locked and loaded the massive syrian military force allegedly prepares a final assault to crush the defined rebel stronghold and i left also. the troll a female punk group pussy riot and does its second week the trio stand accused of hooliganism and could face up to seven years even prison for anti the protests that took place in russia may be joining us for the latest in just a few moments. and exactly here is his last august destructive riots said london ablaze our correspondent best to gauge whether authorities have done enough to avoid a repeat. the most sophisticated rover nasa's adverse

sent to mars lands and sends back images from its mission to explore the possibility of life on the red planet but russia lending a helping hand. to what you are going to live for moscow ten am and the russian capital on marina joshie in syria the government's reportedly massing tens of thousands of troops and columns of tanks around the commercial capital aleppo firing between rebels and loyalist has been raging inside the city for a week and activists fear a massive blitzkrieg style assault by the regime is about to begin the entrenched insurgents claim they control more than half of aleppo as district the government's already pushed the last rebel forces from the capital damascus after three weeks of fighting there as both sides rally reinforcements warred numbers of al qaida linked

fighters are reportedly bolstering the opposition's ranks and these groups are being supported by the u.s. despite their extreme views and intentions as guy next to count now reports. hokkaido has infiltrated into the syrian opposition forces and his power there is growing i spoke with one of america's leading experts on counterterrorism and he told me that all kind of is effectively exploited the revolutions in the region they're well armed having moved his cut off his arms stockpile and they're now taking advantage of the crisis in syria six months from now they could be. a major force opposition hope blocking force. concerns about the growing al qaeda presence in syria or well echoed here in washington but right now we've used more as an argument to justify a foreign intervention the reality is that the u.s. has already intervened to this just come to light that president obama reportedly signed a secret order earlier this year authorizing the cia and other agencies to provide

support to the rebels in syria but there was no information on the extent and the recipients of that support reports on the ground show that various extremist groups are doing the fighting in turn brought in a wave of suicide bombing sturman intelligence as a tribute to the least ninety terror attacks to all caught in such serious since december most recently i went to a senate hearing on syria and the sense that i got was that there is there still is no fool understanding of who the syrian opposition forces consist of but nonetheless there is fighting that could tie to provide them with weapons whether overtly or covertly that's another matter of discussion what we need to do is assess ok which groups could we arm and should we arm at what point and make that decision and i think that we're actually at that decision u.s. group that supports the free syrian army has received a waiver from the u.s. treasury department authorizing it to provide financial and logistical support to the armed rebels in syria it's called the syrian support group based in this

building in downtown washington they just moved day and it's the building it's just been renovated so the money will be channeled to the syrian rebels through this group how much money and how it will be distributed those questions remain unanswered. get the chance to ask the group about details of this newly open support channel because they never return our calls i want to go back to the senate hearing that i attended the experts invited to testify were asked about what the direct u.s. interest is in the fall of saddam this would be a decisive blow for the islamic republic of iran i can't emphasize that enough and i think that is in our interests to roll back iranian influence where we find it is not a more effective i think to put the arena and threat in some perspective and reduce its pressure on israel to flip syria in this urge to syria if you will us maybe helping those who never wanted a peaceful solution for syria in the first place and one of the elements of the

forces. which thrives in a civil war environment in washington i'm going to. well so the comma program refusing to kill or be killed the syrian government faces of personnel crisis as some young men dodge the military draft we have the details in just a few minutes. and tan chan's heat out in asia pacific china watches out of washington for criticizing its new military garrison and the disputed waters of the south china sea. the trial of the female punk group pussy riot and her is its second week three women are being tried for staging an anti put in stand in the country's main orthodox cathedral in february artie's jake agree is reports from outside the court. second week of this trial has now begun and has proven quite lengthy in proceeding so far and that's because we've only just heard from

the defense they've only just had the opportunity on friday to cool to the stand there eyewitnesses it's a trial that's been somewhat dominate his so far by the prosecution from their eyewitness his testimony has been very heartfelt and emotional at times normal with us the defense has been very active throughout proceedings throughout the course of last week's trial held up some of the proceedings as well they have all six occasions now called for the judge residing over this trial to be replaced and asked for a number of reasons ranging from not being able to fully cross-examine the prosecution's eyewitnesses down to the treatment the detention conditions of these three defendants they're being kept in custody those on both sides of the fence have been very vocal when it comes to this trial and the way before them dating back to when these three defendants who initially taken into custody about five months ago now to understand why this is cause such outrage deference and where it took place now there had been demonstrations taking place involving the pussy riot group

beforehand this one was located in the russian russia's main hall the docks cathedral christ savior feature of this war outraged many offenders we heard from testimony from the course of last week but equally our a should be in those who have called what's transpired politically motivated trial based think at least people shouldn't be facing time in prison that is just and a ministry of crime if anything and that should be replaced by a fine or something else now when it comes to those we've got human rights organizations international resistance who've been increasingly outspoken on this issue most lately though someone who's spoken out has been pushing russia's president and he called for some degree of leniency when it comes to this trial that's indeed in reference past when the most controversial points of this. so far because what they're trying to find out at the moment is whether or not what they did back in february the so-called punk prayer was

a criminal offense more than that whether or not it deserves the charge of hooliganism which could mean they face up to seven years in prison. this summer a london is rattling in its row as a one picks host but it was a different story exactly a year ago when the city was engulfed by a mass street violence and looting riots shook the british capital for almost a week undermining the authorities who failed to restore control arches or isthmus looks at whether lessons were learned. rioting looting disorder these were the explosive scenes on the streets in towns and cities in england last august shops and warehouses attacked and torched by out of control youth and adults alike a situation the police took days to bring on to control a year on and on the surface all is well damaged buildings have been rebuilt or boarded up and people are going about their business again but they go

a little deeper and areas like here in tottenham where the riots started are still troubles and the underlying issues which caused the riots remain unresolved tottenham's m.p. says his community pulled together in the aftermath but it minutes trouble could break out again on employment is up and it's also true to say that business is on the high road all still struggling a many of them had very poor pavements under the rug damages act that was made to assist them in a double dip recession that hits the poorest communities hardest so you know it's one of those situations where yes we must be positive and hopeful but it's a fragile a fragile situation for us here in the last year numerous studies have been conducted into why the unrest became so intense and so widespread what began with anger over the fatal shooting by police of tottenham on mark duggan became

a spark that ignited a powder keg of disadvantage boredom and a dysfunctional relationship with the police something social justice. campaign elite just says has not been addressed and employment is going up generally. in the country we're seeing closure after closure of youth facilities and services school services are being caught and i think all of that with more aggressive. policing which which amounts to zero tolerance policing means that takes only a matter of time and not so much if but when in the aftermath of the violence communities banded together to clear up their streets but many accuse the government not only of ignoring the root causes but of making problems worse but working class families oxfam says the poorest ten percent of society will suffer thirteen times more from austerity cuts than the richest tenth and fifty six

percent of young black men in britain are unemployed people in riots hit hackney like to think it won't happen again but are aware that it could belongs. to all those people. and give something. to keep them busy and they're. going to get work somehow believe well i think it will take many to trust the work situation and that picking people up for the benefit well. i'm back on the board so i'm going to happen again quite the same way but i don't think anything's going to just knowing it's very well for these people the fuse is still a light the fear is when and what will trigger the next explosion in their neighborhoods laura smith r.t. london. we followed every event as london was sliding into unrest last summer our extensive coverage from the scene and the most an eye catching images are still

available now website. and today we have also online a priceless legacy can. gary insiders say an army of over two hundred fifty moms from the eighteenth century obeidi answer to curing tuberculosis we explain why that can be helpful. and a reuters blog is shut down after the appearance of several fake posts on the crisis in syria attributed to the news agencies journalist speculation on it who might have been behind the attack at our dot com. foreign ministers of the six gulf arab nations say they'll meet next month to discuss prospects for closer integration the countries most of which are sunni

marquees hope to counter a possible threat coming from the uprisings that hit some of them over the past year saudi arabia may have largely scaife the turmoil but it's continuing a crackdown on protesters demanding social and political reforms the opposition there has been calling for an end to discrimination since march twenty seventh of the six countries bahrain was hit hardest by an uprising this killed at least six people early last year dozens of demonstrators were arrested and wounded last week after security officers use tear gas and stun grenades to disperse them i am aco watcher from the bahrain center for human rights says western countries are more than willing to were a local human rights problems their golf alec's. will definitely continue to do what we do which is documenting human rights violations will continue to reach out

to the international community it does seem like we are making a little bit of progress since there was a joint statement that was made at the human rights council during the last session signed on by twenty seven different countries of course the united states and the united kingdom did not it's not signed on or will keep pushing and hopefully it will will start getting to a situation where there is more pressure to stop human rights violations and as long as the bridge even behind his back by people like saudi arabia i think it's going to be difficult to the regimes in the gulf have longstanding relations with the western countries and as long as they can all mix and cute geopolitical interests come before human rights it's going to be difficult sway them to create pressure or stop human rights violations and we're seeing that in many different examples with the double standards that are being practiced i mean you don't see the same response to the situation in yemen for example the way you do in other countries like for example syria unfortunately does seem that you know supporting human rights comes in the form of interests they support human rights when it's in

their interest to do so and then they will not support human rights when it's not in their interest. well the most sophisticated mars rover ever has started to see and its first pictures and tweets back from the red planet after successfully landing on the surface it will examine the planets to determine whether it has conditions suitable for humans to survive there a russian hydrogen and water detector installed on the craft will help answer that very question well the long journey which began in a vampire a last year concluded on schedule and cost nasa a total of two point five billion dollars its first tweet from the surface read i'm safely on the surface of mars crater i am a new. now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world islamic resistance movement have denied responsibility for an attack on an egyptian security checkpoint at the

border with gaza masked gunmen ambushed egyptian troops while they were breaking their ramadan fast killing sixteen soldiers and injuring seven the attackers seized two armored trucks one exploded as it fled into israel the second was hit by an israeli air strike israel claims to have been informed about the impending attack. the japanese city of hiroshima mark sixty seven years since the u.s. dropped an atomic bomb on the city in the world's first atomic attack tens of thousands gathered at the peace memorial near the epicenter of the blast that level the city killed more than one hundred forty thousand people the ceremony was attended by representatives of over seventy countries including the u.s. ambassador. china has hit back at the u.s. for criticizing its new military garrison in the south china sea the sand base grated just two weeks ago is an area we're competing territorial claims against the

philippines m.v.s. now among others china set up the outpost to administer thousands of square miles of water it says are within its sovereignty but washington believes it's an attempt to occupy the entire south china sea which is rich in oil resources the u.s. has tens of thousands of military personnel in asia pacific and views itself as a stabilizing influence in the region because helen and senior analyst at foreign policy focus believes we gen tensions could escalate into an even wider conflict. the chinese are basically saying they want to control their home waters which is understandable and i also think that they want to be able to project naval power to ensure their energy supplies which means that they have to have a presence in the indian ocean. so that they can get supplies from angola from

from a sudan from the arab gulf except in this case it's not this isn't a particular. act by the chinese that it it's sort of the u.s. is kind of pushing all of the buttons right now in asia and it very much feels a little bit like the cold war dnd say in the mid one nine hundred fifty s. a lot of tension a lot of local tension a lot of regional tension also some international tension as well i don't think that the islands per se in this case are sort of critical it's just an opportunity basically for the u.s. to move forces into the area naval forces and i do think it's quite disturbing i mean there is growing tension these are two nuclear armed powers. this is not in the interest not only of certainly of the united states or china but for a lot of the other countries in the region because one of the things that's

happened is a lot of these countries have started to up their military budget these are not countries that can really afford to spend a tremendous amount on military spending in a sense i don't think there's any winners here there's only losers it does me a little bit though because someone can make a mistake and things move off fast in this world. u.s. china relations was just one area discussed when r t spoke to u.s. congressman dana rohrabacher about washington's foreign policy and a candid conversation he also gave us his take on the u.s. presence in afghanistan and watch the full interview this hour here on r t but here's a sneak peek. karzai is a stooge of the pakistanis all right he is their boy in afghanistan and by the way our state department. just kisses up the pakistanis it has been doing so for the last thirty years which is one of the major reasons we've had problems down there

who wants to be in afghanistan i mean why should anybody the russians should understand how that is a rotten place for people to get station their foreign troops. and they're not going to make any friends and that afghans traditionally when they open their eyes and they see foreign troops around them they say i don't like them and i don't want them here in my country we should get our butts out of afghanistan as quickly as we can. as the number of dead in the syrian conflict mounts both the government and opposition are racing to replace fallen soldiers with fresh recruits while the rebels allegedly turn to mercenaries from abroad the regime has little to choose from some syrians are now trying to escape the draft to avoid killing or being killed on a boy going to reports. a moment of calm the twenty clashes on the outskirts of

damascus pro-government paramilitary also known as should be ha camped out in what used to be. most a local man who say they quit their regular jobs to do found their homeland only twenty nine prior to the uprising he worked as a t.v. technician and he's passion for the small screen is still there while watching the sun. five blockbuster armageddon scenes of bruce willis saving the planet got him talking these movies always show americans defending ones that don't belong to them even their own land was the property of indians now they are fighting all around the world so how come deny our bright to defend our own land the opposition accuses the shabby heard of conducting massacres but this man say gave themselves are often targeted by the rebels some even adopted new come of march to avoid being identified the armistice reliance on the prior military has a tactical advantage they know the area but it's also out of necessity as the death

toll among troops rises more syrians are dodging the draft military service in syria is a year and a half but those for over eighteen and i not only stands university students can delay or shorten their terms while those but how they should be exempted on medical grounds and the past job dodgers could also attempt to bribe officials to get the names of the list but the control got much tighter the base going abroad is the only legal option to avoid getting called out that's what it is now considering six young men from his town recently returned home in conference and he said for the sake of his family he can't risk being there before the courses. the court all me to go boy. home. but of. not. to me. the syrians love the us

so. for me. the extent of draft dodging is hard to gauge since the syrian government does not comment on its military but in the country's hospitals the reasons for avoiding active duty is all too graphic sami who is also twenty six was conscripted from hama happen year ago while his would will take at least three months to heal he says he doesn't regret doing the army. it's normal that parents would be worried about sending their sons to the army especially in the times like this some of my friends advised me not to go on the contrary was took me to join the army at the end my parents said i should do it to have these cleared so that i could go on with my life the syrian army sometimes pre-trained as a killing machine with many of its members are just in their early twenties and if they're to are the victims the whole war that country has been dragged into the

boycott artsy reporting from syria. by about twenty minutes on r.t. will have the latest medal news from the london olympics. units here now for a quick preview last and neither gold for russia yeah there certainly was on sunday we had the saturday actually some day i should say i'm getting all mixed up i'm so excited russia won gold or i'm on blastoff in wrestling it was the first one and i run for days because the last call that russia got was also on the map but in a different sport it was in judo so the hope is now as the resting starts russia cannot move up the medal table we are struggling at the moment but we're going to get to grips with art in a raw and as you say twenty minutes time it is sports day plenty of action a limp action over the weekend plus much more besides do you join me for sports there it would. be very foolish to miss a marina. thanks very much for this you know while we're all engulfed in the olympic spirit we can now cross to the business desk to see what the spirit is

there like the taj over to you now absolutely while the spirit on the equity market seems to be pretty upbeat as well but actually experts expect that to be followed by a sideways trend was a negative bias let's see what's going on on the asian markets first where trade is pretty active this hour and as you can see a lot of positive momentum there and the nikkei at the moment is gaining around two percent joining the rally that started in the states at the end of last week and mainly what's helping the nikkei is carmakers like to you mazda is suzumiya and so on wall street and last week on a very bullish note as i mentioned after us some gloom and data beat expectations thanks to god and the head of the fed reserve last week that more monetary easing could come in the fall investors really feel that the states or certainly it's

a pawn and we are not going to fall into european puts footsteps and into every recession he's saying friday's numbers for the week to the dow and the nasdaq finished want to positive from its lows in early june the s. and p. is up nine percent which is not bad at all let's now move on to the currencies the euro at the moment is losing against the dollar and failing to extend its gains of wost week the russian ruble started monday's session with a stronger to the dollar but weaker to the euro as you can see there and so far so good on the russian equity markets let's see the numbers there they start of the session less than twenty minutes ago and of course the intrigue is whether or not they would be able to sustain this positive momentum through the day rush oriented funds have managed to turn around the capital outflow they've suffered for the past . fifteen weeks of the one and a half billion dollars that flowed into emerging markets last week about two hundred million came into russia and that's the biggest amount since last winter

and the second inflow for the last fifteen weeks analysts say merging markets are safe bet giving.

we call it our new neighbor neighbor nine o seven. we have seventy acres and i can't convince them that they need to drill somewhere besides two hundred feet from. the needs of our growing economy also means expanding our domestic production of oil and natural gas which are vital fuel for transportation electricity and manufacturing this is having problems before we do the right and. you know our flaws are not toxic and we get a lot of there's a lot of mis understanding of what exactly in the flow it's. time they said you can load here unless you come up.