the crucial battle for syria's commercial capital pits rebels against the regime as fears of a new massacre saw with the rising death toll. the lympics claim is to be littered its final destination in the british capital within hours but many of them is a feeling left out of the spectacle and instead overwhelmed by traffic and restrictions. on the u.s. strategy shift to washington goes on a major head hunt for hackers in hopes they can use their skills to aid the government top stories this hour. international news and comment live from our new center here in moscow this is r.t. with you twenty four hours a day the battle for syria's largest city is in full swing with activists saying aleppo could become the scene of another massacre many residents of fleeing as

rebel forces and government troops converge for a decisive clash dozens of reportedly been killed in the nation's economic club over the past twenty four hours while scores are also said to have died in and around damascus called the head of the u.n. mission to syria says the fall of assad's government is simply a matter of time but won't necessarily spell and to the conflict some countries are calling for humanitarian corridors to be set up the russian says that would simply help the rebels and their foreign patrons fuel the conflict even further. has the latest now from damascus. the efforts to put an end to violence in syria or on the contrary to stoke tensions in this country that depends on your worst still continuing just a few days ago the arab league has called for an emergency meeting of the un general assembly to discuss the stablish meant a humanitarian corridors now in theory the square there should only be human suffering and allow for the safe passage of humanitarian it work. refugees but in

practice when you look at the map of syria it is surrounded by the countries that i'm being used to smuggle weapons for the free syrian army we're talking about turkey lebanon on iraq possibly even jordan just a few days ago there are there's a news agency published the story quoting an f.s.a. officer who was boasting about new deliveries all rocket propelled grenades katyusha rockets anti-tank missiles on the top of that refugee camps on the border of these countries are being used as a recruitment grounds for the militarized syrian opposition my colleague. trouble to one of them on the lebanese border just a few days ago and she says that people who run these camps make no secret that they provide humanitarian assistance only to the f.s.a. sympathizers so in this context it's hardly surprising that the syrian authorities reject the idea of humanitarian corridors they believe that all these humanitarian talk is here and not their efforts to give

a strategic military advantage to the other side also if such were established the syrian government would automatically seize control over a certain parts of its territory and they believe that it would seriously undermine their efforts to fight against terrorism now russia does sides with syria on this issue russian foreign minister sergei lavrov ruled out the idea of humanitarian corridors in the current circumstances when certain countries openly supply arms for the syrian opposition or acquiesce to that cherry tree being used for arms smuggling sergei lavrov also sad that if the west and its regional allies were truly interested in putting in the end to violence and stopping blacktip they should first stop arming the free syrian army. turkey has reportedly teamed up with qatar and saudi arabia to set up a secret base to funnel weapons and equipment to the syrian rebels that's according

to reuters sources in the gulf the hub said to be located in turkey some one hundred kilometers from the syrian border the us is allegedly in on the operation as well although in this case is supporting the insurgents through its proxy allies without being directly involved and also stepped up warmongering rhetoric against syria threatening to strike across the border turkey says it's alarmed by what it calls kurdish terrorists to establish a foothold in northern syria with a view to declaring autonomy one middle east expert has told r.t. that ankara is fueling chaos on its own doorstep by supporting the us. it once in your own game right now we know that the collective know it's friends of friends of syria have their own game the people inside syria fighting have their own game and we know the kurds have their own army there are people taking a bit of a hammering in history and they're now seeing the opportunity i think in what's happening in syria to kind of strengthen their own position you know no more than any anyone else and they tell exactly how this will play out but if we assume that

let's say. this kind of effort to dislodge the syrian government works and the syrian government does collapse house will be the result and then the kurds will be taking what they can so i think they kind of preparing themselves for that if it doesn't happen then i guess go on and on a different path. the german government admits it knew that nearly one hundred terror attacks in syria have been committed by organizations with ties to al qaeda nevertheless but in continues to back these forces in their fight against damascus one german journalist told r.t. that germany is simply following orders from overseas. i am surprised about the surprise in berlin because what they say now what they admit now what is going on in syria is not a thing which goes on since one day or one week this is what is going on there since several months so i am surprised that now of they are acknowledging what is going on there with the rebels and of course with sunni extremists with al-qaeda

related militants going on against the syrian civilians and the syrian government why is germany thought the german government knows about what is going on not able to do a decision of this fact they know this might have to do with the fact that the german government until today is not making a foreign politics like a sobering state should do it. i think we are very close to washington and before a german politician tells anything he will ask in washington if this is ok so i think this has to do with the fact that the german government especially in foreign relations and is not acting on their own behalf but on the behalf of the so-called western community of. the. european community but not in the interest of the german country or of germany. coming up on the program this hour here in r.t.e. a glimpse of the killing. that actually occupies the media now it's like you

feel you are in the center of stuff. tourists flock to the israeli occupied golan heights to get a peek of the deadly action across the border in syria we have the details in just a few minutes. plus good news for the world's top whistleblower ecuador offered swedish authorities to question june in the sand in its london embassy of a six assault allegations as he continues to fight a possible extradition to the u.s. . or that's still to come but first friday is a big day for sports fans around the world with only a few hours left until the low awaited summer olympic games kick off in london fleets are preparing for the opening ceremony spectators are flocking to the british capital and the olympic torch is completing the final kilometers of its seventy day relay. and what you're seeing on your screens right now is the final leg of the journey the torch has made its way towards the game's main arena across the river thames on board a majestic royal barge but what's set to become

a thrilling sporting extravaganza for some has already proved to be a nightmare for others and as our correspondent laura smith reports that while the city is set to sparkle energy many londoners have chosen to flee. it's been seven years in the making and the greatest show on earth is finally kicking off in london but not everyone's please this has come to town in fact according to research by currency exchange for travelex londoners are fleeing their city in droves people are saying specifically they want to avoid the lympics you know they look at the streets and they look at the congestion and they look at the charges in particular on the london area so they have taken the decision to go a third of people traveling this summer will head off during the games but for those who stay behind it will be a television only affair millions ended up disappointed in the public lottery to

get tickets and it's recently been revealed that hundreds of thousands of tickets returned by foreign elim pick committees are being privately sold to corporate sponsors it's provoked outrage but not surprised a lot of tickets have gone to not only the corporate sponsors but big corporate. backers in general is an inevitable result of the way the goings of done primarily for the interests of the rich in the olympics i'm afraid are just the epitome of some of the worst things in the world the removal of resources from poor people and giving it to rich people parents drop and station they can be no doubt what's going on the whole place is branded london twenty twelve i'm also surrounded by massive billboards on every building there's an advertisement for one of the main corporate sponsors b.m.w. lloyds t.s.b. but over here is the stratford that always was struck. it's full of independent traders who have come up against the big corporate sponsors unlike rich corporates

local stallholders aren't allowed to capitalize on this world class event in their home town edict from the brand police mean they can't. even if you use words like a limb pick some or all gold in their advertising any games related merchandise must be official and according to still hold it down that's not easy it's too much of a really small piece of cheese we call the cancel each huge company. you know its business i would love so but. it's created an uneasy relationship between locals and the games are the corporate monster is such that it's negativity to the games itself which is just as. people. upset and not to be positive to the israeli fees. being covered

coated with corporate sponsorship so from that point of view i don't like it despite the much vaunted olympic spirit it turns out the great is show isn't for everyone while the fat cats sit back and watch the limpid cash raised in the london as the street seized up because of special olympic traffic lanes and their commuter trains grinds to a halt as they route the day the games picked their city the first thing i did. was send an email to one of my good friends in paris and congratulations. r.t. . you have your own say and what you think the olympics means for those living in the city we've launched a poll a quick look and see what the results are at the moment on screen you see the. competitions but the owners are so expensive that you know you watch it on t.v.

over one fifth compare it with. traffic and. that's one fifth believe it's a great blessing for the city as it comes with international flair and finally just eleven percent think the spirit of pride is worth and. in convenience. we stay with the sports thing to old as it sounds we'll cross to our business newsroom for that as katie. yeah we're pretty clutching at straws today making stuff out here out now he's expecting a pay rise sometimes thing now when it comes to the olympic games it's often the host is the lose up to lose that the fine that isn't us because it's simply such an expense for them i'll have all the financial details in about ten minutes time when . police in central russia continue to collect evidence following a gruesome discovery earlier this week of almost two hundred fifty fetuses dumped in a forest the thought of being used in scientific research by a woman who worked at a local medical university before being fired last june but as r.t.

shaun thomas found out some experts think that they could even be the product of cloning. right now the investigation is focused on two parts first how did these four plastic containers containing two hundred forty eight fetuses end up in the woods about seventy kilometers north of why and where did these fetuses come from the possible explanation is legal scientific research we do know that all of the fetuses that are in question here were terminated between twenty two and twenty six weeks this is well past of the twelve week mark which is considered legal abortion in russia after twenty two weeks of women can only have an abortion only for medical necessary reasons so is this illegal abortion operation or is this scientific research no one really knows they're trying to get to the bottom of that we talked to one medical doctor this is what they had to say about the subject. this looks like some sort of organs were removed from fetuses to extract instances

theoretically can be used to reach people there was a criminal case in ukraine who want to go when we didn't to terminate pregnancies quite late to extract this issue. there is one woman who was in charge of some scientific research in the area she was terminated in two thousand and eleven police are looking to see if she had taken some of the material she was working with with her when she left and if this could possibly be about material now there are some other disturbing theories saying that illegal scientific research could be behind this find as well in fact this is what one medical expert says on the subject. it may sound a bit. but these fetuses could have been the product of cloning despite its universal ban and that's why they were thrown out like that these were not future human beings but half human half artificial creatures it's a very daring. this might of course have been the product of miscarriage and the

fetuses could have been thrown out in purpose to create scandal and attract attention maybe attract attention to the ban on cloning humans. abortions shocked people with the sight of the speeches that we've been tracking this story from the very beginning following the developments and the feedback that we're getting is that it touches at the very core of what people believe in so it's a controversial story it has shocked many people around the world of course will be continuing to follow developments online at r.t. and here on the screen as well as they become available. we're pretty boring our website is a quick look at what's waiting for you there. the feeling frustrated will think twice before spinning it online find out how an impulsive twitter post could get you involved in a year long trial. the european commission wants to spend some four hundred ten million euros on drones aimed at seoul the one of the news major crises which one go online to find out.

we can exchange. may be inching closer to his goal of asylum in ecuador the country's embassy in london where he's been holed up says swedish authorities to question sounds there over six crimes allegations the whistleblower fears that if he's sent to sweden he could then be moved to the u.s. to stand trial for espionage for publishing classified information it could or says it will decide on whether to grant asylum to. the london olympics which conclude in just over two weeks his legal advisor says that being questioned in the south american nations embassy provides some hope for that we could leaks founder. that's positive in two respects it's positive because julian assange made a choice not to go to sweden because he knew in sweden he would be put in prison.

not given bail and that it was more likely than not in fact my view was an american lawyer for julian and someone that it was almost on a percent that he was going to be indicted and extradited to the united states never getting out of prison so the fact that he might be able to do what he has been demanding for almost two years which is to be question in london about these allegations would be a major step because it means he could answer questions so it's a major positive development it's one the joy massage has been demanding for a long time but despite that the man sweden refused to let in the second respect i think it's our hope that when julian gets an opportunity under the circumstances that sweden questions him that he would be exonerated of these allegations and that would be the end of it he should be overwhelmed first of all that the united states is going after him that you know i'm a man who should be protected by our constitution and the first amendment why if

the united states gets its hands on would be put into an underground prison and treated cruelly like bradley manning was treated the man who allegedly got access to the documents so he's obviously very worried about that situation and very angry that the united states is wanting to suppress what probably one of the major truth tellers in the world today. washington could be initiating a new headhunt for the first time the u.s. tops of his chief is attending the world's largest hacking conference in las vegas . has opinion is in the ad that the u.s. government is trying to get people on its side that it had previously been prosecuting. over the past two years the f.b.i. has arrested and jailed dozens of a legit how kurz and or whistleblowers in connection to groups like wiki leaks. anonymous and the file sharing site mega upload but in addition to prosecuting master hackers it appears as though the u.s.

government may soon begin aggressively recruiting them now one indication that many are pointing to is the fact that the head of the u.s. national security agency general keith alexander is expected to speak at the def con conference in las vegas now this event is considered to be the world's largest gathering of how kurz and so-called computer geeks in this year an estimated fifteen thousand people are expected to show up general alexander's attendance at def con marks the first time america's top surveillance chief would be participating in this event since it began two decades ago but today in an air of cyber warfare many experts believe that washington may soon begin employ the same people that they've been jailing if it means that the u.s. government stands to benefit from having hackers on team usa reporting from new

york. r.t. russian security forces of six militants in the whole siege and the couple of the countries of the republic of dagestan officials say the group of been planning terrorist assaults during the islamic holy month of ramadan the militants were blocked by special police in the private and put up some resistance overnight for children that have been taken hostage were released in the morning before the building was stormed. time to look at some other international news in brief for you this hour in our world update and first to saudi arabia where police have reportedly open foreign opposition protesters in the district of qatif leaving several injured a number of arrests of also be made clashes occurred as hundreds marched to demand the release of political prisoners and freedom of expression violence between security forces and protesters has intensified recently after two demonstrators were killed earlier this month. international financial inspectors have urged greece to push through more reforms if it wants to secure the latest

installment of yet another bailout tranche the country continues to contract at an alarming rate when experts speculating that they may have to leave the euro a soon as general who says only enough money to make it to the end of the summer is tough cuts have already caused violent rallies. north and south korea's of mark the fiftieth anniversary of the korean war cease fire the military conflict on the korean peninsula erupted when the communist north propped up by the soviet union invaded the south though a cease fire was signed tension remains high in two thousand and ten two south korean soldiers in a pair of civilians were killed in an artillery attack by the north which it claims to have been provoked by the south korean. conflict weary israel is on increased alert of a possible spillover of the violence in syria the israeli occupied golan heights is just across the border from the fighting and tourists and now flocking to the site is the death and despair in syria becomes

a casual attraction for some bodies poorest live reports. up close and personal you don't get basic ringside seats in this this is the israeli syrian border and it's now also the latest israeli tryst attraction feels good to be able to get close to it a little bit and besides seeing only the items on television i was actually thrilled to come here today into syria to realize that with only a few kilometers and that country unfortunately there are hundreds of people being killed every day it's the perfect spot it seems for war boy is keen on getting a glimpse of syrians killing each other from a safe vantage point the only hard way they carry binoculars and cameras you rely on our armed forces that. of the situation and take all the precautions and so i feel i feel very safe you see both his family to see where he fought

against the syrians nearly fifty years ago the border areas which could erupt again as the free syrian army takes on assad forces. but now it's good business and two guys are making a killing it's really something that you want to see some oh i know it's war in order might not be pleasant but there is an attraction to see the thing that actually occupies the media now it's like you feel you are in the center of stuff the fog was sparked when israeli defense minister who came to see for himself what was going on. here in the border with real fighting in syria and you can hear the noise and stalling here we are one kilometer from the border. of. cotton couldn't wait to get jewish parents fled syria in the early fifty's for this visit is a dream come true it's like the motion because my parents split the air and they told me that they live very peaceful with all the people and that's why we went.

some two groups are now thinking of income. on the list of the must see exclusions they may be day trips now but disasters on the one isn't should the going to get closer until of it choose to get involved. on these radios syrian border. on the business. investors have friday feeling that yeah they do are looking at a lot of gains actually bill at the moment that's really in spite of the u.s. economy expanding other slower pace in the second quarter that's really because of softening jobs market reports coming out really america's curbing their spending sprees pretty much but as you can see that this friday we've got the dow jones night tens of zen are on the now as that one point three percent opposed to speculation really is the word of the day because investors that headed their hopes in the european central bank because they've given out a hint that they're going to be buying so you better mind for now let me talk about

face but one of the top agendas for wall street at the moment because they are plunging a fourteen percent facebook stocks and that's all to announcing its first financial results since the i.p.o. and while the social network second quarter revenues rose thirty two percent it's also reported a one hundred fifty seven million dollars net loss but some of it is linked to go to shareholders and that will include the chief executive mark zuckerberg so let's have a look at the european markets they too are gaining and that is for second day once again that's all to the e.c.b. report the president mario draghi he has vowed to keep it intact whatever happens to the euro now when i'm chatting away and there is still voicing all those two week highs also want to mention the spanish situation as well because the jobless rate skyrocketed to fresh record high of twenty five percent so that was kind of

dimming the lights to the region so to speak but as we can see we've also got the ruble finished. up trading session high against a basket of currencies let's have a look at how the equity markets got on here involves goes well that we've also got guidance as well so it was pretty good is pretty going to do the also yes really around two and a half percent up the minuses around one point six imposed also helps out the markets here was crude prices that's still gaining so is offering a bit of support this is the movers and shakers then child we've got oil. did manage to gain in the session over two and a half percent its first half net profits rose thirty percent that was in russian accounting standards after vassals the managed to gain one i'll send the company provided one of its main shareholders the four million euros of profits that was in the first half of the. eight heads of dissent is net profit fell over in the first six months of the get more on that particular company it's been in the courts today

a russian observation call they have all to be paid by over three billion dollars of compensation to the fate. of what was required by a minority shareholder of the russian. he claims the joint suffered losses because of be felt with the deal which by the way was bought by russian shareholders of. pay so let's go want to talk about the olympics is because so days and. british prime minister david cameron he's hoping. the u.k. get back on track. of history though they almost always leave the host country with financial troubles not spent billions to make two thousand and four games a success but now is economy is saying one thing about the olympics is that it does increase foreign trade by an average of three i think it looks very exciting indeed

actually. going to be the fuel. that's harmony not at midnight actually russian talking but hopefully we're going to see some of that a bit later thanks very much indeed well surely the social legacy all of the soviet union comes under the spotlight in our in-depth interview i'll be back with the headlines before that stay with us in moscow this is r.t. .

wealthy british science it's time to. market why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with my next concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report on our.