united nations voices concerns that the rebel free syrian army may be using child soldiers in their battle against president assad as international peace envoy kofi annan says it's up to the syrians to decide their leader. the two faces of a saudi arabia's democratic right or odds with reality as its own people run to escape rulings that make protests in a sense and the king's authority absolute. the u.s. seeds to plant anti-missile shields in asia and the middle east in alongside its european project while its involvement in korean affairs is seen as an attempt to

expand american influence in the region. and with washington showing no let up on its pursuit of whistleblowers more journalists feel forced to sacrifice the truth fearing for their future. thanks for joining r t it's two o'clock here in moscow and i'm karen taraji the free syrian army may be sending child soldiers to fight against government forces according to a report received by the united nations the body says it will now investigate the matter as kofi annan the international peace envoy declares it's up to the people of syria alone to decide on president assad's rule the envoy who is now in china stressed about the bloodshed must end but also said it could be harmful to set realistic deadlines once again he emphasized that halts not guns were the only way

to end the bitter conflict professor of international law would occur our law says there are safeguards against foreign interference for a reason. it is. and it is a principle of the it's the right of the people. to choose whatever regime they all and some of you can through if you have internal turmoil. it could become something more serious but. threat to international peace and security the security council should not intervene would not intervene and definitely no individual country could or should . that affairs of another country this is a general rule in international law. and we are now getting unconfirmed reports that clashes between the syrian army and rebel groups have spilled over the border

into lebanon according to local residents will keep you updated once more when that information becomes available. meanwhile libyan opposition groups are attending a meeting in istanbul in order to try and heal divisions fearing a loss of western support rights are evident already with a number of rebel factions boycotting the meeting telling columnist francesco sisi explains why now is the perfect time for a peaceful solution to the crisis from what we know that rebels are. extremely excited and these could cold set a new reason for farther a fight between different factions as we have seen for instance a levy we see that leave it in a frame factious are now in conflict in some kind of conflict with each other and this situation needs to. be unstable therefore you would be useful to have

a peace settlement. where nobody clearly we need and everybody would be. more in the mood for for compromise. honesty international has released a scathing report criticizing saudi arabia among others for a drastic increase in state executions last year it comes at all it's with riyadh's a strong sense stance on syria with its unwavering support for rebels and condemnation of assad's actions human rights movements however point out the irony of the demands from a country where protesting can be considered an act punishable by death oksana boyko brings us this report on the two faces of the saudi kingdom. the coronation bank made in beirut the spain for its refreshing greece and its crazy ways it's a place where headscarves in minutes kurds don't come into conflict even when done all at once. with a reputation as the most liberal arab society lebanon is all to becoming

a refuge for the citizens of the region's most restrictive country thousands of saudis come to beirut every month and what some call a freedom for cation i was born in care say i suffered a lot there because it's it's too too too limited i have to cover my face my eyes my whole body what i'm hearing being over here please look at me it is here where many saudi women get a chance to walk the streets older themselves and saudi man can indulge themselves in gambling in beirut's mainly casinos something that would be absolutely off limits at home saudi arabia is the most conservative country in the world where women are still banned from driving and need permission from that male guardian be a father a husband or son to simply get a job the royal family has been keeping these rules in place and says that part of saudi heritage and therefore should be respected but prescribing this restrictive

lifestyle for its citizens some members of saudi really don't seem to think these rules apply to themselves. when it comes to cutting lose abroad some of the cell establishment don't exactly present a picture of religious piety saudi princes have been seen reigning hundreds of thousands of dollars and women in nightclubs ready cash for their sides and he excesses of the sly few and restrictions for everybody else has not gone unnoticed killing probably just been turned that over the past year has been repeatedly met with live rounds. who are protestors have been killed in rio. base year alone up to fifty arrested. in march the country's religious council issued a fatwah it equated demonstrations to a scene punishable by death once you have a demonstration and so the plea that demonstration would be oppressed harshly and

we have heard and seen many reports why and dependent reporters and human rights organizations verifying the spot. straightens and so they are abia are simply illegal yet despite harsh treatment of its own protesters saudi arabia has been very supportive of revolt elsewhere. was among the first to push for international intervention in libya while in syria it's believed to be the main financier of the rebels when things did not move as expected mainly because of the russian chinese because of the u.n. . i think they decided to play the measure. by announcing even publicly. their plan to arm the rebels in syria. for all its russia tactics at home and abroad here say it's never scolded by the u.s. say. it and washington that currently negotiating ethics could billion dollars sale

of advanced american weapons brothers in arms conveniently they're still not each other's keepers. aren't fi beirut lebanon. you're watching our t.v. and coming up allegations some more than m.p.'s could stand to benefit from u.k. health reforms. they could just wait to push legislation to go three hundred calls now already to parents with the n.h.s. bill now cry us to some people have been left wondering if free health care will be wall street profits and personal interests. and we'll also bring you the opinion of an internet activist linked to the anonymous group that believes harper's halfords laced the media as the means of delivering the message of social unrest. a future all the u.s. led missile shield plans in eastern europe can develop in two directions either

moscow gets guarantees it's not aimed against russia or an arms race is enough of a bill that's according to president medvedev speaking after the nuclear security summit in the south korean capital seoul washington meanwhile has announced it is planning to build anti-missile shield in both asia in the middle east or it's easy to go joins us live now you know what else did the president have to say. well he touched upon a number of subjects of course he did say that he's satisfied with the results of this summit one of the primary issues which was covered here was the security and safety of the facilities and nuclear storage units and president that have said that of course is of vital importance we have to keep those nuclear materials but also of course he talked at length about everything else that is happening basically everything that is happening in the world today he did say that a dialogue is necessary when it comes to nuclear security and he did mention that

he is hoping that iran will continue. with the countries in the form of a five plus one he also mentioned that some of the countries which were the sun it really didn't understand why they were here in the first place and naturally he does support the subject of his conversation with american president barack obama which happened on monday that was now infamous conversation which was overheard by . by media it was given off the record president hollande didn't know the cameras and microphones were rolling and video along with the sound was leaked to us media and caused of course it waves across across america and was used by some of president obama's contenders in the race for presidential position against him saying some actually went as far as to say obama has actually betrayed it the

united states by almost looking to please a russia in terms of shield of course that remains to be one of the biggest issues which russia and the united states are trying to tinker out every time they need this this time was obviously no exception so it did look for a while like maybe the presidents will come to an agreement on. but of course president obama is also facing the reelection campaign which he is running on right now a lot of tensions back home for him so he is basically asking the president asking russia to hold and wait until he gets reelected and then he promised he will return to this issue quickly as possible in fact he said today that over the next ten months american specialists will be working closely together with russia in order to figure out a deal by twenty thirteen but then again we have this statement which came right on

the heels of the one i just mentioned which did talk about the missile shield being placed in the asia pacific region so it kind of this is kind of an interesting situation in which the american president is finding themselves but again overall the russian president seems to be quite content with the things which happened at the nuclear summit he touched upon those brand new missile shield tell us how's the u.s. going to expand its international influence. well the plan for them is include include those in japan south korea. they're looking into expanding into the middle east of course they're saying that the primary concern in these there in these areas in the north korea and with iran iran's nuclear program hardly ever is disappearing from the headlines these days north korea has also been something of a news maker as of late especially with this. launch and little.

south korea japan and the united states that satellite launch. north korea's rocketry they are adamant that this should not happen in fact south korea and japan already promised that they are going to shoot down the satellite should lift off but north korea says it's going to do that anyhow because it is absolutely vital for his development but going back to the issue with missile shields in the east asia pacific region and in the middle east some are already seeing that america's terminations to stay in the region in fact expand its presence in the pacific in the asia pacific region. right there in seoul south korea thank you very much. eric sirota and co-founder of the campaign to end the korean war believes u.s.

involvement in military games in the korean peninsula is aimed at spreading its influence in the asia pacific region. they has its eyes on china it has its eyes on maintaining its military superiority in the region you have to remember that south korea is the largest purchaser of conventional weapons from the united states than any other country in the world there's a lot of money involved in this process and there is an eye on china to kind of flex the muscles and show that the u.s. still has hope for a role in the region and we really need to find a way back to the table not see individual acts as a provocation north korea has a right to put a satellite into space as other nations do but unless demilitarized that's a look at the base issues let's look at getting a peace treaty to end the korean war finally and then i think these kinds of issues

one arise. artie's live stream on twitter is keeping you up to date twenty four hours a day there you'll find all the latest updates opinions and images from the nuclear security summit in seoul along with developments on other news stories. if. you're just joining us fifteen minutes past the hour and washington's or alertness pursuit of wiki leaks founder julian assange an alleged whistleblower bradley manning well that's no secret and for some experts the u.s. government's high profile crackdown all the treatment is designed to send

a warning to other critics of washington's actions arches marina partner reports. he's an australian citizen in the custody of britain fighting extradition to sweden julian assange just fate plays out like a game of chats and no one wants the king of wiki leaks more than america with you leaks wiki leaks we can't make sweeping leaves since january two thousand and eleven washington has had plans for a song i secret uncovered earlier this month after five million confidential emails from the global intelligence company straw for were published by guess who we are. a defendant is outside of the us will get an indictment which is secret you'll see you'll be charging document the indictment they will ask for no rest warrant and that matter well also be so you that why did the u.s. stands behind what big large boulder will. and then jumps out from that boulder

and arrest someone under house arrest for more than a year assad has not been charged with any crime in any country though sweden wants to question him over sex related allegations the u.s. meanwhile is determined to punish the forty year old boy payback for exposing confidential cables repeatedly shaming america by shining a spotlight on illegalities in overseas military operations and some embarrassing tactics and opinions from the state department washington says publishing the documents has created a national security risk there justice department has reportedly mounted in unprecedented investigation into wiki leaks aimed at prosecuting a songe under the espionage act you're going to continue to go after mistress charged. but we're tough and we're not going to let anybody or whether it's al

qaida or whether it's an australian national and some say they'll go to any lengths to make a point the us government with and the federal criminal arena likes to charge. were aided and abetted or were blown coconspirators or likes to go after go through never before. it get them to cooperate with the u.s. government against the major players in this case mr a song sources tell our team that the u.s. is now working on flipping a gun other than private bradley manning the u.s. soldier is facing twenty two federal charges for allegedly leaking seven hundred thousand documents and video to wiki leaks he's one of six americans obama's administration has charged with espionage if one of those cases makes it to the supreme court and the supreme court upholds the espionage act as an act which

essentially criminalizes any whistleblower anybody who exposes war crimes anybody who challenges the official narrative of the lies of the state. then that's it because that would mean that any leaker can automatically be sent to prison for life and at that point any idea of freedom of information is over we will only know what the state wants us to know it's supposed to be about protecting the national security the united states but that is not the journalism industry if you were there would be i was being something that is a message to be one be careful who you talk to and careful whom you write what you write because you could be you know i think a number of reporters are going to say i'm not risking critics say the obama administration's unprecedented war on whistleblowers could ultimately deliver i death sentence to freedom of the press if people or publishers could be criminally

convicted and jailed for exposing the truth more and more journalists may prefer to abandon first amendment privileges and reserve the right to remain silent arena for nile r.t. the. mainstream media has been largely neglecting the occupy wall street movement since it spilled onto american streets in september and has internet activists a great who believes the situation has seen her emerge as the protesters main p.r. . when you look at adbusters first putting out the call for this protest in wall street there wasn't much pick up very few news organizations actually covered it and then someone arms found it and the second anonymous decided to talk about it everyone in the news out there decided oh this is news we have to cover it and then thousands of people showed up you know i think anonymous played an interesting role almost as the p.r. agent for it you know they brought a lot of the eyeballs and they helped get the internet up and operational they made

sure that there was electricity provided you know they did a lot of interesting technical stuff that the movie needed a controversial national health service reforms in the u.k. have left some wondering if free health care could become a thing of the past a list of lords and m.p.'s who voted yes to the bill as well as concerns that private interests and profits hochman put before the welfare of the public artie's laura smith looks at my health system in need of some care. it's a merry go round of self interest along for the ride members of parliament the house of lords and health care companies opening up britain's national health service to plum duff by profiteers the jewel in the u.k.'s welfare state is under strain promising free health care but with criticism that it can't cope the government says private sector involvement is the only but some say it's not those in need of care but rather those in power who are set to benefit the rest.

of the shares in the company. and yet these vested interests are allowed to vote on a health and social care bill with these private health interests which is a conflict of interest. institutional corruption at worst friends with benefits david cameron prime minister received two hundred ten thousand pounds to his party for nursing and care home tycoon pop out and made him a lot part of the party twenty five thousand pounds just a week after the health reforms were announced andrew lansley health secretary got twenty one thousand pounds to fund his office from john nash who's the chairman of k u k which already gets ninety six percent of its business from the n.h.s. the list is long and illustrious it runs to nearly one hundred fifty names all logs

and m.p.'s who voted yes to opening up health care to competition and stand to gain from the results there may be more the research isn't finished yet and now that the bill has passed its detractors are powerless to stop private companies stepping in and making health care about profits not healing investigation show a number of westminster m.p.'s and a quarter of britain's house of lords have links with private health care provider . through investments patronage board membership and the parties in power conservatives and liberal democrats have received substantial funding from various private health interests following the legislation those companies are already starting to see. private health interests starting to look very seriously cherry picking some of the best most profitable parts of the national health service they were just waiting for this legislation to do three things and of course now ready

to pounce the changes have been highly controversial and these people think they don't damage the quality of care many feel that one m.p.'s did declare their interest and should have been banned from local government code of conduct as anybody with an interest must never take part in. their interest issues told were driven. to do private enterprise use. prefer not to do with. inside westminster m.p.'s reportedly banged the table in jubilation when the reports passed outside the bell tolled for free health care. london. time not to take a look at the world of business with marina and there's a new economic report on russia we understand yes that's right there and it was made by the world bank of russia actually received a satisfactory grade the report notes that the russian economy has stabilized in

the last twelve months employment's is rather inequality and i'm freighters quite strong but there is a cat march of this york by high energy prices want to discuss this further i'm joined by caspar brooke there is the world the economist and constance struck a chord nadir for us on this earth the thank you very much for joining us now can you tell us if the benefits from the high oil prices how well is there was an economy performing. well so what we've seen the recent performance of the russian economy has been really quite good we've seen that growth is solid in two thousand and eleven repeat the two thousand times before month the current account is strong inflation is low so the russian economy looks in good shape but the main reason really behind this is that the oil price is very high in fact it's that iran hundred twenty barrel compared to sixty in the midst of the crisis in two thousand nine hundred that rebound in the oil price has really helped the russian economy to

perform so well forward to say are the main weaknesses. so in our report we've discussed a number of weaknesses in fact when you look at the last four or five years from the rebound of the crisis we see that russia actually has a rebound slower than say its own rebound compared to the ninety eight crisis and it also has rebound slower compared to the many other emerging economies after the two thousand and eight prices so what's making the recovery so slow given that high oil prices really a healthy recovery we think that a key factor for that is that investment in russia still is sluggish businesses are still reluctant to invest in russia or to make longer term commitments so it's going to be very important for the russian government to make sure that investors want to put money in russia and we think there are two parts for this on the macro economy side macro policies have to emphasize debility buffers have to be rebuilt

so that when the next crisis comes russia is in a good place to address this crisis as well as russia is to make progress on the structural side to make the investment climate more friendly for investors for everyone as of course the sky saying who's in the euro zone how much of a drive things and the problems there will be for us and two thousand and twelve. no. absolutely the fact that in the euro area in two thousand and twelve we actually see a recession makes a difference to russia europe is the european union is a big partner for russia on trade. russia exports a big chunk of its oil to europe so demand in europe is very important it imports machineries and other goods from europe so a strong europe is very important for russia so the fact that the euro area is in recession means the external environment is more difficult for russia and that's

one factor why we think that growth will ease somewhat this year compared to last year and russia and russia is more than a europe on the road so in london in the finance ministry is planning to for up to seven billion dollars do you think this is necessary given the revenue coming from oil. because the revenues from boils are clearly very important if the federal budget takes about half of its revenues these days from oil and that's a reflection of the high oil price so i think going forward it's going to be very important for russia to diversify its economy to make sure but also on the fiscal side allow the china of the revenues come from the new energy sector and finally the report puts quite a big emphasis on russia join in the world trade organization which was finally sources that we had all of last year you know how much do you think how much of an impact will this have on the us economy. i think the w t o x

session for russia that is expected this is really great news for the russian economy it's great that after a very long process there's almost a decade in russia has reached this stage and it's going to be a key component to make sure that in this area of globalization that russia can perform well with other emerging economies our estimates are that in the medium g.d.p. . benefit around four percent but the benefits go up in the longer term to around eleven percent as the business environment gets improved what is very important is with the w t o accession on the one hand you have lower tariffs for russia which made inputs into russia production cheap but you also open up. foreign investors who are out of my list of things you know. mr thank you very much for your insight on fortunately we've run out of time thank you.