big withdrawals of britain's barclays bank now three top executives have quit over the interest rate rigging scam. syria's president assad denies clinging to the leadership and says he go if it brought peace time five things raging nationwide spite more global efforts to end the. russian foreign minister warns the syrian opposition not to destroy the results of the geneva conference saying it's wrong chance to solve the sixteen month conflict here in the country what it tells on that just. kind of runs his new western wall sanctions will cloud future nuclear negotiations this is the country conducted tests of long range missiles capable of reaching american bases in the region and that israel.

hello this is r t it's nine pm tuesday night here in moscow money kevin zero in our top story it's one of the world's biggest banks but in just two days a rate rigging scandal seems most of it rather three of its most senior executives forced out but at least bank was caught fixing a key interest rate which overcharged customers when the financial crisis struck the biggest scalp as c.e.o. bob diamond was later the chief operating officer followed him out while the chairman's promise to go to when replacements are found is a london correspondent sara firth. well of course this story absolutely dominating the headlines here today after we saw the resignation from barclays chief executive bob diamond he'd come under a huge amount of pressure. rigging the key interest rates known as

libel and this was used to set the course for the millions of businesses of consumers of investors to morrow we're going to see a lot of inflation between him and m.p.'s as he faces questioning but of course this story so much bigger than just bob diamond in fact is thought as many as twelve to fifteen other institutions could be involved in this so already questions over whether we're going to see more top level resignations affair really that there is much more to come from this and it's given us all a glimpse again you know that this isn't just a few bad apples but that really the rotten core of britain's banking system simply hasn't been dealt with after the last financial crisis so once again this scandal has really called into question the culture and practices of the entire banking sector and it's not just barclays but of course the entire city's reputation really

in tatters what the general public want to know this time is look what on earth is going to be done about it and you know talks of an inquiry at this time aren't really going to cut it they drag on they take a very long time though we do know that the serious fraud office the s.f.o. is looking at the moment to see if any criminal sanctions can be taken against those that are involved but you know really a sense here that we're seeing history repeating itself and it's also raising very big questions over the regulation of this you know why once again have we not seen the regulators stepping in and that's going to be another thing that we sort of going to see evolving certainly over the coming weeks but months and years as well that really a lot of the people we've been speaking to his that this is something that really needs to change the regulation needs to be much more. interventionists you know this culture of weak corporate governance in the banking sector in loose morals isn't unique to barclays this is very very widespread and say what the what the public want to see here is a crackdown on the wrongdoing and that the people who have been involved in the

lying and the manipulation going to receive a punishment that fits the crime. senior economist to the new economic foundation james medway says the whole bone through of the u.k. deeds to to she will change the culture of the city in the financial institutions in london is pretty vile this is a get rich quick cut your throat really quite unpleasant environment for any kind of businesses to be operating it's not quite right to just talk about the culture here this is systemic this is the way these institutions work coach is a byproduct if you have institutions that are set up to make a fast book as quickly as possible and not care how it's made then of course you get a culture that promotes this is well so i think we have to look deep in culture we have to talk about real institutional change and what's interesting about this is the way in which it has started as a problem just of one bank then became very rapidly apparently even on the evidence of the financial services authority to represented those other banks were involved

in rate rigging and it's now sort of extended one way or the other to the bank of england itself to the central bank in a serious questions being asked over apparently conversations that took place between bob diamond and the deputy governor of the bank of england in october two thousand and eight that led to barclays believing it had a kind of license to go because the bank of england was saying it was ok to do this that's barclays kind of defense of its actions so really it's not just the private banks it's the central bank itself starts to look implicated in all of this. britain's banks may be dressing up their debts but in germany they've got better ways for rainy days as we report saving savvy germans run a luxury shopping spree these days to safeguard their cash against the troubled euro has been reported just a bit. syria's president assad says he's prepared to leave his post if that's the will of his people and it brings peace in syria intense international efforts are underway to stop the bloodshed provoked by clashes between government troops and the opposition parties near financial reports from damascus. president bashar assad

has said that syria is now ready and will welcome any solution to the ongoing crisis here in the country if only it guarantees the country's sovereignty commenting on the geneva peace initiative to create an interim government uniting the opposition and current regime the syrian leader has also stated that he satisfied that the document stressing that it's up to the syrian people to decide the country's future in another interview he just recently to the turkish newspaper he has sat that he wishes that this downing of the turkish plane by serious never happened three days after the geneva meeting while the skepticism is growing that the peace initiative forged by world powers at the weekend will only remain a solution of paper we're only hearing from the russian foreign minister that this is a very good chance of prime chance to solve the crisis the sixteen month loan crisis

here in syria. fortunately some members of the syrian opposition started saying that the geneva proposals are only acceptable whereas some western participants of the geneva talks have come up with distorted interpretation is in their statements we believe that the geneva communiqué should not be open to interpretation which should be implemented as agreed today is the second day of the syrian opposition mission in cairo and the main idea of this meeting was to uni fi to hammer out a common vision on this syrian conflict in order to gain some respect some trust from the syrian people the syrian opposition has indeed been criticized harshly recently for being too fragmented to be trusted and the opposition itself has confirmed that it has. to be more united and has to have a common vision on how to end crisis in syria the opposition is divided and while the reason one part ready to talk wanted to discuss this interim government initiative there is another part that only wants to can. new fighting and doesn't

want any dialogue with anybody and also surprising to hear that just days after the un has confirmed that both sides of the syrian conflict i recall the responsible for the violence here in the country and what was supplied to both the regime and the rebels have been escalating the conflict. still to come the corruption and coercion in malaysia the final edition of two new sound you show. all day on r.t. relations opposition leader talks to the world about the violent struggle for fair elections there it's really interesting program to call it already today online as well we'll tell you more about it later plus. on paper you say you know we hand it over and it looks really good but in reality what's going on. prepares to see role of afghanistan to local security forces somewhere for a new situation will deteriorate and the death toll will grow.

says new west oil sanctions could impact negatively on future nuclear negotiations tensions are mounting around iran there's a new bargo aims to put pressure on its atomic program is artie's middle east correspondent paula sleep. we're hearing from the radio foreign minister that iran wants a situation he says that the only other alternative is confrontation which is not in anyone's interest now this comes as the israelis as we remember prominent drafted a bill that calls for the station of the shipment of crude oil through the strait of hormuz to countries that support sanctions against iran and now this follows be called back by the european union they have called for the ball go on iranian oil that was passed back in january it went into effect this past sunday now also today tuesday the radio government announced that it had to test

a number of missiles including long range missiles that potentially could hit us here in the persian gulf the situation on the ground is certainly intensifying the united states has sent for minesweepers to the persian gulf to boost its fleet there and that comes amid renewed threats by iran that it is closing a wall potentially or could potentially close the strait of hormuz there have been three rounds of negotiations between iran and the six world powers and so far things have yielded no breakthrough there is a now the meeting happening today tuesday in istanbul it's a low level meeting that is looking at seeing whether or not there's any kind of common ground between the sides that could then lead to fully fledged negotiations but the expectation of today's meeting is rather dismal iran accuses the international powers of dragging their feet and says that it's not in their interest to reach any kind of compromise or any kind of solution at the same time

iran is insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes but we're hearing continuously from powers such as the united states countries like israel and other countries that they suspect that iran's nuclear program is merely a cover for being nuclear warfare. paula and you walk around germany says the e.u. is also a worldly fuel the already tense relationship between iran of the west the sanctions are very serious sanctions they are cutting nearly a fifth of iran's oil expert exports. fantastic pressure on the people of iran. very very high food prices inflation i don't believe these sanctions have the effect of stopping the. program i think much more likely is that they will increase tensions between the between

the countries already we have american ships in the gulf threats to close the straits of hormuz. this is a very very serious situation i don't see the justification for the sanctions are if it is right the european union thinks it can dictate to countries in the middle east or elsewhere what the course is open a very very big question which is who actually does have nuclear weapons and the only power has them is israel and the seems to be absolutely no signs on israel for having developed them and for having of course a large number of nuclear weapons. france's new president risks roiling the public because tough savings and cuts and needed to hit deficit targets even though he was voted in a course of more than three a strategic a european political analyst thomas closes the french government must take concrete measures while the markets trust it. a lot of careful to stress.

that there. are a lot of growth with this fresh he hasn't said exactly. where to put it and that's what the lot of you watched at the news from the roots of a very lucky. call for rebalancing of the eurozone politic for a policy that was all growth fund one support not only another you are going to keep in the financial markets and being the financial markets far from punishing fronts for you know that president. through all the good french. treating country of france for the time being as a country trust the safe haven. for the euro zone crisis the french government knows that position as it's extremely areas and that the markets in particular you can watch very carefully what concrete measures also or all of them in sort of. the biggest problem you can commute in with the financial markets with the new french

government policy. you know it was furious economics but of the situation you know it's. head examined over france's recently defeated president nicolas sarkozy either his house and office abilities as part of a campaign financing probe police investigating whether sarkozy broke alexion fund limits with cash from france's richest woman betancourt the l'oreal cosmetics arest which he denies and what's proving to be a bad time for french ex presidents former leader jacques chirac was convicted last december of embezzling funds and creating phantom jobs for friends in more world views in brief a series of deadly bombings in iraq targeted shia muslims a truck blast claimed at least twenty nine lives when it exploded in the market in karbala which will host a major pilgrimage next weekend hours earlier five others died in a similar market attack in a twin car explosion in central iraq there's been a spike in nationwide violence since u.s. troops. last december. u.s.

secretary of state hillary clinton's apologized for the nato air strike which killed twenty four pakistani soldiers last november it could mean the reopening of vital nato supply routes now to afghanistan which have been closed since the deadly strike although pakistan's made no comment yet washington's previous refusal to apologize has kept both sides in deadlock. a new york court has ordered twitter to hand over occupy wall street messages case centers around the protest harris who was charged during last year's demos but then deleted his posts about them twitter insists that tweets belong to the users not the company but the judge isn't convinced saying tweets and no more private if someone shouted it out of the window . later cheese may be optimistic about progress in afghanistan the but the recent further troop losses for britain tell a different story planners are that by mid twenty's thirteen afghanistan will be handed over to local security forces but there are growing fears of even more violence afterwards as artist laura smith found out. it's now

a familiar refrain so-called green on blue killings in afghanistan this week saw three more british soldiers killed by an afghan policeman bringing the number of foreign personnel killed in route shootings this year to over twenty britain's ministry of defense though sees a much rosier picture the recently returned brigadier patrick saunders telling of a helmand province where local forces take more responsibility for security there are fewer taliban attacks more schools and medical centers have been built the disparity between what. is absolutely glaring one be saying everything's ok let's hope for the best it's all going to work properly at the same time we see record numbers of western troops now being killed by afghan police and soldiers exactly the people who are supposed to be taking over from them so isn't working death tolls are rising and perhaps most importantly growing in

their opposition to the foreign troops former captain patrick barry can well imagine the scene he was deployed to sangin in helmand in two thousand and eight his job to win hearts and minds it didn't work when we deployed there we realized pretty quickly that only about fifty percent of the population actually wanted to serve because of the tribal dynamics and. they're very keen to have us not in the area and so became a lot more violent and we predicted and really want to be achieve in the six months that i was there is very little with blood being spilled on a daily basis the so-called security transition rolls on soon afghan forces will be responsible for seventy five percent of the population by the middle of next year the rest of the country will start being handed over to its own troops and the british to leave altogether by the end of two thousand and fourteen seemingly whatever happens helmand. is relatively calm compared to parts of kandahar where

drugs and the taliban still dominate but gains even according to some in the army are reversible particularly if nato soldiers are no longer there to reinforce them if you put in afghan forces into these areas are they actually going from their bases and patrolling and so winning over the population or as the attacks mean to get some to they just come back so they control only a small area and what they call like a small lozenge of security and a really confined to the base you know on paper you say you know we hand it over and it looks really good but in reality what's going on it's an interesting question i personally believe in some of those hotly contested areas i think we're going to have a big a big. problem whatever afghan forces do it's got to be paid for european countries are under pressure from the us to foot a third of the four billion dollars annual bill president karzai says he needs to maintain security after two thousand and fourteen something austerity ridge in

europe will be deeply reluctant to shell out for laura smith r.t. london. now for julian assange has been anything but a quiet fortnight the us being for blood in sweden intends on his extradition for questioning over alleged sex crimes he's currently seeking asylum inside ecuador's embassy in london. suspects the swedish extradition those a cover for america sees him for blowing the lid on military crimes in iraq and afghanistan but recently as it turns from those put on the plight of freedom for others with his talk show this one airing here on r.t. in the final edition of the whistle blows program for now at least to silence talks to malays is opposition leader of the violent struggle for free elections in his country. underestimate the wisdom of the people you have. a government source of everyone in the national media abusing me and still i increase my majority but worse is to use these as a political ploy. you had the police in finally when the judicially although

finally. but never said. it was independent right through the entity that was. discussed to you when you use this for. democracy democratic elections judicial independence. well the latest in fun edition of your shows coming up a bit later this hour in fact if not put it already on the entire series as well and a web site t. dot com while you're there some other stories you may be interested in tonight. i was that first smashing a display literally the brazilian fighter pilots could be in big trouble here they got a bit too close to the supreme court building smashed all the windows. and tried

to get on the track to test drive of russia's formula one team crashes during a test she's in the hospital with serious injuries to get updates on her condition online and also in our team sports but later this. next hour i saw him yes like that. ok don't you have me by far the strongest economy in the eurozone but it still felt the punch of the euro crisis uncertainty over the currencies fates led some germans to stash their cash away from the banks. explains. best for economy good for business. cross has been selling vintage cars for almost three decades but he says he's never had a better run of trade than in the last year and a half and use of the euro's instability has told the wills of his business so well there is stiff competition event to become one of his customers. to the gold of the go rob you have the markets in your garage the nuggets the old cars and i think they buy more than before the crisis price tags in his collection run from

a mere fifty thousand euro to a massive three million for the bands. and while in the past the majority of his clients have a real passion for classic wills dittrich ross is now dealing with a new kind of buyer those who just want to part of their money for profit this car is a b.m.w. . only built two hundred fifty two cars and in two thousand and. five you have to spend for a car like that three hundred fifty thousand euros and today you have to spend a million real estate or jewelry almost all luxury sales are now reporting an op churn as germans fearful of the euro collapsing. turning that embattled cash into something they see as more durable it's not like money has always been burning holes in german pockets traditionally the people of this country have been pretty conservative spenders but the average household putting aside eleven percent of

a trend come what may be europe's future is shrouded in uncertainty more and more german for now buying into the idea that saving is wasting low interest rates combined with increasing inflation made savings accounts and profitable more than a decade ago france here among the bag few believe here the euro crisis vindicated here once and for all turning a once diligent saver into germany small. vocal advocate of spend spend spend more and more people get. nervous people like the luxury people like the rich people know things too they don't believe in money and come home renovations to expensive medical procedures fear of the possible devaluation is pushing germans into a spending spree and his dental clinic the appointment calendar is already booked for several months i had and the clinics director himself is in no mood to wait and see he's just bought

a house that he never intends to live in my. family . people want to give you. don't want for your food. and while in other countries this would be taken as a sign of growing consumer confidence for piggy banking germans this really is spending for a rainy day i can avoid artsy reporting from the mic in germany. you know talk about a sport just got a bit confused with the times it's a twenty four hour station it's only eight moscow time tomorrow the next sports bulletin for you i can tell you something this absolutely here and now to me to say with a business i can see it waving the way you did dmitri oil shooting through the roof again or increased concerns about a rally are absolutely right six week high is what we're seeing right now for oil prices above one hundred dollars per barrel for brant let us actually take a look at those figures both crude and brant are up more than three dollars

per barrel light sweet they're approaching eighty eight dollars per barrel this is on the back of course of fresh concerns as you've rightly said. about iran and the new reports of military drills and that's causing worries about sustainability of supplies from the region in general and this is has been very much supporting the russian market today and i. analysts say that even though russia will not be able to compensate for any potential disruptions in world supplies because it's already producing at peak levels its recent shift towards asia is going to give it eventually a market by. russia is exporting more oil to the far east through a new pipeline to parts of the world which is rely heavily on a rainy unoiled and there is a potential the russian oil heading to the far east will gain market share from the

iranians and that might be a permanent shift if purchases such as japan korea and and china switched increasingly to taking more russian oil so there might be a permanent benefit from the situation. well here's an illustration of what i said the russian market flamboyant really compared to an average growth within one percent on other markets russia's markets are outperforming the global trading floors with the r.t.s. up almost four percent moving the my six we've seen financial shares well as long as as well we've seen of course energy shares are gaining on those high oil prices but there's burbank is leading the gains it's up three point eight percent gazprom is up two point three percent as it's settled the price a dispute with the germany's eon for the fourth quarter of two thousand and ten basically reducing prices because market price for gas have all that and luke oil is a bit weaker than the markets as you can see there the russian ruble our gained more

than one percent against the basket of the euro and the dollar very significant gains for just one session meanwhile the euro continues its climb versus the back. and the u.s. markets the trade session is over it's a short one ahead of fourth of july independence day celebrations and the dow jones closed up point five percent nasdaq point eight percent there as factory orders before make a man with the growth of point seven percent up to two months of declines this is a very positive sign and over in europe we're also seeing a positive close with the footsie up twenty eight percent the dax more than one percent on the back also of gains in the financial sector notably barclays for a second day gaining as its chairman has stepped down following this like for scandal so i'll be back in the two hours time to bring your one fund final tuesday update all right thanks for that now coming up very shortly tonight we've got the

last so it will be shown later the last of the episode of the virginia standards interview show after today on our top stories in just a few minutes here on our team from moscow where it's now twenty eight minutes past the moscow time. there hasn't been anything good on t.v.

. it is to get the maximum political impact. before source material is what helps keep journalism honest we thought. we wanted to present. something you. did feel started here before going global and now it's pulling fire. log in. the right. to. choose your place to take your stand. to. make your statement.