latest headlines in the week's top stories syria's rebels fight to retake control of aleppo with the help of further western financial backing as the u.s. and turkey consider a no fly zone to put pressure on damascus. members of the russian female punk group pussy riot await the verdict after an anti putin stunt in the country's main cathedral in a trial that's divided the nation. egypt's president orders the country's powerful defense minister and the chief of staff to resign becomes amid a militant crackdown in the increasingly volatile sinai region well coming on back to come this hour. and what a different scene here makes a look back at last august's riots which raged across england amid

a local fears they could return. hello this is r.t. watching the weekly with me kevin now in our round up of the top stories of the last seven days and first with syrian rebel struggling to regain ground in the country's second city of aleppo foreign powers led by the united states a party more pressure on damascus and bypassing the u.n. washington and turkey have discussed bringing in a no fly zone over syria and they've set up a joint group to facilitate regime change the u.s. and its allies have also pledged even more multibillion dollar support for the syrian rebels london big the latest to weigh in all this is un chief ban ki moon is back the presence of international monitors in syria is the current observers mandate runs out in just a week's time and for people in syria the situation remains as dangerous as ever with public sector workers. particular fearing for their lives

a kind of boy has got that going to the story. it's a fixture in any public office in syria whether you buy tickets or get a driving license president assad will be watching over those working here it's not a political statement rather a sign that their company belongs to the state your design is now becoming a death mark for an increasing number of state employees. but. this call in the middle of the night cost him a brother three south was one of syria's most experienced civil pilots years 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 kate reducing 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. you said the way documents confirm syria's armed opposition has a hitlist we scientists engineers doctors and civil servants on it. under the mop 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 many simple 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 force whose job is to keep the ruling party in power and civil servants who make sure that streets are clean and hospitals are running and in syria regardless of that political affiliation civil servants are being targeted as

a south sympathizers in damascus hospitals window blinds are permanently drawn now because of the scorching heat the 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 prevailing that identities. all the syrian people are in danger children dale drily farm workers civil servants doctors and scientists there are no exceptions over the fact that my life and the lives of the syrian people are a true it makes me tremble with fear along with fears for 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 tension from the media from the international community it is in the interests. oh some factions in the opposition to make things worse for people so that those people who are the silent majority join in the fights around the world attacks against the don't situations carry on the highest sentences and promptly condemned as terrorism yet in syria for the sake of ousting one man millions of lives up in the line. artsy demos because syria. and more public sector staff are seemingly being targeted in aleppo to this unconfirmed amateur footage here apparently showing rebels throwing the bodies of post office workers from a rooftop some syrian soup in support of the opposition oh say they will have nothing more to do with the people who commit such gruesome acts reflect on the other the link to the video was tweeted by artie's examine today too with the

latest from syria by following her on twitter. comment from you ok based journalist and broadcaster neil clark he says fighting in syria will only escalate as the rebels get strong support from the west and back is a regime change. there is going to be a great danger that the rebels become even more violent now or desperate because it's quite clear they haven't got the job or they will be using more violence because of the tax office of the government etc because this isn't going to land the rebels get routed this past and think it really matters who succeeds kofi now unless there is a sort of sea shift in the approach from the west and the arab league because at the moment they're talking about incessantly is a sad must go we have a grotesque meeting in turkey between hillary clinton and the turkish as they talk about regime change in a country which is illegal by international we've got to understand quite clearly the u.s. doesn't want a peaceful solution to the situations or the last very last they want is democratic

elections free democratic elections because they know the basque want to do very well and so they want to undermine the u.s. mission they did it all the time and date instead of pressurising the rebels to put down their arms actually encouraged sending them arms so it's quite clear that washington doesn't want a peaceful solution they want violent regime change so unless that changes then they are afraid the ship will continue middle eastern activists and you're an expert phyllis bennis explains why sending more weapons into the conflict could only create more danger. if the escalation continues if the militarization continues what we will then see is that the post assad government will be led by the men with guns when the victors are those with the guns that always bodes ill for women for children for civilians syria is not libya syria has a long history of civil society mobilization and organizations they have many things that was not possible in libya but the danger is that you will have certain

parallels certain similarities such as unaccountable militias who will not put themselves under the accountability of a new government that is a very dangerous reality and if syrian body politic explodes it will be an explosion not an implosion the day. of course is that with that growing the sectarianism growing there is the danger that it will spill over the border. and force the more that you can see the full interview with activist and you an expert phyllis bennis is on air again in about twenty minutes time tonight. egypt's president sort of these two top military officials the defense minister and the chief of staff to resign no explanations been given for that decision yet defense minister is saying to tell he had previously been egypt's interim ruler after the ousting of hosni mubarak last year you'll know be replaced by abdel fattah el-sisi will also take charge of the country's powerful military council just thoughts on this talk to dr sure he's director of the middle east is studies institute xti

university is on the line from cairo another doctor how you can hear me. live on r.t. what do you read into these sackings after the ousting of hosni mubarak many people in egypt have been calling for the military's rule to be brought to an end there is this move an answer to that. yes i think today there was a very major decision that was taken by the. first time in political history that an elected civilian. overrules the heads of the military establishment in such a dramatic fashion but we see today also the appointment very strategic replacement of field-marshal the head of the supreme council. deputy head and the chief of staff both of them were removed the general. sisi the head of the military intelligence was appointed as the defense minister.

his deputy was one also of the supreme council members general last saw you see major shake up but it's not a. video and shake up it's not an appointed. defense minister but it's mean the figures from the military establishment even from the supreme council of the armed forces that were promoted and appointed instead of the current heads and i think the key issue here is that those figures were known to be more. of the military. establishment and more willing to accept the status quo in the aftermath of the revolution that is more oversight over the military institution to accept the powers given to a civilian elected president and all of these changes that were brought about by

the revolution these military figures are more willing to accept them so this is the picture is there a danger that. won't accept that order to resign or put up some resistance. rally support to. potentially bring on fresh unrest. can you repeat the last part of the question is will be fresh and rest after these dismissals these days devotion could it violently shape or form. i don't think so i think most of the of these changes where the negotiated at least by the member with the members of the. promoted appointed. it's not. a surprise that. the head of the military intelligence.

the factions within the army the capacity of. the other generals to. create some sort of trouble some sort of resistance to the president this head of the military intelligence was appointed defense minister because he has enough information on the army factions on the factionalism within the army and on who to do what the army. therefore i think it was a clever choice the moment this is likely why do you think that would be the action on behalf of the final thought is this muscle flexing by president morsi mean the muslim brotherhood will be able to carry out a program of islamization across the country we're going to see more of it. i think at the moment. the muslim brothers. approach ainge forces in general whether pro-revolutionary for. taking steps forward you saw the

current government you had out of thirty five ministers you had ten. ministers who were given key ministries including the youth ministry deliberate ministry the justice ministry. and others as well but also now all. these ministries were in hand saying the soft power of the revolution resists of the soft power of the prodi for reform. powers in egypt but now we were talking about the hard power of all the defense ministry about the interior ministry and those key changes that took place today and took place earlier because you had the head of the military police was fired the head of the security directorate was fired earlier and you had also the head of the central security forces the two hundred three hundred thousand strong soldiers. that has all the

soldiers they had of it was also fired recently so you had all these major changes in the hard power institutions of the state and you have new leader is coming to these institutions. i think the. choice is whether they are will accept the powers of the current president or not and i think they're the ones who are appointed are more willing to accept understood your thoughts we're watching it closely as these developments. of your thoughts on the program assure the director of middle east. institute. the universe much. now still to come this hour a criminal cases of the actions of a muslim sect in central russia kept thirty children in a secret underground bunker for almost ten years details the shocking story ahead in just a few minutes or so we look at how radians get their hands on the latest gadgets despite coordinated western sanctions cutting off trade to the islamic state. next

. it's been two weeks of courtroom drama for the russian female punk group pussy riot they face prison on hooliganism charges for the anti-government standard moscow's main cathedral in february prosecutors are demanding three years jail for the woman with a final verdict expected next friday it's artie's peter all of. over the past few days we've heard from the prosecution on the defendants themselves the prosecution saying that they wanted three year jail sentences for the three women for the demonstration which they held in russia's main cathedral in february of this year the women themselves speaking to the court said that they never intended to cause any offense to the orthodox church or its believe as by their protest in which they performed a so-called punk rock prayer calling on the virgin mary to reach russia of a blood of me of putin now we've also heard support coming out for the three women on trial from celebrities in the music industry madonna. speaking about pussy riot

during her concerts in moscow also having heard having the name of the group painted on her back madonna of course no stranger to controversy regarding the church itself and nine hundred eighty nine a single like a prayer the video for which caused such a controversy that some catholic church groups were calling for her to be excommunicated was also condemned by the vatican and is also being politicians from or from great britain germany and the united states that have been giving their support for the women but it remains a hugely divisive case here in russia with some people saying that the women are modern day saints almost building them up to huge levels of. social standing saying what they are doing is right for russia and others mostly linked to the orthodox church suggesting that these women are essentially the anti christ that we all have to wait until the seventeenth of august at three pm moscow time when the judge in the courtroom just behind me will deliver the verdict. criminal cases have been

opened in central russia against some of the parents of twenty seven children rescued this week after the horror of being forced to live underground for a decade they were under the control of an islamic sect were barred from any contact with the outside world it appears can off has been covering that story for us. three people in just one square metre this police footage shows the shocking conditions members of this isolated religious group have been living in for years. up to seventy people all cramped in a small country house on the outskirts of gaza men women the elderly and more than twenty children most of whom have reportedly never seen daylight i suppose if the least children living in south end their basement right in this syle under the house it looked kind of like an eight story and hill shocked by what they found the authorities began taking the kids outside in order to take them to doctors most of

them are still being examined while their parents demand they be left alone. the children are terrified and after everything that's happened they're afraid of what can be done to them despite being in need of urgent medical help some of the adults had to be talked into allowing doctors to see them. one woman had a miscarriages and a doctor had to treat her right there at the scene it took a lot of effort to convince her she needed his help with this act is around twenty years old its founder is eighty five year old for that i thought of he proclaimed himself a prophet almost fifty years ago and is now too weak to get out of bed his followers believe only in the koran rejecting all other religions and even movements within islam and the police found them while investigating a recent terror attack in the city they also found around a thousand religious books and texts which are now being examined for possible extremist content but sect members appear to be defiant about their. it is really

what you are fighting against alan himself the authorities have already opened several criminal cases involving senior members of the sect and the fate of the children is yet to be decided plans are also being drawn up to three house sect members who are allowed to film inside neither did any of the groups or members agreed to speak with us on camera but off camera the man that i spoke with said that around forty people remain on their territory they do expect the authorities to try to take everything down but he claims that the are going to resist even if they bring a court order since they don't recognize their own story and neither do they recognize the authority of muslim leaders or do they recognize the existence of the state or any country altogether. you go to school of. online fear r t though as ever we've picked out a few the family way here find out how brothers working as border patrol agents

held underage of illegal immigrants into the u.s. from mexico so by and north korea reports that have sounded the alarm about u.s. and south korean terror plans to blow up monuments of former communist leaders now we dig a bit deeper into this online to try to find out if the fears of any foundations want to catch up with it dot com. lympics summer spectacles coming to a close tonight with the last of the events completed now in the medals handed out but some are wondering what's next for the country where serious economic troubles remain last august saw rioting crowds across england torching and looting with the police unable to regain control from the week smith looks at what lessons have been learned one year on. rioting looting disorder these were the explosive themes on the streets in towns in cincinnati in england last august shops and warehouses attacked and taught 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 so 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 admits trouble could break out again unemployment is up and it's also true to say that businesses on the high road 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 the closure of youth facilities and services school services are being caught and i think all of that with more aggressive what is called total 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 gulf.

women 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 by seeing 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. kill. people. and give something you. keep them busy. going to get worse i mean how believe me it will take many to trust the work situation and they pick people up for the benefit well. back on the porch. i don't know about it happening again quite the same way but i don't think anything interesting is very wrong 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. as well tonight in a world update now a huge blaze is raging at a recycling plant in the city just ten kilometers from the olympic park more than two hundred firefighters attacked in the flames there is the latest pictures we've got of the new center this fire is believed to be the biggest in london for a number of years organizers say the instant won't they have any effect on those lympics closing ceremonies are being held later on sunday no injuries have been reported it's not you're clear how the fire started. rescue operations have ended after to earth quakes struck around late yesterday the revised death tolls no two hundred twenty seven but almost fourteen hundred injured the disaster leveled a fifth of iran's northwestern villages with both powerful tremors measuring over six point three magnitude on the richter scale rescue personnel working through the night to recover the survivors from the rubble have been reassigned to help the.

mated sixteen thousand that have been left homeless. but raney a human rights activist now bill rogers due to appear in court he's accused of involvement in illegal meetings he's currently serving a three month jail sentence for writing anti-government statements on twitter the bahraini opposition has been subjected to a major crackdown to profer protests began last year. the u.s. may be trying hard to make life worse for a rainy as these days imposing sanctions on the country's vital oil industry and its banking sector too but while america's also banned high tech product exports to iran the still fun of the way there as artists are a first reports there's even a store selling apple's latest gadgets in the capital for people wanting to enjoy the life. i pads i phones i pods apple's political popularity has meant that their products oh familiar sight everywhere from our workplaces times and all our high street there's one place you might not expect to find products like this on sale and that the iranian capital of tehran where apple

along with many of the u.s. products abandon the functions that had been in place for years but it seems that tech savvy are rainy and so managing to outsmart this u.s. embargo and products like the ninety popular in toronto they're widely available as well just like any other apple macs store this one in tiran is bustling and busy. i have no difficulty in importing electronics from the us nor do we feel any impact on imports from sanctions it doesn't come so easy indeed getting technical support and updates for the products but we still manage to get them all the time or just this case of u.s. sanctions has been mainly on iran's banks and oil industry in a bid to curb the country's nuclear ambitions but when it comes to the bans on consumer products alternative trade routes and enterprising iranian tradesmen have meant that in forcing the sanctions has proved virtually impossible in fact it's

estimated there are now hundreds of traders in the capital selling these kids. the only impact of these sanctions that we see is higher prices which alter the real sinking against the dollar we're also forced to charge more from customers in order to keep getting our shipments while bypassing the sanctions and people still want to these gadgets even though they've become more expensive you point out of the sanctions working. sanctions have not had the outcome because if they have if you were going here in new sanctions being announced by the u.s. congress or. the western powers the fact that they're coming up. new sanctions every other day is the case and the dog thanks i was very much doing the working in fact many critics of the sanctions feel that far from the achieving anything banning these products even buggy is a punishing the very people who will help in building around future creative

individuals musicians film it is right is the fully key part of apple's kind tell the world they've. shortage tonight we hear from one expert who says foreign nations sending weapons into the syrian conflict will only prolong the crisis that's coming up also had to poll the smallest air screw you around for muslim pigs the final might know that all the medals have been won that seat in twenty minutes time but i'll be back with headlines before all that in just under two minutes from now.

by isolation and prejudice. aging. do it with passion. murder flaws. jump to the top. ignore the pain. stage or show.