful group of lobbyists within the government. not is laura smith reporting the u.k. arms contracts with saudi arabia are not the only thing piling pressure on iran as we find out in just a few minutes in every instance of the speculation voles on those who want to see a continued escalation of hostilities we look at who benefits from destabilizing the islamic state all that analysis coming your way shortly.

with r.t. political hardliners in kosovo have announced they are to block serbian truck border crossings this weekend it comes at despite belgrade's ongoing steps towards a compromise in the border issue as the country continues to strive for e.u. membership and ethnic serbs in kosovo say they are finding themselves under more pressure from the albanian majority. never points. the checkpoint in northern kosovo may not look like an obvious triumph of peace but here is the same spot just two weeks ago since the summer e.u. backed old billions of tried to take control of the border between serbia and kosovo the serb minority erected barricades in response they don't recognize course of independence so in the albanian dominated province is still part of serbia now both sides of the new agreed that the border will be jointly policed. anyone can

now freely pass through this checkpoint when you're trumpeting this as a happy resolution but a standoff and while life here has become easier a lot of serbs are saying that once again they have given up too much for the compromise and have received no rush owen says about their long term future belgrade try to talk serbs in kosovo down from the barricades so it was to join the e.u. which made a peaceful solution to the border issue a precondition but despite progress on the border belgrade application for candidate status has been stalled in the latest round of talks with brussels some countries which did recognize costs and they feel this week just before they are getting the kind of a status that's why they are squeezing serbia exacta trying to achieve something more than then usually asking the candidates. just to meters from the east soldiers in the ast serbian militia many here have been engaged in conflict with albanians

since nine hundred ninety nine when an ethnic war divided the territory into they have been coming to this roadblocks in july and say they will carry on despite a border deal alone is that why should we be happy to see you soldiers give us permission to use this road we never used to need permission to use it at all we do not trust the e.u. or albanians wanted it when a relative's and friends have been injured in this conflict for the past twelve years. those who gain the most from the border compromise are ordinary serbs blocked prevented many children from coming to school and their parents from buying even basic foodstuffs but normality is some distance away. so. there are constant warning sirens during the lessons these children are not growing up normally their lives are defined by the conflict and this is true not just for children but for all serbs have been living in kosovo for twelve years while opening the roads is a step forward the serb state as an independent kosovo they do not consider their

own and that does not appear to want them remains as uncertain as ever. it's a quarter past the hour here in the russian capital still to come just a little bit later in the program here a pharmaceutical phantom menace. when you feel the weight of sadness you may feel exhausted hopeless and anxious look at the alarming death rate from pill popping in the u.s. as drugs companies are accused of overstating this scale of depression all around the country. the united states has reportedly used a secret channel of communication to issue a direct warning to iran's supreme leader ayatollah khomeini washington says that any move by terrazzo brokaw oil trade through the crucial strait of hormuz would be met with immediate response inspectors from the un's nuclear watchdog our show if

you will to come to iran in two weeks to see if its nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons capability meanwhile the war of words between washington and tehran has also been heated up by wednesday's assassination of a top iranian nuclear scientist jamal abdul from the national iranian american council things isolating iran was the main purpose of the killing. the fact the matter is that the hardliners on all sides who don't want to see any kind of negotiated resolution who don't want to see iran brought some way into the fold and want to see this tension escalate want to keep iran sort of outside of the security status quo in the middle east or supportive of these actions and that's why you have speculation that perhaps israel was behind this perhaps the iranian. terrorist organization that is dedicated to overthrowing the iranian government and preventing a reproach mom between the u.s. and iran are behind this or you even have people who think that perhaps hardliners

in the iranian government were behind this because they're more interested in preventing any kind of talks and being able to create a security environment within iran where they can crack down on on dissidents and you. the threat of an external you know a war with the united states or external threats to actually consolidate their control so in every instance all this speculation falls on those who want to see a continued escalation of hostilities and robert naiman from the u.s. based ngo just foreign policy says that the iranian threat is being overplayed by american politicians with even the highest officials silenced if they dare question at. the defense secretary. will not be our defense or your face the nation he said you were trying to bill to develop a nuclear weapon. ourselves in the very next nine p.b.s. newshour did you know they had steam. and then used his room or are you trying to

argue the opposite as fairness and accuracy and no one who didn't alert p.b.s. and received any response is just part of a pattern. u.s. media and it's certainly part of a pattern in the presidential campaign in presidential candidates. you know we always like it when you get involved with us here about you today can tell us what you think about the situation as it develops around iran just log on to dot com if you go to the forum section you'll find what a cost to your opinion some of those being put out there right now one of you saying what is going on in the strait of hormuz is just another set of moves in a long chess game in the region it will be a long time before any side is close to a check because and here's what another viewer things so israel must ensure that its military is strong and ready for any eventuality it will only find peace through to terence i do go to the forum section r.t. dot com have your say on the story will broadcast many of them live. and we've got

plenty more for you on line as well let's have a look at see some of the items are standing by for you for example we bring you more on the video that stirred up such a scandal over the actions of u.s. forces in afghanistan and get comments and reaction from around the world plus a seventy six year old millionaire finds himself in hot water after he broke away to his finger at a swanky restaurant in florida find out how that happened at r.t. dot com. now to the u.s. and the story of a deadly passion for pale today more americans die from prescription drugs than from. it's shocking data coming from the national center for health statistics and i thought here's more important i reports it's pharmaceutical firms prioritising profit over people's lives. america is regarded as a country with a ravenous appetite for consumption today

a widespread fondness for pharmaceuticals has turned the u.s. into a nation of pill poppers bipolar depression doesn't have to consume news here's me and here's my depression you know when you feel the weight of sadness you may feel exhausted hopeless and anxious according to the u.s. government anti-depressant use among americans has increased nearly four hundred percent in the past two decades published reports find that one in five adults take at least one drug for mental health disorders with over fourteen billion dollars in annual sales anti-psychotics remain america's top selling therapeutic class of prescription drugs says a medical doctor harriet fraud believes big pharma has manufactured a climate of insanity by manipulating and even creating illness for capital gains the advertising strategy is to have a big giant noses and then find wiggle room so that they apply to everybody

prescription nexium the u.s. is the only western country that allows direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs this ad for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder warns that untreated patients will likely end up divorced and this commercial for so long and we'll learn this is to make you happier but side effects may include dry mouth insomnia sexual side effects diarrhea nausea and sleepiness the critics also say big pharma uses its financial muscle supply doctors with gives in cash kickbacks and research funding in exchange for endorsing or prescribe the latest and. lucrative drugs what you have is a whole network of doctors who are hustling these drugs if a patient comes in with a knee injury and says i'm so sad oh are you depressed hey write a prescription they're given out like m.

and m's last year per script and drug abuse became the number one cause of accidental death with more than thirty thousand americans overdosing it can consume you sarah quell a bipolar medication generated four point four billion dollars in sales last year listing all its side effects requires forty nine seconds of air time much sugar has been reported missing or the public saw and medicines like it did in extreme cases can lead to come down the number of children consuming anti-psychotic medication doubled in the posit decades millions of american adolescents are taking drugs like adderall doled out by doctors to treat hyperactivity only drugs are very very similar to illicit or illegal drugs is it a dangerous now one is a little safer but you said not sure i mean they're being forced on these. but doctors you know who are telling parents this is the best thing for them when often it's not and so you have a lot of angry resentful just growing up in america here the charity happening

because of pfizer america's most profitable pharmaceutical company makes anti-depressants not only for people but also for adam and in two thousand i the pharma giant paid two point three million dollars to settle civil and criminal allegations over illegally marketing one of its drugs it was the largest health care fraud settlement in the middle line to ever been aided by a us drug company that being said the money reportedly amounted to less than three weeks more of a prize or drug sales the money is so huge that the fines are immaterial and they're not thinking about the social. acts of what they're doing they're thinking about the profits they accrue the pharmaceutical industry remains the most profitable business in the us more success in financial gain for the companies will always remain possible as long as more americans are encouraged to take drugs.

artsy me or. before we get to deal with the business let's check out some other global news for you in brief and i will start with nigeria where powerful unions have threatened to shut down all oil and natural gas production in the country this sunday it all comes as a suspended nationwide protests against spiraling gas and food prices off of four consecutive days of demonstrations the dispute has already been felt in the world's oil market where the price of crude has jumped. leaked report by the cia and other intelligence agencies has painted a gloomy picture of the situation in afghanistan the document says the country is in a stalemate and warns that attempts to improve security have been undermined by corruption by local government and taliban attacks from neighboring pakistan several senior military commanders have filed a written objection to the findings saying that based on assumptions and a lack of understanding about taliban. and as the u.s.

is trying to improve its reputation in afghanistan we look back at another of washington's long lasting military campaigns a special report exposes the bloody background of the war in iraq and how many journalists were among the victims. if they shoot something inappropriate for public they can easily be shown. that he's a war ok. i wish he would have never happened but it has. been a war a t.v. camera becomes unnecessary what this is their own safety all foreign nationals including journalists and inspectors should leave. and this clear what happens with such witnesses i got it on my site. mercy shooting on our t.v.

. the full version of that report coming your way now at a fifteen thirty g.m.t. for now though it's daniel with the latest business news update. welcome to business the european union has joined the growing gas conflict between russia and ukraine energy commission. wants both sides must take into account agreements already signed with the e.u. ukraine says a struggling economy called for the volumes agreed its contract with moscow wants to cut purchases by hall of russia's energy joint goes from all those key of could have reduced its order to twenty percent but only with six months notice the e.u. has offered its support to ukraine in this round and more talks will be held on tuesday chris we go from. the road is likely to result in ukraine conceding to brussels. in its point system. that makes much more

engineering commercial economic sense than the alternatives such as the south stream pipe and i think that russia is more likely to agree to the proposal provided of course that the equity ownership in the transit system in ukraine also changes specifically to allow gazprom to take at least a twenty five percent initial stake in the pipeline and with some mechanism that would allow would maybe go up to fifty percent ownership i believe at the end result over the next couple of months will be a concession from. this ownership issue and i believe the european union will have a role in this is when it's gazprom and then i think this century the south stream project along with in the book a pipeline project will both kind of die off believe will be shelved indefinitely. let's look at the markets now first oil which is trying to reverse the biggest

weekly drop of the year light sweet remains below one hundred dollars a barrel but it's edging up today prices are being kept down by reports that the uranium in borger will be delayed was six months to allow troubled economies like greece it's. in spain to find alternative suppliers. has joined london in the rig in the last few minutes after today's italian debt talks and failed to raise the same interest as yesterday traders point to lower profits for j.p. morgan chase in quarter four as a sign that confidence is still being tainted by the euro crisis. and russia which looks like it might in friday down as it's been all week it is edging lower after a strong start in the morning that's following pessimism in europe. looks like it may be slipping into the red as we move lower let's have a look at the sheer movers on the my sixth today gazprom is higher off the saying it won't negotiate its current gas supply contract with ukraine has moved into the red in the last hour of revealing its all output dropped over five percent last

year telecom is gaining however on reports it will buy armenian operated g n c l four for over twenty two million dollars. and in other news turnover in russian trade with countries rose by a third in the first eleven months of last year reaching six hundred thirty two billion dollars fuel and energy accounted for three quarters of exports while machinery and equipment total top of all imports russia's top three trading partners for the period with china germany and the netherlands. the business this hour join us for the opening rates on wall street next.

when clinton comfortable question leads to a grave accusation the world sues moore's you know fog. the president who isn't supposed to hide anything. or it's someone asking him why do you make a secret out but when the powers to be suppress the voice of those who think different culture when you go experiencing very serious problems off of the saakashvili government came to power in two thousand and three but the book that was when the problems began piling up. interviews were now off limits to our journalists they were all from beeston up and humiliated in public and one of the attempt to protect property puts life in real danger is that we have been deprived

of the only means of earning a living and i have the gall to originals of all the papers that got their little ice-t. ownership rights on the basis of cocos freedom becomes just a stage prop. this is all see a line from the russian capital on rule research a time for the headlines now moscow warns its u.n. partners not to try and alter its draft resolution on syria russia wants an end to the bloody fighting and the start of peace talks but others appear to be backing regime change the. british prime minister david cameron a arrives in saudi arabia the u.k.'s largest market in the middle east even as the gulf kingdom continues its crackdown on protests. and members of the cause of radical.