as syria's commercial capital becomes the country's fiercest battleground rusher accuses the rebels and their western patrons of leaving damascus no choice but to fight on. as the breath taking a look at games opening ceremony kicked off british police tell a mass cyclist group to get on its bike. saudi arabia police attack demonstrators with clubs and live rounds as pro-forma protests spread from bahrain and the united arab emirates our top stories this hour. international news and comment live from our new center here in moscow this is r.t. with twenty four hours a day. dozens of people have reportedly been killed in fresh clashes in syria's

largest city as government forces step up a counter offensive against the entrenched rebels witnesses describe the scenes in aleppo as the fiercest fighting or the sixteen month conflict russia says syrian authorities need to work towards peace but cannot be expected to concede on the western backed insurgents continue to take over cities moscow accuses foreign powers of fueling the violence to bring about regime change in damascus the former head of the u.n. mission to syria says assad's forces only a matter of time but admits that it won't necessarily mean the conflict will end you and occasions of also emerged of foreign meddling in syria in defiance of u.n. efforts as artie's works on a boycott reports. one week has passed since the united nations has issued a new mandate for its observer mission in syria beach and this theoretically should help calm tensions in this country but if anything violence in syria has only

intensified over the past week the clashes between the army and the rebel still continue in the northern city of aleppo with the death toll believed to be in the hundreds and enormous damage to the city's infrastructure now before the syrian uprising began aleppo was considered the best case for the burgeoning economic and political ties between syria and its northern neighbor turkey but ever since our go on and bashar al assad stopped calling each other france turkey has played a very active and some would say a very destructive role in syrian affairs turkish territory is being actively used to smuggle weapons for the free syrian army i don't the top of that's why there is news agency has revealed that turkey alongside saudi arabia and qatar has sat out a secret military base in one of its southern cities to direct vital military communications support for the free syrian army now

a number of experts have warned that turkey's adamant support for the syrian opposition may calm at a cost to its own security for a number of decades the church's state has been struggling against its own militants i'm talking about the crudest on its workers' party the p.k. cave it's been fighting for the establishment of an independent sovereign state for the kurds the world's largest people without a state a few months ago i have a chance to visit several kurdish settlements around syria and i was very surprised to find that they are defacto independent they have their own security force their own schools our own administration so all these developments with the kurds in syria leave turkey very nervous. and on thursday its prime minister accused bashar al assad of aiding kurdish militants in syria and as. his country it reserves the

right to strike kurdish targets kurdish locations but then syria pretty much like it does in iraq and at. least may be needed for turkish all self-defense but if those attacks every carried out that's going to make a very volatile a very bloody very unstable situation in this region far worse. dr ali mohammed editor in chief of the syria tribune blog he's told me here in r.t. that america's mideast allies are walking a fine line beyond international law the us seems to have finally understood that it will not have a clean clean clear success in syria and if it decides to intervene it will ruin the whole country on the way and that's why it's leaving the dirty work to to its local proxies so dearie turkey seemed to to like the idea of a middle east controlled by the muslim brotherhood which they can control easily

thinking that this is their battle it seems gives them the privileged. that's what they think nothing allows them to do so this is against international law this is against every concept of neighboring countries so they think it's ok for them and they think they will get away with it and that's why they act this way and the question is are they going to get away with it. coming up in the program this hour here on two radios on a rampage find egyptian of parties of failing to stem the increasing flow of stolen artifacts from the country. but first the summer olympic games are finally underway in london and while athletes were gearing up to go tough on their opponents police were getting tough the locals around one hundred cycling activists taking part in the monthly mass bike ride were arrested during the games and ceremony they claim to be encircled by police while pedaling towards and then pickpocket offices

reportedly used pepper spray as scuffles broke out in oakland show itself though proved to be a breathtaking masterpiece of when the final price tag of twenty seven million pounds in a pick torch was delivered by football superstar david beckham speedboat on the river thames and seven young athletes nominated by british sporting greats the flame to the largest amount of each and. extravaganza culminated with this bomb which displayed. and you can learn about how the queen teamed up with agent double zero seven made a spectacular entrance of the olympic opening on a website. also online updates from all the competition is really. being swept up by the spirit of the olympic games others are not so enthused.

know i'm here but it is a crazy bad call because of it yes. they do we also people in the big apple whether they'll remember the names of the athletes several months off to the olympics finish don't miss the resident in about ten minutes from now here on t.v. . also we look at how athletes are cashing in on their perfect bodies with glossy combos and fancy photo shoots leaving sporters perhaps enough to fly again. tensions a simmering in eastern saudi arabia following friday's police crackdown on protesters clashes it could in the city of county fla activists say about fourteen people were injured off the officers began shooting live rounds several arrests were made following the demonstrations against political imprisonment and discrimination by these sunni rebels. populated by shiites as seen the rest throughout the year with saudi authorities beefing up security positions those

whose of those have been sewn used in bahrain and the united arab emirates shia political analyst eric draitser says that the ruling elites in the region actually mulching to the beat of a different drum. to voice your view in saudi arabia is to stand against anglo american hegemony in the region remember the united states the british the israelis and the western powers have been propping up these regimes for decades and so to popularize ideas that are anti regime is essentially to say that saudi arabia qatar and the various gulf monarchies are not going to be subjected to us hegemony any more saudi arabia has a very repressive police state apparatus that exists in the country and because of that you see a tremendous amount of repression and that repression can very easily escalate into violence we saw a similar situation in bahrain where the the royal family essentially carries out

what what would what could be considered entirely backwards system where people are thrown into prison for tweeting people are thrown into prison for criticizing the regime really what we're looking at is a situation where there it's the pot calling the kettle black the united states and the western powers and their proxies in the middle east are using human rights as a cover when it is convenient and in turn violating human rights when it serves their interests so we can't we can't look at this in any objective terms this is all in the service of anglo-american imperialism in the middle east and in the gulf . as egypt writes new pages in its history pieces of the country's legendary past a slipping away museum looters and to raiders of stepped up their hunt for artifacts the saudis paul asli reports officials say they lack the resources to stop the thieves. egypt's pride and past which is slowly being stolen from its people here at the museum of egyptian antiquities in cairo more than five thousand

years of civilization on display and earthed over the years from the shifting sands with the world's largest collection of fair army pieces and the treasures of king tooting carmen but the ancient world's artifacts are being planted as is this museum and something. looted from the museum. this is not the one of the better down sides of the chaos of last year's bloody uprising on the streets of egypt an outbreak of fifty museums and antique warehouses across the country more than one hundred thousand artifacts are stored in the cairo museum basement alone and at least a million are stored across more than egypt protecting these traitors requires a colossal effort all the more difficult since many police have left the force in the wake of the country's unrest before the revolution where fifty go out of the place the maximum very little can people then to fifty after the motion it became

seventy four hundred people of them that's against the twenty inside it all starts here in the shadow of the permits on your ancient temples in the desert sites here egyptians dig for quick and illegal back it is easy to go deep under the cover of darkness and far from the nearest security guard but many don't even go there far instead turning over the own backyards under the ground in egypt on the every house there are only one so if you want to conclude from million people on the ground. even something as simple as a knife from the times of the pharaohs can sell for up to fifty million dollars on the black market deals are done through a labyrinth of illegal bio's across europe and the united states them an awful lot of money digs happen and vast open places that are difficult for us to talk sense those responsible then leave the country by sea or across the border where we have few police it's impossible to know what's been stolen directly from the ground

whereas we have documented evidence that at least three hundred pieces were stolen from museums since the revolution and so it's estimated that illegal digs have increased one hundred fold in the last year those trying to safeguard egypt's in comparable history feel powerless the country's treasures are falling into the wrong hands and lost to the people forever the egyptian president may have more pressing matters right now but many archaeologists here feel the legacy of the people is surely worth fighting for before it's too late egypt is in a state of flux and while there are many people here worried about its future there just as many worried about preserving its past policy our team kyra. was to have you this i hear naughty words all freedom georgia is how many of such is as one of the world's best young democracies but we hear from those on the inside who tell a very different story. if they shoot

something inappropriate for public they can easily be shot. as it is a war ok. i wish he would have never happened but it has. been a war a t.v. camera becomes an unnecessary what does their own safety all foreign nationals including journalists and inspectors should leave around. and the spear what happens with such witnesses i got a body like. the one that was ready to accept. your version shooting on our. everyone wants to be present. whether they're all on engine driver.

but it might be quite tricky to get a fancy haircut. because you live in siberia. and the only way to get to you is by trying. to. pull started here. for going global and now it's my. log in. to. the right. to choose your place take your stuff. to. make your statement. split up the works on the streets.

here in moscow and at some of the some of the stories making headlines around the globe the cell overnight sectarian clashes between sunni gunmen the alawite rivals in lebanon's northern city of tripoli have wounded eight people and he's fought warning shots trying to disperse the competence before troops were deployed in the area tensions in the country respond months ago by the uprising in neighboring syria with the alawite minority supporting president assad the two countries a tangled web of sectarian connections which easily inflamed. a drive by shooting in southern thailand has killed at least hole soldiers and injured two others the troops who called it by suspected isn't the militants he shot at close range as they were. turning to the base from the patrol the islamist insurgency in the country volatile self erupted in two thousand and four and is left over five thousand dead so many. major police operation on

stan's border with afghanistan as a leaflet as left at least seventeen soldiers dead and forty injured young going offensive was launched on tuesday in an attempt to track down the. police and killed a total of thirty militants and captured forty one some of them reportedly defected from neighboring afghanistan authorities have sealed all border crossing points in the region the only exception provided to nato supply trucks. and severe wildfires have engulfed parts of russia's far east with a state of emergency declared the situation being hampered by extreme temperatures but the feedback in the place say they managed to protect residential areas firefighters work is being held back by poor visibility that prevents the emergency planes and helicopters from making the way to the cities in the region are also envelops and fix small making it difficult for people to bring.

praised for preaching freedom and reform the georgian leadership is cast as a democracy success story both by the western media and by state channels at home but some journalists who work in the country see a completely different picture as a teacher in english go find out. that's exactly what we're seeing in my culture the world in my part of the world you know you are leverage beginner energy by giving people more freedom freedom is the key word find words from the georgian president some western officials like hillary clinton continuously praise me whole circus really for his supposed program of reform but journalists in the country are less impressed and say talk of freedom doesn't extend to the media made at the ng a journalist is now a dangerous profession in georgia there's always a risk of being accused of being a spy journalist get beaten up frequently all of this is happening in front of the entire country. of ourselves the chances are that most people in georgia won't find out about these cases from their evening news according to the latest polls more

than eighty percent of georgians depend on t.v. as their main source of information yet georgians only have free access to three channels all of them controlled by the state one way or the other. but one channel is owned by saakashvili aid another by his friends relative to all people get really is just state controlled propaganda you may think so whatever georgians don't get the full scope of their country's events from the t.v. sets after all there is always the internet but still they have to understand a lot of people here still live in rural areas and for a lot of them the world wide web is simply not available readily at their fingertips independent channels like of cossey or channel nine are available only to those who have satellite dishes and other luxury for most georgians. sometimes i have friends or relatives visiting from other parts of georgia and they watch

these channels and say what is this really happening in this country we knew nothing about it. but operating an independent media outlet isn't easy here journalists say their cash flow has run dry since advertisers were told by authorities to stay away from channels which may be affiliated with the opposition on top of that their every move is being closely watched by authorities here i know that i constantly find myself facing over the top control from local officials i'm always being followed by some strange people who say they're from some unknown news agencies and ask me questions why do we film stories about political prisoners for example the last all just it's about state officials don't feel comfortable coming to us because we ask questions they don't want to answer but state controlled media never ask those questions president saakashvili is a frequent guest on various american t.v. channels but he's never made an appearance on any of the opposition channels at home perhaps it's not so much the questions that he minds is the effect his answers

may have and billy see georgia is an r.t.a. . but we have more stories on the web site of the moment r.t. dot com with the latest news and in-depth analysis waiting for that twenty four seven including the little secret about how the search giant has managed to keep an illegal private data collection that should have destroyed in two thousand and ten your classified information revealed all i. mean how does get hot under the collar of thousands of chinese eco protesters rampage to the coastal city of. all to plug a pipeline find out all the details on that at all to call.

well the impact grabs the headlines these days with the lavish opening ceremony and sports events some say it's just a way to hide from real problems well next our own resident takes to the streets in new york asking whether people share the jubilant olympic spirit that has taken over the british capital. do you really care about the olympics this week let's talk about that are you excited about the olympics i know i'm here. but is it crazy back home because of it yeah and we got out what are you excited about how team usa i hope we go all the way. does that mean we're the best country in the world if we win all the gold medals oh i don't know about people really aren't that into track and field and. you know then the swimming you know the media build up between. phelps and

his rival you know but you don't even know the name of the right man even think of his name on the front just finish tonight. for a minute do you think that the olympics are kind of a way to just distract people from what's really going on might be. problems do you think people remember the names of all the athletes three months after the olympics are done i guess it depends what kind of sponsorships they've got and what advertisements they're doing but yeah if their names are in plays and in lights everywhere yeah they're selling us wheaties yes exactly those athletes yeah they'll be remembered a lot of them probably wouldn't you know i guess a sort all some boss that did push ups. and. push ups that i admired for the olympics. that's in satan so they're trying to yeah they're getting they're getting people excited any way that they can what is why do they do that just for the good of sports i have no idea probably just trying to drum up some more money for the country at that right over here terrorism you know

historically the olympics is something that's always meant to be a unifying action yes so it doesn't that kind of take away from that message of unification when it comes down to just drumming up business ya think. greed is unfortunately taking over the priority of some folks whether or not you care about the olympics the bottom line is that you should be prepared to be bombarded by a lot of media coverage in the coming week. staying with story number one in sports today and then into games which are a perfect chance for the athletes to attract the world's attention not only with their sporting skills but also by flushing less flesh and as honest as checking the found out some of the competitors have been very quick to strip. faster higher stronger bodies built like machines an olympic extravaganza of athletes grace

magazine covers baring it all it would be nice to hate like to not look at these athletes like you know these are special specimens almost members of a different race but these are people just like us they could they could help us strive to do better their superhuman bodies are on display in a competition for attention and personal exposure the olympic gold is not just the the gold at the sleeves when and where but the good old of all these endorsements and all this this ability you know they want to cash in on it's their moment in the sun unfortunately i think that undermines the olympic goal and ideally. the original idea and only two of lettuces and sherman might scrapped the olympic dream and culture now transformed into glossy images of athletes striking a pose in the nude the original olympics were performed completely naked so you could take the case this is turning back to the original form of the olympics in an

ever expanding entertainment culture surrounding the olympics self p.r. is the new tradition and the fifteen minutes of fame an opportunity not to be missed and you've got hundreds of athletes who come back to nothing but a lot of them really look back and say well what do i get out of the last four years i could have made more money being a manager at mcdonald's corp that's one of the biggest sponsors of the olympics is on a journey to send a somewhat confusing message while the athletes are busy promoting their stunning bodies mcdonald's sets up the biggest joint in the world outside the olympic stadium a record one hundred fifty thousand condoms are also being distributed at the olympic village that's roughly fifteen condoms for each athlete some argue sexing up the olympics is slowly racing the true meaning of these historic games the marathon really. became and so and they based it off the great story in regard to peter coming from wyoming you know citizens about basically how the war was ending

with the persians and going twenty five miles in just having bleeding feet and how that inspired the marathon for what it is today. while the aura surrounding the olympics of today's anything but sportsmanship appears to be the last guest joining this party and hearty new york. and it looks like the first gold medals are already being won in london let's check in now with union authorities sports for the. who are the glorious champions on this very first day of the i want to know about more of that last story are fantastic stuff yeah i tell you what athletes from china brazil south korea stand doing the business so far today then not so long ago our russian our son. he shocked the judo fraternity by winning the minus sixty kilogram event he wasn't expected to even get on the podium but he is the champion and we'll have much more on that in iran in

twenty minutes time plus the rest of all the exciting alone pick news things you know and keep a close eye on for. right now in a few minutes we discuss what i thought we discussed how the universe came into existence that's after the headlines coming up here on r.t. stay with us for the.

if they shoot something inappropriate from the public they can easily be shown to accept casualties of war ok. i wish she would have never happened but it has. been a war a t.v. camera becomes an unnecessary what destroys their own safety all foreign nationals including journalists and inspectors should leave iran. and the spear what happens with such witnesses i got him on my site. one where many objects submitted. to the issues shooting on our.