how. important. the latest news in the week's top stories in syria the decisive battle for aleppo is escalating as international peace efforts stumble with mediator coffee and on heading for the exit. the trial of the russian punk group pussy riot evokes a chorus of responses from all around the world three members could spend up to seven years in prison for performing in and todd stand in the country's main cathedral. and to regime protests are gathering force in the gulf region with saudi arabia's crackdown on protestors claiming more lives plus dozens were arrested and injured in clashes in bahrain this week.

hello and welcome to the weekly with me karen terror chain well in syria hundreds of people have reportedly been killed this weekend fierce fighting between government and rebel forces the battle for the country's most populated city is ask what the insurgents making a crucial stand they now claim to control more than half of aleppo's districts throws more troops sent tanks at the frontline fresh fighting has also been reported and damascus where forty eight aronian been kidnapped by the rebels accuse them of being militia men international peace efforts have suffered a setback after a mediator kofi anon threw in the towel while the un general assembly passed a resolution that slammed the security council for failing to unite to solve the

conflict author and historian gerald horne thinks western powers don't want a peaceful solution to syria. it's well known that washington basically has perfected the idea of a two truck foreign policy that is to say on the one hand you talk and smile when the other hand and mike in the back that's basically what's happening in syria all of this blather about negotiations with the outside regime is no more than that either they would like to see we've seen change although as usual i don't think washington has caught up with the consequences that is to say that there is a real danger that al-qaeda like forces will be coming to power sooner rather than later in the schools and then washington will be faced with a replay of what if helped engineer in afghanistan where it helped engineer the coming to power of the taliban which opened the door to gain influence there which led to the tragedy of september eleventh two thousand and one but the syrian death

toll mounting bolts sides are increasingly forced to bolster their ranks with inexperienced and amateur fighters but many of the young blooded recruits are still willing to die for the cause expecting to be glorified as martyrs reports young minds burning hearts bad blood while the syrian conflict often comes across as a power struggle of grown man on the ground many of those who fight and die are in their late teens early twenty's. this group of snipers operates in a deserted town forty kilometers southwest of homes twice a day de gaulle to shell a syrian army checkpoint near by omar's twenty three he left his family in dubai to join their prizing. to support the young fighters and to feel their pain and to experience was very experiencing on the ground and to help the operation. while

their weapons are becoming more sophisticated. most say they want to become martyrs and their deaths their younger brothers. killed but those they're aiming at not much at a military hospital in damascus the supply of coffins has been passed in forty eight hours by the syrian authorities do you know it really is an illiterate just so all indications are that over the past few months it has increased dramatically here in damascus main military hospital soldiers and officers just the last two days in the beginning of the uprising the soldiers were laid to rest through the sounds of a stolen a march but if you days ago a military band was. now the burial site conducted in silence and then. nineteen year old who is an army conscript was tasked with making bodies into classrooms he was working in his uncle small shop and i love you for being drafted

a year ago. no i am not afraid to die i would do all that to be in the place of my fallen comrades and to become a martyr defending my country it's every man's duty. another nineteen year old lies in a coffin just a few steps away he was the victim of a sniper near homes but unlike many in syria he's father and uncle i'm not calling for revenge. we just want peace. jesus all the process calls for peace we need. marching them has long been glorified in muslim countries but it's also one of the reasons why the conflict in syria has been so protracted and so deadly when the youngsters profess readiness to die for their cause they usually even more ready to kill for it's not artsy damascus syria coming up here on our team a few minutes and ugly trend. it's not the bad seller who is your enemy but rather

the politicians who are at the wheel of the country look at the spike of anti immigrant anger in germany and just to get what's behind it. also extradition or asylum the fate of the wiki leaks editor julian assange hangs in the balance with critics saying u.s. secrecy leaves him in limbo find out more on this story coming up in about five minutes here on our. three members of the russian female punk group went on trial on monday for staging an anti poor stunt and the capital's main cathedral in february hearings lasted all week before being adjourned for the weekend parties jacob groups reports. throughout the course of the week this trial and its proceedings have been somewhat dominated by the prosecution they've mainly been having the opportunity to call witnesses to the stand and testimonies been very emotional much of the time she been involving those who are witnessing the

events that date back to fair bring price a victory for the sure the so called home prayer now as politically motivated but it took place in a very sacred and religious spots the symbolic head of the russian orthodox church as such is offended many of the believers out of fairness have been very outspoken throughout the course of proceedings this week if and six occasions called for the judge to be are placed on different grounds some of them including that their attention facilities the conditions of which they're being detained at the moment amounts allegedly to torture of being upright food access to drinking water and sleep as well they also think the judge isn't allowing them is preventing them from properly cross-examining the prosecution's witnesses so far in this trial so there's also this issue tract of the art of many human rights organizations international musicians as well calling for the release of pussy riot members and

it's been some it's galvanized the international press and most lately we've heard from the president speaking out on this issue. as well i hope the court to rule with a just decision in the room if the bonds let's say defiled a sacred place in israel who drove a vehicle sometimes guys learn from the other one do these difficulties in attempting to leave your country union was really for example one of the accomplices and the priest a muslim shrine security wouldn't have enough time to protect them from the public anger. nevertheless i don't think we should judge them too strictly on them and i hardly need some importance when cousens themselves anyway the final decision rests with the colts so we're not going to get into a clone of who's in a century calling for some degree of leniency when it comes this trial and perhaps the most controversial part of it so far has been the potential prison sentence that could await these three defendants on charges of hooliganism that's

potentially for seven years if the maximum sentence or to be handed out. and you can always follow up on our stories that are t. dot com we've got plenty more in store for you there including israel is flexing its military muscles by grading its ballistic missile shield and what the country's neighbors have to say about it on our web site. plus the white house scrambles to explain the latest photo of barack obama it's now twelve he was talking on the phone about a delicate international issue head to our t.v. dot com for details. here with r.t. and i'm minutes past the hour and a protester and a soldier been killed in a shoot out between anti regime demonstrators and an army patrol in saudi arabia

it's the latest violence in the country's qatif region that's home to minority shi'ite muslims who demand social reforms the opposition has been calling for an end to discrimination by the sunni monarchy since march last year and a neighboring both brain activists say dozens have been arrested after an evening riot on thursday the clash left forty five people injured after security officers used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters who were demanding political freedom and an end to the old rule human rights activist saeed hadi almost always says the nation's government closes its eyes to the real concerns of the people. the problem though they all sort of always sought to change the subject and saying there was. only additions crimes against them. on the other. but by only do you. know who the trying to use.

against the people saying go they are trying to. to control the security in the country the problem they don't listen to the opposition demands they don't looking forward to a real dialogue and. truthful dialogue let's say they are trying to disappear from this angle the coals of these violations against human rights is the politics issues which is monarchy and domination of all the. sectors of authorities like judicial authority and. the others. coming up on r t the art of throwing money out of the window. find out how much washington wasted and cannot account for after cashing in to

reconstruct iraq and afghanistan. now learn about the misfortunes of the white minority in south africa today become the surprised victims of the long haul war on a par thought. a former top spanish judge who is now representing julian assange has said he has information to suggest proceedings and washington's are advancing to have his client extradited for spilling u.s. secrets fears he will face torture and even execution if deported and his lawyer believes the case is politically motivated they work in leaks editor took refuge in ecuador's embassy in london over six weeks ago breaking his bail terms to request asylum he's wanted in sweden over sex crime allegations which he denies he says they're a pretext to hand him over to the u.s. to face trial over leaking secret cables meanwhile the whistleblowers mother

christina songe met ecuador's president on wednesday were short of her the country's decision or not be influenced by external pressure in an exclusive interview she told r.t. that u.s. politicians are still gunning for revenge over wiki leaks painful revelations from the beginning. from the us from politicians and from. news commentary. screaming out. in the most brutal way. they seem to be. all in how they were feeling. calling out to google all of this is moving in so i'm sure you can get some insight into the still in the last few weeks there's been a focus you see this in terms of because folks these who hate the most violent who was screaming you know julian secure this is somebody who is on the road. and he's done nothing more than including this egregious we do is to lose one doing the old

school. and you can watch marty's exclusive interview with christina songe on our website r.t. dot com also former us songe lawyer jennifer robinson says america has given no indication they're not interested in prosecuting him even though it could be done easily we have requested the a straight in government to ask the very same assurances that we're now seeing ecuador in accordance with their obligations in investigating the political asylum application but it is a great shame this is to my knowledge the first time in history than a straight in citizen has sought refuge with a foreign government because our government refused to take the action which was legally possible for a government to take many suspect that there is an existing sealed indictment for julian and that they simply waiting for the appropriate time to exercise it was to implement that indictment as a matter of u.s. law as a criminal offense to reveal the existence of a sealed indictment but what the u.s. government has not done in which he's available to them that if they are not interested as the u.s. ambassador states then it would be a simple matter for the u.s.

attorney general to say explicitly to confirm that the criminal investigation is over and that no charges will be laid and no extradition request would be made but they have so far failed to do so. far right nationalist movements and parties humble also and in germany along with an upsurge in attacks on immigrants nationwide analysts say it's linked to the growing number of foreign workers being attracted to europe's economic powerhouse but as peter all over reports germans should have more reason to be angry at their own government. this sleepy town in saxony seems idyllic however even here right wing extremists have made life hell for people who came to this country to set up businesses mohammed came to this town in the east of germany from pakistan to open a pizzeria he and those working for him suffered abuse and attacks the hands of local youths on by police every time we called the police and the police came every

time we called them but until now they haven't found anyone they threaten to kill us and now we have a real fear that we cannot continue like this anymore. the pizzeria is now closed after the last attack in early may mohammed explained to me how a group aged between eighteen and twenty five gathered outside the shop near closing time they broke windows and taunted the terrified staff telling them to go home a small explosive device was detonated which fortunately didn't cause any injuries but means the pizzeria is having to undergo an expensive refit i mean. the country saw a rise in extremist violence after reunification in one thousand eight hundred nine followed by an economic slump in the east which caused people to look to the far right and the fascist campaign as a warning that jus to europe's current financial predicament we could see a similar rise again our d. is a problem i think today we have facing developments in the i would part of the germany

a lot of jobs leads to helplessness and despair which are the main ingredients the trend is young handsome flour right ideology. there is a belief among activists down the issue of right wing extremism is being ignored by large numbers of the german people. education is only part of this problem of the need citing as a how to pay more attention to it that there needs to be more options for cultural integration especially for young people. germany's far right national democratic party or n.p. de effaced calls for them to be banned from politics the n.p.t. say that they are vehemently opposed to any organization carrying out violent attacks and are working with young people to try and educate them on the don't loiter our message to young people who come to our seminars is that it's not the kabab center who is your enemy but rather the politicians who are at the wheel of the country and whether those words words reopen mohammed's pizzeria is isn't the

only business in this town to face this type of attack but. i came here seven years ago from vietnam and i've been targeted choice use throwing rocks through my window years by as even germany's robust economy starts to really feel the pinch of the eurozone crisis there are concerns that we could see a device and social problems in the countries areas. between all of the. genii. here as all others say more than two hundred million dollars are wasted by washington on a police training program in iraq the money was used to bell to facilities and the post conflict country but both ended up being on wanted by baghdad the revelations add to a recent for poor theft just a villianous were spent in vain or went missing during the reconstruction of iraq officials have met the precise amount lost to fraud and waste can never be known if

sums are reportedly also being squandered on rebuilding another country the u.s. invaded afghanistan anti-war activists jason day it says washington's quick to spend money abroad without thinking. in afghanistan we've got the same problems we have in iraq but we also have the problems of government corruption being much worse throwing money at it with very little idea where it's going to go or if those programs are going to be successful is it is just a recipe for that money being stolen or wasted or just disappearing a lot of these programs that just sort of get added ad hoc to say the occupation in iraq or the occupation in afghanistan the administration will come up with something that they think is the reason why the war is going so well and they'll throw some money at that and very rarely do they ever consider if that program is

even needed or wanted so hundreds of millions of dollars go wasted time now for other news in brief or even hour. at least nineteen people have been killed after kurdish rebels stormed a border post in turkey's south eastern hook cari province the army and mediately launched a counter offensive on the militants with jets bombing their escape routes violence has recently intensified in turkey southeast with kurds seeking autonomy in the region several thousands of kurdish rebels are believed to be based in hideouts in neighboring iraq. a suicide bombing at a funeral has left forty two people dead and more than thirty injured in yemen's southern city of jar the attack reportedly targeted local militiamen who had been siding with the army during their offensive against al qaida insurgents for this year the blast came only hours after a u.s. drone attack killed five suspected members of the islamist militant group in the country's east. egypt's president mohamed morsi has praised the army

for its role in the run up to his presidency and his speech before hundreds of troops in the military council his words mark an attempt to compromise with the military which took control after the ousting of president mubarak last year the generals still hold legislative rights and powers to draft the country's constitution which they granted themselves just hours after the presidential elections in may. well the. rainbow colored flags have been flying brightly in the capital of vietnam as hundreds attended its first ever gay pride parade demonstrators across the city in style bicycles and motorcycles shouting slogans in support of gay marriage this comes as the vietnamese ministry of justice proposed adding same sex couples to the country's marriage law all the legislation would make vietnam the first asian country to allow gay couples to join in

matrimony and adopt children. the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is in africa for an eleven day marathon across the continent which kicked off on tuesday in senegal promoting democratic values and washington's commitment to partnerships with african nations or highlighted as the key objectives many analysts however believe washington's concern over china's growing influence on the continent is what's actually pushing the obama administration towards action clinton warned of the consequences of striking foreign business deals that take advantage of africa's vast natural resources while she never directly mentioned the asian economic giant and her statements beijing was quick to head back saying it's none of washington's business the editor of the pan african newswire by you'll meet a few weeks says the secretary of state made it lately clear when she was driving at. one hundred clinton went to africa last year she expressed some

trepidation about the growing relationship between africa and the people's republic of charter but it appears as if most of the states. have a very positive view of the burgeoning relationships between the african states and china and i think this is something that's very very frustrating for the united states the u.s. has been heavily dependent upon all that comes from various parts of africa. there has been huge discoveries just recently of both oil and natural gas in east africa off the coast of east africa and these of course are providing new opportunities for the people's republic of china to enter into economic partnership with africa and because of the economic crisis in the united states it's going to pose a challenge to the u.s. state department i don't believe that hillary clinton is going to be successful and discouraging this growing relationship between africa and china in fact she may

bring about some resentment for involving herself in the internal affairs of africa and africa as a relationship with. the dark days of apartheid and it's just combination of the black population and south africa will soon be remembered only from history books but twenty years on since the system division was overthrown some of the countries minority white population feel the long battle for human rights has gone too far leading to reverse discrimination policy or investigates once the color of all to start and skin was the key to the good life here and now she is merely part of another forgotten face of the new south africa white homeless and unemployed. feels like everybody forgot about us all too as one of a growing number of concept africans living a hop skip and a jump from sleeping on the streets who will be positions amount to

a bed and some clothes to waste on handouts from charities and churches sometimes she goes without food for days. there are always places was the go door since stuff like that and it's now just walk into a place there's no got forwards when south africa held its first democratic elections eighteen years ago it marked the end of apostates separation between whites and blacks but what was once it was black people in this country who were discriminated against today its white south africans were falling through the cracks. in the days of apartheid impoverished white afrikaners were cradled by the state the national party came to power in one nine hundred forty eight on a wave of africana nationalism one of its election promises was to guarantee afrikaans peking south africans employment subsidized housing education jobs and state benefits it left the black population out in the cold there used to be a big model clause created by the system in south africa.

that created. sorry for haven for people since one thousand nine hundred forty new government has carried out policies aimed at favoring black employees in a bid to do away with the imbalance of the past what this means is that white people are often overlooked when applying for jobs college bursaries and public positions in this brave but often unsettling new south africa there are many who feel washed up and unwanted forty year old irene funny has lived here with her husband and four children for six years she suffers from the pain of arthritis which makes it difficult for her to walk she calls the government's well meaning policies little short of reverse racism and many many many many. grandfathers and grandmothers was against. it i was staying. and they were staying in houses got everything and now it's out then restarting in

chests and. this abandoned caravan park is home for now it lends those on the fringes of society a place to sleep but even this shaky safe haven is under threat the owners of this land are fighting in court to move off the people people as they get nothing nothing nothing there and lot of work go to a place to go they've got. nothing that's the other thing yes. fifty million people live in south africa one in nine is white and very many of them are struggling try telling that to the millions of black south africans living in grinding poverty but for people like al to start and it is a depressing comedown all she can see in the land of her birth is a door slamming in her face forever. the mother the war. and put us in more. except the hope that one day a door will open instead of slam. krugersdorp south africa so with

are to be back for a recap of our top stories in just a few moments. everyone wants to be pretty. whether they're an old lady own engine driver.

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