top syrian security officials including the defense minister and reportedly the interior minister have been killed in a suicide blast in damascus the opposition also on high ranking government members since the syria conflict began. russia says a policy of supporting the opposition would lead to an impasse is the turkish prime minister visits moscow to decide the next step towards the conflict in syria. and washington to bolster security at the london olympics is the british firm tasked with guarding the games apologizes for its incompetence.

live from the new center here in central moscow this is r t with you twenty four hours a day top level syrian security officials including the defense minister and his deputy have been killed in a massive bomb blast right in the capital damascus some reports say the attack also claimed the life of the interior minister well the officials reject those claims here's our correspondent with more. that is suicide bombing that killed syrian defense minister and his deputy who's also been president bashar assad's brother in law and former deputy chief of staal for has happened on wednesday in the very heart of damascus just less than five kilometers from where we have been able to hear the sound of this explosion and we have to say we have to meet that's a. very intense and massive last reports that a suicide bomber had attacked and national security building. here in damascus at the time when. of cabinet ministers and security officials has been

a go we know that there have to say the area where this happened is known to be very safe and very calm is actually a luxury area we've been there many times and there are many restaurants that it's home to many a free show buildings such as all foreign ministry of culture ministry of course security has been very. specifically in the area so this is why right now there are many concerns on security situation here in damascus all visibly free syrian army has already claimed responsibility for what happened but we're also hearing the. news agencies a say that the man who carried out the said tag has been one of president bashar assad's gods of course given how massive the last will so we can understand that there's been many civilians killed and many many damages caused by these

blast the buildings and cars around the syrian capital has been going through a really tough times in the last seventy two dollars in the last full day as we. go in through was free syrian army and opposition and old forces trying to green assad's regime down as as dogged. bino battle and the decisive battle for damascus we've been hearing shootings in very different parts of the capital we've been seeing black smoke drifting over the city. and we've also been hearing helicopter is not only flying over. the oldest continuously inhabited capitals in the war but also firing so it's been a very dramatic picture actually here on the ground and people here those who we've been able to speak to. say they are surprised actually the couldn't imagine this to

happen all just they didn't want to believe this may happen in their home. when chris says it wants to see and then to the bloodshed in syria so people can decide but only after bashar assad is gone the turkish prime minister made the statement to moscow at a news conference with president putin russia was adamant it will not support any u.n. sanctions against syria. as this report. on one hand the turkish prime minister was a fierce critic of the assad regime he said that the agreements previously reshoots geneva on syria are very important a world map which could lead to more dialogue and possibly even agreements in the u.n. security council but at the same time he said it's up to the syrian people to decide what they want to see in power in syria after president assad is gone and while the document which was signed in geneva does not actually imply that assad has to go it implies that it's up to the syrian people to decide if they want to see him gone or

not so these are the different interpretations which could really be a problem in the u.n. security council especially with great britain and the united states there trying to push article seven through into the new resolution on syria which doesn't rule out foreign military intervention which russia and china are still strongly against just have to see how it goes of course there is still time for more dialogue and communication but also on the wednesday russia's foreign minister silvio off once again stressed that moscow will not support any sanctions on syria since it will be a one sided approach only pressuring one side of the conflict or the authorities and moscow things that will only lead to more violence in the country. so you're going to reporting that want to get some opinion and analysis now from the loonies from the ngo universal peace federation joining me live now. here trying to see eye to eye on syria but how important are international efforts right now given that

senior members of a sounds regime of just been assassinated in damascus. well i believe international intervention though is very old highly important as the scenario has been you know escalating so far by attacking high ranking officials such as today's . barbaric let's say or terrorist operation inside the national security office of the regime or under the state of syria today under bashar last i know three main ranking officials have died today and one of them is a minister of defense. as you have actually mentioned on your t.v. he. was critical actually his condition the minister of interior and the next consultant and special advisor to the president plus he was a special assistant to the vice president for. a house on top of money the x. defense of mr intervening in such a scenario today he would that would need to be highly important for the for the

peace peaceful efforts that have been designed engineered under the united nations umbrella and under the kofi annan plan now so far the kofi annan plan almost all international community is and the powers that see who are intervening in the scenario or in the scenes inside syria through the have. actually believed that the idea of a plan because he has not succeeded i mean kofi annan but he has failed so far in implementing such a plan between both conflicting parties on the syrian soil today between the regime and the opposition against the regime you say intervention is now necessary kofi annan plan is clearly failing what sort of intervention you're talking about now then. i mean officially and honestly speaking by the russian federation under president putin i believe he has strong influence over the president himself

but surely assert and if the opposition is so weird to give the power of attorney to any one of the leaders whether it's about a dog on the turkish prime minister or shall it be let's see barack obama then there should be a meeting between both superpowers in this case diplomatically. with a peaceful effort in order to calm down all military conflicts so far under undue massacres streets unfortunately so far today as we have witnessed and now in my done a neighborhood. and some some narrow streets actually inside damascus today. talk about putin putting pressure on assad or at least you know in some part in intervening and getting some sort of resolution are you saying that putin should actually put pressure on assad to step down and have his regime replaced by no other fish no no no no big bill no actually i didn't mean that not to pressure him

to step down i feel that the president is under a huge attack by international community i'm not defending him but he is he is not and in a normal situation he is in a state of war and he is acting righteously let's see under his own government and he is defending his own nation and his own people against those terrorist acts actually and the terrorist bombing such as today in the nationalists like all of us are that is on tonight let's talk about the bombing today by the syrian rebels and again you had this group of both claim responsibility for the latest attack there what sort of signal is that sending about the forces fighting to replace the sat particularly when we're hearing about radical islamists being involved is that what the west really wants. well i'm afraid bill that the west wants a new model of islam according to the egyptian and it could be according to the libyan example so far under his of e the arab spring but what i see inside syria is a terrible mistake now by the west that they are infiltrating or pushing in troops

islam eclipse speaking under al qaida and this is the the actually the contradiction by the values of the west today that they are fighting al qaeda and osama bin laden in afghanistan or in pakistan but unfortunately they are allowing them to to infiltrate order to intervene inside syria today and bob national security offices or even if you remember with me the latest bombings inside damascus or alipore were strongly condemned even by the worst i mean the measure that has been bombed inside syria to the bombings where unbelievably under under no conventions actually internationally the they killed so many children and innocent children and elderly women and elderly men on the streets and their blood is being seen or be pictured an image and inside my mind and most of the minds of the arab

peoples actually in the area in the middle east and just briefly can we see this and spreading beyond syrian borders now this conflict obviously turkey very concerned could the violence now spread further through the region. i believe that i should tell you about a dog and the prime minister of turkey can make a huge move inside syria to the eve by not allowing any more about about it through its own borders and i hope and i pray for all peaceful efforts as a peace and by so that to take charge once again on the syrians soil because we are actually in lebanon right now we are hugely impacted by such an event and what is happening inside syria today and this is not allowing us to have a peaceful life actually in lebanon itself during the summer time know and be told lebanon i'm talking to you live from beirut thank you very much indeed maher salloum from the ngo universal peace federation good to hear thoughts this is r.t. if you live from moscow still to come on the program british bank scandals rage on with the added twist of drugs and terror the country's biggest bank h.s.b.c.

is accused of laundering drug cartel money and helping saudi arabian organizations fun terrorism details are coming up in a couple of minutes. and gloves come off in georgia we reported how the government tightens its grip on power oppressing the opposition ahead of parliamentary elections. the boss of a british security firm has admitted the company's reputation is in tatters after failing to provide enough staff to guard the olympics however he still wants to claim the fifty seven million pound management fee saying it's part of the contract and as artie's laura smith reports lympics security concerns are now extending across the atlantic. as athletes and guest start to arrive here at heathrow airport for london's olympic games they'll be met by all the usual sites including loan that immigration as u.k. border officials struggle to cope with the sheer numbers involved but it won't be

just a u.k. official come across some may be surprised to see american agents operating on british soil the u.s. transport administration or for a city has reportedly been allowed to bring in its agents in a move aimed at helping british authorities to secure american flights in and out of the u.k. the agents apparently won't be allowed past boarding gates or on to u.k. aircraft but their mere presence could prove controversial in the u.s. they've been accused of performing intrusive pat down it's just the latest confession that britain's been forced to make to the u.s. which doesn't believe the olympic host has done enough to ensure the security of the games the american team will reportedly bring with it five hundred f.b.i. agents to protect its athletes and diplomats plus five hundred security staff all of whom will be operating on british soil raising questions about sovereignty

american on the follows a catalogue of failures on behalf of the security company that won the contract for the games g four. it's admitted it couldn't provide the number of security staff it had promised that meant that three and a half thousand soldiers and hundreds of police have had to be drafted in at the very last minute to plug the store full. time now to look at some of the stories making headlines around the world in brief for you this is an explosion this is a fast thought to be carrying israeli tourists at an airport in the city of burgas on the black sea at least seven people were killed and twenty injured in the blast local media agencies report that up to three buses are on fire and police say they cannot confirm the cause of the blast yet we're bring you more on this developing story as soon as we get it. for these fourteen people died in northwestern pakistan as a minibus carrying shiite muslims hit an anti tank mine none of the militant groups

of claimed responsibility for the blast which police described as a sectarian attack this is the latest in a series of violent incidents targeting the shiite minority in the mostly sunny state. and staying in the volatile region over twenty eight nato fuel tankers have been destroyed in a bomb attack in northern afghanistan an explosive device was planted on one of the trucks transporting fuel into the country from neighboring uzbekistan this comes only weeks after pakistan reopened a month's supply routes into afghanistan seven months was caused by a twenty eleven nato attack which claimed the lives of twenty seven pakistani soldiers. in libya a liberal bloc of the national forces alliance is celebrating success in the parliamentary election held earlier this month the group claimed almost half the seats reserved for political parties the muslim brotherhood fared worse with just over twenty percent of the party places in all making bodies due to appoint a transitional government and oversee the drafting of

a new constitution welcoming our party interviews journalist patrick hays on libya and here's a brief preview for you. were it not for nato intervention last year i think these elections should really have been something to celebrate the election itself as being administered by the national transitional council which was effectively cherry picked by the west rather than than actually selected by the libyan people it's an unelected body and there have been a lot of disagreements there's been a lot of protests over the past nine ten months by the libyan people who are unhappy with the lack of transparency from this government's their own happy with the fact that the transitional council does not represent their views or the people that they want to be in power. and that interview in full coming your way very soon here on r.t. london based bank h.s.b.c. is under fire after a report found it had laundered drug cartel cash and helped saudi arabian

organizations finance terrorism a us government report claims the bank's branches move billions of dollars without checking where the money came from well earlier i spoke to middle east affairs expert earlier this q. believes this news will cause some countries to reconsider their alliances. i think this proves what many people have said all along that it is saudi arabia which is the main export of radical all of this religious extremism of the radical elements and i think how they handle it just it just explains why what you guys under what guys we're talking about what sort of terrorist groups are we talking about here while we're talking about you know for example the extremism those people who are now are for example of causing violence in syria or those who were sent to chechnya are the pay people of groups in pakistan even our car there as well we have to have to say here that some elements of the royal firmly do also have their contacts and

have contributed as well to our car either but more importantly i think that this report. that sheds light on the. alliance between the saudi family the saudi royal family and some western countries what this will do is it will put more pressure on the western governments to try and change their policy here now of course saudi arabia is considered to be an ally for how long could this continue in many people are speculating that maybe the western governments might reconsider might soon reconsider their alliance and why. it was all you're right would they be doing that first of all because we have the uprisings currently happening which puts more pressure on the on the u.s. government on the british government the saudi arabia until now hasn't taken any steps towards political reform and the other reason is that saudi arabia when it becomes more annoyed that saudi arabia is the main source of this extremism that

we're late to popular vigilance for example in the u.s. in countries like britain i believe that this report and more similar developments would put more pressure on the on the u.s. and all of these western countries. israel's coalition government has been weakened after the country's largest party could be pulled out the move came in response to a row over drafting ultra-orthodox jews into the military could emerge officials say the political opposition that leaves prime minister binyamin netanyahu working alongside hardliners who oppose concessions over the middle east peace process but a lot is policy reports the crisis comes during troubled times for israel. it could trigger the withdrawal of other political parties it makes from the time yahoo that much more vulnerable to pressure from far right wing political groupings and the religious parties and at the same time it also no longer allows him to claim that

he presides over a government of national unity because he said he doesn't it is making him that much more weak at both domestically and internationally and it comes at a time when israel is trying to deal with its worsening public image in light of a number of issues not least of all the social protest this past weekend that saw an israeli city himself on fire and this has provoked anger and frustration throughout the country certainly also in the international community there is the possibility that the government might have to go for early elections the question being asked is why did not only are not foreseen this development if indeed he did why did he choose to ignore it because it comes at such a vulnerable time it comes at a time when the country is having to deal with very unstable neighbors who are going through their own political upheaval and also with the whole question of the rand the question of whether or not israel will strike iran is still very much

looming over the reputation of this government policy our team tel aviv. to get more details and analysis on this story on our website r.t. dot com and check out some other features that we've lined up for you the b.b.c. is fighting for the right to show a fictional film about last year's london riots after the program's broadcast was stopped by a u.k. called. also practice what you preach are european copyright firms slapped with a fine after stealing music for that antique piracy and details on this story and plenty more for you right now at r.t. dot com. the parliamentary elections in georgia are just three months away with political tensions and foul play already dominating the run in three opposition activists

were arrested on choose day for allegedly violating party funding rules and as a teacher lena go to school reports some fear the president ruling party will cling to power by any means necessary. where was my friends who were kidnapped by the by george imposed by the kind of groups which we accompanied by do a dimple is like many of the outspoken critics of the regime of president saakashvili is used to this kind of treatment but now as parliamentary elections draw closer the authorities are trying to derail any opposition momentum on top of the tried and trusted methods of shutting down the opposition where there are three things but it is a success really seems to have switched his attention to their wallets now all the donors are subjected to thorough investigations and the receiving parties themselves are usually slapped with have to find a new law imposed earlier this year bans corporate donors and puts a rigid cap on donations made by individuals who incidentally it came into effect

shortly after georgia's wealthiest businessmen billionaire businessman she really founded his own political party georgian dream. after even if she only became the new face of the georgia opposition saakashvili became seriously worried and began hampering our efforts the first his trip to be an issue of his georgian citizenship and is now trying to take away his business under this new law even his release party has already been fined more than a million dollars for allegedly receiving illegal donations opposition parties with smaller budgets aren't overlooked by the government either party was trying to buy two hundred used or two hundred dollars and used or. a huge amount. budget of two months so these five a show. means that position parties are prohibitive in georgia cutting cash flow

appears to be the latest weapon in. with the opposition and with only three months before the elections it seems the playing field is becoming increasingly on. even in tbilisi georgia. r t. twenty four minutes past the hour now in the russian capital trying to join on the business the wall street session is in full focus on top of the gender really at the moment so i'm going to get to it if i may they are continuing to rise below that stress second day as of the housing starts increase at the pharmacist's rate the fastest rate almost four years and after the head of the u.s. federal was a third he is considering some stimulus as well people are certainly hoping for possible options to ease policy in case unemployment has said we've got only direct words from him but investors are reading between the lines and as we can see we've

got some gains at the moment as we well the european markets are now advancing and that's after learned including switzerland second biggest bank credit suisse they beat expectations their profits well minutes showed the bank of england may reconsider the case for an interest cuts as well as at the rate of unemployment fell for the second time this year the u.k. so is promising them that's why the footsies over a cent in the last hours tried the door lock it hold on to the solution guys versus the girl and us as those u.s. stocks rise that we just saw this is how the group will perform today is that man is she going to get the u.s. dollar in the trading session now with currencies on the euro become a currency is now trading at around two year lows the dollar you can see that just use craze in the us also take you hit by the eurozone debt problems and concerns over the future of its union now the latest report by saxo bank one of the main four x. speculators so that they all forces themselves don't really help the situation now

artie's tom barton discussed the issue with the head of the bank's f.x. strategy tom hardy. the only one of the year is going. to be the first during this. to become more involved more deeply involved and be more generous than it's going to be so far in the equation and as well we need to see a restructuring of the debt is too much to prefer if we can't keep the stead alive and the current solutions that germany is offering saving austerity that is not the way a solution there's no way to save our way out solution that requires the somebody takes a loss and with the debt is written off to a certain extent to allow it to be sustainable if you're talking to the electorate and they want to hear from bankers too they don't just want to have sure to do you say to them hey fight the system you've been badly mistreated by bankers by people like yourself or do you to around and say to them you have to shut up now stop protesting all have to realize as

a society that it's not about throwing one party out and bringing another party and it's about realizing this loss has to be taken your pension is not worth as much as you think it is because some of this needs to be written down so that realization that is an important step towards towards real change towards a restructuring taking a loss realizing that the upfront pain is actually better because it creates a sustainable system going forward so painful reform is now unneeded and the past has to be gone through there's no way to escape it although it may be too late to go on exactly unfortunately the longer it goes on the bigger the system or the pile up that builds up so it becomes more painful in the long run it's better to take the hit now rather than later and the e.u. is going to be the first place to take a hit because of its fragile political fiscal framework. is it makes business have the option markets as you can see it just for this well staff that will some whispers that the top management in the company could be changing say we have now

asked. if we have a look at us that. was says well it's not a look those are the biggest moves in my sights today it is going to the biggest most important client still. yes makes as i thought forming from a seven week high and that's a myth that still demand will fall off to china for both more economic weakness and that's how the business works but i'll be back about fifty minutes. thanks very much indeed as you for that she says in a moment a quick recap of our main news stories this hour stay with us. all.

you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm trying hard welcome to the big picture. you know use it sigrid laboratory to mccurry was able to build a new age most sophisticated robot which on fortunately doesn't give a darn about any.