an. today's news on the week's top stories key battle in syria as the rebels and the regime fight for the country's second city while the u. one looks for a new peace envoy kofi annan steps down. facing seven years for storming russia's main draw the trial of the punk band pussy riot defines the country. and protesters in bahrain and saudi arabia are set for mass rallies in their country's night in their home against discrimination by women only .

hello and welcome to our tease of the weekly with me karen tara while the heavy finding raging in syria's second city of aleppo between government and rebel forces could prove decisive in the eighteen month conflict the syrian army's sending thousands more troops and artillery to the front line and damascus the government says it's pushed rebels from their last stronghold but sporadic clashes are ongoing on saturday forty eight iranian pilgrims were kidnapped in the syrian capital video shown by the all robbia news channel allegedly shows man identified as the abducted iranians surrounded by rebel fighters international peace efforts were thrown into turmoil this week when chief mediator kofi anon quit and on the same day it was revealed that president obama all theorized aid to syria's rebels author and

historian gerald horne says western states never wanted a peaceful solution to the conflict. 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 in 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 regime is no more than that either they would like to see regime 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 damascus and then washington will be faced with a replay of what it was up to engineer in afghanistan where it helped to engineer the coming to power of the taliban which opened the door to gain influence of there which led to the tragedy of september eleventh two thousand and one events

unfolding on the streets of syria seem to be laid bare on our t.v. screens but some facts don't always match the have minds from any foreign outlets reports of backing the rebels a sign of the story get top priority over balanced reporting on a boy explains. i shudder i know pursuing a story and joining the camp when a japanese journalist traveling with syrian rebels converted to islam it wasn't just his old name he abandoned. but for those around him he still being someone who reported the conflict he became one of the few camera hanging in place of a rifle. while religious conversion of journalist is rare on the syrian front lines becoming political disciples on one side the rebels is almost the norm for many reporting to the world in the past week of coverage c.n.n. has the earth five packages from the syrian frontlines all detailing the plight of those fighting the government and while the regime is always come down to for its

use of force against the militants is a government monster killings by the rebels barely get a mansion what happened to the go you capture this room he died the rebel commander says god willing he went to hell usually open and talkative syrians are now afraid of cameras those who agree to be interviewed often ask for their faces or names not to be shown for fear of reprisals satellite dishes or household commodity syrians do watch western coverage of the conflict and many feel that their concerns their fears the losses are intentionally. but you don't you're not getting this it was you know what this is not really even first time i've been able to come to syria you know why you might want to get away before you don't have a visa. we've been waiting for a visa you know you're sort of there with you can come to syria and get these are the usual claim that the syrian government doesn't let western reporters into the

country is not accurate currently there are around eighty foreign media outlets accredited in syria a sizeable number of them european or american but there dispatches are not always welcomed at home christiane is an independent belgian writer. india want to bring a certain picture about syria. the evil. the use of force or selective editing is hardly a new invention the war war's has long become a cliche but in syria one sided coverage keeps the war going and shooting for t.v. really kills. journalism schools no longer teach their students to be objective it's considered impossible rather they're told to strive for balance and integrity and to put humanistic values at buffalo to go but syria is once again a special case in this bloody conflict western media rarely hear it calls for

reconciliation or political dialogue rather it's for arming the rebels and what they were also known as freedom fighters to go on summer break artsy reporting from syria on monday and moscow court began hearing the case of russian female punk group pussy riot the three women are being tried for staging an anti stunt in the capital's main cathedral in february archies jacob graves is following the trial that's dividing russian society. 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 or testimonies been very emotional much of the time she usually been involving those who are witnessing the events of day back to favoring price a victory for the sure the so called home prayer how it was 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 and six occasions called for the judge to be are placed on different grounds some of them including that there should detention 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 attracted 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 will rule with a just decision if the bonds let's say defiled

a sacred place in israel they would have to cope with some tough guys there are many of them would face difficulties from attempting to leave the country is ready for example they went to the caucuses and a feast a muslim shrine security wouldn't have enough time to protect them from public anger. nevertheless i don't think we should judge them too strictly on them and i hope they've made some important conclusions themselves anyway the final decision rests with the court and we're going to get a bit lonely of who is in a sense she 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. so i have for you this hour why dermody as going to extremes. it's not a sinner who is your enemy but rather the politicians who are at the wheel of the

country later on a look at why there was a spike in anti immigrant anger in europe's richest nation. and clinton keeping a check on china r.t. asks what's really behind the american secretary of state's major tour of africa. chad protesters in bahrain and saudi arabia are set for mass rallies in their countries united in their call against what they see as discrimination by the ruling elite activists are also demanding the release of political prisoners crackdowns on dissent has been gathering force in the gulf states a teenage protester and a soldier work killed in clashes in saudi arabia on friday it's the latest violence and the country's predominantly shiite katyn free agent in bahrain dozens of equal rights activists were injured as security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at them video leaked online allegedly shows government mercenaries driving cars at

demonstrators middle east expert dr yunus believes the international community ignores the events in the gulf states because they are western allies. everybody is focused now on syria and the hotspots in. the fight between regional powers and also greater powers in the region so sold arabia and bahrain because because they are on the side of let's say the strongest part in this conflict i would be in shielded from any criticism or or trying to be portrayed as if they are right as they are moderate and it is significantly happening which is of course not the truth it's new you are to say when the international community can react the international community has the chance to be. when the formula one grand prix was organized in behind and were testers and many civil rights activists around the world called for his cancellation but nothing happened. and fortunately

money and oil and interests go first before human rights i think what might trigger something in as you said is probably when things get sour probably arms being used and then the conflicts get worse maybe in that case it's actually community will be force even if it's not willing to go towards bahrain and saudi arabia. we've got plenty more stories for you at r.t. dot com here's what's lined up there right now fishy karen radiations discovered in marine life and seawater all japan anti-nuclear protests there showed no sign of slowing. down roving around the red planet a two point five billion dollar attempt to look for life on mars.

and agree. with your. claim by forty acres and nineteen ninety three and decided it would be a great place to find they build a home and retire. there she is. we call it our new neighbor neighbor nine o seven. we have seventy acres here and i can convince them that they need to drill somewhere besides two hundred feet from our. needs of a growing economy also means expanding our domestic production of oil and natural gas which are vital fuel for transportation electricity and manufacturing this is

before any problems with it before we do the right people and then us change. you know our flows are not toxic and we did a lot of there's a lot of mis understanding of what x. actually in these fluids. times is it you can load here in the lab you come over here and live in my house for a week. i have no rights. thanks

for joining r.t. it's thirty minutes past the hour and joining us on just lawyer says he has information to suggest washington as advancing proceedings to extradite the whistleblower for leaking secret u.s. cables the wiki leaks editor fears he will face torture or even execution and deported mother isn't awkward or campaigning for her son's asylum there she exclusively told r.t. that american politicians are gunning for revenge from the beginning. from the u.s. from politicians and from. news coming. with screaming out for his mood in the most brutal way. they seem to be. built up all on how they were feeling . calling out to the full force of mood and so i think it's myself and still in the last few weeks there's been a focus is this entire because folks these. fallen who was screaming out julian six

occasion this is somebody who is known for. his done nothing more than any good in this egregious which is to get. his money doing the work for. watch our exclusive interview with christina songe at r.t. dot com on wednesday ecuador's president assured her his country's decision on asylum while not being influenced by any external pressure he making its editor has been holed up in at what appears at the same london now for six weeks now he's wanted in sweden over sex crime allegations which he denies and says that a pretext to hand him over to the u.s. anti-war activists down the barclays a songe would not get a fair trial in the states. well they're not interested in questioning him they're interested in you know obtaining control of his person and i think he correctly assesses that that's so he can be forwarded to the united states there are currently three actions the world already brought in u.s.

federal courts against assad and they are all nominally this missed but the most recent one the court allowed that upon service upon that the action could go forward so there's a ready legal activity that could give the u.s. a foot into the swedish courts there's a history of this kind of game playing with sweden and extradition that the sun is very correct to be cautious of what's going on those who are whistleblowers have come under particular attack from this administration from the obama administration in fact much greater attack than even the bush administration was able to muster on whistleblowers earlier so the outlook is not good for a songe as one of the preeminent whistleblowers of our time this country in general is hostile to the idea of free speech and particularly disclosure of state secrets particularly when they reveal that the government has been doing illegal things so i don't think that the prospects for a fair trial are very good at all. so coming up for you on the program of the army

draft dilemma arab israelis can now find themselves intentionally called up for service in the i.d.f. principle. grounded us traders. far right nationalist movements are gaining ground in germany along with an upsurge in attacks on immigrants it's being linked to the growing number of foreign workers attracted to europe's economic powerhouse peter all of our reports on how today's anger has spent decades taking root. this sleepy town in saxony seems i 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 and those working for him suffered abuse and attacks the hands of local views on police over 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. right wing violence on the streets of germany 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 to to europe's current financial predicament we could see

a similar rise again i would these are problematic today we have facing developments in the old part of the germany a lack of jobs leads to helplessness and despair which are the men 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 if they can go education is only part of this problem the need citing as a how to pay more attention to it. there needs to be more options for cultural integration especially for young people germany's far right national democratic party or in p d that faced 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 i mean 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 twice used throwing rocks through my window years. as even germany's robust economy starts to really feel the pinch of the eurozone crisis there are concerns that we could see a further rights and social problems in the countries areas. between all of the. journey. some of today's world news embry for us our car bombing in a residential area in southwest pakistan has killed five people and wounded at these town halls fact and our women and children police say the militants vehicle exploded before reaching hasn't turned the target cities in a deeply deprived area bordering afghanistan and iran. a

kurdish attack on a turkish military outpost has killed at least nineteen people close to the iraqi border the rebels fired rockets at troops and a midnight assault turkey then scrambled fighter jets to seek out the attackers clashes happen on the rise in the area over the past year as kurds seek an autonomous homeland in a violent struggle that started in nineteen eighty-four. public anger in israel over living conditions have again drawn thousands out in protest in tel aviv this time it was sparked by new austerity measures and tax hikes at a time when many israelis feel sidelined by the government spending more money on military and settlements prime minister netanyahu is approval ratings are at record lows the protests began last summer and as well as several clashes two people set themselves on fire to show their desperation. china summoned a u.s.

diplomat in protest to add to criticism of beijing's new military garrison and the south china sea it's believed to be aimed at strengthening of china's control over a potentially oil rich islands and the betterly disputed maritime region territorial claims pick china against u.s. ally the philippines as well as vietnam china's growing influence has also got america all neuron enough to counter it secretary of state hillary clinton is there on an eleven day marathon toward the continent's of the next big economic battleground with its resource rich and fast growing nations the editor of the pan-african news wire believes washington fears being eclipsed by its powerful asian rival. when hillary clinton went to africa last year she expressed some trepidation about the growing relationship between africa and the people's republic of china but it appears as if most of the states in africa 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 and natural gas in east africa off the coast of east africa and these of course are providing you new opportunities for the people's republic of china to enter into economic partnerships 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 china being branded as a traitor while pursuing equality as an option many arab israelis soon might face they've been exempt from having to serve in the israeli defense forces but now find themselves summoned to the military policy or reports. a monument to israel's fallen look more closely and you will see many of the names are of arab soldiers fighters who joined an army that many of their birth one here called the enemy. but in meetings like this across the country the mood is changing most arab israelis are saying no to being drafted into the israeli defense forces the issue is up for debate as is where we've used current military draft laws that allow orthodox jews and arabs to avoid national service. the israeli military wants to make a serve not because they need us because we want to control the arab state of mind and divide us. in time for the army generals who call it our teenagers and against

whom will they fight against our arab and palestinian brothers. but remarkably some arabs actually choose to serve in the last two years those volunteering for the i.d.f. doubled to four hundred. i volunteered because this is my home where and i don't have another land and i live here and so i feel it's my responsibility to contribute to the country without the right of of them led super's two brothers also serve an idea if it means their family has been branded traitors people who have sold out to the enemy for money. i'm not a traitor i am an israeli arab i think it's high time that the arabs of israel shoulders some of the responsibility and volunteer for the army i'm not saying there's no races no provision but chill me a country that's perfect. the i.d.f. is working hard to recruit from the ranks of the country's one and a half million arabs one of the recruiters is colonel ram is made from the druze

minority. when the i.d.f. is composed of the full spectrum of israeli citizens becomes a more moral army but the issue of culture is very significant that we are so-called disconnecting the soul just from their culture and immersing them in another call. which is israeli integration is difficult. but the voices of criticism from within the arab community are loud not in a shift says the i.d.f. is an occupying force and those arabs who choose to serve in it cross the line you cannot ask me to serve them well then why are you going to scream either i mean doesn't go like this of us for the whole community says a. bad thing to do not appreciate the with the towel nor the citric spy on august the first arab israelis and ultra-orthodox jews who until now have been exempt from military service may find themselves forced to do so regardless of their beliefs each israeli prime minister has said to the arab community first

serve in the army and then you will be treated as equals but arab israelis are asked what kind of equality is it when regardless of whether they serve in the army or not israeli jews will always be more equal than them r.t. tell of of in a few minutes the latest highlights from london twenty twelve the air our sports round up and why americans are in a sickly state about their health and well that's after our weekly headlines coming up.

more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images. from the streets of kenya that. corporations are.

new to the site. radioactive fallout of government betrayal of the government. everything laws and lawyers and claude how can the truth be revealed if there's no official evidence there was indeed a very bright day to the servicemen concerned who were given no problem protection and to the people of this country generally because of the right deal like the full . the secrets of the u.k. nuclear tests exclaims.