here's some other part of this i realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm charged with the big picture. mass rallies both for and against the syrian government mark the first anniversary of the country's on the rights pulse on media reporting is accused of only fueling the fire. britain's guardian newspaper releases book will soon be thousands of emails from president assad some quite a bit but all of a truth or track from me in just a moment. pumping up the pressure the u.s. wants india to stop flying around in the world trying to persuade the country to go elsewhere for its crude needs. plus the taliban suspends peace talks with the u.s.

and president karzai he says he wants nato out of rural areas after an american soldier on down sixteen villagers in call. and russia's myself stock exchange breaks its winning streak ending the session in the red coming under pressure from financial stocks whereas the r.t.s. is slightly more in this business. than common broadcasting she won from the heart of moscow and karen taraji the syrian president remains in power a year since the protests against his rule on script the country and according to leaked emails allegedly from his account bashar al assad is under iranian guidance and ridicules his own reforms but as archie's laura smith reports there is considerable doubt about the credibility of the claims which come from splintered

opposition groups. well there's a variety of things that refer to in his professional life and also in his personal life these e-mails it's claims were intercepted by some hackers belonging to one of the opposition groups the supreme council of the revolution between june and early february so june last year early february this year it's significant that they're being released now obviously they're bound to receive quite a lot of media coverage because it's the first anniversary of the uprising in syria so we should certainly look at the timing of that and to some of the e-mails refer to communications that starts with iran with a rainy and proxies he was giving him advice she used how awful and violent language when he's talking to the people also to show appreciation for friendly states to leak more information on clear is military strength to suggest to the

people that in syria did come under a time under any kind of form snorty could defend itself now that really plays directly into the hands of old opposition groups in syria which of very fragmented or at least four different opposition groups that we know of and it has been known to be quite to the loose with the truth before they have released a very bumpy top because as far as any other organization is concerned it's the number of people who have been killed during this syrian uprising so we have to be a little bit careful about how much credence we give to these allegedly leaked e-mails nourse only today show the political order they allege to show the political workings of my but they also show details from his personal life after. links from you tube videos he even forwarded to one of his aides a link over you tube video of the home seeds reenacted using toys and biscuits so a little bit of

a look into the into the inner workings of the relationship there. in syria the first anniversary of widespread protests and on rust against the assad regime is being marked with more demonstrations across the country but thousands are also rallying in the capital in support of the president there hailing on going to a crowd of reforms which include parliamentary elections and you're right that opposition leaders say the initiatives are mere gestures and want assad to quit government troops have pushed on for the rebels i have several flash point cities with both sides taking all says the u.n. estimates the model and says claims that at least one thousand lawn seats rush march hopefully later on we will be joined by political analyst christophe or so who has just arrived you should ask us. we would like to know what you think about the situation in syria you can log onto our website r t v dot com to take part in our latest poll today we're asking you a year on who's the conflict in syria being fought between almost

a hundred of you say it's world superpowers in need of natural resources for affordable even propaganda paddlers claiming to be media outlets fifteen percent suggest it's the power hungry elites in syria and just about ninety percent think it's a fight between freedom loving people and an oppressive government go online to have your say. so i had for you this hour maintaining control at any cost. you don't like opening up. the most. for about my story i'm somebody to find out how thorough the u.s. is willing to go to disperse demonstrators and then force authority this might like to bring other countries on human rights. the u.s. is reportedly threatening india with penalties if it doesn't comply with washington sanctions against iran the asian giant is one of the biggest consumers of iranian

oil but even though it's free to trade with the islamic republic america wants it to go elsewhere artie's preassure reports. so far indian officials have refused to stop buying iranian oil which washington has clearly been very angry about some top u.s. state department officials in the past couple of weeks of said that this was a slap in the face to them the indian foreign minister has said that while india has followed you once ancient in the past there is nothing that actually binds them to follow them another big point that many indian officials here are sort of looking at is that the new u.s. law doesn't specify what percentage nation must reduce its import to qualify it from exemptions from the same sions so right now there have been reports surfacing that obama could impose penalties on india as early as june twenty eighth

many analysts here in india are saying that sanctions simply won't work in india and china don't get on board the united states is actually trying to pressure india to start using oil from saudi arabia and iraq which obviously are two major allies the washington has an interest in india of buying oil from those countries instead. still for more analysis on this let's talk to dr. professor and was dean of the school of international affairs. at the moment. let's see can you hear me. greatly that connection. india has to reduce its crude oil purchases from iran or face penalties from the u.s. but why is it that new delhi to comply with an american law in the first place. well it doesn't have to

a god i don't think he is going to give in to any kind of pressure from united states on this issue and i think americans understand this too i mean they would be people in congress you know in an election year who want to ramp up the pressure on behalf of israel against iran but you know i think the obama administration the state department the executive side will think differently from the legislative side some of the more hawkish people who want to you know enforce this starshine sanctions on iran and make it a global sanctions i don't think he is going to be pressured into it and certainly i think india has an old tradition of article in a foreign policy and especially on this issue is from want to watch and i think india also knows the united states. depends on india to counterbalance china in this region so it would be strategic suicide on the part of the united states to actually go heard any sanctions on indian companies having said that it is interesting that some of the indian corporations that recently went on

a export promotion board but you don't remain anonymous so they're they're not seen as you know falling into the dragnet of american sanctions so individual indian corporations might be worried about their facing financial sanctions from the u.s. system and being tried out of the dollar tree and of the u.s. banking and destruct market systems but i think as a team india is pretty confident that it can continue trading with iran for its own interests and that it's not going to give in could be any kind of pressure whatsoever india still gets around twelve percent of its oil from iran is the islamic republic's third biggest oil consumer i didn't quite understand could we see these american penalties actually being applied. i don't think so my argument is that basically that there will be pressure from a section of the american establishment especially from congress but many to the counter balance why i can demonstrate in understanding what my think they believe

because you know in the last twenty years if the united states has achieved anything of strategic value each year it is because of this with india and i don't think it would want to jeopardize our back for the sake of punishing you don't have to be targeted throughout you have to agree that india is in a difficult situation and has to balance the energy needs of a rapidly growing economy with its strategic partnerships with major cowardice does it now have to choose between one or the other you know what i got is why i think it's not dark you know i did this or that but i think the next year it's really hard to adjust to the fact that he needs india for other reasons he shipped in existence recently got real world moving its strategic interest of the from the middle east and towards the asia pacific we are eagerly seen as a crucial lynchpin you know region strategy and can be china's growth and rise so i don't think they're going to use lose all that relationship and the sickness that has been we build in the last ten years if not totally for the sake of you don't

know and in any case you know it's china i don't know that a china is a bigger consumer if you don't you know i've been here so you know if china is not budging then why should india it's a question of numbers and finding comfort in numbers is south korea and japan are major importers of iranian oil and they have been we should watch. given the i neuer why should we need i mean the whole of asia seems almost you know jane in saying look at this pressure from the west on the iranian question you mentioned numbers i want to talk about numbers iran is likely to offer a cleaner price to india than alternative suppliers there's already indian government have a duty to get the best deal for its country meaning it will simply go for the cheaper option. absolutely and you know. even the substitutes all the early hours are not reliable in the long run i mean they're not going to last report you know slowly make up for the last one for me don't you think your stocks are going to dance or it still hurt absolute necessity for economic growth you know

we've just been slowing down down below seven percent what do you mean and evil and want it and understand in the leave thrown in by the pressure of what you don't look at and present in the you know in soon future for the next few years at least you don't need to spend some money in years energy security and i don't think the americans can manage to you know. could distract any of the from this commitment could continue going into pieces we did on the official right doctor charlie the professor and vice dean general school of international affairs thank you. still have a land of blacksmiths. in a few minutes we'll travel to the year old's region and central russia to see how the ancient crowd the ports are still very much alive today. back now to our top story syria let's discuss the latest developments with

political analyst chris star who has just arrived in damascus thank you for joining us mr horace given all the violence in the country isn't a huge rally in damascus really sort of in denial as to what's going on in the country. of course not in denial that very healthy reaction of the vast majority of people who stand rightly saw the digital image president bush i was up. in this demonstration to be witnessed from close by and from far away to see the huge number of people it was clear they were happy to be the it was fun for them to be there were singing and dancing this was not by coercion they were the. media just sometimes so that in fact does not. justify what happens on behalf of foreign interference

in syria probably at damascus says it's fighting a foreign funded insurgency but do people there on the ground tend to believe that i mean how do the syrians really see the opposition. you know most of the syrians see three things first we need continuous reform yes the corruption i tell you even government can tell me that the face. of kuwait to kuwait open other people see the leadership reacted too late others see well in the beginning with the whole you know uprising in the shape took the wrong measures they were too brutal in oppressing it instead of listening to the people early on these things are very clear but what is also clear right now to do that in the face of very happy you know constitutional reform in the face of election date set by the president just

a few hours ago on may seventh it is very clear that anybody who is now picking up arms against this government which obviously is indulged in on this free form and in elections this person these persons are not serious about the constructive it in the internal dialogue involves a dog in syria that is quite clear they're not honest party of a process just killers and there's a bad situation here you mentioned the new constitution which millions voted for in favor of last month supporting assad's reforms yet somehow the mainstream western media still portrays the president as embattled thing lacking support how popular is he actually offered there. this is a very strange situation in the western media my own country's media has become so crazy even people from the opposition even people are telling me we don't like this

assad government too much but he's the only one who can bring about a serious reform that is a compliment towards this leader and to my best feeling i have not met him yet to my best feeling this man is honest he is doing something credible things look at history how often in history do do governments under pressure make serious constitutional reform hafen in history are they calling for free elections people tell me how the voting process was in fact for the constitution vote and that was free that was in cabinets. so this is a very different situation from what we had so maybe the syrian government is still in corruption maybe we have oppressive government in the past but now this right now changing or are i may call for is there are these foreign powers interfering keep their dirty fingers after syria under this election is finished and syria has

a chance to you know regroup according to their own will this is my hope that the elections will not be over to disturb let me point out one story to god about the result of the constitutional reform vote there were seventy sorry fifty seven fifty seven percent taking but that is exactly the participation we have also in some of our national elections in germany it is legitimate and a huge majority around eighty ninety percent i don't remember well unfortunately they were in favor of this reform so this is a legal valid result and we should international. respect it and the media should stop the crazy you know hype about syria which is wrong and not fact based lie from the syrian capital about one's political allies chrystopher or stop. at least ten civilians have reportedly been killed by a roadside bomb in afghanistan meanwhile the taliban has suspended peace talks with

the u.s. saying the americans keep changing the terms and conditions of a road map to peace as comes as the afghan president has slammed the nato campaign in his country calling on the alliance forces to leave rural areas he was responding to the massacre of sixteen civilians find american soldier last weekend after burnt copies of the koran were discovered at a u.s. air base in the country but western leaders of the war u.s. president obama and british prime minister david cameron have confirmed plans to hand over security responsibility to a total force the transition is due to take place next year and preparation for an added to the coalition a combat mission by the end of two thousand and fourteen activists and journalists who can't chardon thinks washington already has plans for a post in the afghanistan. the history of afghanistan for over a century is a history of colonial adventures gone terribly wrong that's assuming that things can go right which they can't so i don't think that the pulling out troops will

result in that much more bloodshed that's been occurring anyway for for the last couple of decades not gone it's gone i think the worst what they want and then the goes to ration out in the end game with the taliban but what they want from the taliban is assurances and this i'm sure the hard bargain is this that the taliban stay basically hostile to all the neighbors in the region and that's what the west won the last in the west want is any kind of functioning government and infrastructure a national infrastructure in afghanistan that is at peace and not to mention a neutral kind of respect with its neighbors they want to play host to china especially to iran now now they're coming up to the attack on iran. western nations have been pointing the finger at countries who don't share their ideals but america and its allies are always practicing what they preach when it comes to human rights and arcing as marina portnoy reports some believe that once you and politicians should first lead by example before lecturing the rest of the world. the u.s.

and its european allies have many things in common security politics and a familiar practice of scolding outsiders about the pillars of democracy the romney people have a universal right to assembly and free speech this is the precincts approach human rights democracy is a big step towards democracy rule of law human rights these are some we believe these must be respected by the egyptian authorities in russia we've seen crackdowns on civil society groups as western leaders wag their finger around the world. wouldn't but times in brutal force have been used to play well public protests at home. right police handcuffs and iron fists have repeatedly been used against unarmed demonstrators in greece spain and london where thousands flood the streets to protest against austerity measures and

unemployment they should focus on getting their own house in order and practice what they preach rather than noticing about you know other countries and trying to you know grandstand on an international scale rather than deal with you know they are there are very serious democratic deficit as public anger continues to be inflamed u.k. officials may fight public fire with of barrage of water cannons which senior startling yard officials are reportedly trying to get hold of along with taser stun guns in tear gas to break up unruly or only wanted crowds on the others. side of the atlantic uprisings against economic inequality and corporate greed have left countless occupy wall street activists covered in blood temporarily blinded. and behind bars the movement is currently planning to draw tens of thousands of demonstrators to the upcoming g eight and nato summit in may. but this week the

u.s. military is unveiling its latest non-lethal weapon to members of the press. the field like opening up an open door almost needs to be. from about my sternum to my. new active denial system can repel crowds using an invisible electromagnetic beam that delivers a blast of intense heat up to one kilometers away without a sound a smell or even a warning the weapon promises to disperse crowds and reinforce security while the military weapon is in currently intended to be used by police critics say ray guns like water cannons could eventually be rolled out in the land of the free we are seeing an intensification of repression because people are challenging the system and challenging it in europe a challenge to get in the united states and it's easy for our leaders to point the

seniors somewhere else rather than take responsibility here in america do anything differently lecturing others are democracy and human rights has become a branch of western foreign policy i discoursed that means to be based on the highest of standards but as we sit here and it's a lot easier to spalls others when everything is fine. maybe protesters. or injured students in europe might suggest that their leaders do it anymore before it's tempting to be a teacher of democracy or not r.t. new york. next up we're in for some adventurous discoveries as we take you on a trip to another corner of the largest country in the world and our fresh a close up series.

today we travel to the city of that in border where it is located at the foot of the ural mountains dividing europe and asia a mineral rich ones have made the region unanswered center for metal manufactor and as artists town garden discovered for many locals it's more than a profession it's a passion. and metal the surroundings of blacksmiths for thousands of years and of alexander lucy a cough in his forge in russia's mountainous euro region for the past thirty he's now is not a part of this world as the hummers and tones from sea ironwork and fence posts but he still remembers the very first thing he made this spoon. it's so much more than just a simple food it's the thing i hold dearest. whereas alexander is content hammering one piece at a time the urals also contains snow to moderations on

a truly industrial scale this plant turns thousands of tons of molten steel into thousands of kilometers of oil and gas piping this isn't about craft and skill any more say engine is here it's about science and needs detailed education. technical specialists here need computer and math skills to work these increasingly complex machines so we have to train them up here these vast holes are the direct descendants of the first forges and the euro's dating back to the eighteenth century and metal working in all its forms is still widespread in the region the furnace is here poor out three thousand tons of molten steel a day it's one of the around a dozen such plants scattered across the urals but the steel you have to get up to one thousand six hundred degrees to get a globe like this not with all metals gold the stuff that's made while it's flat and eyes greedy since time immemorial these men smelt it into its iconic gold

bullion form but they say to them it's just another metal. if you think too much about the price you can't put out a decent product we don't actually value it pass highly it's a huge responsibility look at it gold smelting is about the most carefully handled math or peroration mary is not to knock all xander of course and his enduring passion for his age old art a caution he ses is just as present in all matter workers no matter how nonchalant his gold silting contemporaries may seem. he's lying he's lying of course they feel something working with gold in all the wonderful metals they're just not admitting it to themselves. whether in a small forge or a vast complex metal workers here are following in the footsteps of many pioneers in their trade and at least according to alexander they all share the spirit of

this man and his metal tom bottom r.t. . the meter joins us now the business news said to me terry russia's major gas pipeline nord stream at sema could lose some of its capacity it could now the e.u. regulators have made a decision that basically pipelines linking nord stream to europe's gas system need to reserve fifty percent of their capacity for other supplies are than russia or gas problem whiskey but the decision is most likely a reaction to russia charging a high price for it but we have heard from winter's hall the company which had built the leaking pipeline that it may lead to even higher gas prices. this would be a stranded investment of fifty percent of the capacities and in terms of efficiency it would not make sense at all that we don't use fifty percent of the capacity we have and is therefore i cannot find any other single shipper who wants to book the

capacity because he has no gas he wants to transport to that location and this is the reason why i think we have a good chance to find a new dream and. meanwhile russia's gas basically always connects gas prices to prices and they're rather high as we can remember that kind of explains the situation on the gas market and moving positive for light sweet brant is correcting seventy nine cents per barrel this out. in the stock markets in the u.s. looking flats to positive the nasdaq getting more support from apple shares one day ahead of the release of the new i pad in europe it's a mixed picture with the footsie under pressure from fitch could cut down its triple a rating while the dax is seeing a heart of percent growth and in russia the session on thursday ended on a mixed now it's with the r.t.s. showing a fourth session of growth on the my sex was under pressure from financial stocks

let's take a look at them this burbank down two and a half percent at the close on announcing that it may go ahead with an additional share listing as soon as next month well oiled prices of oil supporting energy shares of course like gas. and that's all for now we will be back around fifty five minutes time. wealthy british style. sometimes. markets finance scandal. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's concert for a no holds barred look at.