the cold. shows that. it's always personal. except one day when choice matters to everyone. the presidential election is underway in russia with voters in the east and a half of the country already casting their ballots in fact you can look at live pictures right here right now a record number of observers are also our polling stations is almost two hundred thousand the web cameras set up to monitor the voting process online right here we have a stream of from one of those polling stations on the air for you right. seven people are killed in the ross southern syria one a suicide bomber targeted government this as the opposition syrian council council national council excuse me pounds to escalate the fight. plus tension over

a possible military strike on iran the mounts in washington ahead of president obama's meeting with a cold israel lobbyist and a visit by israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. and you are watching artemia live from moscow glad to have you with us let's get right to your top stories the presidential election has kicked off in russia with almost one hundred eight million eligible voters turnout is expected to be the highest in decades and the eastern half of the country is already casting their votes it will take twenty one hours for the whole country to complete the poll with the first results expected when the final polling stations close in russia's western exclave kaliningrad as archie's you've got a piece going off reports this year's election has been marked by unprecedented public activity. every hour more polling stations open in russia as the country

stretches through nine time zones which means that the voting began in the most eastern part of the country when it was still midnight in moscow. region in the most western ports of russia will be the last to join the vote it's happening at a very interesting time i mean a spike in social and political activity among the public we've seen massive rallies for and against the candidates we've also seen scores of people taking to the streets after the problem and she'll action in december amid accusations of ballot fraud and a massive social campaign for a transparent presidential poll is underway and indeed a lot has been done in that sense over ninety thousand polling stations have been equipped with cameras to feed videos including close up shots. so that internet users can watch online how the vote is conducted right there at these polling stations seethrough introduced and several hundred thousand observers

have been invited now. just to remind you five candidates are taking part in this race the winner will need to secure fifty percent plus one vote if neither candidate manages to achieve a second round it will be introduced in which the two most popular candidates will compete for a simple majority of votes the high voter turnout is expected as well over seventy percent according to some polls much easier. now with a record number of observers at the polling stations and almost two hundred thousand web cameras to monitor the voting process online these elections are billed as russia's transparent yet. he. didn't. hear you. while. forget and we won't

forgive this is what the opposition promised the quadrant after december's parliamentary elections they claimed the boat had been raked in response the authorities decided cameras at all ninety eight thousand polling stations would solve that problem it's cost russian taxpayers over three hundred million dollars doubling the initial cost of the vote now it's officially the most transparent and the most expensive in the nation's history but not everyone's convinced. cameras one changing thing there will always be discontent it was honest before even without cameras i don't think it will make a vote more transparent it's only made to please the opposition. there was no sense installing them too many people are voting and there are too many polling stations it will make things more complicated. one of the main concerns about the c.c.t.v. system is whether it can serve

a country as vast as russia hacker attacks on the website in charge of broadcasting shortly before the vote only added to concerns but these young people claim they came up with a strong alternative the phone and tablet application deal was created mostly for observers it allows them to upload pictures reports on the turnout to give the final results and register any violations the data would be recessed and published on the website immediately when we realise our website might be attacked on the x by hackers but we're ready for any attack on our reserves are capable of dealing with serious traffic they're based in data centers in europe so will cope with processing information from observers and regular users to. geale is independent from the central election committee and its founders promise to come up with reports just as independent need a while at all five candidates had quarters it's been mostly about training

observers this election also has set a record number of watchdogs almost a million including seven hundred international observers. i was invited to this election doors open day it was good training for everyone we could see firsthand how c.c.t.v. systems work to see transparent ballot boxes it will be the first presidential election in russia which not only will be filmed on hundreds of thousands of web cameras which has been rehearsed to a couple of days before the actual vote those who wish to take part were invited to cast their ballots not for candidates to day but from history including alexander mccall peter the great winston churchill and this can't you know he clearly a great twenty six year olds it's only hours before russia's next peter the great is named but even before the ballots have been counted many warned of the new wave of protests. protesters in december demonstrated not against the results of the

vote but the fact an advantage when putin was swapping seats irritated them was that putin was trying to return to the top job so regardless of how transparent the vote is if putin gets slightly more than fifty percent protesters who claim he added that up in self to avoid a second round to get seventy no one will believe the result but if he is fifty four to sixty percent there will be no rallies or to the figure would look realistic. the first exit polls will be released when boating in the westernmost city of kaliningrad konstanz the question them will any of the candidates have that much needed fifty percent to avoid a second round it's a democrat r t more scale and of course will be bringing you special coverage of the election here on r.t. sort of at five pm g.m.t. on sunday for the latest results and alice's candidates reaction and already you can find additional information on our web site or to dot com there you will find

a contender profiles a retrospective of previous ballots and the answers to questions such as what makes an ideal leader in the russians plus you can watch and vote online others have a bunch more at our to dot com. a suicide car bomber has struck in the southern syrian city of tehran killing at least seven people and wounding several others it is the latest in a series of bombings targeting pro government neighborhoods this comes amid reports that over one hundred mercenaries many of them french have been caught as they fled the city of homes or to use them or if an ocean has the latest from syria. two days after the rebel fighters pulled out from bhagalpur a neighborhood in homs face a growing it brings attacks by the rebels the chief of the free syrian army has sat that's those days we drove was a tactical on your position syrian national council who is recognized by european

union as legitimate representative of the syrian people has warned of massacre is claiming they would provide leadership that is it denies fighters and give them weapons the opposition groups already formed a military council to coordinate their weapons supplies these reports both free syrian army claims that it's already received weapons and anti aircraft missiles from u.s. and french sources arming the rebels has been considered as an excellent idea by qatar and saudi arabia earlier with a twenty two nation arab league. also viewed this as an option if the violence doesn't stop here in syria humanitarian organizations have been appeals to president bashar al assad to agree on a daily some of our cease tried to allow humanitarian aid to be brought to the areas we have horizon still continues but the rock concerts that the opposition supporters abroad may use these to bring weapons to the rebels meanwhile it seems that the foreign nations involvement in this crisis in syria stretches far beyond weapon supplies local and regional media has been have been reported involves more

than one hundred foreign offices detained in homs most of them reportedly french paratroopers meanwhile humanitarian situation in the city that suffered from an almost month long siege is deteriorating the international red cross and syrian red crescent are both working on the ground they've brought seven trucks of food water medical supplies and all the emergency aid they're also expected to evacuate injured people and take away the bodies of those many who were killed during the clashes in hopes. to recall the author filmmaker and middle east expert says that the only option for syria is the negotiating table as any alternative would be disastrous. but he's saying it's well into me jury not aligned with either side are capable of pushing both sides to a conference table to agree to a solution to this crisis it seems to me birthing so go very hard on both sides. be

also grosjean carries on as if it doesn't realize how heated it is by some say comfortable to very good and the opposition which is now increasingly by the west are turning nasty and this does not help anyone in syria if it goes on like this it's becoming more and more sectarian if minorities christians who are bios are being targeted now by the so-called liberation from forces of the country so i think what it suggests is a negotiated settlement plan for people to push both sides to sit around a table and still to come this hour no more rhythm but plenty of blues as an r. and b. file sharing site hits the road. users of the website and threatened with jail terms normally reserved for murderers just for downloading music as another portal

falls a victim of the internet crackdown. and the child trade flourishes in the parlor as a new adoption law aimed at improving the situation opens the door to dark organized crime. the debate over a possible military strike on iran's nuclear facilities is intensifying in the united states more so ahead of president obama's meeting with a pro israel lobby group and israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu if he's going to can has more from washington. president obama's walking on a razor's edge on one hand members of his administration keep saying a war with iran would be a mistake. or something states believe. on iran not only would be premature but crazy on the other hand president obama keeps saying a war with iran is still an option and that he is not quote unquote blocking

a powerful israeli lobby which president obama will be addressing shortly expects to hear a blunt answer to the question is the u.s. ready for war with iran and will washington back israel should it decide to attack first the only way to stop the. release. is a very very clear message this week for. the war. and we say president obama's failure to go along with this really plans on iran might hurt him a deal large since the president carried you know the overwhelming majority of the jewish vote and farting back in two thousand and if he is perceived as an enemy of. enemy of israel or. the issues. for community here in this country it could have.

adverse impact on the funding of votes. israeli prime minister netanyahu speech in the u.s. congress last year was greeted with innovation many u.s. lawmakers slammed the rhetoric of the obama administration which suggested there is still room for diplomacy with iran many in israel believe that if we wait too long we'll be at the point of no return it seems to me to be painfully obvious that this administration's policy is not only the same but that it's failed to achieve a core objective but both those who would back a strike against the random. those who wouldn't seem to be tired of the administration's ambiguity and. it could end up very very badly we need to go to war and we have to make it very clear to our israeli friends we're not going to go to war they're not going to go to war by flying over our airspace over iraq and we're not going to support them if they do it they will be on their own the consequences will be theirs because the price will pay if they started

a massive war. interpret as being to. be disastrous for us in afghanistan in iraq in terms of oil stability in the middle east. this post that was paid for by the merge and see committee for israel you. see in washington they campaigned very obviously pushing for a more affirmative response from president obama on his readiness to go to war with iran in the run up to this year's elections he might want to do the probably three lobby and make those statements but to many it would make a mockery of diplomacy and peace efforts then president obama's nobel peace prize as well for that matter i'm reporting from my heart. if you want to stay up to date on everything that is happening around the world go on to our website or to dot com and here is some of what's waiting for you there right now. tracking the trackers

big brother add on allows users to monitor how their online activity is tracking shared by various websites plus. as an asteroid hurdles towards earth experts agree on a way to alter its trajectory in two thousand and thirteen find out more about this celestial body in our. file sharing website r. and b. exclusive dot com has been shut down by britain's organized crime police for alleged copyright violations anyone who downloaded music from there has been threatened with jail terms equivalent to the punishment for rapists or murderers artie's lawyer smith reports on what this could mean for the worldwide.

if you downloaded this song through the website or and be exclusive it's not just the prisoner of love you got to be afraid of instead of finding the usual blog commentary and links to r. and b. and hip hop music recent uses of the site was shocked to find their online activity was under police scrutiny and they could be jailed for ten years more than the usual penalty for many violent crimes and a ten year prison sentence you would expect that to be handed to him for very serious offenses serious sexual assault rape manslaughter very violent offenses. and he would normally expect it to be handed down in respect to him downloading music illegally the u.k. government serious organized crime agency or so confirmed it arrested this but wouldn't talk to us about why it's threatening users with

a decade behind bars instead they sent this statement. to our gets organized criminal enterprises profiting from the exploitation of the u.k. public and legitimate businesses much of the music offered for download by the r. and b. exclusive dog called website was illegally obtained from artists leaving the industry to attribute losses of approximately fifteen million pounds a year to the site's activity that's raised questions about how the police became the personal enforcer of the recording industry standing guard to protect corporate profits and it's also given those concerned with internet freedoms an unpleasant glimpse into a more regulated each a treaty to protect against online copyright infringement and piracy goes ahead pick claims that your ip address monitored so you could be monitored and tracked again this was. a move which seems quite unprecedented in the united

kingdom i'm afraid that we can see this kind of abuse on the scale if actor comes to pass after a shock response from internet campaign as the government agency has now taken down the harsh message and replaced it with this simpler one which just taken control of the domain but it's already caused much worry and distress on twitter many users the pair not even to have known they were visiting a dodgy site and certainly didn't think they'd be liable to do time for it internet campaign as say the notice was meant to frighten and in reality severe penalties couldn't be applied to casual download they also say there's nothing to link exclusive with criminal gangs so why. even involved if this is what they're illegal in serious crime or to traditional serious organised crime as people understand the more. particularly as far as i think the public are concerned that that crime still

happening on our streets opposition to act out in force around europe this month centers on fears that cyberspace will fall under strict government control and while the serious organized crime agency focus is its efforts on r. and b. and hip hop fans many worry that serious organized criminals are getting away with it. r.t. . well it's some other news making headlines for you around the world of the so two suicide bombers have struck an army base in southern yemen killing two soldiers drove a truck with explosives into a camp reportedly getting past guards by saying they had a present for the commander it is the latest in a string of blasts targeting government forces al-qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack. the search for survivors begins after severe storms that ravaged the midwestern and southern united states leaving at least thirty seven dead

indiana ohio tuckey georgia and alabama were devastated by ninety tornadoes with hundreds of freak weather events reported as well such as giant hail storms president obama has offered federal assistance now the governor of ohio has declared a state of emergency. and b.p. says it has reached a seven point eight billion dollars deal to settle claims from thousands of fishermen and businesses affected by the gulf of mexico oil spill it comes ahead of a much anticipated trial in the u.s. in which the american government is expected to claim billions of dollars in fines the b.p. oil rig deepwater horizon exploded in april two thousand and ten killing eleven workers and leaking four million barrels of oil. religion and politics mix that is a major part of the debate raging in america's presidential campaign so our

resident reporter hit the streets of new york to ask people if the government or the media should be behind certain ideologies. when is it ok for a government or the media to support an ideology this week let's talk about that i don't think it ever should. i think that the government is that a serve the people of the media is there to report the news not make editorial direction on any of the reporting i don't think it's right that they can come out and say they support it a. different way the way you support morris is the first way. that's probably what they do anyway right. probably if you think people are choosy about who is supporting their cause. absolutely or their people are too easily swayed from a propaganda or is the people that saw it want you to believe something bad one

else follows like sheep peels out their own personality and look at the own facts and details make their own opinion that's what they should do and not just fall of everybody else there's a pretty great principle in psychology that you start and finish where you are so you like what you like and you don't like the other guy for liking something different but that's just human nature but i mean that the principle of democracy it's unusual it's a kind of a crazy idea but you can get wacky people like your answer your crazy sister and you just the line them up by the millions and you somehow assume that all these crazy people i think together will have a wisdom greater than the kid do you think governments try to impose will through propaganda without a doubt yes so why do some people when they hear their point of view being spouted think it's just this time but then if they. i don't agree with that they call it propaganda. well. that's it's the

nature of that's is the nature of rhetoric in general your your opinion is always. right and everyone else's opinion is always propaganda and in that circumstance whether or not you believe it's ever ok for a government or the media to support an ideology the bottom line is we should all remember it's all too easy to become hypocritical when it comes to the support of our own beliefs. orphans in nepal are being sold at a huge profit by human traffickers and it is also alleged illegal orphanages are acting as suppliers to people who want to make a fortune from often abuse children our genes for sure the reports. today fifteen year old chen moment child areas all smiles but it wasn't that long ago that the teenager with living in an illegal orphanage in nepal capital katmandu. because

the homes will be given rations for the children but we can take as would take half the food for themselves well giving i was only a small portion of it but they would also get drunk with the. moment is now living in a home run by the umbrella foundation and irish angio working with nepal's government to keep track of katmandu have to meet it chain thousand children living in orphanages. investigations have uncovered that around eighty percent of these kids actually have parents oftentimes pm leaves living in rural parts of nepal will sell their children to traffickers who they believe will give them a better life you have a traveller who goes from village and says very poor people people literacy no education. if you give us your children you will receive a small amount of money from an international family or an individual. in return we will bring them to help when do we have an excellent education. traffickers are known to buy in

a poly child around fifteen dollars and then sell them to orphanages that are not monitored by the government they are then sold on for up to twenty five thousand dollars to families from abroad while they are living in the orphanages many of the children are reportedly abused and forced to work some are even sexually assaulted who forced to work in the fields would be woken up early every morning to clean the house and also to look after the kind of today because in trials the nepali government admitted that almost half of the country's orphanages were involved in illegal international adoptions but since then things have changed. now paul has been an international adoption wild child advocates believe that this will help prevent the trafficking of children organizers of orphanages they're worried about how they're going to continue to ride without money from abroad remains me work sprint paul children's organization which runs eleven legal orphanages across the country he says that before the ban on international adoption his orphanage in

katmandu made five thousand dollars for every child that got adopted by a foreign family. which has been difficult for us to run the home after the suspension of the international adoption because we still have to provide for the daily necessities of every child in the home and to care of the medical bills to today many who are going to chase are trying to reunite trafficked children with their family but many lection mohanned barely remember their real simple infant parents anymore or korea sure either archie kathmandu nepal. brings you up to date or for no other god with our headlines after a short break don't go away your watch party.

we all make choices sometimes it's top. but it can be an easy call. choice be left to fate. or it can be. limited. we can become. jones and. it's always personal. except for one day when

choice not hers to everyone. resistance is not politics but our culture. is couldn't get. through. on its own. body. the cultures of resistance on the march the. old means of protection can be used. when global supremacy is a stage. between two thousand and five and two thousand and nine the u.s. has spent fifteen billion dollars in the prostate for the entire program that we are dealing with right now here in two thousand.