skin. shows rage on in syria version troops attempt to fight back and rebel held areas and new religious divisions add to the deadly mix that says u.n. observers get another thirty days to assess the situation. and protesters demanding their right to rally in bahrain are met with tear gas after the government bans political demonstrations. tourists in israel are now taking up arms as army anti terror training for anyone willing to pay. and thank you for joining our t.v.

this saturday with me. while government forces in syria are launching an all out counter attacks in the capital to reclaim districts held by rebels but the country is now facing a new religious front it's split over one to start marking the islamic holy month of ramadan it's meant to be a time of peace and prayer and the muslim world but syrians have little hope it will help curtail violence as artie's acts on a boycott now reports from damascus. it's a call for prayer that at times sounds like a mother's wail and it all there is like a sinister cry in a horror movie plumes of smoke are now competing with men there it's on the damascus skyline and few expect things to get any better in the coming months saturday is the first day of ramadan for many syrian muslims but not for all their facilities and the rebels that seem to disagree on just about everything also differ on the holy month is supposed to begin the start of ramadan is determined by

the side of the new moon which varies from country to country whether so in syria as well as in iran or amman it fell on saturday the rebels do decided to start fasting a day earlier in line with political allies like saudi arabia and turkey mixing religion and politics is becoming increasingly common in this seventeen month long struggle. we have something like. if we have to fry we don't care about. die because when we die we will go through a law to heaven. and that comforts the sash neighborhood of damascus the mosque still bears the scars of clashes between the rebels and the army local men tell us about atrocities committed by the troops and how their faith their fight. and we become part against them even if.

we are with god and god with. healing in the name of god is nothing new of course and in syria in foxholes there are indeed very few atheists and while the enemies are praying to the same god they also seem to agree on at least one other thing that the holy month is unlikely to bring any responded to violence the holy month of ramadan is a. time for frantic shopping in time for sunset when muslims break their fast but here in what used to be and not for caylee residential area close to central damascus you can barely find i think shop open most of them have been ravaged or destroyed like this one those that stayed intact a close then actually there's absolutely no short burst here in the only people that we've met so far on the army troops twenty five year old is

a consecrate who joined the army fresh out of university a year and a half ago while islam exams active duty soldiers from the dawn to dusk fasting. he and the majority of other troops in his unit will do it anyway. it's summer it's heart and we are freezing creek challenge from these terrorists is on our side it gives us strength for as long as it takes over yet he recognizes that with the advent of their efforts to what they call this threat of terrorism is likely to phase more challenges not only mosques have been used by the militarized the position for recruitment large crowds heading to prey make it easier for the rebels to infiltrate new areas that is the reason why it's so hard to capture all these terrorists is because they can easily disguised themselves as civilians when we conduct our operations we have to let civilians terrorists choose to move around

and while ramadan calls for charity and compassion syrian man observing it's routinely profess right in this to die for their cause but for the war to stop what they need is to be willing to live for it it's not a boycott artsy damascus syria. meanwhile the u.n. observers mission has been given another thirty days to monitor events in syria all members of the security council have voted in favor of extending their mandate which could be renewed if necessary is more important as the details from new york . russian ambassador to the united nations vitaly churkin says he's a very pleased with the way the vote out friday with his security council unanimously approving a u.k. draft resolution that extends the u.n. supervision mission in syria for a final thirty days investor churkin said this is what russia was hoping for from the very beginning and the vote that took place on thursday of course put

a lot of consequences on the syrian government in association with extending the supervision mission which is why it was vetoed but investor churkin said he was pleased overall that this mission is going to be extended this vote happening just hours before the original mandate was set to expire however there is a bit of contradiction within the text of the resolution because it extends the mission for final thirty days stressing the word final but then it also says that it can be extended if violence decreases in syria a russian ambassador vitaly churkin did address this issue when talking to the meeting out there were explaining to put some sort of pressure on the sides so if they do want to do is to continue then they used to go back to the level of well if they wanted to make that signal well i wouldn't want to wouldn't want this particular thing to stand in the way of the option of this resolution even though i

believe that it's really it's really going to dictate it and we do emphasize the continuation of course we also believe that there's a resolution says that the level of oneness must be reduced on all sides and behold this is going to happen to russia and china both said that the u.k. drafted resolution that was vetoed on thursday and supported by other western countries was one sided it was only putting pressure on on the syrian government and not putting any pressure consequences on the armed opposition that are participating in the increasing violence. also what came out of the meeting was that u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice said that washington will continue and increased its work outside of the security council meaning that the u.s. will continue working with partners. on what to do with syria because what they want to do in terms of sanctions or any other approaches that would put more

pressure on the syrian government is that it was not allowed in the security council so it looks like there may be some unilateral moves in pressures that are going to be taken by washington and its western allies. russian ambassador to the u.n. but again has given an interview to our team explaining why some western states were so eager to push for a resolution on syria you can see it here throughout the day or at our website r t v dot com. with some news outlets speculating that the syrian president may be ready to step down the rebels are already making plans for a post future one of the opposition groups has announced it will launch and slow most faction while the leader of the syrian muslim brotherhood said his party as ready to step up to its role syrian activists mimi hall rebels will not bring peace through the conflict. even as not being a government supporter i thought diagnosed represent students some brandy so for us

that to go right no need and to basically syria and to. every country that is. only interest is going to be totally controlled by the us in just a few countries and it will need your chaos inside the country for one thing and more in depth and. delineation of serious way of life i think by now a majority of people have realized that these foreign backed insurgents you have not democracy. at heart they are extremely sick they're in extremely violent and of course they are not what the syrian people these are. syrian activists and a blogger many are talking to us are there. now police involved frayne have used tear gas to disperse thousands of anti-government

protesters at least fifty people have died since they are last began in february of last year when they were banning protests rallies earlier this month my colleague bill dart spoke to side heidi. a member of the opposition who believes the security forces are deliberately trying to kill protesters. only one tried to participate and protestant can be dangerous because the police forces they don't care of people are with and they don't even care of holiday treat them they don't just prevent you or we're only doing what they shoot on your butt the our soil why are you protesting what are you angry about what are the main issues. as you know the since fourth. of february two thousand and eleven the people in bahrain starts by the you'll see when they called for reforms and

calling for a real democracy in our country but after the fifteenth of march the government they started their crackdown and they killed people and they prevent people from taking their rights to protest or to have their freedom of expression lots of people being killed lots of people being injured and they jailed more than two thousand nine hundred twenty nine and we are calling for for example for elected government we are calling for an independent. judiciary so when i'm not calling for something understandable by the international global war we've seen the us come out strongly against regimes in the arab world when they're paying large scale public demonstrations haven't heard much from washington over this and we haven't heard much from the international media about these protests in bahrain why is that in bahrain there is a very big issue you know thirty years so close to us the relationship between u.s. and saudi arabia is pretty strong and this hasn't really been

a country house well so be the complication here in our country can't be compared with the with the regime for example in syria which has no good relationship between the united states and the regime there. coming up on r t falling with guns or tasteless tourists. visitors to israel are being given the chance to take up arms in what's marketed as an anti terror attempt at the venture has given plenty of ammunition to the critics . and the aftermath of last year's for the sheema disaster hits u.s. shores in a warm radioactive pitch this story coming up in a few minutes here on our team. that looks like one of the world's most reclusive states north korea is taking

a step in another direction its young leader is said to be set on a path of reform to revamp the country's economy and our culture can draw on the house this week dismiss the north's long standing military chief for opposing change south korean media report that the sacked general could have been injured or even killed when a gunfight broke out as a new commander attempted to detain him erik's him from the national campaign to end the korean war signs that the north is stepping away from military are encouraging but adds that the international community should change its attitude to . the military plays a huge economic role in north korea they they deal with harvesting of the crop state you know with working on roads they are a lot of the employed been to north korea relates to militarism and military but it's a change of attitude that's necessary that's why we tried to take a message there when i was there about transcending hostility moving from

a reaction to a relationship it's the same message we're going to washington this week it is we have to change our approach to this issue and perhaps what we're beginning to see is that the north koreans are beginning to understand that debt change is necessary in order to not only engage more with the rest of the world but to begin to move forward in europe all in the aspirations to be a strong independent country but one that has peace and peace in the region so we hope so that military shifting is contagious and of course there's always more for you to explore after r.t. dot com here's a look at what's there right now. legendary football coach fabio capello isn't moscow after the birth of the new manager made high expectations from both fans and players. and russian punk rockers plus the riot faced

a seventeen year jail term on charges of organism for their impromptu performance coming anti-pope and song the country's biggest cathedral. is you're. the official delegation. from the. video. and.

on the dot com thanks for being with r.t. it's sixty minutes past the hour as rails holy sites such as the wailing wall the tomb of christ and the ox a mosque have been a major draw for tourists for years now however a new attraction has come on the scene visitors can pay to try their hand at an israeli gun range but what's marketed as ad terror training has triggered concern around the country artist policy or explains. framing the way tourists visiting the land of the holy can learn to look after themselves on the world's increasingly mean streets where touring is their hour and this is part of their experience and it's something they could only do in israel and it's very easy this shooting school's been around for years training security guards professionals soldiers and bodyguards now it's opened its doors with

a two hour course for visitors we want to come today today. to learn a little bit about the anti terrorist. tactics that they learned the villagers and shadowman inhabitants so that they can protect themselves it's the brainchild of norman solomon a former real estate agent from los angeles his caliber three shooting school offers an alternative to the museums and beaches but listening and learning here could also save your life they say it was important for me to jewish people. the feeling that they have something safe in. a state they have and they have some of these deal with counterterrorism training the schools in a settlement just south of jerusalem a quarter of a million israelis live in a city on the ends that with increasing frequency are seeing violent attacks between settlers and palestinians israelis over the last twenty or thirty years

have been discussing the seeping of norms from the occupied territories into the situation we have inside of israel when you look at israeli society these days and you look at the impact that such a long term occupation has had on our own society it is no coincidence that you have been beginning to see more and more of these attacks inside of israel as well as in the west bank the models of this gun toting operation or causing a stir in israel so it's possible. but from the other side people here and over in israel live in a place where everything is defense if we don't defend ourselves if we don't put up walls things happen bad things happen i disapprove i think that israeli these really government should educate the children. and educate children for peace and not. enable the children

and teach them to fight one another whatever the outcome this side show in a land of on rist appears to be drawing plenty of fingers to the trigger hundreds of tourists arrive in israel every day many of them deciding to give the settlements a shot this could be a fairground if it wasn't surrounded by real life not only is there were growing awareness of violence but also a slightly disturbing acceptance of the very often brutal way of dealing with such policy r.t. television. and coming up in the program tom to lauren from little brother. i don't know we were. we started you know now we have more fun for you while starts to lag behind economically we ask people on the streets of new york why canadians are getting wealthier than america it's. time now for a brief look at some other stories making headlines around the globe spain's civil

servants have been keeping up with their week long series of protests against wage cuts and changes to working conditions public sector workers have been blocking roads in the capital earlier hundreds of thousands of marched across spain the protests descended into clashes with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets madrid is trying to save sixty five billion euro's to secure a massive bailout for its banks which has now been given the green light by all euro zone states. a vigil has been held in the u.s. state of colorado as people mourn those killed at a screening of the new batman film twelve people died and eleven are in critical condition during the last gunman through gas canisters into a crowded cinema and opened fire the suspect has been identified as twenty four year old james holmes who had recently dropped out of a ph d.

course science people say police rather say he was armed with four firearms which he had acquired legally flags across the u.s. are being flown at half mast. three days after the suicide bombing of a bus carrying israeli tourists in bulgaria investigators are still struggling to identify the suspect security camera footage released after the attack showed a white man with long hair but i witnesses have now been quoted as saying that the suspect had dark skin short dark hair and looked like he was wearing a wig israel blames the attack that killed six on iran's hezbollah a claim reportedly backed by american intelligence fares are rising in the u.s. that the popular bluefin tuna caught off the west coast contains radiation scientists say last year's nuclear disaster in japan is to blame but some claim these radioactive findings may only be the tip of the iceberg artie's medina

question of our reports. this summer californian fisherman are ready to inspect their catch closer than average before the world really creates fear and the reason for such concern lies in the latest discovery by scientists that bluefin tuna caught off the california coast contain a ready to active isotopes brought over from the waters of japan it's led many to believe the scale of disaster was far greater than talk years authorities have ever admit it last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami not only killed thousands but also knocked out the fukushima nuclear plant spilling uncontrolled amounts of radiation into the atmosphere so well and see the japanese government has been accused in the past of failing to provide full information about the incident and of downplaying the dangers the fact that the reactors were. which was known to go by the government literally within days of the incident taking.

time and. it was emotional and. yet we keep racking it up here don't worry. so that the secret canadians are watching and while it's a little bit better choice. to let the scottish rock show that it was from in the movie i love rain across the lake from canada because i we have lake erie there and we are falls last week and things look like they're thriving up there here not so much so what are they doing differently george w. bush. that's what happened we're still paying for eight years ago one hundred percent it was because of two thousand and eight when the market collapsed wouldn't bush took all the regulations out exacts what happened to us the usa has been the richest country in the world for years and says really it has changes i don't know why but. maybe lots of things may have been the cause of it and like what what what do you think the biggest. security does it concern you it also doesn't concern me

no i think that they're good partners they're good neighbors but obviously we need to be doing something better what if the rest of the world starts surpassing us like canada as i would like it that's what i'm saying we need to start learning what they're doing right and figure out why we aren't do you think we're going to bother doing math or do you think that the pacific people in positions of power are just going to keep grabbing as much money as they can yeah it's not going to come from the people in power right what's the secret. i don't know we worked hard to we we study oh now we have more fun. we love life and money comes after do you think money comes first for americans and that might be the problem maybe maybe that sounds reasonable you're not just giving houses to people that can't afford them no it. doesn't have the same you know it's part of the american dream is having your own house right but that there's that theory isn't there in canada so here to your house it doesn't really matter so you're saying without with

a push for the it could be american dream. there's there's less push for compared with americans canadians have a higher average household income their houses are worth more and they have a lower rate of unemployment so maybe it's time for americans to take notes on how canadians are running their democracy. and i'll be back with a recap of our top stories in just a few minutes stay with our.

well for the future of science technology innovation all that means developments from around russia we've got the future covered. you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so for lengthly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture.

in. the sky. russian airlines.