if you. see from fans to its. stance on t.v. dot com. the death toll from devastating floods in the south of russia has topped one hundred seventy thousands of homes are swamped and many people injured in the resort region's worst disaster. a clash of words while syria perkins the u.s. lashes out at russia over the drawn up crisis on the chief international envoy to syria tries to draw attention to other countries he says are boosting the conflict with and cash. and suspense of the ecuadorian embassy in london. extradition deadline passes with the whistleblower waiting on his asylum request.

with a look back at the top stories from the past seven days and the latest developments this is the weekly. rushes krasnodar region is coming to terms with the sheer scale of the devastation inflicted after flash floods struck overnight on friday many people woke up to a nightmare with their loved ones simply washed away into the darkness at least one hundred seventy one people died in the deluge thousands of houses were swamped affecting over twelve thousand residents. in the worst hit town he spoke to some of these survivors of the tragedy. you can see here behind me the river next to the town of crims all the devry that's been floated into there by that deluge of water that came into the night and here we can see just a little part of the damage that that immense amount of water did this small house close to the river one of the. worst hit one of the first hit it pushed this

carriage down with ease up against the side of the house the stops there have been pushed out all this dead brick road into the front garden the fence has been pushed down and all around this town the first people are starting to come back to the houses to try and assess some of the damage and some of the costs of all of this water many of them really in a state of shock they may have survived that night but the cost to this town and all the damage are immense but i don't know but i think my cousin woke me up at around one am until this to get out we found ourselves kneedeep in water with i jumped out of the window while my wife went back to get our papers she could not get a chance so i had to run to the back of the house you know by then the doors of the room will blocked so i broke the window and pulled her out the water was all over the house. i go to la to the house and come to the plane so the stream wouldn't

wash me away then too late cool men came up and helped me onto an emergency truck and iciness i got up there i saw my neighbors brief collapse it's particularly this used to be living room this used to be her bedroom the house has been completely gutted from the inside by the router which came right up to the tops of the windows with milla managed to escape and sat there and right on a neighbor's fence where house collapsed she was perhaps a lucky one no his neighbors say just down the road a neighbor on a river and had her house collapse on top of thousands of workers with heavy equipment trying to clean up the fast amounts of deborah and to provide people with shelter and with food but things are becoming more difficult as time wears on food supplies are short people here are exhausted they are hungry and increasingly they're angry. russian president vladimir putin flew over the area and is calm

and met local leaders to try and decide what should be done to help people here as best possible and he's demanded an inquiry looking into if there could have been moved things that could have been done to help protect this town and its citizens and the region from the floods the swept through here and floods that have claimed so many lives. the deadly floods in southern russia sent reverberations across the country the region is a massive tourist top with thousands of holidaymakers heading there every summer but with travel and communications now paralyzed news about friends and loved ones caught up in the disaster area is limited his art is current or archie. i'm here in moscow standing in front of one of the major transportation halts this train station behind me are where the trains depart to head into and we've been seeing cancellations and delays but more importantly it's the families who are suffering

families of those people who are still stranded in cross and they can't even reach them let alone not by train but even by telephone a lot of the electricity is still out over there and so you really can't make any sort of phone calls to find out what's going on there on the ground so a lot of fear a lot of concern but you also have children in summer camps it's a very popular spot for children to relax throughout the summer and while most of the children in these camps have been evacuated still many are unaccounted for and parents here telling me today that they just want to find out if everything is alright keep in mind. that is right by all the right on the black sea and the main port is also dealing with the runoff of houses and dead bodies as well as even a sewage leak so on top of the catastrophe that's going on you have people in the area who can't even get fresh water or food so a very major situation going on right now and it's affecting not only the people

there but people throughout russia as well for the first time in months anti-government protests the hottest topic here in russia's blogosphere discussion of the floods and dominating chats and all teased about what's a look at some of the controversial comments. the blocks years have been buzzing obviously giving support and also reiterating the shock of this disaster more importantly sharing some of the witness accounts and just sending support to the people who have been affected by this you know social media is a place where people can share their thoughts they can debate about things that is important to them but what i really want to share with you is some of the tweets and some of the messages that really shocked me and i want to start off with this tweet that we got now it says those did should blame themselves they voted for this stability now as any human being with any hard do you think how careless can somebody why that and tweeted to the rest of the world this is a tragedy that's happening we should be supporting these people who have been

affected by such they've lost their livelihoods some have lost their you know their families they need support now i just want to go to another tweet here this is some of the political jabs that some people have been using twitter and some other social medias to politicize things it goes the most important thing now is to make sure putin doesn't fly a fire extinguishing aircraft as he normally does and discharge more water on the city now seriously i mean this is a time when people should be coming together it's not time for politics it's time for people to rally and go help those people thirteen thousand of those people are going to be displaced after this tragedy it's really just a political jab now lost what i think is the most important this is what people should really and this is what people have been pushing towards is this tweet that goes flying all of to print everyone to forget about the political views and help the people that's really what's important now. where for

a scientific perspective on how such a devastating flood could have come about and join professor chris williams from new york's pace university now we've heard reports of hoya waves crashing through the city water rising toward ceiling levels within minutes who could rain cause such devastation. well i think that if you have a month's worth of rain falling in a few hours and then on top of that you change the landscape so much by developing it. then and you do forest the hills of the mountains that feed the water down to the coastal plain then you make a disaster of this type more or less inevitable at some point. but i'm talking about the geography there in the mountains about the worst flooded area the number of rivers and streams obviously the water can burst their banks when the rain is heavy enough how do you protect the population in vulnerable areas such as the. i mean i think that you need

a lot more planning and thought put into what is going on in the mountains above the coastal plains particularly with deforestation because trees of particular we know hold that hold in the soil and prevent it from go floating down and becoming saturated much more quickly and that exacerbates the potential for. flashlights which is what we are tragically seeing now so i think it's planning in that respect i think also if you concrete over large areas with houses parking lots roads and cetera then you take away from the source ability to to hold hold in all kinds of ways both in the mountains and on the plains you mentioned flash floods by definition they happen very quickly is very hard to give people warning something like this could be happening. well this area is known for spring flooding and so while the extent of it is obviously shocking and it's. unprecedented it's not so

the non president to know about this so i think in the planning process itself when you're talking about putting houses or all of the structures on flood plains i think you have to think very carefully particularly in the context of how climate is changing with global warming of the moment so you would put this down to global warming is the there been a number of natural disasters floods wildfires in the ricans we've seen them increasing in the past few years this is definitely global warming or is this just a natural cycle that's happening well i think scientists generally would be very wary of ascribing any individual weather events no matter how extreme to definitively to get the warming but i think you can certainly say that if you look at the massive flooding here all the wildfires in siberia all the fires across southwest united states the flooding in the midwest last year all the fires around moscow in two thousand and ten there's a pattern to develop you can say that things extreme weather events that will maybe

only happen every decade or two every twenty years and now it's going to happen with increasing frequency so you're getting every two to five so the big question quickly here is is this global warming created by man or is it just a natural trend that we're seeing if it is being created by man is there much we can do about it. i think there's enormous things that we can do about it i think. i would be very depressed if it was beyond our control i don't think it's a technical problem i think we have the answers we need to move away from fossil fuel derived fuels energy as a source and terms of and i think what's holding us back there is a political and social question which we can solve but we have to do it very quickly because we're certainly destabilizing the environment and climate if you don't know how what's going on with the climate then how you. and i have agriculture. so i think longer term planning and

a switch to alternative fuels is absolutely essential. professor chris williams chemistry and physics professor at pace university in new york thank you very much indeed for joining us live here and i'll take thank you very much my pleasure and there are a lot ski join some of the rescue teams in the desperate search for survivors admits the devastation we were told the emergency ministry units just got a call from this neighborhood saying that people heard loud screaming during the floods and actually right now emergency ministry group with search dogs there trying to find the survivors. as you can see right over there. rescue teams always do a thorough examination of every meter of the debris site and may still be oxygen under the debris so there is hope that there could still be survivors trapped

underneath. sadly emergency workers did not find any survivors of this time but they went on with their work with spoke to the couple who called them and they are still in shock at what was happening to them. that's where the water level was at its peak at first the waist high flood threw me right into the corner over there luckily i managed to grab one that was tied and i called up and over the railing and got inside the house and then i just climbed the ladder all. there are many theories and rumors surrounding the krims disaster some people doubt that the flood was caused by severe to rain alone they claim that it could have been water discharged from the nearby reservoir but russian investigators working at the scene deny those claims they say all surrounding them are intact and they were functioning properly. in this particular case. the flooding during the rains that accumulated a huge amount of water any kind of deliberate or to discharge is technically

impossible as an overflow pipe to release excess water. so the search for survivors here and groups continues and there is still hope that more lives will be saved. in the region and we'll continue to bring us the latest throughout the day and you can also follow one of our correspondents covering the story on twitter you can see the scenes of devastation and read the stories of survivors and get the latest reaction on twitter. and the timeline of the tragedy as well as all the latest news footage and photos from the disaster zone always available for you right now at r.t. dot com and then we also have stories of outstanding bravery and heroism from the flooded areas. rescuing local people and that is to say to children before he's. gone to our to dot com for all the details. the

syrian president has accused washington backing terrorist gangs in order to destabilize the state bashar assad was speaking ahead of his consultations with international envoy to syria kofi annan who arrived in damascus earlier on sunday and diplomatic mission continues despite his earlier comments international peace efforts have not achieved anything yet. more on that. commenting on why the international peace efforts haven't succeeded so far u.n. and arab league special envoy to syria has retreated that success absolute of the plans on hold hard to speed involved in this conflict and the syrian crisis should be and could only be resolved through doll the end of the geneva peace initiative just like other international peace plans is teamwork and it is absolutely unacceptable and not at all constructive to blame on only one side because something this has been a lot of talks about russia while little is said about nations still sending money and weapons to the syrian rebels kofi annan has most of been talking about friends

of syria group that accused russia and china of supporting the syrian regime and of hampering peace process here in syria even threatening that these two nations will pay a price kofi annan has said that iran could not be excluded off the peace process and should be part of the dialogue something america has been strongly opposed to syria is in war right now we've just returned from the homes in the central part of the country and this is really sad picture what we saw here's my report from homes . at least parts of honey may be back on the syrian army control with it patrols never stop soldiers are searching house to house they're looking for terrorists or snipers but that's not what they usually find. some people in their homes became their grades too and this room look human bones but at least one person. who seems to have been burnt to death.

in the next house we find three more child skulls. activists claim up to eight hundred thousand people have been killed since the uprising began sixteen. you honest in ways around ten times we have no way of telling if these remains or others like them were even counted at. baba amr used to be home to one hundred thousand people now we're driving through area people have left military almost the only human beings left in this area this is he can see behind me this is a cemetery almost untouched actually while the rest of the city looks completely like the cemetery buildings schools mosques all in ruins and no sign of life while many signs of this is one of the tallest buildings in the area and we can see from this balcony two completely different pictures two completely different realities look there beautiful pictures peaceful city while over there well

we can see war homes the opposition hotbed has always been at the heart of the uprising against president assad there's a badge of bomb that if you could have been the epicenter of the questions between the rebels and the army since it's been shelled heavily now so you can see it's quiet here but just steps away just meters away another. some time here and this is where the things are happening right now it's standing behind these raised strange rice quite safe but from time to time missiles reach this area too this is why would a hurry up. but with the bar in other homes the district as you can see also almost completely destroyed everything shops buildings schools even mosques we were told that this district was cleaned from turkey months ago but as you can hear not far from here questions still continue so we were actually told not to go any further i just simply dangerous soldiers come to our location tell us the rebels woke up so

when the. homs syria. the deadline for julian assange his extradition to sweden is ordered by britain's highest court expired this saturday the whistleblower remains at the ecuadorian embassy in london where british police have no jurisdiction he's currently waiting a decision on his asylum request to the south american country but shortly before he sought refuge there such completed his interview series here on r.t. nor smith has been looking back at the highlights. i mean julian assange. says. it is true where they expose the world secrets these jackets belong the united states government being attacked by the powerful united states strongly condemn this question quite a lot it promised an insight into the world tomorrow judy and i saw an interview to opinion formers and activists from across the political spectrum.

and with the first guest being hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah the program proved it wasn't going to hold back from the get go talking to a man the mainstream media has ignored for six years what we called for in serious negotiations dialogue is that the reform act was going to be carried out because the alternative to that the no one cause of the first season but also inside syria because of the sensitivity of the situation in syria the alternatives to us there into civil war and this is exactly what america and israel want for syria elsewhere the joined up europe project came under fire from david horowitz in a show that pitted the outspoken right winger against radical leftists. with the age old ideological fight threatened to turn physical had they been in the same room horowitz maintains europe is dead agrees it was

a disastrous spirit europe but europe is a cultural theme park significant that's what happened that's what your welfare state just took out of the plight i have had personal experience with the socialist dream paradise of sweden and i can tell you it is nothing like the other party the global politics change also made waves but two more on the guest list the eminent thinkers tarik alley and. the world protest movement showing modern politics are no longer fit for purpose to them the answer could lie in latin america in bolivia and eventually a couple of times one of the most striking things that's happened there is the most repressed. part of the population of the atmosphere the indigenous population has moved into the political arena i want you to know i am not defending him i think he is a dirtbag i think he is a dirtbag he obviously has no problem using his fifteen minutes of fame to sleep

with anyone who is crawling dividing media opinion but getting real people talking today in a soldier's show hit the ground running and the public on the twitter sphere have an appetite for more nothing short of groundbreaking revolutionary costing highly engaged in one significantly represents to five the times i'll miss it the looking forward to season two of julian assange. but there's no guarantee season two can happen and i'm not for the death penalty so if i'm not for the deaf i don't want to do it illegally shoot the son of a guy was forcing for me nobody would know. he's a traitor and should be executed or put in prison for life the feeling is mounting that the u.s. would indeed prosecute judean as songs for west fear knowledge or worse given half a chance he's currently here at the ecuadorian embassy inducted waiting to hear

whether he'll get asylum it's thought that prospect was first raised off mike during his interview with the ecuadorian president for the show broadcast on r.t. mutual admiration is clear in the interview and it ends on a friendly chilling note as he is really a pleasure to meet you julian least in this way and welcome to the club of the persecuted. thank you. take care. i thought had given us a glimpse into the future shape of the world we live in while his own future hangs precariously in the balance laura smith r.t. london. after a turbulent national election yesterday marred by violence and boycotts vote counting is now underway in libya so far the country's liberal islamic coalition is claiming an overall lead contradicting predictions that hardline islamist parties

would sweep the poll well more now on developments in libya with. he's a libyan political activist and someone who witnessed the uprising against gadhafi firsthand well despite those boycotts the shooting in sabotage the vote did go ahead a high turnout around sixty percent we understand and a party coalition that's been dubbed as liberal is now perhaps leading is this a new beginning for your country. this is. given by the sea which i. trust because. what they brought to libya doesn't seem to be democracy if the west. somalia and. other places why would they succeed in libya you cannot kill your own people and in the name of democracy you cannot displace nearly one and

a half million side libya now in egypt tunisia and other parts of the world. and nearly thirty thousand of prisoners in. prison being tortured and be killed. which is this is the new libya this is the democracy the people want you to see this is the this is the real picture of libya i'm not against democracy i'm not against elections but we don't know if these elections are really transparent and reflects the. will of the libyans because they say they call good dictator because if you break the regime that was before you get their feet you may get. be taken to prison now if you glorify a kid that if you will definitely be killed. they claim to quickly ask you. surely that the m.t.c. is going to be replaced by an elected general national congress is this not some

form of political democratic transition taking place and there is cause for optimism despite the terrible situation at the moment you've just been describing. democracy at the point you can watch libya now if you visit libya and see weapons all over a country militia controlling the. country you cannot elect a freely in this atmosphere how can i go to the election knowing that there's a gun on my head telling me where to go and who i should elect. we know libyans. that the election are controlled even by prince of qatar who is. interfering in the libyan. business week we assure you according to one of the leading. i'm very sorry about

that we've lost connection with. he was talking to us live there from manchester in the u.k. . see if we can get him back again later on in the next hour or so here and well it's twenty seven minutes past the hour let's have a quick look at some other stories making headlines around the world in our world update egypt's military council is to hold an emergency session after new president mohamed morsi ordered the country's parliament to reconvene a month after it was dissolved he reversed the original decision by the then ruling generals based on the court judgement over alleged election process is also called for parliamentary elections to be held within sixty days of a new constitution being approved expected later this year the military handed power to morsi at the end of june. toward pakistan's capital a march protesting against the government's decision to reopen nato supply routes they were shot last november after the u.s. airstrike that killed twenty four pakistani troops they were reopened last week

after america eventually apologized for the incident the first convoys crossed into afghanistan two days ago. you're watching weekly here in our. headlines just a couple of minutes away. here in moscow. industry claims the process is. sixty

six cleats to that end brings nothing but clean power and comfort but the environment knows better and the industry isn't telling the whole story. they're goddamn liars. they're here to. make as much money as they can and get the hell outta here.