three years behind bars the demand of prosecution as the trial of the pussy riot is drawing to a close right here in moscow that follows the controversial protest stunt in russia's main cathedral. turkish and saudi fight is a said to have been captured in syria helping the rebels to fight against president assad but all of this in a conflict that now sees more civil servants being targeted for simply being employed by the government. and tolerance is put to the test in the belgian was a candidate with mental health problems runs for public office however critics fear it's nothing more than a publicity stunt. a

very warm welcome to you from all of us here at the moscow. prosecutors are demanding three year jail sentences for the members of the controversial feminist punk band pussy riot of course they staged a protest stunt in russia's main cathedral the women musicians are on trial accused of inciting a religious hatred in a case that's caused a storm not only among the russian public would also abroad we're going to joins us now from outside the court to give us the latest on this so good to see you or reno it's certainly fair to say it's been something of a media circus around this case but it seems prosecutors are determined the girls of show must not go. absolutely now of course the court session has concluded or on its seventh day start on wednesday but again we know that the prosecution is insisting that the three defendants are guilty of inciting delicious hatred. you're

saying that they have inflicted. incredible psychological damage upon the us some of the plaintiffs and they're insisting on a three year jail sentence for each of the defendants now defense and in turn as well as the defendants themselves are saying that there should be fully pardoned that they're not guilty they did did not mean to incite any religious hatred or offend anybody is really just believes that their performance now of course they are saying that their message was purely political and if indeed they are being tried for political reasons then this is the sort of. turning is this is sort of like turning the clock backwards into the soviet times now of course the elite trial has the checks is a lot of attention not just in russia but worldwide there were even and there was even a member of british parliament present here at the court session on monday and of course a lot of even now prominent chinese singer songwriters and performers have also shown interest in this case more detail is right here from parties that are all over. the trial that's gripped global attention three members of the collective

pussy riot of hooliganism after taking part in protest inside moscow's main cathedral the demonstration dubbed a punk rock prayer to rid russia vladimir putin to media focus around the world. but i would like to reiterate our stance which we have expressed from the very start our defendants did not perpetrate a criminal offense and therefore any verdict of court say for an acquittal will be unlawful. the group of being called political prisoners by human rights groups and media outlets garnering support from many within the music industry sting and the red hot chili peppers of all called for the women to be set free but groups associated with the russian orthodox church were outraged by the demonstration and called for the penalties available over those who defend the women say the protest was and. born out of any religious hatred yes a letter with this x.

obviously had political character which just went side by side with other such political acts didn't stand out so the attempt to proclaim what has happened as abusive actions motivated by religious hatred is ridiculous also but it's that political character and the search for the shocking is clearly visible when you look at what women have done previously past months of included inviting the media to an orgy in a museum and one member performing a sex act with a frozen chicken in a supermarket because the performance though was a step too far for many in a nation where the majority of people orthodox kristie in search of a foreman's in the country's main cathedral saw some accusing the group of blasphemy however some of russia's most ardent anti government activists who agree the women took things too far also said they shouldn't be punished too harshly and yet on us was that they don't deserve it by the way i strongly disapprove of their

act i'm old enough to be their dad so i would just spank them properly and let them off and now when they face up to seven years of prison this is going to far afield the call for clemency was repeated by president putin the man who was the target of the protest jewish to. which 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 and would face difficulties from attempting to leave the country with or to for example they went to the caucuses and defaced 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 i hope to meet some important conclusions themselves on the way the final decision rests with the court. the trial continues here in moscow its public opinion is divided over what punishment if any should be handed down to the three women in the dock r.t. . and we have a much more reaction to the trial including

a plea for leniency from the queen of pop. some finnish activists with a copycat protest targeting the largest orthodox cathedral in western europe. also one liner just days after a u.s. army veteran goes on a shooting spree in a sikh temple a radical baptist church praises him for carrying out god's work all those details on our website. we're coming to you live from moscow and syria says its forces have captured a group of military officers from turkey and saudi arabia in the flashpoint city of aleppo now the groups thought to have run rebel combat operations against the

syrian army the area in northern syria has been the scene of deadly fighting after rebels moved into the outskirts last month earlier report suggested the opposition has started to receive its first heavy weaponry from foreign allies turkey and saudi arabia was already paying salaries for those fighting against president assad . reports from syria even those who are not involved in the country standoff still living in constant. it's a fixture in any public office in syria but if you buy a ticket or get a driving license president assad will be watching over those working here it's not a political statement rather a sign that that company belongs to the state your design is now becoming a death mark for an increasing number of state employees. this call in the middle of the night cost him a brother. was one of syria's most experienced civil pilots u.s.

educated more than twenty thousand hours around the globe he was coming home from the airport when gunmen attacked his car. radical islam. is the worst enemy of radical islam when you were rounded in shape using your age you're trying to estimate what's going on. his brother a plastic surgeon also received. their family belongs to the l a with the same religious group as assad but they were never politically active. he said the documents confirm syria's opposition has a hit list which scientists engineers don't kiss and civil service only. what started as a battle against the regime now increasingly looks like a battle against the syrian state with around a million and a half of the country's civil servants are becoming targets doctors teachers

municipal workers have all been kidnapped or assassinated for simply doing their work any government in the world where they seem aquatica not has two distinct groups of people working for a political fox whose job is to keep the ruling party in power and civil servants to make sure that streets are cleaned and hospitals are running and in syria regardless of that political affiliation civil servants are being targeted as a soft sympathisers in damascus hospitals window blinds is permanently drawn now because of this partial for fear of snipers a local doctor was kidnapped on his way from work a few months ago his family hasn't heard from him since his colleagues are now afraid of revealing the identity of. all the syrian people are in danger children the elderly farm workers civil servants doctors and scientists there are no exceptions the level of fact that my life and the lives of other syrian people

are interested makes me tremble with fear along with fear as per their safety syrian civil servants also have to deal with a much higher workload many now put in sixty hour weeks with barely a day off due to inflation their salaries have devalued as have their lives so i am not surprised to hear that some groups within the free syrian army are targeting those people who are trying to make life better or orderly because at the end of the day if things get back to normal they will lose any support they will use any attention from the media from the international community it is in the interests of some factions in the opposition to make things worse for people so that those people who are the silent majority join in the fights and round of world attacks against they don't situations carry some of the highest sentences and promptly come down to terrorism yet in syria for the sake of ousting one man millions of lives are put on the line it's not boycott artsy democracy syria. and oksana crew are

traveling all over syria are bringing you the latest of the via twitter freedom they want to buy discussions on what's going on by members of the opposite ends of the country's political spectrum you can check out the latest analysis reactions are photos and comments. right i just after ten minutes past the hour moscow time security leaks from the obama administration continue despite an ongoing internal investigation that's according to the u.s. house intelligence committee agents and are hoping to crack down with harsher punishment for those caught spilling information to the media artie's guy nature can explains. the f.b.i. is on a hard. recurse they have interviewed current and former high level government officials from the white house the pentagon the national security agency and the cia all to reveal those who spilled the beans investigation has already cost the distinction

chill over press coverage of national security issues as journalists here say agencies declined routine interview requests and refused to provide background briefings on top of that the legislation is in the works in the u.s. congress that would for example allow to strip the government employee of their pension in punishment for on authorized sharing of information with the media so you have an assault on the first from both the government and the lawmakers former assistant director of the cia is that everybody in the intelligence world agrees never have there been so many high low level leaks one has to do with ministration as being so hard on leakers as this one we're talking about all kinds of the leaks about the administration's targeted killings program as it continues to illegally execute suspected terrorists abroad or leaks of our government agencies sweeping surveillance capabilities at home feel bomb administration alone has prosecuted six government officials believe king information to the press more than all other past

administrations combined earlier i spoke with one of them on the break that is who once was a senior executive of america's largest intelligence agency then he blew the whistle on fraud and abuse with regards to the agency's secret surveillance program here's what he told me speaking truth to power is very dangerous and his world power elites. those in charge they don't like dirty linen being your. they don't like the skeletons in the closet being seen. and they not only do they object to it they decide to turn it into criminal activity. i guess we have to point out that not all leaks are being criminalized because you have a type of information that the government leaks deliberately to manage and control the discourse in the media so to say but any journalist would tell you that it's the on the rise that really helped reveal

a sensitive story to the public otherwise journalists would just have to copy paste and whatever the government decides to release to the press in washington i'm going to check out. the program here on all three communication lines become dangerous. and you pose a threat to other alpha's. fail to deliver them to their intended. monday was russia's most successful day the olympic games so you. know winning gold on the on even boswell tonight she goes for a second gold on the floor we'll have news on the rest of the sport in around half an hour's time. more news today. these are the images the world has been seeing

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good to have you with us here on r.t. today it's a quarter past the hour moscow time europe may be facing a tolerance crisis with the far right immigration rhetoric and tense a fine but it's not the other extreme in a belgian city that ghent where politicians are being accused of being too tolerant all of this because they're trying to allow a man with mental disabilities to run for office this report. where here and get the city in flanders known for its pretty medieval town center but it's also recently made headlines when a political party put a man with mental disabilities on its candidate list for local elections meet. the forty one year old candidate of the flemish christian democrats is hoping to get a seat in gan city council he admits he has difficulties in speaking and writing.

i've been active in community work for a living years our party slogan is everyone's included so i want to be given the chance to be counselor to express myself and help people disability. he says he wants to encourage voluntary social work and make the city more accessible to people with handicaps by promoting the use of simple language this is just a signal to the people in the end also people these abilities can run for elections in our community. here in ghent so we can't ignore them you'd be hard pressed to find someone who'd say such people weren't part of society but some see the party's move as inappropriate where public office is concerned raising questions of whether politicians have pushed the envelope too far this time. if he is physically disabled it's not ridiculous that he has mental disability is so that's another question you may have problems with reasoning. i think he's not

capable of making decisions for other people i do voluntary work myself with mentally disabled and got a lot of respect for there but they have to realize themselves. i'm not able to do everything all of the other get residents like frederick think it's really nothing more than a publicity stunt and i know it's difficult when you criticize such a nice and good guy but i don't want to criticize him in person i want to criticise is a sporty for using him as a kind of political tool and to get media attention in a time where we are close to when the simple elections did you know is well aware of the criticism but as far as he's concerned these are political i spend a lot of energy campaigning the rest is up to. you may not this won't just r.t. get in belgium. are just a moment on the r.t. world update but for now a greece is struggling to cope the flow of illegal immigrants claiming scarce public funds and more than sixteen hundred people will be kicked out of the country

after the latest crackdown or part of an effort to save money in any way possible greece is sinking under its own debt but economist richard bootle believes that leaving the eurozone is the only way the country can save itself the full interview coming your way in about twelve minutes from now. in my view needs to get out of the euro i cannot see any way in which this current policy of austerity is going to bring any relief or solve the grinding process of trying to. take. decades sort of a credit greece is very i don't think it's possible to imagine a return to economic growth in the current setup by contrast with the euro breaks i can imagine economic growth so far from being a disaster i think it could be the major step that leads to the restoration of growth in europe. the

egyptian prime minister has reportedly been beaten up as the arrived at a funeral service for sixteen security guards killed in sunday's attack on the egypt israel border ha. president mohamed morsi did not attend the military funeral because of security concerns accuse the israeli spy agency mossad of carrying out the deadly assault over the weekend israel called the allegations nonsense and instead to blame islamist militants journalistic flop and believes terrorists are taking advantage of the chips weak security following its long term uprising. the attack was first of all. increased tensions between israel and egypt i think that's going to be. the attackers had in mind and second of all we have to remember that these organizations will leave that violence. and justifies all means they did in the act itself as an ideological goal to. their religion as they see

responsible decision makers in egypt should be trying to increase cooperation with israel in order to ensure that these kind of homicide terrorists are not able to carry out their plans so perhaps this is. the country's closer together in the islamists and especially if you have these that we're talking about now have been for years. and now what they're doing is taking advantage of the fact that they're here is an unstable situation in egypt but if you just listen as we've seen now the region egypt syria i mean all the other countries north africa then what we're going to see is chaos and that is what we're seeing unfortunately. as promised into the top that we go now it will start with out of bahrain where the regime demonstrators the protests demanding the release of political prisoners tempers once again fled and fresh clashes with police arrested one serviceman was injured when his patrol was talkative with petrol bombs on monday security forces used tear

gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to break up the rallies. he zealand's been forced to close main roads on several. this is after a volcano erupted in the center of the north island tongariro started emitting ash and rocks into the sky last night covering the ground with a thick layer of dust a number of locals had to flee their homes to safety the volcano has been dormant for decades experts now struggling to assess could this be the beginning of a new activity cycle or it's katy in a moment with the business for now two communications satellites are lost in space after a russian rocket failed to place them into orbit on monday experts admit they now pose a threat to other satellites and potentially the international space station as well as tom barton reports. the greatest fear now is that the booster and the two satellites that are stuck in an emergency orbit could become potentially dangerous

space junk flying around the earth the greatest danger could potentially come to the international space station although ross has said that no emergency maneuvers are planned for the i assess that hasn't allayed fears of a possible collision that has come as an embarrassment to russia which saw a string of errors in space flights last year who stood with the two communications satellites is now stuck in a lower orbit the chances of those satellites getting to where they're supposed to be is nearly nothing says. before back to work and burn up. or go straight to be with the r.t. business there's good to see you early evening in moscow mid-morning in the big apple any news on wall street still a we're going to head over that just now because the u.s. stocks it's looking like they're set to continue their around the first third day now with better than estimated corporate earnings with the largest provider of suspension in the u.s. . climbing over to. our second largest us not to gas producer as well

chesapeake over five percent in the biggest profits in history is that two of the biggest movers is also speculation that the global central bank will be forced to sometime soon as has been super healthy games is no surprise with those results bulls are heading to europe and see what's happening there it's been a choppy session in days who got the first just about managing to hold onto its gain ever so slightly one basis point there for a modest indeed we got the daft hard five percent opposed to now the big topic of discussion today in the u.k. based bank the child says it's now dropped paying around twenty percent just until now now the situation is this is just kind of a silly way the bank has been suspected of hiding hundreds of thousands of transactions with a wrong which is subject to u.s. economic funk. american financial regulations have said the bank has laundered as much as two hundred fifty billion dollars over a decade as standard chartered which denies allegations faces losses of its u.s.

banking license and faces losing its there we are going to make changes that will see what is happening that we can see the year i still managing to get you know one twenty four twenty five to the verbal is a change of fortunes and it's lost our phrase actually losing out now to both the u.s. dollar and the u.s. is forming off those summer highs we were witnessing. as a save the actually markets as well though because the up to short this was see that they all have a such close up impulse to search as we can see they are so yes it's around three quarters of percent of the mice it's around eight tenths of a cent and it's the second day this week as well that that's set to do so so staying with russian stocks russia's second biggest mobile of the fog has once again postponed london the saying previously the moved it from july to september citing financial turmoil on the markets but i'll bet most newspaper says the company plans to go public in mid also for the ferry same reasons any on traded

russian big telecom company plans to this twenty percent of its shares i mean for four billion dollars. let's talk about the uptick because that is the measure of the russian geographic society which is kicked off an expedition to fraidy island in the sea foam they collected in garbage now ahead of the trip russia's president vladimir putin underlined that russia is boosting its activities in the region is exactly what other nations plan to do as well as tatyana about reports for us. to greener than you think this is the arctic temperatures the top two those in moscow and rising on average twice as fast as and you where else in the world the record i smelled has made the arctic's bad. last natural resources easier to get than ever before i know them. to be horrid off our planet oil and gas

reserves and in fact that have been seven bordering countries and even china eager to allay their quote five arctic countries russia norway denmark canada and the us have the right to explore waters up to three hundred seventy kilometers coasts but it's the central cooler zone that may now be up for grabs russia's already owns a vast arctic territory but there are concerns that this may unite the others against moscow's polar ambitions most recently denmark is the last contender to send an expedition to the pole cold for developing their arctic according to a civilized manner of behavior and proposed a drilling moratorium in the central polar zone this year all giant rosneft signed contracts to explore russia's arctic with americas ex and model norway's stance on and any billions of dollars is already pledged but much more will come when the pool is partitioned and the borders sent so the more businesses that come here the

quake of its own charges on for giving this racial home to manager political battles will transform into a heart attack economic that can put a core business are to the arctic and that is the business now we've got that the official closing figures for the russian market is next on larry i see that thanks kathy just a moment here we're going to be getting some more financial and. controversial though by some that's coming up in just a sec.