well sources has reported many casualties on the ground. in the last few days. it's really hard to determine what's really going on on the ground there because of safety issues to reach the place and confirm. definite numbers of people. according to. what we're going to activists saying that the syrian military has basically. bombed some parts of the city government completely refuted any type of volume and that they have actually. blame it on the terrorist groups that have been taking active role in the city they are spread all over the place there and causing many casualties the government also has issued many statements today that the security forces were able to kill tens

of terrorists that belong to these terrorist groups that they also believe that are being backed by foreign foreign influence on the ground. russia's prime minister vladimir putin has cautioned against outside intervention in the syrian conflict or more than there was a risk of behaving like a bull in the china shop but calls on world powers to use their political clout to put pressure on both the syrian government and the opposition to lay down their arms and engage in talks but he's only going to has more on this. in light of the ongoing diplomatic wrangling about the situation in syria russian prime minister legit within the said that syrians must be allowed to solve the situation in their country on the their own russian prime minister still looking it was during a meeting with their religious leaders have a warrant against any possible foreign it military involvement in the country saying that such a scenario would be akin to

a proverbial ball in the china shop prime minister reminded about this issue in in libya where nato led invasion led to an escalation of violence to situation continues to remain quine to remain quite unstable and violent russia is calling on international on international pressure on all parties involved in the syrian conflict in order to resolve the situation diplomatically where is western powers such as the u.k. the united states and france are want president asad to step down they want him out of the picture and this is where again mitt mane to say being disagrees with in moscow and the west are coming from russia is taking practical steps in to trying to solve the situation in syria now on tuesday russian foreign minister said it's regular ever over as part of the russian delegation to damascus met with the syrian president bashar asad coming out of those talks with russia's foreign minister said

that the syrian president is ready to said down for a dialogue with the opposition a senior member of the opposition syrian national council has a welcome dr his role as a mediator and the peace process even commenting on his visit to damascus on wednesday. encouraged all other members of the international community to put more pressure on all sides involved in the syrian conflict in order to bring peace to the country. we have suggested that certain parties capable of influencing the opposition. groups especially those based outside syria try to convince those groups to begin negotiations parties with influence on damascus have been trying to convince the authorities to do the same as i have mentioned the syrian authorities confirm they are ready to begin negotiations without putting forward any conditions but instead of putting pressure on the opposition most of the world community seems to be pulling out its envoys of from syria around italy and spain are among the

latest countries to have recalled their ambassadors to syria there are also gulf nations which have not just recalled their own boys to the country but have sent out syrian ambassadors from their respective countries thereby effectively ending diplomatic relations with damascus and the acid rhetoric is also continuing to come from the united states of the where the where the white house is there says lee said that the syrian president's days are numbered and at the same time the pentagon has said that they are looking at ways to support the rebels fighting against the regime of president asad although not militarily for you know they say . well for more i'm joined by he's professor of laura georgetown university in washington how when events unfold in syria following the u.n. showdown is it likely that the west will embrace russia's call for dialogue at some stage. well from washington country you might be willing to go in that

direction but we know that there are others who are adamant who would want to see the regime of bashar ousted regardless of what he formed or whatever the facts on the ground have been the source of confusion and the media portrays a. president who is not at all popular and the reality on the ground. something different the media says that it is. that is killing innocent civilians and then there is a commission of fact finders by the arab league who otherwise said that this regime is in fact facing acts of sabotage of the economy terrorist attacks on public and private property killing civilians and

military and security forces and any government in the world has to put down any kind of arms that is a system restore law and order so i think absent some foreign outside interference smuggling on. the syrians would be able to find a way out of the quagmire they are in but it seems that the outside forces or some outside forces. in the west are for the strife and. not helping up or you talk about some outside forces being from the arab world so much of the analysis is all about the west and then u.s. intentions but it is significant is it not that we are getting pressure from the arab world just explain which those countries are why would they want to see this change of regime there. well i think personally i think the objective is

not democracy reform and rule of law. forces the most. assertive powers in the arab league the gulf countries are the least going to go to any kind of reform can one reasonable man think that saudi arabia the gulf countries are really proponents of participatory government fighting corruption fundamental freedoms and all the basic elements of democracy rule of law this is this is unthinkable as far as they are concerned so what they have they have different again from of. some of the incentives if you want the local incentive are a certain fear. iran and they want to put down connections with iran the other is to do what the u.s.

and some western countries want them to do let me quickly ask you about turkey here and its position we are learning that it now plans to host an international conference on syria. is turkey impartial of this is it got any vested interest or is it the right place to try and have some sort of negotiations. well in the case of turkey it's a little bit intriguing one would think that they probably have some kind of dreams of going back to the ottoman domination and ruling parties have some religious. affiliation or ideological. principle and organisation that. that emanates from a religious belief and they are asserting themselves as a certainly power against. an iranian she hour and it is

a mess this is what is being commented they are focusing on how to how to foment the sectarian religious primitive feeling as. we have got to finish but very funny thing briefly your thoughts that this could actually escalate beyond syria and involve iran as well just very briefly. i think. i hope not it is possible but i hope. it is not likely the way things are now if if the regime would manage to put the uprising or controlled substance to be the uprising as long as there are weapons coming from the outside and there is an intention of carrying out terrorist activities like throwing bombs here out there and killing this there will be trouble but it will not be large scale. thank you so much for your thoughts there professor of law at georgetown university in washington thank you for being

with us on r.t. you will. just tell you that plenty more. websites concerning syria dot com online all the time for you including the exclusive interview with russia's ambassador to the un vitaly churkin which you can watch in full there at r.t. dot com plus also we're asking for your thoughts on the outcome of russia's efforts to unravel the complex situation in syria that's on line poll you can vote on to come and have your say because you hear from me. outrage sweeps britain after the european court of human rights blocked the deportation of abu qatada he's dumped zama bin laden's right hand man in europe is the latest in a string of questionable judgment sort of over rule domestic decisions so what is your smith explains patience with the e.u. is running thin.

with the queen its currency and its parliament was made by someone else if building a house is what we in the u.k. call list supreme court but in practice it supremes in name only despite being the highest court in the land when it comes to human rights if you like the way you ok. is going to hope you can take his abroad to france and decisions made in strasburg over the route any may take. the european court of human rights was set up after world war two to avoid the persecution of minorities by the state but now it's been de railed that it was never never anticipated of the second world war after the holocaust off the terrors perpetrated by certain tyrannical governments but the court now would be protecting the criminal and not the victim. delays in control of a sea have dogged the european court in stroudsburg there's

a backlog of up to eight years and when cases are decided judgments are often bizarre in two thousand and ten the court decided to give prisoners the right to vote after a petition by john hirst who spent much of his life behind bars after killing his landlady the u.k. is still refusing to implement the ruling it makes me physically ill it would probably mean again the vote to anyone who is in prison aside it could also cost of the last time that we looked at this the cost of complying with judgments under the european convention of human rights was about two point one billion pounds a year that's three point three billion dollars plus another two point eight billion in a susi ated one off costs in other areas an immigration ruling means a convicted nigerian rapist gets to stay in the u.k.

because of his right to a family life. and most recently the european court of human rights ruled hate preacher abu qatada dubbed bin lardons the right hand man in europe can't be deported back to jordan where he's now gee to be released on to the streets of britain this is somebody who stands up and publicly. hatred about everything that our democracy is and stands for and yet we can't get rid of him because of the european convention on human rights sitting in strasburg forty seven judges one from each signatory country so far so fast except none of them were elected by the people of the countries they're making law for we've got a system of law and order in this country that's worked for many many years for the seat or the mother of all parliaments why do we need strasburg brussels to tell us what we can and cannot do the answer is we don't so therefore british law for british people those who aren't calling for the u.k.

to pull out of the european convention on human rights altogether are demanding reforms to stop strides making decisions on what should be sovereign issues the court process to be more focused on fundamental civil and political rights not interfering in the daily lives. and in the ministration of the criminal justice system and in the member states of the council of europe without reforms there's a risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater as nations pull out of the human rights court undermining it leaving those in countries with weaken human rights protections entirely vulnerable laura smith r.t. london. here with r.t. we're live here a mosque and still to come this hour questioning the legality of u.s. drone attacks on pakistani soil for a strike because fresh concerns just days after a report revealed evidence of dozens of civilians were killed by america's manned aircraft. that's still to come but first egypt says it won't change its stance on

the latest round with the u.s. in. in against threats to withdraw military aid nineteen americans are among forty three ngo activists banned from leaving egypt and accused of illegally using foreign funds to fuel unrest in the country washington has already called the scandal a slap in the face and threaten to stop one point three billion dollars of support given to egypt artie's maria fellowship has this report egypt's new government crackdown on one theory is has raised many questions and we may want is right now the groups many which funded by washington have been on the ground here for a while they were at the vanguard of the uprising evening baraka that eventually brought the supreme council of the armed forces to power last february and no one has ever seems to care about their sources of income that is until they directed their criticism to the new military leadership lehmann's calf or the slow pace of reform some of them are used by this. court in

people of the world. and they are the ones that evolution they have. won the radicals who live there this is very much a dangerous world there are two girls this is species elected prosecutors raiding seventeen offices of advocacy groups to three activists including americans germans and egyptians are now facing trial for illegally using foreign funds to promote unrest in the post mubarak country activists how would claim they are the victim of scarves reluctance to give up power with the people about with their brights with the scarf looking the full enjoy. some against the regime and old mind the round up of activists has also netted a son and you asked mr tahsin secretary ray la hood for the fueling tension between cairo in washington. isn't simply because. of them in a sort of plans for. i don't think.

so this is america whose military aid to egypt reaches one point three billion dollars annually has been very serious there is a big week to condemn this car when in the days of blank checks are over or they condemned. the end of the continued on flowing that the provide that support also continue to flow. or washington's so-called support for democracy in the middle east and washington wants to stop it always this. as much as possible in order to get on to its interests they don't care about democracy meanwhile even those on the streets protesting against car share the council's concerns are being jews motives the usa has had a hand in tips policy making for years but the whole n.t. enduro campaign has become the first serious disagreement between america and the countries your story takes cairo wanted to send washington and message that it's no

longer the silent dog it was under mubarak but an independent state which will last for the rate any outside interference some doubts though they really minute the end to military movement growing ever bigger you can see it over there this is very colorful the armed forces are scaf now running egypt is in a very vulnerable position and this nationalistic pronouncement may just be a nationalist show put on to calm the people down and to win back a shred of credibility. in cairo. remember we would have more stories news and comment on our website on t.v. dot com in store for you right now the notorious anonymous group packs oakland city officials and publishes their personal data online in retaliation for what it calls the crackdown on occupy protests. plus it's reported that the british government may consider sanctioning. the use of nerve gas

by riot police despite the chemical agents being banned in warfare those stories available right now r.t. dot com. in a recent report london based independent news agency the bureau of investigative journalism i covered countless deadly drone strikes carried out by the us in pakistan it also highlighted several quotes from president barack obama claiming the strikes only target terrorists and not civilians whether the report found hundreds of civilians have in fact been killed by these cia led aerial attacks compile the report thinks it won't be long before the legality of using unmanned drones in that way is tested in court. the cia has been saying for some time that it hasn't killed a civilian in pakistan since at least two thousand and ten every news agency out of

pakistan every credible news organization of its looked at this is finding that that's not the case we know that civilians are being killed pakistan is clearly very unhappy with the strikes there's an interview in a british newspaper today with the pakistan high commissioner to london describing the drone strikes i was in effect extra due to actual executions state sanctioned executions does seem to be an indication that these drone strikes are happening despite what not not because of what i could start once united states court has ever looked at the legality of these drone strikes and there's a reason for that every time a case has been brought in the united states that has attempted to look at whether these strikes are legal or not the united states is claiming something called state secrets privilege but that's where they say actually this is a covert operation and we can't discuss it really does need to be an accounting here and there and it. the u.s.

cause. of these drones for example various additional legal questions that the rows are about time i suspect it's coming quite close given the pressure if you were thrown. because you'll be here with the business news very shortly but first let's check out some other world news stories this hour supporters of the maldives former president have taken to the streets of the capital to demand his reinstatement demonstrators have seized several police stations comes hours after the new leader called for a unity government to be formed the ousting of previous president mohamed nasheed was triggered by a police mutiny and popular protest over his controversial decision to arrest a top judge. a man from the debris of a factory in eastern pakistan two days after it collapsed the number killed in the incident currently stands at twenty one with most of the victims women and children the building was reportedly destroyed when several gas cylinders exploded the factory was set up illegally but continued to operate even though authorities had closed it down three times. israel's largest labor union is in the midst of

a nationwide strike shutting down government offices banks and public services radio technicians also took part in the strike leaving only silence on state run airwaves union leaders are protesting against the use of contract workers significantly less than direct employees officials or call for an end to the strike saying it will cost the economy more than one million dollars each day. brings up to date for the moment as promised kate is next with the business update. thank you bill hello to you world renowned scientists futurist and un japan as are most discussing the russian economy and its prospects of becoming a global financial hub most of them believe russia has the results is to succeed bought my way in a culture of polls not without were full. the auditorium was jam packed with

business owners and exports hungry to get an outside view on russia's investment climate a walk can be done to improve it all the foreign specialists agreed on the one thing and that is that russia has a lot of potential but the problem is how to realize that more investors are lined emerging economies like russia right now because they're seen as the best place to support cash given the economic uncertainty in europe and the u.s. at the moment of russia locks the global competitive edge and many of the russian experts here today said that the country has many internal problems which need to be fixed and a symbol of the government should join forces with the business elites to make the changes required that believe that it's him or to convince local businessmen to invest in russia rather than abroad and keep specialists in the country as well as create an atmosphere where on supreme yours are appreciated another one of the main points they will see in the vacation russians they companies have significantly

increased investments rewards that is the foreign specialists here say that russia has all the potential to produce the next generation of entrepreneurs and become the next silicon valley but it needs to act fast and start implementing the changes required now. time to look at the markets we'll start with the exchange rates the year is high against both the jola and the very volatile investors are keeping an eye on the greek debt talks an agreement from athens jim post new spending cuts will allow it to receive the next lot. but of rescue from other vertical of all it's highest level in five months against the dollar lot on the back of those strong oil prices now the u.s. markets they opened up in the black but have since a raise those gains as you can see the dow jones is over a quarter of a percent in the red and the nasdaq is flat to negative there they two concerns about the greek situation. and over to europe let's see how they're getting on and

they are both down now as a say that greek situation is right on investors' sentiment as you can see the footsie is a quarter of a cent down and the dax is flat to negative. on the russian markets they are indeed. now they had a bet today they closed in the black the my six finished a third of percent by the r.t.s. was a point six percent in positive territory. we're going to take a look at the stocks and see how they got on most of the blue chips to all the world today sperm bank two percent call finished higher supported by stronger crude bucking the trend though was a food retailer seven contant they did do quite well the company made an offer to buy back shares at a discount to the market price. from a troika dollops says investors are a lot ahead of chinese inflation figures due out. investors are expecting.

important news from china which will be released these nights this is a number you for we see the inflation is slowing down. that's will create very good sentiments many will be rules will be sinking the central bank of china. lending rules and we can see more liquidity from. american energy john x. so my bill wants to sell his gas from. vast second one filled to gas problem was according to the governor of second region the thirty percent stake is estimated at around one billion dollars and the say the deal could be financed with cash or a share swap exon earlier wanted to export least gas however gas from says it must be sold on the domestic market which should be far less profitable for exxon. interesting stuff ok i'll be back shortly in the meantime get over to our website

www dot com forward slash business feels more in their.

top stories this hour rusher insists that an end to the bloodshed in syria will only be found if both government and opposition forces lay down their arms and that's why western and gulf countries keep up the regime change rhetoric and recall their ambassadors from damascus. also if you're in the u.k. isn't a tourist terror suspect dubbed al qaeda spiritual leader in europe is bailed and allowed back onto the streets of london after the european court of human rights blocks his deportation. and the first signs of a rift between the u.s. and post mubarak egypt caro's says washington straight stalled middle create won't change its position on the so-called crackdown on western n.g.o.s. about the not that fourteen fifteen thirty minutes from now in the meantime we cross to washington to take a look at where business and politics meet in the capital account with lauren lyster this is.

good afternoon and welcome to capital account i'm lauren lyster here in washington d.c. and ben bernanke testified on capitol hill again today the big question from the media how would last week's good u.s. jobs report affect monetary policy while bernanke he actually said the numbers understate weakness in labor but is the debate over the monthly jobs numbers simply moot ronald reagan's former budget director says the numbers are made up so is the b.l.s. the emperor with no clothes and if so why are markets in the media going along with it and greece has agreed to lay off thousands of public workers as talks are scheduled to continue over more cuts over meeting more terms to get its next dose of troika money politicians and media are bracing for the market's reaction to any development.