the day's top headlines and the stories that shape the week right here on r.g.p. as the u.n. prepares for its humanitarian mission in syria violence in the country intensifies with deadly attacks on the country's second city and the capital. the hard luck story of a loving father caught in a tragedy that's how the u.s. media is portraying the american soldier accused of slaughtering sixteen afghan villagers in a nighttime shooting spree. dozens are arrested in new york as the occupy wall street it movement marks six months since it made its stand against corporate greed and injustice in america.

and broadcasting live from our studios in central moscow this is our john thomas and let's take a look at your top stories at least two people are killed by a car bomb in a residential area in aleppo syria's second city attacks on saturday in the capital damascus killed twenty seven people and wounded scores more our middle east correspondent post clear has the latest. well the explosion happened at one o'clock local time in the second largest syrian city of aleppo in a residential area very now throughout the day state television has been showing pictures of destroyed vehicles of damaged buildings and shattered glass and it's termed the attack a terrorist bombing we are hearing from the opposition that the attack happened not far from a security building although officials say that it hit between two razor that

residential buildings behind a cursed office now i witness on the scene say that there were bodies lying everywhere they also say that they heard massive explosions and gunfire immediately after what we understand was a car bombing now we understand this to be security officers who were firing in the air immediately following this blast they also cordoned off the area to try and prevent people from coming closer now the glass comes just one day after twenty blocks on saturday killed some twenty seven people in the syrian capital of damascus and it is the latest in a string of suicide bombings that have been happening in syria over the past few weeks on the tenth of february last month in the same city as sunday's blast the city of aleppo in the roof of the country twenty eight people were killed in twin blasts not far from a security office now the syrian pris is blaming saudi arabia and qatar for sunday's bombing they say that they have been calling for the arming of the

opposition and that this is merely fueling the situation on the ground and intensifying the violence earlier on sunday also demonstrators gathered at the site of saturday's blast in damascus this gathering comes just a few days after the one year anniversary of the uprising against the syrian president bashar assad now parallel to all of this seemingly growing violence on the ground there is a different type of warfare on the boat. and that is the information war and hero international broadcasters are increasingly being accused of following their own agenda in reporting the syrian story and as such i'm the only contribution to the violence and fueling the fighting on the ground as my colleague reports. 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 syria lives griffy cloth

freelance investigative journalist from damascus says he's found what he thinks is proof of media manipulation of the conflict in syria in 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 assad's army bombardment you can clearly see that something is slowly burning in the distance when the smoke has taken to english speakers correct their 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 do a dream you can see it. in another video from a hospital in homes someone behind camera talks to a doctor in the corner we see a little nap. you should kill bush good will punish you talk

about his words. after some thirty minutes away tame the crew starts to get nervous . maybe read no we need al-jazeera wildlife zero eventually the girl will forget some details. punish you be sure and your children in this footage we see danny holmes activist known for his exclusive reports from the very epicenter of the conflict his prepared. him to go live on c.n.n. he's relaxed and calm. and there is no shooting until he asks for it was city choose a target. no worries just do it. so why should i save my whole deer. tell them there are some buildings collapsed and

we're taking buildings away. the key there could be any two hundred get there get in the last hour or two. we have two hundred dead a lot reality at this. because. you cannot see a community become journalists trying to make a chaise as hard as possible and. the higher the price but not everyone is happy about it the politics of the channel were changing that the word count on high. leftist and progressive forces such as mine were not going to be this welcomed not any more obviously the qataris that decided to shape the picture of the news little more than me is joe that's always a mistake. well known war correspondent ali husham used to report for al-jazeera from the world's conflicts hot spots but syria has become the rubicon he couldn't cross he mentioned armed groups fighting against assad's army and his bosses and

doha told him he needed a vacation he has just resigned because of biased coverage he says the sub were like you know from both things that evolution's in leave syria. egypt tunisia whatever but i don't think for example that the revolution and the her reign and and saudi arabia and the media and this is just a proxy it's a proxy used by by external factors by fellow factions like sedna governments by maybe the west who i've heard to feel this was. no i look 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. the latest blasts in syria come ahead of a planned visit by u.n. teams to the country special envoy kofi annan is urging all sides to agree to a cease fire and for a dialogue to begin between the assad government and the opposition based political

analyst dr omar national he told us the bombings in damascus and aleppo are aimed at the railing those efforts the objectives of these explosions that are coming within two days two explosions there in the capital and then this explosion today in the second largest city in syria this shows that there is an intent to actually destroy or create obstacles to the initiative by the former secretary general of the united nations kofi annan who is acting on behalf of the united nations and on behalf of the arab league and would seize the support . at least verbal support from the russian foreign ministry now these explosions actually show the need for the success of this that and mission. and coming up later in the program a grieving mother and an angry europe. because they feel they can intimidate the

police into silence but my sense is confession. two metro bombers are executed in belarus but relatives and human rights groups are saying they want to give them a fair trial. and as more economic sanctions are piled on iran we find the consequences may be felt more in europe. short on money emotionally traumatized and a down on his luck father of two part of the media's profile of the american soldier accused of carrying out a massacre in southern afghanistan sergeant robert bales has now been flown back to the united states by the u.s. military calls for him to face trial in afghanistan or he's going to try to can his commentary from the united states. 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 surgeons who

apparently committed the 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 servicemen and servicewomen 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 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 these actions do not represent the values of the vast majority of coalition forces who serve their nations 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 film 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 don't eat the food in afghanistan for another free how many more people will die how many more instances like this the only solution to this is to bring the troops out and then for these for these governments this top winds of a name in countries where they have absolutely no right to intervene copious

apologise 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 in 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 have created the taliban has bound it will take revenge and analysts expect a fresh surge of violence children shot in the head women slaughtered it's incidents like the latest soldier's rampage in afghanistan that extremists of all kinds used to a new people through their ranks those new recruits go out to kill not even the most heartfelt apologies can change the minds of people that said on revenge it becomes a vicious circle that breeds even more danger spreading far beyond the borders of afghanistan i'm going to shift our reporting from washington markey. to belorussian

sentenced to death for last year's metro bombing in ben's kind of been executed confirmation came through the country's state t.v. channel the terror attack last april killed fifteen people and wounded hundreds brussels has criticised by the use of the execution with the e.u.'s foreign policy chief calling on the country's leadership to impose a moratorium on the death penalty or t.v. reports. from the very beginning a human rights observers have questioned whether or not the men were given fair trial this is just the last straw in the already strained relations when bell rose and the european union in fact a lot of the human rights organizations and servers along with the chairman of the european parliament have said requests it to the dealership president alexander lukashenko to graham's clemency to the two convicted men but those requests and i were i disregarded in fact a lot of the european out of the european human rights observers and officials have

long been looking in belarus and questioning the officials approach it to human rights freedom of speech and their treatment of the opposition this has been said to lead to a diplomatic route after bella was four dollars it's investors from several of the european countries and in retaliation the european union has also recalled all of their ambassadors from belo rose and the european union foreign affairs chief catherine ashton already said that she strongly condemns the executions and she was seconded by the chairman of the european parliament martin schulz to also said that he is horrified at the news and this is just a thousand to worsen the situation and the relations between bellers and the european union even further. in belarus itself not everyone's support of the executions flowers were laid near the home of one of the convicted men vladislav a kodo of earlier his mother received notification from the court of a death sentence had been carried out she thinks her son was made a scapegoat for days when you do they thought they could intimidate the police

interest signing but my son said they fulfill his confession exposing their who kind of investigation in trial otherwise they could have executed him long ago he's everything and join him in the. coming up later on the program the illegal immigrants traveling to the u.k. in search of a better life. often finding themselves sleeping on the streets with no job or money stuck in a legal no man's land. also the price of health wracked by that you hungrily eyes china's three trillion dollar cash pile and all of business savvy beijing lays down the rules. seventy three people have been arrested in new york as the occupy wall street movement marks six months since it made its stand against corporate greed and in justice in america police moved in to clear as a cutting park after agribusiness refused to stop its intents and leave the area

since the start of the movement nationwide protests have faced numerous cases of police brutality with the tongs and tear gas often used to disperse crowds but the actions at home are in stark contrast to washington's words in condemning other nations which don't measure up to its idea of democracy as more in a fortnight. the u.s. and its european allies have many things in common security politics and a familiar practice of scolding outsiders about the you know there's of democracy iranian people have a universal right to assembly and free speech this is the creasing suppression all human rights in the world democracy and it is a big step towards the right democracy rule of law human rights these are all finding is 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. i wouldn't be times include of

course have been used to help public protest at home was. rife police handcuffs and iron fists have repeatedly been used against unarmed demonstrators in greece spain and my. and there were 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 countries and trying to you know grandstand on an international scale rather than deal with you know they were their own 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 to crowd 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. like opening up an open door almost mixed with a sting from about my sternum to my. new active denial system can repel crowds using an electromagnetic beam that delivers a glass 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 her early 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 is europe a challenge to get in the united states and it's easy for our leaders the point to

seen or somewhere else rather than take responsibility here in america to do anything differently lecturing others our democracy and human rights has become a brand of western foreign policy that just force that claims to be based on the highest of standards but as we sit here it's a lot. he's here to scold others like everything is fine. maze protesters in place for injured students in europe might suggest that their leaders do a homework before i turn things to be a teacher of democracy or an up or not artsy me or. steven kuhr land or a political and communications strategist believes the occupy movement needs one clear leader to get its message across you know and it may have to really gel there's either a peace means the warning acknowledged protests or anything else. that you have to decide if you want to go after them you know my opinion they should be only after the fact the new congress has

a number of issues the number of different people it's. real now there's no leadership there's no definable leadership really standing out and leading the team to move they're not they're not reaching the average american and they're not going to succeed unless they start identifying their needs and then addressing. we've got a lot more lined up for you on our website r.t. dot com and there for the latest news and comments here's a taste of what we have already there for you right. do you yawn a lot get goosebumps and digit uncontrollably well chances are you're a terrorist at least that's according to a new pamphlet issued by us on the same security. and emerald isle entertainment across the capital as moscow joins hundreds of thousands of people around the world to celebrate st patrick's day the festival footage is that archie dot com. the global bank payment network swift iranian banks this week the move is part of a tougher economic sanctions imposed on terror run by western nations and they hope

the pressure will force iran to abandon its nuclear program but the standoff is forcing oil prices up threatening already weak european economies like spain and greece who rely heavily on iran supplies crisis management specialist paolo refining says tehran will simply find new customers rather than change its stance. on the swift system is mostly used in the euro. actions. as we know from the news he. is already making agreements with india and china to have its changes there are currencies in for this is so what will not be sold to europe would be sold elsewhere the issue of sanctioning iran is that something that comes from the united states and europe following because there is no other way out for europe for the time being they can increase this to try to facilitate the

negotiating table but it will not magically change the course of action that will be taken in clear on anyway. the chief of the international monetary fund believes that major vulnerabilities still remain in europe and that they could prevent the continent from overcoming the financial crisis christine legarde was speaking in china where she called the country a bright spot in an uncertain global economy and as our silly reports many analysts now point to beijing as the possible savior of europe with china's three trillion plus dollars in foreign currency reserves it was only a matter of time before debt lead and europe came knocking on its store from chinese side are the leaders always say ok they are waiting to be sold or wm it's too hard is not good 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 trump 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 anti subsidy and anti dumping investigations into imports of chinese made steel products and does would emerge so as. it is you know. he's it's. can but your hasn't thrown in the towel just yet it still has the power to grant china's wishes and as a 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 the international politics game that they're being played is very true it's. true resourceless 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 a buzz with annoyance at what they see as poor ordinary chinese paying for rich europeans so that's why the chinese prime minister. try to persuade its people and the people and. car you can see in the 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 tests or sell your r t brussels

illegal immigrants are travelling to the u.k. in search of a better life or finding it may not be the land of plenty that hope for some spend all their money to get there before finding themselves homeless and stuck in a complex legal system and able to work but unable to return home as well as our twenty's i've been a father. it looks like nothing more than a dumping ground the squalor plain to see harder to spot other signs of life this is what forty illegal immigrants call home under a motorway bridge in london's outskirts penniless and without sanitation the place is infested with drugs disease and destitution they've come here looking for a better life they've been told in fact they've been told the fact that if you come to the u.k. . it's like it's going to be paved with gold many risk their entire family's fortune to get here dreaming of the riches that await this man paid traffickers in

india over fifteen thousand dollars to smuggle him to britain in the back of a lorry like most he destroyed his passport when he got here to make deportation more difficult but it means he now can't escape even though he wants to he was promised he'd find plenty of work money and accommodation but he's now trapped in poverty worse than he left behind oh i have a large oil law. it's. very all it's where do you sleep. i don't have a look at all it's been in the in. with no official identity men like locked in a stuck in a bureaucratic no man's land britain won't deport them unless they can prove who they are and where they came from. each case has to be dealt with individually and some can be complex with many not having trouble documents or not wishing to comply

with the documentation process nearly thirteen thousand illegal immigrants left the u.k. voluntarily last year called drew pulling in numbers over just six years such is the desperation to leave this is where the men waits looking for work then every warning hoping to be picked up and paid for a day's labor day right most days they wait isn't this all the guys who are thinking about doing learn you know money's gone. way too much when you go there don't know what happened here. reality is there. as we didn't you know do in india. you know from a good family the men are expected to send money back to their families in india no wonder most were reluctant to appear on camera rather than it r t london.

a recap of this week's of top stories coming up in just a few moments don't go away you're watching art.

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