stories that shaped the week carol as ballance in syria shows no sign of abating a year after it began methods being used in another damaging battle are exposed but this time targeting people's minds. russo executes two men found guilty of the minsk metro bombing the movie strongly condemned by the e.u. which says the pair were never given a fair trial. more violence more excuses the u.s. is making profuse apologies for the latest deaths of civilians in afghanistan and. washington will have to brace itself for a backlash. as israel actively makes the case for going it alone against

a. growing that a potential strike would drive a serious which in its ties with the u.s. our top stories this hour. with a look back at the last seven days top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly. syria the first anniversary of its crisis this week violence is spiraling out of control in the middle eastern country but there's also another battle raging on for media spin doctors working to shape public opinion on the turmoil their efforts are being helped by unconfirmed reports and footage from the combat zone that's difficult to verify. takes a closer look at the methods of serious conflict. clashes in the streets of syria have been raging for a year now but behind the scenes there is

a media war that's just as damaging as the one taken syrian lives rifi claude's freelance investigative journalist from damascus says he's found what he thinks is proof of media manipulation of the conflict in syria and this video from the syrian town of holmes the camera focuses on the city's all the refinery the shooting begins seven hours before media viewers around the world see a pipeline explosion allegedly caused by our sides on above and you can clearly see that something is slowly burning in the distance when the smoke has taken to english speakers correct the cameras position for a better shot of what's going on they shake it to make it look like amateur video. it's clear it's not an explosion. and people are reporting you need to see. in another video from a hospital in holmes someone behind camera talks to

a doctor and the corner we see little that hem. when you are you should tell bashar good will punish you and then talk about his wife ok let's recusal again after some thirty minutes away tain the crew starts to get nervous and let's go under a beer maybe for how long can we wait no we need al-jazeera why life on al-jazeera eventually the girl will forget some details. god punish you the shore and your children in this footage we see danny holmes activist known for his exclusive reports from the very epicenter of the conflict history parents ago live on c.n.n. he's relaxed and calm. and there is no shooting until he asks for it was subdued you choose a target. well i have no worries just do it but i. am . so why should i say that i hold dear. tell them the

reason buildings collapsed and we're taking buildings away. he is there could be a miniature hundred get dead here in the last hour here. we have two hundred dead in the reality the finale for. you and the activists to become journalists trying to make a chaise as hard as possible the more blood and death the hive across but not everyone is happy about it a politics of the channel were changing at the word count from on high. leftist and progressive voices such as mine were not going to be is welcomed anymore obviously the qataris have decided camp she took action at the news little more than me is jill that's always a mistake. well known war correspondent used to report for al-jazeera from the world's conflict hot spots but syria has become the rubicon crops he mentioned

armed groups fighting against assad's army and his bosses and the how well he needed medication he has just resigned because of biased coverage he says but. you know a program. leave syria. egypt tunisia whatever for example a revolution in saudi arabia this is just a proxy it's a proxy used by external power but it's actually a great circle of government by the west fueled this war. with more and more proof emerge in all of the international media is involved in the arab spring revolutions the question remains open to what extent they influence events and how much responsibility do they therefore share for what follows. r t beirut lebanon damascus is preparing to host a u.n. technical team to discuss

a plan for international monitors in syria the group is part of a special envoy kofi annan peace mission and establishing a cease fire and giving talks underway between the government and the opposition russia gave its strong support to the efforts a move against any attempts to derail them. because there's there's i hope this mission won't be ruined we have a feeling it every time we manage to achieve some positive change in the stance of damascus there's an immediate counterweight reaction any steps forward are dismissed i hope this won't be the case of how countries in the middle east and some western states treat the mission of kofi annan it was very strange that two days after his first visit to damascus the opposition syrian national council claimed the mission had already failed we're standing definite signals to damascus to cooperate with mr nods and we hope that other members of the security council also demand the opposition does not provoke the escalation of violence and cooperates with mr non-solution poca marcus profitable or some analysts from the

online magazine politics first says un's mission should be hailed for its balance stance in syria but could be undermined by those seeking regime change in the country well i think first of all kofi annan so mission in syria needs to be applauded by the international community for having approached the situation in syria with impartiality in that he's spoken so you members of the syrian government's including president assad and also members of the syrian opposition the same cannot be said about the american and british and french governments who have made regime change their policy from the very beginning as for course what will come out of. the time that the united nations when kofi and i'm going to find in sophistication i suspect it's going to strengthen it's going to add credence to the five point peace plan put together by russia and the arab league about a week or so ago however the stumbling block really has grown to be the permanent

members the western permanent members on the security council who have made it very clear that president assad has to go from power so i think whatever kofi annan findings will be it's going to be limited by the western response. here with this is the weekly still ahead in the program this hour hoping for help that stricken the u. is in desperate need of charges money of the country's leadership agrees to cash in on the european crisis but with dish. from western nations quick to point the finger at others who don't share the same ideals it leads some to wonder if it's a democracy they preach or krissy. brussels has criticised the roofs over the execution of two men found guilty of last year's metro bombing in minsk foreign policy chief said the pair were never given a fair trial for more on the story let's course not to go so it's the latest blow to already tense relations between the e.u.

and take us through this case. well the two men who were accused convicted and convicted of. the blast in minsk matter which in which fifteen people were killed more than two hundred wounded and as you said from the very beginning when rights observers have a question of whether or not the men were given fair trial in fact this is just the last straw in the already strained relations with rebel groups and the european union in fact a lot of the human rights organizations and servers along with the chair and then off the european parliament have said requests to the bill or should president alexander lukashenko a little quest to grant clemency to that you convicted men but those requests were disregarded in fact a lot of the european out of the european human rights observers and officials have long been looking embellished and questioning the officials approach to human rights freedom of speech and their treatment off the opposition this has in fact to lead to

a diplomatic route after bell was pulled out its investors from several of the european countries and in retaliation the european union has also recalled all of their ambassadors from belo rose in fact to the european union foreign affairs chief. katherine asked already said that she strongly condemns the executions and she was seconded by the chairman of the european parliament martin also said that he is reportedly horrified at the news and this is just about to worsen the situation and the relations between belarus and the european union even further. thanks very much indeed the reporting live from central moscow. this week the us name the soldier accused of killing sixteen civilians in afghanistan last sunday soldier robert bales is now in a military detention center in kansas following the latest deadly incident involving american troops and spoke to outrage among the afghan people and another round of apologies from u.s. officials results he's got a report afghans are not convinced by the excuses. sixteen

innocent afghan villagers slaughtered in cold blood nine of them children u.s. officials are going out of their way to present the american surgeon who apparently committed a massacre as just one bad apple. this incident is tragic and shocking and does not represent the exceptional character of our military and the respect that the united states has for the people of afghanistan this is not who we are in no way does he represent. the ethics and morality of the american serviceman and service woman and i think afghans understand that but afghans don't seem to be buying that at all. the rage and humiliation felt by afghan people appear to be way beyond what apologies can make up for they've heard them all before in the last few months all too often and each one very similar to the next just weeks ago the white house

apologized for the burning of the copies of the koran by u.s. troops an incident that triggered a surge of violence so this was a deeply unfortunate incident that does not reflect the great respect our military has for the religious practices of the afghan people and weeks before that in january apologies again over footage showing u.s. marines urinating on dead afghans but he's actually as do not represent the values of the vast majority of coalition forces who serve their nation's honorably contrary to what u.s. officials say some analysts believe that those incidents are symptomatic of how the military operation in afghanistan works it is increasingly the case that this is looking like. a brutal occupation which is killing a large number of afghans were afghans thrown selves humiliated insulted and incidents like this will be regarded as symbolic of exactly what is wrong with the american occupation it is an absolutely cynical operation to say that they can't

keep conflict in afghanistan for another three years how many more people will die how many more incidents like this the only solution to this is to bring the troops now and then for these for these governments to stop and have a name in countries where they have absolutely no rights when copious apologies handed out by the administration don't seem. even to appease war critics back home let alone the afghan people but what about the whole idea of been aiding a country and occupying a country and disturbing their country creating hundreds of thousands of refugees and suffering this it ever get to a point where apologizing about the qur'an is rather minor to some of the other problems that we have to have created the taliban has vowed it will take revenge and analysts expect a fresh surge of violence children shot in the head and women slaughtered it's incidents like the latest soldier's rampage in afghanistan that extremists of all

kinds are used to it new people to their ranks those new recruits go out to kill not even the most heartfelt apologies can change the minds of people dead set on revenge it becomes a vicious circle that breeds even more danger spreading far beyond the borders of afghanistan i'm going to check our reporting from washington r.t. . john glazer as system editor it and she war dot com has told r.t. that he thinks u.s. soldiers have a history of avoiding punishment for their crimes. it's likely that the u.s. will prevent such an investigation such a trial because of all of the other incidents where they have let off easy. u.s. soldiers that commit murder i mean the ether massacre in iraq where nine u.s. soldiers killed twenty four rocky men women and children. none of them were convicted except for one who was merely demoted to the rank of private and he will

serve no jail time but these types of things happen all the time the diplomatic cable that was released by wiki leaks revealed that in two thousand and six interact. men women and children including three infants were executed by american soldiers not a single american soldier was prosecuted for that i can go on and on like this these things happen and the u.s. to prevent actual accountability for the perpetrators it's almost as if murder is a lesser crime if it's done by someone in a u.s. uniform. later today r.t. so if you have enough to talk to afghanistan's finance minister on the cost of war both economic and social. we don't have to and do not want the international forces to be enough honest on fighting for us. he when in power longer be in the water have. a life it's not i don't think you can put a dollar figure on this. if you think billion two hundred billion three hundred

billion is still in. the deficient of p.r. and you cannot make it give us to the public often diverse. state institutions putting growth to get there. is not easy. and you can watch that interview in full a little later today here. president obama warned iran this week that the window for dealing with its nuclear program through diplomatic channels is shrinking but he stressed again that washington still prefers to use diplomacy to get around to abandon its atomic plans this is actually building a case for striking iran without american support a move that. reports could put ties with its closest ally in the firing line. there's a growing chorus of anger in israel but the government refuses to listen there's no

logic in a clacking iran but we have a government that plans illogical things and that's really frightening and while most experts agree israel is far from having the capability to attack iran israeli officials keep hinting a strike could be imminent the million dollar question like now is whether or not israel would go it alone it could call on its closest ally the united states for hope that washington is making a lot of noise not to strike i don't think there's a possibility. we. ferment of america before we strike. or would. we build that work agreement. we can say it was probably the. relations between israeli and american leaders are tense but aparna demanding an end to the loose talk of war coming out of netanyahu government i would not buy it

. you know. again. this roster. cannot exist because really. you know one of us. in war and while no israeli official has gone so fast to confirm an attack on iran the implications are clear the consequences of such political moves very well for the record namely. closing the strait of four walls. stopping the flow of oil in the gulf. we are not going to reopen. or. iran. in spite of american

explicit objection would certainly. relations. even break them all together and in the long run that might be a gamble even more dangerous then taking on iran policy r.t. television. the latest developments in the middle east are on our web site r.t. dot com as they happen some other stories in store for you there should you log on right now join let them know knew a nazi war criminal convicted only last year of killing twenty eight thousand jews in the suburb or death camp has died at the retirement home at the age of ninety one find out about his trial you can log on to r.t. dot com. plus from an eerie blood red lake in iraq to incredible siberian landscape stunning satellite photos from the most amazing sights i round the world check out more of these right now online.

but written greece is set to get its first portion of the new bailout package on monday almost six billion euros will keep the country afloat while it continues to reform its economy and concerns over the massive greek debt crisis still remain as europe looks east for help however results he said he reports the assistance will come at a price. with china's three trillion plus dollars in foreign currency reserves it was only a matter of time before death europe came knocking on its store from chinese. leaders always for your people willing to show that we can reach our it's like you're not putting in practice maybe we want some kind of a deal for me well it's not even

a maybe now china's call is clearly on the rise and so is its confidence this time around china has no qualms letting the e.u. know that it is well aware of its truck card and that any help will come at a price top of its list of demands gaining the status of a full fledged market economy and lifting the one nine hundred eighty nine ban on its purchase of military weapons from the e.u. . and for the first time china has openly used its potential cash card to lash out at the e.u. for a recent subsidy and dumping investigations into imports of chinese made steel products and those would emerge. as. you know. from cards where they can but europe has and thrown in the towel just yet it still has the power to grant china's wishes and as the country's second biggest trade partner the fall of one is the fall of both the e.u.

also has its own demands for one backing on syria and iran part of the political game international politics game that is being played is very much. in particular for resources but behind the gates of cash rich china it's fighting its own battle trying to sell the idea to its people chinese internet forums were abuzz with annoyance at what they see as poor ordinary chinese pain for rich europeans so that's why the chinese prime minister. try to persuade its people and people and. colleagues in their government. helping the european union is also helping ourselves not all the chinese are convinced but if business must go on one local commentator wrote don't hand over a dime without asking for the world in return. cilia r.t.

brussels. taking a look at what else is making news around the world this hour in our world update five people have been found dead aboard a migrant ship off the southern coast of italy fifty two others were rescued safely from the boat which departed from libya and seven coast guard says many on board the ship were dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia u.n. figures show that around sixty thousand migrants landed in italy last year mostly africans who fled their countries when the conflict in libya began in february two thousand and eleven. protesters in new york city were met by police only six month anniversary of occupy wall street activists try to reoccupy zuccotti park with the movement began dozens have been arrested according to reports hundreds took part in love to march through their hands financial district the focal point of their frustrations during the last six months majority of arrests of could when protesters put up a tent which violates park rules. and

the occupy movement along with other protests have highlighted certain constitutional rights in the u.s. and elsewhere though western nations are being quick to criticize countries who don't share the same democratic views they're not necessarily leading by example when it comes to human rights as reporter explains the strong arm of the law is leading some to wonder if they're preaching hypocrisy instead of democracy. the u.s. and its european allies have many things in common security politics and a familiar practice of soldiering outsiders about the pillars of democracy and wanting people have a universal right to assembly and free speech this is the precincts human rights democracy and there is a big step. democracy rule of law human rights these are our values and we believe these must be respected by the egyptian authorities in russia we've seen crackdowns

on civil society groups as western leaders were added their finger around the world . would be times and brutal force have been used to quell 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 nosing about in 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 on the other 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 can 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. it felt like opening up an indoor almost. from about my sternum to my neck the 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 isn't 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're 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 the point the fingers somewhere else rather than take responsibility here in america do anything differently lecturing others on democracy and human rights has become a more hands of western foreign policy discourse that claims to be based on the highest of standards but as recent years has shown it's a lot easier to scold others when everything is why all these protesters in oakland or injured students in europe might suggest that their leaders do a bit more before attempting to be a teacher of democracy or not artsy new york. we'll be back with this week's headlines in just a couple of minutes stay with us live here in moscow this is the weekly on r.t. .

with the end of the boer war and the going away of the soviet union many people thought that nuclear weapons disappeared. the risk is not zero that something might be going off by mistake special it sounds a little clear weapons on hair trigger alert if the facility to use it i did as

a three ball as an echo of it but you know if you keep spinning a trillion dollars a year on weapons of eventually you're going to blow everybody up you you know people are dying from these weapons but until we actually see it people don't wake up with a new flu weapons or build the new force. that represents all the firepower of the second world war and this second sound is the equivalent firepower of the world's nuclear arsenal today. just so.