syria enters the muslim holy month of ramadan engulfed in violence as government forces and rebel fighters battle for every corner of the war torn country. spain is gearing up for more angry as your sturdy protests just days after nationwide marches descended into clashes that left dozens injured we go live to madrid very shortly here on r.t. . plus trigger happy tourism a new attraction for visitors to israel sparks fears of promoting a negative perception of the country. live from our new center here in the russian capital this is r.t. with twenty four hours a day fierce fighting between the syrian military and rebels continues to rage on

for the second day in syria's economic hub aleppo the van it shows no sign of declining a day after the u.n. observer mission to the country was extended for thirty days meanwhile the french foreign minister has called on the syrian opposition to form a provisional government and prepare to take over the reins of the country clashes are continuing to break out in damascus after rebel forces have been mostly driven out of the syrian capital by assad's army on friday reports suggest the last few days of fighting a been the bloodiest since the conflict began. a boycott reports that the holy spirit of ramadan will in no way reconcile the enemies. it's a call for prayer that at times sounds like a mother's wail and at others 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 they are from about for many syrian muslims but not for all

their thought which is that 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 to the weather so in syria as well as in the wrong 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 seventeen month long struggle . we have something like. if we have to we don't care about the die because when we die we will go through a law to heaven. and they come for secession neighborhood of damascus the mosque still bears the scars of clashes between the rebels and the army will tell us about

atrocities committed by the troops and how their faith. and. become part against them even in ramadan you know. we are with god and god with. healing in the name of god is nothing new of course and in syrian folks calls 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 a response. 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 conscript who joined the army fresh out of university a year and a half ago well 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. because it's summer its heart and we are facing a great challenge from these terrorists is on our side it gives us strength for as long as it takes to get here recognizes that with the advent of their efforts to stand what they call this crowd of terrorism is likely to face 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 the reason why it's so hard to capture all these terrorists is because they can easily

disguise themselves as civilians when we conduct our operations we have to let civilians and terrorists choose to move around and while ramadan calls for charity and compassion syrian man observing it's routinely profess radin 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. washington says it's seeking to put even more pressure on damascus while providing additional support to the rebels political analyst thinks the us is trying to bring down assad by any means while the syrian president is prepared to go down fighting the united states would like russia to put pressure on assad to leave peacefully but i think it's very obvious that assad probably won't do that and i think that he's seen what's happened in

other countries when the president stepped down like mubarak you know that sort of thing and so i think he has no incentive to give up and to try to leave the country his back is to the wall and he's probably going to fight it out we don't know exactly what the united states is doing and often times when the united states says it's giving non-lethal i he's a combat multipliers communications etc so they don't kill people directly but the indirect effect is to make their opposition more effective there are other arabic countries in turkey i think are helping out this side opponents and therefore the u.s. hands are clean but i think definitely there's probably some covert stuff going on in the united states says no the government says no but most assuredly if we go by past history there probably is something going on there. in fact i spoke exclusively with russia's envoy to the u.n.

to tell each other can you explain moscow's position on the syrian conflict and you can watch the full interview here on r.t. later today or you can also find it on our website and here's a quick taste of what else is waiting for you at all t. dot com at the moment you can read the chilling personal accounts of the survivors of the shooting which left twelve people dead and dozens injured. talian coach fabio capello is here in moscow to sign the contract to become the new manager of the national football team more about the terms of the deal on our website at the moment. the t.v. channel managed by women wearing full face veils has been launched in egypt explained its concept on r.t. dot com.

spain is bracing itself for more protests demonstrations gain strength in the capital rallies have been taking place across spain for over a week now after prime minister of oil announced an additional sixty five billion euros in cutbacks well for more on this let's cross live to he's joining me from madrid you're there tell us more about the sentiment in the streets where you are at the moment. well so far it's been looking very peaceful unlike a typical weekend afternoon in the heart of the spanish capital madrid but we already know that several rallies have been held throughout the city gathering for thousands of protesters as they all have been peaceful with more about the chance about voicing their stance against the government we understand that a march through the streets of madrid has already started gathering several thousands of people and we are expecting those people to convene here at the square in the heart of woodridge that's where the most interesting part of the protests will be taking place

a heavy police presence here is already felt probably the off that more violence will happen after several days of rather turbulent protests in spain we are certainly on the ground here and we will tell you is more when it happens in a couple of hours from now i guess could explain just what has cools the economic situation in the country. well today's protests are just latest in a string of mass rallies across spain since july july the eleventh when the spanish prime minister announced that sixty five billion euros will be additionally allocated as a cutbacks from the state budget from the unemployment benefits to serve as a bailout plan for the spanish banking system now when this plan was officially approved by brussels first by the by the german by the german parliament then by brussels on thursday and friday the situation got really really bad here the violent clashes which we witnessed on thursday was something unprecedented for spain but hundreds of thousands of people hit the streets clashing with police

dozens were wounded were injured the police had to use rubber bullets and tear gas and they are no indications whatsoever that the situation may get better in any in any sense in any sense because the financial forecast of twenty thirteen which was published just couple days ago says that next year and twenty thirteen spain will suffer even stronger from the from the austerity measures that the country is taking it to participate in the euro bailout fund so the situation is very tense and it's and it's escalating every moment while just talking about escalation of violence you said that those clashes recently were unprecedented and indeed we've seen peaceful protests throughout the country do you think there really is reason to believe that it could actually get a lot was now in spain just briefly. well certainly if the spanish are different to the greeks because the greeks went down to the streets and started being violent at the very first days of their protests the spanish have been as i said protesting very peacefully but thursday's clashes certainly give

a lot of give lots of indication that the violence may escalate because so many people in the streets clashing with police the police having to use things like rubber bullets and tear gas is something on scene before and definitely with the country already hitting twenty four percent of the unemployment rate in this year the situation is not looking any good at the moment but certainly we are waiting for any developers to see how the situation will unravel doing today saturday's vote just in madrid but here certainly thanks very much indeed for that live update . a labor market specialist the business school in madrid i spoke to her a little earlier here on r t she believes that bailing out the bad spanish banks was an unfortunate but necessary action the only place spain can get any growth right now is. export. growth and you do see the economies working very very hard on growing the exports are in certain sectors so you know there's

there's some change going on but that's not going to be enough to get the economy here you know it's a shrinking over and you know all of the bank bailouts i think we have two things go on here in the middle of a crisis and you're terrified and and at the same time then he existing in special you does holds our liquidity so it goes down and takes our money with it so we do this over number don't we the banks rather than my beaches. and that's what's happening. come up to thirty minutes past the hour here in the russian capital still to come this hour in the line of fire. it is no coincidence that you are beginning to see more and more of these attacks inside of israel as well as in the west bank. find out why a new tourist attraction is triggered controversy in israel. let's talk about first thousands of anti regime protesters clashed with riot police in the

capital of bahrain on friday the demonstrations against the ruling royal family began last february and what have led to over fifty deaths and scores of arrests the government has been attempting to suppress the opposition with form protests banned earlier this month can ask about a former lecturer at university bahrain believes it's in the u.s. is interest to empower the oppressive regime. the people been pushing for democracy for many years now. in the country and the khalifa or the on the progress these are ruling the ruling family now for two hundred twenty nine years. in luxury. so totally devoid from any type of reality from any type of connection with the average citizen whenever the people riled up and protests that they have and the you know how they go after them they kill them they torture them they beat them

because they broke no one for freedom of speech freedom of association freedom of belief the people or determine they will continue to protest because the regime and saw and saw him and we can scared they have decided to ban all protests. prison. or political society is in prison though the regime has been trying to shut down. pro-democracy protests there . they drag only an enterprise under way in bahrain against the people of bahrain and that is what the violent about primarily because of us there and. if they pivot point allows the you will maintain had demonic control not only over the persian go but over the entire middle east so the united states does not want to lose a scene right. it's one of the most secretive nations on earth where many would say

nothing has changed for decades and life is lived in a communist time warp but while the winds of change on exactly blowing full strength in north korea a new era could be on the horizon this week the country's military chief was suddenly sacked and now reports are emerging that major economic and agriculture reforms pending in the kind of journalist believes that pyongyang should be encouraged but not pressured to open up to south korea. six years of sanctions on north korea has in the world and i think a face like the chinese opening up special economic zones in the north of that country be assured by ones that are supposedly being developed each year in order for a phone call in the us on this special economic zone in the northern part of the country and we have a case on special industrial complex the industrial complex we just south korea and north korea is basically produced for us there so i think all these things are a step in the right direction but as long as the u.s.

and the are ok. illegally firing doing these military drills into north korea stirring the waters this case and she actually was going to get the loser is from north korea you can actually for me at this point really needs to emphasize in g. eight urged direct talks between the north and the south i mean this is it but we need to get this to happen and until that happens there is no prospect for free peaceful reunification. still ahead this hour on r.t. no chuma role for you food safety experts in the u.s. real mom tells there are traces of radiation found in tuna fish caught in california. watch r.t. to find out how it got there. but first conflict weary israel remains a popular hot spot for tourists despite long running security risks but visitors can now take a self-defense course foreign rifles and a brand new attraction the marketing move is raising moral concerns in the country is in our reports.

meaningful 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 the experience and it's it's something they could only do in israel and it's very easy this shooting schools 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 to the site 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. jewish people.

the feeling 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 the sit on the 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 i mean 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 a causing a stir in israel 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 government should educate the children. and educate children for peace and not. enable their children and teach them to fight one another whatever the outcome this side show in the land of unrest 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 fair ground if it wasn't surrounded by real life not only is there are growing awareness of violence but also a slightly disturbing acceptance of the very often brutal way of dealing with that policy r.t. tel aviv authorities in southern russia have opened a criminal investigation into an attack on

a military convoy that killed two people and left three wounded incident occurred in the republic of several government open fire when vehicles carrying servicemen were passing through a wooded area ensues the district police are searching for the perpetrators in the shutters working hard to reduce terror attacks in the region with a number of incidents having dropped by half since twenty ten just two days ago security services defuse the bomb of about ten kilograms of t.n.t. that's a quick look at some of the stories making headlines around the world at least nine people being killed and sixteen injured in a suicide bomb attack in northwestern pakistan the blast went off at a guest entrance of a military compound used by local militia and belongs to a militant commander who had split from the islamist taliban group no one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. south sudan has pulled out of peace talks with sudan after a bombing that left two civilians injured on friday sudan denied having carried out

the air strike the two countries have been in dispute over borderline since south sudan declared independence last july taking roughly seventy five percent of sudan's oil production. japan's government deserves an investigation into radiation safety neglected at the crippled fukushima nuclear plant recovery workers were allegedly forced to cover their radioactivity meters with lead to plate blocking the reading of radiation levels allowing employees to continue working in unsafe conditions the nuclear meltdown at the stricken plant owned by the tokyo electric power company was caused by the devastating earthquake and accompanying tsunami in march last year. and staying with japan the consequences of last year's new clearly cannot reach in california shores restaurant owners on the west coast a pondering taking tuna fish off their menu of affairs of contamination media culture never has this report. this summer california and fisherman are ready to

inspect or 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 his authority has 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 freddie ation 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 down which was known to go by the government literally within days of the incident taking place and was not actually reported in the media for months afterwards which is almost unthinkable

the news that my greater you fish may now be bringing that radioactivity across the pacific has sparked a media frenzy in the u.s. this is the first time such a large migrating fish has been shown to carry radioactivity so far this next item made a lot of u.s. consumers set up and take notice they've actually found low levels of radiation in seafood off the coast of california that raises a lot of alarm bells but there are fears that radiation in bluefin tuna is only the first sign of much worse disaster to come for the west coast. if i may. say in the ocean. going to have a. hard. day over radiation x. prudes believe the real scale of the nuclear disaster will not. it's been known for many decades as to radiation released during the meltdown is accumulating in the

global environment. later this summer scientists will be easier to study and might reduce it but this time on a far way to steal them before even taking in a number of different species experts to this will provide a real test of just how much radiation has been flowing across from japanese waters to american shores i do not wish to arts he was quoting from los angeles california . now if you have a younger sibling it can feel awkward when they suddenly start outperforming you well that's exactly what's happening now with the u.s. as canada has overtaken it in terms of wealth and personal prosperity but oftenest inhalations edition of the resident took to the streets of new york to ask people there why. for the first time in a long time canadians are wealthier than americans this week let's talk about why

because most of. you know we keep wrapping it up here don't worry. though that the canadians are watching their wallets a little bit better choice. well the scottish record of the don't launch from the moon i love rain across the lake from canada because i we have lake erie there and we've to niagara 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 that's what happened to us the usa has been the richest country in the world for years and suddenly it has changes i don't know why but. maybe lots of things may have been because of the you know 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 the secret was i know we work hard we study oh no 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 we're not just giving houses to people that can't afford them no . i have seen you know it's part of the american dream of having your own house right but there's that theory isn't there in canada so here that you rent your own house it doesn't really matter so you're saying without regard to push for the it could be american dream there's this much pressure that 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. well i'll be back with a recap of our top stories in just a few moments from now stay with us live this is r.t. in moscow. org.

wealthy british style. that's what i'm trying to find accurate. markets why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cause or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report on our.

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