a bomb blast hit syria state radio and t.v. have waters in the capital damascus as the government allegedly prepare as a final assault on rebels in aleppo country's second city. as a golf nations plan a meeting next month to discuss ways of curbing protests interview to more arrests and crackdowns occur in saudi arabia and bahrain also. the trial of female punk group pussy raj enters its second week the trio stand accused of really going to someone could face up to seventy years in prison for. the protests that took place and russians may be joining us for the latest in just a few moments. plus exactly

a year since last august the struck the bride said long in the blaze our correspondent investigates whether authorities have done enough to avoid a repeat and. one pm in the russian capital you're watching r.t. i'm reading josh several people have been injured by a bomb blast inside the state t.v. and radio have quaters eighteen syria's capital damascus this comes as the government reportedly massa's tens of thousands of troops and columns of tanks around the country's second sea aleppo fighting between rebels and loyalists has been raging inside the city for weeks and activists fear a massive blitzkrieg style assault by the regime is about to begin the government's already pushed the last rebel forces from damascus after three weeks of. finally

there is both sides suffer losses they're racing to plug the gaps with fresh recruits and while some volunteers and conscripts say they're ready to dive for the cause others are trying to dodge the draft picks on a voice in our report. a moment of calm between the clashes on the outskirts of damascus pro-government paramilitary also known as should be her camped out in what used to be a tree most a local man who say they quit their regular jobs to defend their homeland only twenty nine prior to the uprising he worked as a t.v. technician and his passion for the small screen is still there while watching this i five blockbuster armageddon scenes of bruce willis saving the planet got him talking these movies always show americans defending lands 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 right to defend our own land the opposition

accuses the shabby her of conducting massacres but these men say they themselves are often targeted by the rebels some even adopted new come of to avoid being identified the army is reliant 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 for those for over a scene and i not only stands university students can delay or shorten their terms while those with how they should be exempted on medical grounds in the past draft dodgers could also attempt to bribe officials to get the names of the list but the controls 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 coffins and he says for the sake of his family he can't risk being the next before the courses in syria.

the court all need to go more cutie to the home. but after that. not. me really. love the others so. for me the extent of draft dodging is hard to gauge says 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 sammy who is also twenty six was conscripted from hama half a year ago while his would will take at least three months to heal he says he doesn't regret joining 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 wanted me to join the army at the end my

parents said i should do it to have this cleared so that i could go on with my own life the syrian army sometimes pro-trade as a killing machine yet many of its members are just in their early twenties and if anything they're to honor the victims of the war their country has been dragged into the boycott artsy reporting from syria. and still to come in a program a regional rao maybe bring an asia pacific washes out to washington for criticizing its new military garrison in the state of waters of the south china sea. that's later in the program before that 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 nantes to discrimination since march twenty seventh of the six countries bahrain was. hit hardest by an uprising that has killed at least six people since early last year dozens of demonstrators were arrested and wounded last week after security officers used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse them activists. who asked that we not mention her whereabouts as western countries are more than willing to overlook the human rights problems of the gulf allies. 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 of the law is 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 of 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 now this summer a want it is reveling in its role as olympics host by i was a different story exactly 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 fail to restore control artist or smith 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 troubled and the underlying issues which caused the riots remain unresolved tottenham's m.p. says his community pulled together in the aftermath but at mit's trouble could break out again unemployment is up and it's also true to say that business is on

the highroad are still struggling a many of them had very poor pavements under the riot 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 by unemployment is going up generally useful employment is going up in the country we're seeing closure after closure of use

facilities and services school services are being caught and i think all of that with a more aggressive what is called total plea. zero tolerance policing. takes only a matter of time but not so much if when in the often mouth 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 for working class families oxfam says the poorest ten percent of society will suffer thirteen times more from seeing austerity cuts than the richest ten and fifty six percent of young black men in britain on employed people in riots hit hackney like to think it won't happen again but are aware that it could be long. till. people. can give something you. keep them busy then you're. going to get worse i

mean hopefully it will take many to trust the work situation and they kick people off the benefits well. i'm back on the force so i'm going to happen again quite the same way but i don't think anything's been addressed now 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 london. well we follow their revenge as london was sliding into unrest last summer our extensive coverage from the scene of the most eye catching images are still available on our website our team dot com and today we've also got a priceless a legacy hungary and scientists say an army of over two hundred fifty mummies from day one century the answer to curing tuberculosis now 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. agency's journal. speculation on who might be behind the hack at r.t. dot com. now the trial of a female pop group pussy riot and its second week three women are being tried for staging an anti put in stunt in the country's main orthodox cathedral in february well arty's jacob graves 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 just to stand there eyewitnesses this is a trial that's been somewhat dominate his so far by the prosecution from their eye witnesses testimony to be very heartfelt and emotional time nonetheless 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 the judge resigning over this trial to be replaced that's for a number of reasons ranging from allegedly 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 this chandigarh way before them dating back to when these three defendants were initially taken into custody about five months ago now to understand why this is of course such outrage deference and where it took place now that had been demonstrations taking place involving the pussy riot group beforehand this one was located in the russian russia's main altar docs cathedral christ savior feature this what 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 it's just an administrative 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 musicians who've been increasingly outspoken on this issue most lately though someone who's spoken out has been in 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 we'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. whether or not it does is a charge of hooliganism which could mean they face up to seven years in prison jake agrees reporting their time has his back at the u.s. for criticizing its new military garrison in the south china sea bass created just two weeks ago is in an area work competing territorial claims paid beijing against

the philippines and vietnam 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 was sound get more perspective on the story from asia specialist team tim thanks so much for being here with us in the program well first off beijing has controlled paris islands were the sandra bases for almost forty years so why is washington so alarmed at the move that could simply be seen as an exercise of chinese sovereignty well now you know i don't you know actually. doing is thinking about you go. to.

divide. to one. team and to china and you can talk about that later the other causes you know a connection to the point of you know the americans getting involved was just to show the. game. what was interesting is that you know some of the states in the region like malaysia brunei taiwan and some others are claiming chunks of the south china sea so in this particular light how likely is it the china could use force against its neighbors if things heat up. well of course there's always the possibility of those trying to go to war with drugs or so years ago i think it's highly unlikely at the moment because the chinese are all don't want to be americans only excuse for. the americans have overwhelming.

reality especially at street so. chances of china actually engaging in combat with any of the other contesting. south china sea is is unlikely. future of course is a matter. well let's take a look now at this region from a geopolitical standpoint as you mentioned seconds ago america does have a heavy military presence in the region and we also know that the us is relevant hine south east asian nations expanding military ties with such countries of the philippines and yet now so how does why shouldn't contributing to the escalation of tension in this region. oh considerably i think that's part of the given to to asia. part of the americans have the structure containing china important part of that of building up alliances on the economic front we have a cheapie of

a chance to fix the ship and then drop all these military alliances now there's a certain set back in northeast asia a couple weeks ago when the chance said. through jand of a military alliance. between south korea and japan fell apart because of popular opposition in in south korea. india is not really going there way too much china and so forth to the south china sea is the one area where they have all the advantages they have missed real contest between saving the the various countries in the region so it's sort of a heaven sent gift if you want to. if you want to build up alliances if you want to keep the chinese off of. what we say. well you know countries may agree and disagree on certain issues by business is business and with china and the us being the world's a largest trade partners how far do you think will the united states go in pushing

its own agenda in the region that is a big question that is the sixty four billion dollar question nobody really knows the answer is a lot of discussion in the american best chinese best trained best set exaggerate about that we don't really know but if you look back to the the outbreak of the first floor and there again we had all these tires that tween germany and the other european powers. family ties to natural ties except except and lots of people say it was impossible to say so but it did happen so it is possible in in the asia pacific we don't really know and i think it's most important that we try to tell you what. happening and do our best. of luck to them suspect of two to counter any of the source conflict a war. well less money than us how the military drills with south korea to prepare for the tans of north korea's regime falling now what would that actually help to

denuclearized the korean peninsula in your opinion. well then anyone sitting in trying to create invention and say wanted to i think they could have done this a long time i think basically they want to get attention. for the cost they the regime not fall that is the kind of creasing unlikely. the image exercises a part of the the strategy of t. contention going and pairing for the plan for an opportunity to neutralize ation i really think it's a red herring. well it seems finally do you think barack obama's strategy of pivot to asia will prove to be a successful undertaking specifically for the countries of that region now i think it's extremely dangerous for the chances of that region being questions for all of them this goes you know from korea japan right through to australia and india is

the danger of becoming involved in a conflict the united states and china that is possible and so all of these countries have been very wary of that it's interesting that just today a new book is being published in australia with introduction by paul keating i think from the prime minister on this very issue so. no more deceptive observers in the area of their whine about their countries being roiled in this conflict. all right tim the real asia specialist joining us from the u.k. things were much indeed for us out here on our team a. now news just in from syria where the country's prime minister riyad his job has been just relieved of his duties this comes amid heavy fighting between government and rebel forces in aleppo the commercial capital of syria and the blast of a state t.v. have quarters in damascus so stay with r.t.

for the latest on this developing story. now the most sophisticated mars rover avar has started to see and its first pictures and tweets back from the red planet after successfully landing on the surface i will spend just under two years they are to examine the planet and the terminal whether it has conditions suitable for humans to survive they are a craft boasts a set of cutting edge devices including a russian hydrogen and water detector which should help answer that very question the long journey which began in the van bora last year finished on schedule and cost nasa a total of two point five billion dollars well to discuss this breakthrough we are now joined live by ury kharaj from the russian academy of cause my not very much for being here with us in the row ground and did impressive and the time the

landing were brilliantly accurate after eight months of unmanned flight so what does it take to achieve this what do you think. what is the what sort of set again . well incredible results as we have seen a perfect timing brutally accurate landing and it's been eight months of unmanned fly over so what does it take to achieve this i mean scientifically how difficult is it or how easy oh look i got a question actually it was quite the challenge when you were because for the first he's three zero the ultimate experience exploration the basic spacecraft have to employ two different braking systems the first one there was a classic braking shooter and another was a whole sky crane. bled for it we put the rocket engines on the which curiosity it was hanging on the cables and after the sky

crane with curiosity on the mars surface. cables were severe and the sky crane blue airways. for good reason hold the. korean free and the landing procedure seven minutes of terror because the particular parts of the pieces all the whole world braking systems road tested but then there were they were they have never been tested as a whole saw. was not a hundred percent sure that it would work but then what they did. not so do the right thing by designing this kind of dual system i can imagine the moments before the landing and the anticipation of the sidemen anxiety of the same time well you know we've seen the first picture sound from mars today on which was exciting i mean the fact of it but you know the question here is when are we going to start

getting some were real significant results. well you have to understand that your city is a very complex machines it can see it so five hundred different systems including dozens of for highly sophisticated instruments and. deal. with a program manager and hundred percent sort them. all this system so activated that all of them properly they will more or their curiosity is to move an inch from the place where it is now and over all this things of systems and instruments of big from weeks to several months so i would say that do not expect to get anything from can your city any time soon then we know the next two or three weeks . at least all right well the main objective is to determine if

a manned mission to mars would be possible in the future so can you explain to our viewers. in simple terms how the scientists are expecting to find the answer to that very question. all previous missions to mars each of them seeking. answers to a particular question like if there is water on mars or you there is life on mars but the curiosity is there all of the mission which will seek answers for the whole range of questions let's. whether there are conditions on mars which could support life. whether there is enough water. under the surface of mars and also other kinds of questions so curiosity as it true that for us ultimately commission which will conduct a complex brazil which of mars and or says one of the major questions.

that they will seek an answer to is whether the conditions on mars are adequate to hold some day a human mission to the red planet but the killer curiosity will matter the level of radiation on the most surface. right here are things from our cities certainly great news for the community and everyone else and that was you were a garage from the russian academy of cosmetics thanks for your views here in r.t. . all right it's time now to cross over to the business to ask or the toughness because it has got all the later absolutely and let's just jump straight into the equity markets because that's where the action is right now and what we're seeing is the european markets maybe off their four month highs but they're still managing to bounce back into a walk in the second hour of trade that's after opening below the line for sure

mainly buy stocks and drug makers as you can see right now the docks it is quiet quite a bit on to the equity markets the euro is losing against the dollar this hour down from its one month high over the last friday the russian ruble is trading mixed to the currency basket and so far so good for the russian after what he markets at lunch hour and let's see the number there here they are the intrigue of course as well not they would be able to sustain this positive momentum now that europe is exactly we'll see what's going to happen with russia where the ends of funds have managed to turn around the capital outflows they've suffered for the past fifteen weeks of the one point five billion dollars that flowed into emerging markets in the last week about two hundred million dollars gave it to russia that's the biggest amount since the winter and the second and flow in the about three and a half months analysts say margin markets are safe bets given the likelihood that

there's that going to be a monetary policy easing in europe and the united states but the pressure is mounting for the russian equities in the form over the slumping crude prices of oil there's no direct correlation between crude and the russian equity market we all know that energy exports are a major source of revenue for russia crude is now trading brant i should say is trading at above one hundred eight and a half dollars a barrel that's the latest from the business this year all up to date i'll be back in about fifteen minutes see them. thank you.