u.s. teams up with arab allies to pressure syria's government into submission despite ongoing u.s. efforts to mediate a diplomatic peace. washington puts the squeeze on syria's ally iran pledging to sanction countries that don't reduce imports of oil from the islamic state of. reliving the past starkey visits the only remaining soviet forced labor camp the gulag and here is the whoring accounts from former inmates.

one pm in moscow i match reza good to have you with us here on r t our top story this saturday syrian opposition rallying in a bid to get bins international allies that it is a unified force rebels expect more backing from a u.s. led group of nations on sunday when the so-called friends of syria convene for their second summit of the group aims to put more pressure on damascus while lending a helping hand to assad's opponents head of the conference u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is in saudi arabia meeting washington's regional allies saudis n. qatar have been leading calls to start arming syria's rebels and even weigh in with military force chris bambery from the international socialist group thinks the u.s. is reluctant to get involved directly but may endorse action through proxies. so days of very keen to overthrew asaad regime as soon as possible and want to increase the arms which are good to the syrian rebels the free syrian army the

americans are slightly weary not because the new is keen to overthrow the assad regime because the from their own experiences they know the providing weapons probably also means in providing weapons instructions and so on and can lead to involvement in a coup. the sea new easy solution to the rest has almost overlooked the saudi humanitarian agenda the question of civil rights in saudi arabia what it's doing to its own people and what is done to the people of yemen bahrain and other countries around it because business is good with saudi arabia they are two faced in the way they use that when you don't like a regime they will use the human rights cards when you like a regime these things silence over the question of human rights as they have done with us i believe in regime and indeed the back rain we don't hear any condemnation from hillary clinton or david cameron well some saudis enjoy the trappings of wealth and privilege the majority of the population struggle with the daily

oppression while ignoring issues in their homeland arab oil magnates remain committed to exporting regime change to neighboring countries or he's our son a boy more from beirut. it meant in beirut the spain for its refreshing breeze and its breezy ways it's a place where headscarves in minister kurds don't come into conflict even when beyond olympic bronze. 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 the 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 believe me it is here where many saudi women get a chance to walk the streets all by themselves and so a man can and don't blame cells in

a 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 it a father a husband or son to simply get a job the royal family that's been keeping these rules in place says that part of the saudi heritage and therefore should be respected but while prescribing this restrictive last fall for its citizens some members of saudi really don't seem to think these rules apply to themselves. when it comes to cutting loose abroad some of the saudi establishment going to exactly present a picture of religious piety so differences have been seen reigning hundreds of thousands of dollars and women in nightclubs ready cash for their sides. excesses of the select few and restrictions for everybody else has not gone

unnoticed feeling probably just been turned over the past year has been repeatedly met with live rounds. who are protesters have been killed in rio. here alone it's up to fifty arrested. in march the country's religious council issued a fatwa that equated demonstrations to a scene punishable by death and once you have a demonstration and so the plea that demonstration would be repressed harshly and we have heard and seen many reports by and reporters and human rights organizations verifying the spark. grayson's and so they are simply illegal yet despite harsh treatment of its own protesters saudi arabia has been very supportive of the bold elsewhere. was among the first to push for international intervention in libya while in syria it is believed to be the maintenance here of

the rebels when things did not move as expected main the because of the russian and chinese vetoes a u.n. . they think they decided to play a measure. by announcing even publicly. their plan to answer those in syria. all its rough tactics at home and abroad here's fate is never scolded by the u.s. a. and washington that currently negotiating ethics could billion dollar sale of advanced canary and weapons brothers in arms conveniently they're still knocking each other skippers. the beirut lebanon. so ahead this hour taking their belts spain out as its biggest are there any cuts in more than thirty years after a nationwide strike against reforms. but first as the u.s. seeks new ways to undermine the assad regime it's now putting more pressure on

damascus closest ally iran president obama gave the all clear for the toughest sanctions yet against islamic states oil industry washington will take punitive economic measures against countries that refuse to reduce imports of fuel from iran restrictions came into force in late june all designed to pressure tehran into giving up its controversial nuclear program the white house says there is enough oil resources in the world to keep a market from collapsing without iran's share of u.s. based researcher and writer soraya support already thinks the u.s. could be shooting of self in the foot i really think america has france it likes to think it has allies but he manages to intimidate and bully other countries into doing its bidding an extraordinary thing is that america is it was in these sanctions is actually it is not a national interest not only are american companies not allowed to trade with iran america's telling the world how as well as nations you can do it either so i don't

know why any nation like japan would think for a moment that they're sorry when america dictates the rules i honestly don't believe this iran would ever imagine its civilian nuclear program for one thing it does. alright and this is not a fact it unites you mine is of all social economics classes covered so the government's being a rational government all the some good almighty hears this would never give up some think it's nice people all rallies the people behind this. euro zone finance ministers agreed to boost the e.u.'s rescue fund to eight hundred billion euros to help countries like spain recover from their dip crippling debt woes spain's financial crisis had prompted the government to announce its biggest austerity measures in more than three decades the country validated that the country's about to cut twenty seven billion euros from its budget this year this after tens of

thousands of protesters streets thursday to fight against labor reform the strike turned violent barcelona where demonstrators smash windows and set fire to trash bins what a country struggles to rise out of its debt crisis economic analyst michael moore asked explain more able to implement the new cuts. what i can see is that what the spain want to make the spanish government is not only is it if pill it's also impossible when you look at the private sector private sector is totally over debt mall is bankrupt when you look at the banks over there being quite central bank bankrupt government also mourners bankrupt how can you implement in authority package in this circumstances so everybody will see that this will this won't work i got i what i see is that spain is the last nail in the euro zone coffin so i mean we have to cause abilities why the euro will be obviously

not working well the first is that we will have kind of domestic insular action in spain itself so they have to come out of the e.u. in order to calm the people on the other one is the financial aspect that it is not possible to help spain with five hundred seven hundred billion euros in order to refinance themselves so if this if you come through this point then then i think the germany will pull out of the euro. well stay with us here on are you still to come this hour homeless in hollywood. a big american run around. where they haven't cleaned up they own backyard right here on skid row you've got the largest city in america no more to go with the city of angels homeless community growing while the government could be turning a blind eye born a few minutes. but first political prisoners a term associated with a dark chapter in soviet history when millions were locked up in forced labor camps

known as grew up in a bid to make sure the horrors of the past aren't forgotten russians converted one of the group logs into a museum or the peter of a visitor the site spoke with one of its former inmates hidden away in the ural mountains hundreds of kilometers from the nearest city is perm thirty six where the soviet government since its distance now though it's a museum dedicated to making sure that's part of twentieth century history is never forgotten. people wanted to understand the causes of those reprisals and name all the victims and pass the knowledge of what happened here on to future generations. said he was an inmate of the perm camp in one nine hundred seventy four he was sentenced to seven years for agitation and anti soviet propaganda now in his eighty's he still remembers life on the inside. the actual deprivation of freedom was very significant indeed but there are things that made up for it you had the freedom which didn't exist beyond that fence the freedom to actually say anything

you wanted without fear because they do to you you were in prison already today surly gay is a human rights activist occasionally he goes back to where he was imprisoned to talk to students and other groups about life behind bars in the soviet union. in a punishment cell you had to stay without warm underwear and bedding it was usually very cold which was serious we had to sleep on barren planks with no pillow and museum a current thirty six allows visitors to come face to face with the realities of repression with much of the original structure still intact it gives historians a glimpse into a harsh life not found anywhere else that's extraordinary because it's. exile it's. now ever turned thirty six is not the only place that the repressions

of the soviet era remembered today monuments like this one in moscow which contains a rock taken from one of the very first camps serve as a reminder of all of those who were held as political prisoners in the u.s.s.r. . those who campaign for human rights they know will now say that by keeping the past in focus history's mistakes will be repeated. whenever we remember our pasts we keep bringing up the main theme of rights and freedom our past can be described as one big violation of human rights it was a symbol of lawlessness and a lack of freedom that if we forget our past we will be unable to build any decent future in them and. will stay with us here on r.t. still to come this hour football and you are heading east as ukrainian landlords get ready to score big as yours up to welcome the millions of euro football fans what's the one going to be the currency and mind if yeah if there's no more dollars

or euros or anything what are we going to be trading probably beans a day of the streets of the big apple to hear how opinions on how the euro crisis has hit the dollar. thirty first there are some other stories making headlines across the globe three separate bombs and thailand have killed eight people were left more than sixty wounded in the commercial district of iyanla municipality the first two were hidden in motorcycles the third in a car bombings are a common tactic of muslim separatists who have been waging an insurgency in thailand for eight years that's left more than five thousand dead. and molly toerag rebels in the north of the country have captured the strategic town of key dollar is a week after the country's military staged a coup to overturn the president and seize power the army says they took control to fight off the sahara based rebel threat to leader captain i'm going to sanogo has asked for foreign help to tackle the insurgents rebels fought in libya for the khadafi regime before returning better armed to mali. however the word

killed several others injured during four days of unrest in pakistan violence first triggered wednesday after a politician was killed in karachi in the days that followed ten more were shot dead prompting young people to take to the streets in protest police and military have been deployed to prevent further violence. and chinese police have arrested six after online web post ledger rumors of coup could be in the works this after several web postings claimed that military vehicles were seen on the streets of beijing the chinese government says rumors had a negative influence on the public and sixteen websites have been shut down for carrying the reports of scandal comes at a crucial time for the country's ruling elite after the removal from office of communist party chief boesch eli. with a u.s. soldier accused of killing seventeen afghan civilians under investigation in washington is still trying to mend its relationship with kabul but the massacre

along with the recent burning of the qur'an at a u.s. airbase means afghan leaders are having a tough time buying the apologies or he's a military contributor says washington needs to revise this reproach from on strategy to late history will soon come into afghanistan. might probably be remembered as one of the most unfortunate and the least successful trip ever conducted by the pentagon chief to afghanistan kim made a political blunder even before he boarded he explained where after the koran burning he authorized the u.s. commander in afghanistan to visit draw whole american advisers from their afghan institutions both military and civilian so why small wonder if they're left kabul real first from cars i refuse ultimatum to corral all u.s. ground forces into their forward operating bases and effectively no in void any

nitrates against he's taliban brothers and second from the taliban when they announce they're postponing of the negotiations with their american partners regarding their reconciliation the next time financial real jump aboard the plane should go to make sure that he's going. to islamabad to kabul if he really means business. in just over two months football fans from around the world will flood ukraine and poland for the euro two thousand and twelve championships with more than a million expected to descend on here alone preparations to accommodate them are nearing completion but as artie's likes airshows your reports those coming for the data for game could be in for an ugly surprise. the wealth of the earth with the euro two thousand to twelve football championship has not even begun in ukraine but

this ski of pensioner is already in high spirits york of course will. come out of believes this summer storm and is her last real chance to earn some money in the us is that our pensions are next to nothing our days are numbered and we went to see them off in style and earn a little money that's why we were led to ruin their flats of football fans will start at fifty dollars a night depending on who stays here but the price could go higher. sylvia design and lack of necessary amenities like air conditioning but the matter is being fairly reasonable about the price she would charge for it with the greed of many other private landlords could prove costly for ukraine if you prefer to travel in comfort like renting this morally designed and fully equipped flat be prepared to pay a fortune across a new this is an elite apartment in central kiev and it's priced in between five and ten thousand dollars a month but we will raise prices at least three fold for the euro two thousand and

twelve period. which makes it and policed four hundred euros a night and this is not a record breaker some hostels which had previously cost thirty euros are now available at fifteen times the price and what it offers can hardly be described as five star this england fan has already bought plane and match tickets but now he's worried his trip may be jeopardized don't think of doing anything different to what any of the host countries did in the past. accommodation process do road travel process do royce. it's just the lack of a viable accommodation very expensive most of them university dormitories sure you can stop in a tent but for reasonable just a hotel bed and breakfast or place i think we're going to get up salute skyrocketing prices urged for to send a stern warning to ukraine's government which promised to take action. hotels have a risk of ending up half empty we'll have more of their owners to lower the prices

with so many low cost airlines being able to bring fans for games into out of ukraine he might as well decide against saying here just coming for one day. what will become a nation prices usually hit the ceiling ahead of a big event and london will not be an exception during this summer's olympics but in the case of ukraine the gap between the price and the quality is vast and there is a great risk private landlords could and got profitless ukraine has already spent fourteen billion euros into the euro twentieth wealth project and is expected to earn only half a billion the private sector will rake in just as much that's unless the fans would not be scared away by the high prices let's hear assess the artsy fartsy from kiev in ukraine. it's been more than two years since the first cracks in the euro started appearing with greece and bellowing a series of austerity cuts a single currency took a hit from the euro crisis having a major effect on the dollar we'll take to the streets of the big apple coming up

to hear the views on the declining dollar and what it may mean for the rest of the world. the value of the u.s. dollar is on the decline what does that mean this week let's talk about that do you think a dollar's decline means the u.s. is losing its status as the world power yeah i think that it's reasonable to assume my husband doesn't go well why don't you think that because it'll make you more competitive and explore it i think we're all going now we're all going to i mean every country every country the end of the world time in rural you know the mines might be right december twenty first so what's going to be the currency money if yes if there's no more dollars or euros or anything what are we going to be trading probably being we're losing jobs to china and. you know we're we're not people are working so would you be willing to save money in chinese yuan

if it keeps going with them when absolutely i think we're very depending on the dollar as the international trade depending on the dollar if you think of going to change to something like the chinese yuan or the euro any time soon a little bit not so the euro the euro is really showing off his weaknesses this time why do we all just take it for granted that the dollar is the. currency that we base the world economy a more stable economy there compared to europe or japan or any of the other countries what about china. it's not transparent enough for me do you think that it's time to start considering using your statement other currencies like that you honor the euro. personally. why do you think americans only think in terms of dollars when the rest of the world thinks in terms of. well i think the whole kind of not just currencies it's news it's everything everything too many people in the

us are just too us centered focused in terms of their outlook on the world that we're part of it is is a function of geography so america basically occupying the large portion of north america with canada and mexico being the only neighboring nations there would has been much need for us to be able to be fluent whether in languages or currencies for that matter do you think that stunted our growth people oh yeah i think it can lead to some cultural isolation whether or not you care the u.s. dollar is on the decline the bottom line is you might want to start paying attention to what other currencies are available. money however isn't always available to some of the least fortunate the national coalition for the homeless right los angeles as the meanest city in the u.s. when it comes to dealing with its poverty stricken population and while the government offers little help for the areas of talent out many are left with little

hope for a better future. for reports. the city of angels and promise land of and this opportunities has become a living nightmare first sun los angeles is a mirage. people believe that they're coming to see hollywood other stars are here. the beautiful and. the girls with the well come take a look at skid row you can compare the third world country this treat is an informal border between shiny downtown l.a. and kids are out behind me in the shadow of the down valley skyline stray some fifty blocks with the largest concentration of homeless people in the entire country for many it's not just a place it's a way of life and at last resorts in the often and few main underbelly of los angeles. the financial crisis has hit hard here record amounts of

foreclosures have bangs turfing people out of their properties and onto the streets the city of angeles is fast becoming a city of homeless joe sure is among them two years ago he lost his job and while his income came to an app or uphold the bill certainly didn't well i was working as a system manager auto parts store and. i just kind of left the ledge and i don't have any worlds to fill a recent report by the national coalition for the homeless range los angeles as the meanest city in the country when it comes to dealing with the problem but we're also the issue where the homeless are poor treated under by law enforcement probably in this country has been criminal laws of your poor your big. general dogan lives in the streets of skid row he says that police have worked out

a solution for dealing with the homeless and arrest them for. any minor infraction a strategy that's winning the applause of the business community and real estate developers their job is to move all know your common homeless balls out of the place of the community what they want to do with his world on a poor folks so to do well it will put money into the area but the sad reality is there is only enough shelters for a tiny fraction of l.a.'s dramatic number of homeless made here says the government's looking the other way and leaving them to rights in the gutter i think americans run around playing captain ferryboat hole where they haven't cleaned up their own backyard right here on skid row you did you got the largest homeless population in america the largest. mental situation going all right i mean it just is just israel and how this is going to get a hell of a lot worse it's predicted there will be

a whopping one million foreclosures in california in the coming year so while joshua and so many others are suffering the same plight might be praying that one day they will have a roof over their heads it seems many others will be losing players. in the question who are to be reporting from los angeles california. kaiser report coming up after read out of the headlines stay with us here on our quiz. if. the.

you want to talk about. this industry still keeps its secrets for instance in the field of the soviet files on oxy some cool.