left thirteen dead more than a hundred injured. hello welcome you're watching the weekly with me kevin o. in iraq see saw a roundup of the top stories in the headlines of the last seven days and first the french accosting the ballot says millions choose between the two candidates in the runoff vote the defending president nicolas sarkozy's already claimed the elections on a knife's edge as he closes in on rival francois hollande in the final polls test for cilla's following the vote for us in paris at this point it's still very neck and neck can be the difference between the two is between four and seven points of word on the street here in paris if you talk to a random french person they do get the feeling that the country will get a socialist president the first in seventeen years that says fossil mitterrand left in one nine hundred ninety five but of course nothing is certain until the french cast their ballots under so

a lot of variables in play here first of all who are the voters who voted for money in the pen who finished third in the first round and those who voted for fossil beirut finished fifth that's how many of them are going to be voting for cyclists here and this could sway sway the balance of between the two and also you the french are going to be essentially voting between two kinds of men one who claims to be the want to unite france of blaming psycho's he for having been such a divisive president and then you have sarkozy who claims that he is the man who is going to be able to stop france from going down in the direction that greece and other troubled euro zone nations had gone the let's get a bit more analysis from our guests today mr douglas webber he's a political analyst from the in c. at a business school thanks very much for joining us today what about france in the context of europe asuka's he says he is the one who is going to be able to say france from the same future that greece is now facing do you agree with that on what basis well there's no basis for this kind of analysis of toll and it's a new television debate a. long pointed out. greece dinny case was ruled by

a conservative government in the years preceding the crisis rather than by a socialist one in terms of their approach to the sort of fiscal policy condition of government deficit to france's role in europe and the european central bank and its policy is not a vast difference between the two the true candidates the difference early is that along really insist that there must be some change in the fiscal tree negotiated between the member states towards the end of last year and signed earlier this year and that's where there could be some initial problems between a person. and the other governments in the european union thank you very much a service or whatever for your analysis there so there you have it the two men are still trying to fight here at the last moment as the french go and cast their ballots will be finding out first results at around eight pm local time here in paris. our europe correspondent there who stay with us for the regular coverage throughout the course of the afternoon from france's millions they choose their next president. the syrian government granted amnesty to two hundred sixty five

rebels ahead of monday's multi parliamentary vote the first such election in decades meantime a series of blasts rocked syria's capital damascus and also the northern city of aleppo on saturday killed three civilians and as r.t. sara first reports as blood is continuing to be spilled by both the regime's forces and the opposition hopes now resting on the growing u.n. observer mission. in the heart of damascus thousands come out to. the funerals of people killed during clashes in the capital once again drew into focus the very top terrorist situation the country now finds itself before the bodies of that they carried through the streets of damascus a few rolls the people who were killed under the station they just want the story you've got the military the security watching and this is at the same time as the un observers are supposed to be here overseeing the peace plan. in the day we've

joined the u.n. observers one of the daily to is to flash point areas. this have been traveling to some of the areas where the this is by things being breaking out and you can see on the ground smooth slow steps are being taken in the observers are really going to be one thing over the coming period the building on not observers are also based full time in some cities like homs and it led many have felt that their presence there has bought some come in we have little time between stops to speak to the people who live here these we did talk to tell us that the last few days have been quiet they don't know how long that will last situations much there's not much happening to them about people. that are so people shooting and i ran away i don't know exactly what was happening we're here at the checkpoints on the device you know the u.n. has just done a tour through the area it's been

a very very fast trip they've literally driven through stopping at some of the military checkpoints around speak to some of the people but no more than five ten minutes at a time to give you barely enough time to speak to some of the people in the area and get a feel for exactly what's been happening here was the observers presence here does seem to have made some school in rights situation in the country is so. stable tension in the capital of damascus is palpable explosions here a regular occurrence now and security everywhere tight firefighters rushed to the scene after a demonstration service themselves to that message a resolution won't happen even night and it will have to come in large parts of the syrian people themselves but with the holiday tree elections next week and with the observer mission under close scrutiny scenes like this way do anything to raise hopes that this mission will be a success but they also show the very real and urgent need for peace

a serf arcee damascus. now next we speak with the author of war correspondent chris hedges i can tell you things there's no point in pushing for syria's president to be ousted when there's no organized opposition in the country is take a listen. i don't think anyone in the muslim world thinks that we care much about human rights or democracy we have since the first gulf war planted military base some the size of small cities i think there is at this point absolutely no credibility i'm talking about within the middle east when the united states claims that it would like to bring liberty or democracy to syria my feeling is that everything should be pushed through to create some kind of a ceasefire rather than pass a resolution that calls for assad to removal or resolution. that calls for intervention or anything else there is no. real formal opposition you know it's

a sort of a mess and they just went through this in libya. the day before putin returned to the crimea antigovernment protesters are taking to moscow streets opposition activists initially promised a march of billions now they say they're in expecting around five thousand to turn up let's check it out in this and i was in the epicenter of the rally together now at the moment. a significant drop in numbers into what was initially promised by the organizers yet what you're seeing around you. certainly not five thousand people we're hearing that that number is going to grow of course this is called the march of millions it's a nationwide movement in fact it began all the way out east i'm glad you bought stock there that turned out not good at all some fifty people there were so sewed up put up with the city here in moscow and st petersburg and bigger cities are for at least a couple of thousand people not millions that they had hoped

a lot of people saying that the opposition movement at least here in the big cities is dying down we spoke to. rescan from g q magazine about the mood in russia with russia's opposition i say just ahead of putin's inauguration. the opposition is depressed the opposition thinks that. from what i'm getting reading their blogs their twitters is that there is no sense of unification that was this winter right now the left are going to the left the right are going to the right and we don't really see this one big force. so there was that momentum that was built up that it was talking about there after the elections and claims of mass fraud in that house seem to be lost today is really going to prove whether or not this movement is going to continue of course it's no accident that this is happening just a day before my dear to his inaugurated in. into

a third term as president people here at least today what we've been hearing this is less about free and fair elections like it started and more about just gathering in terms of the empty putin sentiment at least among these protesters the plan is to move along this avenue down to below class where we saw tens of thousands of people in the winter so what i'm going to do is that leave you march with them and i'll join you back in an hour or so live with any more details of my intention and i can tell you it will be full of the developments of the anti-government rally you see here in central moscow throughout the day we've got live reports from the scene of commerce down there and talk about live coverage as well we'll bring you details of my putin's inauguration as well from seven thirty g.m.t. in the morning tomorrow a big lot of live coverage coming up for you about that big event as well here on alt. being moved.

you're watching t.v. from moscow egypt saw a show surge in violence this last week as we reported as mass rallies against the military rulers ended in deadly clashes tension between the interim authorities and protest has intensified less than three weeks before the country's first post revolution presidential election now wednesday at least nine people were killed when a group of ultra conservative islamists were your silence was staging city against a candidate from the race most rushed to play the military for the attack but some

locals and activists that the protestors were provoked the situation on friday the weekly rally this time was predominantly islamist also resulted in deadly clashes and hundreds of arrests the shoes water cannon tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protesters to try to break through the defense ministry while the military keep reiterating will hand over power after the election and the activists who would desire to change. the military wants to crush this revolution every way possible and they're using every tool they have including the government which is not adhering to any of the demands that have been put forth since the first day of the revolution many believe that even if. this calf transferred power to civilian government it will. that won't change anything because in the end of the day i believe that staff wants to hand power today before to morrow but the thing is that

they want to hand over power without being prosecuted for any of the crimes that they have been committed for that they have that they have committed in the past year and a half any outcome that will come out of this presidential process order that even any election process will only favor scout. to another country that's been seeing anti-government protests for more than a year a prominent human rights activist in bahrain has been arrested in an instant many say could further escalate unrest now bill rogers who's the head of bahrain's human rights center was detained at an airport on entry into the country for a sunday court hearing way faces charges of participating in the protests police haven't given a reason for the arrest but there is speculation it could be linked to a recent interview given to the world's most famous whistleblower julian assange did you have a chance to see his latest edition of wiki leaks own show on tuesday here on this channel. speak to two leading

revolutionaries one from bahrain where the revolution failed was a leadership where the revolution is now in turmoil for makes a revolution and where is the arab spring going to go. he's been held in guantanamo bay no since two thousand and six he stood in front of a military tribunal for the first time in three years only yesterday the confessed mastermind of the nine eleven attacks khalid shaikh mohammed and his four accomplices refused to answer questions or enter a plea during the seven hour hearing that charge with almost three thousand counts of murder and could be sentenced to death the trials being held by a military tribunal at guantanamo after an attempt to try the man in the u.s. failed three years ago because of a public backlash american lawyer eric montell over believes the timing and planning of the trial is questionable. one has to wonder why now you know that within twenty four hours of president obama taking office issued an executive

order to close guantanamo bay is the most powerful leader in the world and that did not occur for what reason i have no idea three years later on the eve of another election i think what they're trying to do is take that issue off the table and say well we're at least trying to proceed in an orderly fashion but i think it's a fairly thin veil and people will be able to see through it does a tremendous injustice to the memory of those victims are not leben i think it does a tremendous injustice to the thing that we call the justice system in america they have no plan and it's taken three years to get to this particular point and this is going to be another tremendous and sat waste of us resources on a matter that can be resolved in a number of different ways and they're just such not to do so. the relations between china and the u.s. to nations may be seen as of rivals have been described as the most consequential of the century by hillary clinton those remarks came up the u.s.

secretary of states today high stakes talks in beijing during the week but despite the praise the visit was overshadowed by a number of disagreements china accused washington of meddling in its internal affairs by sheltering a chinese dissident activist though later beijing agreed to let him go it's also wary over the u.s. military buildup in the asia pacific in what looks like an apparent effort to contain china growing regional clout but economy and foreign policy focus think tank believes the u.s. china cooperations being forced on them. it's very bipolar kind of relationship because in many ways not china is our number one trade partner. and they hold a trillions of dollars in u.s. funds we are all kind of locked into an international market so on one level the cooperation is kind of forced on us by the fact that we're so interlinked at the same time you get this growing military tension and the chinese are also

very uncomfortable about the fact that about eighty percent of their energy supplies are arrived by sea generally through the yellow sea those true that the energy supplies are basically controlled those waters are controlled by the u.s. fifth fleet and the u.s. seventh fleet and that makes the chinese nervous. don't forget all the stories we're covering also available our website as well r.t. dot com plus a lot more besides like these you know nations threatening to boycott the euro twenty twelve championship in ukraine over the treatment of the country's premier yuliya tymoshenko claim she's being beaten by prison guards who were coming amid controversy over a video reportedly showing the former pm striding around her cell despite saying she's bedridden. you can make your own decisions they're starting dot com if you want to furnish yourself with more information also the world witness is the dawning of the supermoon there it is an event which sees our celestial neighbor

turned much bigger and brighter what's that all about we'll tell you online on our website. when terror attacks rocked russia's republic of dagestan on thursday night it killed thirteen and injured more than one hundred two car bombs went off in the capital my house within twenty minutes of each other. talk to the relatives of some of the victims as they mourn their loved one. national mourning. under muslim tradition three days after the funerals family and friends come to the symmetry twice a day to pray and to paris packed to their loved ones over. two massive car bombs hit the capital on thursday claiming more than a dozen lives this freshly dug grave is the final resting place of twenty nine year

old police officer. back of his name is hendrik now here. says he feels lost without his brother who'd acted as the head of the family since their dad passed away years ago. when the first blast happened i tried to call him but it vague that he called me back saying he was around to go into the sea to help he said all was fine with him but the scene is a mess and he has to stay out to help i could hear cries of sobbing through his phone he said i'm going to call you in five to ten minutes ok. but he never called back the next time she would see his brother would be in a morgue. a piece of metal that have been placed around the edge of his chair and came through. the cemeteries keeper says at least this family had a body many others received only body parts in plastic bags it's

a sad fact that the recent attacks on the police and authorities in darkest on a merely the latest incident in a long running history of violence in russia's volatile pusses region but thursday's tragedy has already become the most devastating in months the first explosion took off here when officers from this police post stopped the car for documents checked apparently the driver was a suicide bomber minutes later as many police cars and i'm real ones teens and emergency crews and fire brigades reach the area the second last occurred it was much more powerful you can. see the crater is huge one some reports say the second last had a force of one hundred kilos into intake roland and it claimed the most victims of the double attack one walmart or another as a tactic commonly used by international terrorist organizations such as a qaeda in places like iraq and afghanistan is designed to kill as many people as

possible if they arrive jihadi networks around the region is hosting dreaming is even funding some of the activities of you know terrorist in russia in an instant lives were snuffed out families left devastated. women again under the rules of islam don't go to cemeteries they grieve at home in the modern along with the wife of say he never liked cameras and they have to console themselves with a few pictures they have their new faces and left in the morning and then came back he forgot something i told him this is a bad luck oh we'll be fine mom he tried to calm me but. i don't know how long i'm gonna live but i'll live for value it. leaves behind two little girls so when you will i'll tell them to be google's their father is watching us and will tell them to be proud of him because he was

a brave man he ran to help and died he was the best father in the world i'll tell than. an option r t in russia's dagestan. let me take you through some world news a brief thousands marched in japan for some of the shutdown of its last working nuclear reactor for the first time in every fifteen years the country will be without atomic energy it follows intense public opposition in the wake of the from the ship of plant in schools last year's huge quake and tsunami the government had been eager to restart some of those reactors fearing blackouts that would rise in emissions and return the other power sources. being killed by a ripped through drug rehab clinic in peru the place is reported to begun after one of the patients set fire to a mattress this is the second drug clinic fire in peru this year twenty seven died in a blaze last january. a river in a one of the polls most popular resorts is bursted banks and swept away and entire

villages killed thirteen people floodwaters from the swollen seti river destroyed buildings leading up to seventeen miss including three russian tuus army helicopters and a private airliner will be sent to the area to try to help the rescue operation. this week so worldwide protests on the first of may against austerity cuts in europe and wealth inequality in the united states tension remained high across america as the demonstrations were met by take us wilting police who arrested dozens of months ahead now he's innocent said chuck in a gauges the strength of the occupy movement. may day workers united after winter pause the occupy movement took the streets of its birthplace new york back. on a day of action protests took place in the big apple and throughout the country the fight between them. and the workers at the felt to be the percent of people rapidly

growing. movement to be a new stage in the battle for social and economic injustice. but what started out peacefully. turned more intense as the day went on with about thirty arrested new york after an ocean of people marched through which streets the movement is still alive it's growing and people are taking notice and made their way towards wall street. with the new vigor with which people flooded the streets is this a new dawn for occupy wall street the problems are real and they persist and they're getting worse the problem of. kleptocratic banking elite confiscating well and this is causing economic the rest of the wealth inequality continues to be a major issue for the working and many non-working americans that well be four

hundred americans hold as much wealth as the bottom hundred fifty million of these protesters say the politicians turned a blind eye to the needs of the people as they promote the interests of wall street . the system the demonstrators see as broken. and co-opt it with the democrats and the republicans are both disappear into some nasty. you know what it wanted dante circles that. since the beginning of occupy wall street last september the twenty one hundred people have been arrested throughout the us in the tory of incidents of police brutality. the question now is whether the move that took over american streets on may day will continue with the same force to become a tangible next step of the american people taking the system back. from stacy churkin fourteen news. coming up in about four when his time on this channel they need to have a religion other than either a group they don't have

a central leader or they get this extraordinary community is self-supporting and partly self-sufficient we find out what unites them in a special report by the few off.

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wealthy british stock. market. why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report on our. world with. science technology innovation all the list of elements from around russia we've.

covered. a lot of thanks for joining us this is our team from moscow top stories people in moscow are gathering for an anti-government rally set to start in less than an hour these are legs live pictures of it but despite that planned march of millions the turnout is so far proving scarce as you can see the produce is shed jewels to take place on the eve of lithium of putin returning to the kremlin is precious president for the first time. as well coming up of course in a live program tomorrow from seven thirty g.m.t. in the morning other headlines from us france heads to the polls in a runoff vote to find whether nicolas sarkozy will be the latest t.v. to sweat from his post by the crippling debt crisis that's the story we're following closely and the.