a powerful explosions trying since serious competent mosque is just in front of the hotel where the observer mission is staying. put all stops out rumors of it already granting treatment a stronger asylum of the whistleblowers quest of refuge and of the seemingly final but no less perilous stage. nor violence in afghanistan while revelations surface of a rhythmic conditions in american run hospital something a top u.s. general try to send to the cockpit. you're

watching all see a live from moscow and we start with breaking news this hour a bomb blast has rocked the syrian capital damascus the explosion took place just a meters away from be hotel where the u.n. monitoring mission is located and also on a boy cruise ride that and she's joining us live on the phone what's exactly going on that. well you hear the explosion took place about an hour ago around eight a local time just ten meters from the hotel where you and observers of thing it's right in the center of damascus close to our model key area and it was a very very loud bang that was followed by a series of smaller explosions that sounded like chain determination of the munition now the explosion itself took place at a closed army facility that's a day sent to the hotel and at this point we have no confirmation but it looks like

the device was planted on the one of the cars parked over the n.b.c. the cylinder each from where i am at the moment i can see burned carcasses of several cars including a fuel truck now the facility where the explosion took place is closed off to the general public so whoever carried out the blast was probably working for these very facilities. now in addition to the army these planes houses also some sort of government institution and the building where these government offices are located also cost wire now the firefighters are working on the scene and it looks like they have the fire under control and. even though the explosion took place at these closed army facility i don't think it was i don't think that the army was the primary target as we just said it's the closest. i came to the un observers i mean they've been on patrols before there were some

clashes in this area but never before they were ranged from that bad by these very very powerful explosion and ohno that their mandate is expiring in some four days and just a few days ago when they had a view an observer mission here of a car guy who was giving a news conference he was very very skeptical about the way the situation in this country is developing here is exactly what he said. because the violence is increasing in many parts of syria. by the government and. by. inflicting. on. civilians now are they your mission has been significantly reduced in the last few days when

you only have about one hundred observers now. general day of the mission will continue trying to document the violence occurring in syria till the very last minute and probably now they don't even have to go and patrol because they can see the examples of that for lunch from the very hotel windows. on a boy running from the campus all damascus axon us thank you very much indeed and we'll talk to you later and of course we'll keep you posted on the latest developments in damascus reporters without borders have sent a note in lessard to the syrian rebels raising the alarm of an increasing number of a tunks against journalists on the ground the group which advocates freedom of information says government correspondents are prime targets while foreign journalists are also receiving death threats from the opposition does being taken as father proof that nothing is black and white in syria as there has been finding

out. january eleventh two thousand and twelve the first western journalist was killed in homs frenchmen. well the initial reaction from france and many french journalists were that of anger and condemnation we're here in france elevation to speak to jackie's colleague who was with him in syria when he was killed. kristoff can't showed us where shields desk used to be now there's only a black and white picture of. hope and he was a great friend he was always smiling he was happy always wanted to go places always curious he loved his job and he was also someone who was very friendly who would go filming we were happy to go together because we would be able to live new adventures when we lived through syria he really had this need in his body to tell what's happening on the other side of the world with his camera with my camera we were always together i lost

a friend christoph says his initial thoughts were that the syrian government was behind the attack however this the week after death a journalist from this newspaper published an article stating the possibility that he might have been killed by fire from the opposition clearly information that went against the dominant narrative in the media but he did find that he wasn't alone in coming to that conclusion i met by mistake a. french intelligence guy who asked me i don't understand why your report in jerry didn't pick up. the new isn't that there are because it was. our conclusion it's an intelligence services in france good grades a conclusion that the u. was killed by a mortar of eighty one millimeters coming shooting from the rubble area by mistake i published the story it was denied of course by news to refer to finance ministry of him a foreign affairs of the because it's not really politically correct political

correctness that's playing into what has increasingly become an information war as much as it is a civil war where the villain is usually the heavy handed regime and the rebels are shown as advocates of freedom and democracy but the reality is not so clear cut alex thomson chief correspondent for britain's channel four news wrote how he believed he was led into a death trap by the syrian rebels are quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the syrian army added a life phone interview he told r.t. my point is did joran lists are bad for damascus you don't have to be very clever to work out that the deaths of any journalist at the hands of the syrian army are going to be in a towering blow again for president asad the motivation for the rebels to pull a stunt like that seems to be very obvious i'm not angry about it i'm not upset about it this is a war and these things will be done both sides are involved in very dirty tactics

in this war this is a nasty and dirty war on both sides a nasty war where truth is a smushed a victim as those who've lost their lives what sue sue so lucky if for me it's most important to know who did what when this becomes clear that we can go on with our lives but now we're still mourning every day you know every day where you just are still your r.t. paris. the pentagon chief has said to his confidence the u.s. could successfully enforce a no fly zone of assyria leon panetta however this would require a major policy decision which hasn't been made yet and he also accused iran of training syria and pro-government militia saying terrans involvement in the conflict quote could aggravate the situation and every traced him chip on his calmness is full stop in part as cohen says washington's a latest rhetoric once again reveals a double standard policy towards syria. the united states is the pot calling the

kettle black essentially doing whatever it can to foment the chaos to to turn sunni's against shiites to turn alawite sikkens kurds and so forth and try to destroy the syrian state in that way and then they'll turn around and say that the iranians are doing the same thing by forming pro assad militias this is unbridled hypocrisy as i already mentioned but it i think we could take it one step further to show that this really demonstrates the u.s. is desperation in syria they know that they're outmatched diplomatically they're outmatched in terms of the foreign policy and so what the only thing they can do is use syria as an issue to demonize the iranians which is the ultimate enemy in the region for the u.s. establishment. and don't forget that you can find all the stories you may have missed on our web site home and here's a taste of what's that for you right now. they continue victims of the fukushima disaster a gruesome discovery reveals

a butterfly living in japan tsunami crippled nuclear plant have genetic mutations sparking feel the need for radiation might still affect him and it's. high powered support for internet freedom our survey says apple co-founder steve wozniak he still is on the wiki leaks blood and controversial web regulating bills and you can watch his exclusive interview to the line. julian assange just fade isn't quite as simple just yet with ecuador's president personally debunking media rumors the whistleblower had been granted asylum in the south american country is that president. says he hopes to make the decision later this week also meanwhile remains at ecuador's embassy in london and he's sort of refuge that against his extradition to sweden which many of his supporters fear would be only a short stop before he'd be handed to the united states to face politically if you

hold charges more now on a sound just flight with us has been in touch with the ecuador president's press office. we put in a call to the presidential administration in ecuador who said that he denied that there has been a decision any major whether to grant. asylum in ecuador now that of course is not to say that he won't be granted asylum just a denial of any decision having already been made and what was being recorded earlier with an unnamed official. saying that a decision had been made in that the decision was to grant refuge to julian i saw we heard television address by president rafael correa saying that he would be making a decision about this plea this week that on wednesday he would be taking advice from various people and that following that he would be making is that we are expecting a final decision to be announced on thursday or friday later on this week so we do know that and we also know that ecuador sees this as

a humanitarian act the president's foreign minister in ecuador have said that they see this as an act that would protect his right to life and freedom. and official working on the case in ecuador says version and sweden has been less than enthusiastic to negotiate with the latin american states regarding julian assange has asylum bid and kevin zeese on to who actually missed a member of the bradley manning support network says even if the whistleblower gets the green light from ecuador plenty more challenges ahead. he needs to get safe passage out of great britain you know england has to agree here that they have negotiated that we're going to war it sounds like you're woodward and trying to negotiate a great deal prior to making this decision so maybe that's already been done but if not that we the next challenge save that it you know it doesn't solve the problems it charges are still outstanding and what is in the air you have to read the u.s. military are they going to surround the plane and bring him down sweetener bring

him down united states force no land and outside of the horse this is not a done deal it's a big step and it's a good sign that a country will stand up with julius ajah and say that we recognize that you're being mistreated that this which our news and and and pushes for to try to find a political forum is there's one saying a song or a story doesn't block it's plot twists full every secrets hold their whistleblower shed light on hey found himself attracting a growing crowd of adam is all more and more desperate to bring him down from bong stood governments and even public think is openly calling by him to make hilt his christian president not with no interest health fall it has all escalated. we first met julian assange on here in washington in two thousand and ten where he unveiled the collateral murder video at the national press club. it showed it to u.s. army pilots treating war like

a video game killing countless civilians in the process including two journalists a songe appeared in our studios later that night to talk more about wiki leaks and what he hopes to achieve with his website the first step in the fourth state is to get information out about the real world and the second step is to comment on it and to think about it but sources can't get. through to ration out to the public in the weeks following a song and wiki leaks were everywhere wiki leaks wiki leaks wiki leaks wiki leaks wiki leaks but it wasn't long before publications that originally partnered with wiki leaks like the guardian der spiegel in the new york times turned against a saw much as did many others who said he should be killed to get hurt for the american people the way to deal with and they were in the end the nashik your united states will deal with this is pretty simple we got special ops forces i mean the dead man can't leaks that this guy is a traitor a treasonous and he has broken every law of the united states he was then accused

of sexual assault by two women in sweden a sign says the sex was consensual and denies any wrongdoing the founder of wiki leaks arrested by british police this morning after turning himself in he's now facing rape charges in sweden to a british judge has granted wiki leaks founder julian assange bail julian assange is appealing against an order to extradite him to sweden he spent much of the last two years on house arrest in london julian assange also had a show on our t.v. requests. that can change the world tomorrow where he interviewed hezbollah leader saeed has on those rollo as well as ecuadorian president. rafael correa what dorian people think about the united states and its involvement in latin america and in ecuador and there would be president rafael correa that would give joy a songe the green light to make ecuador his new home as has been living in the

ecuadorian embassy in london since june nineteenth since the president said he would make his announcement after the olympic games president correa said if he does grant a songe political asylum it would be an informed decision and one made in the name of human rights in washington christine for south r.t. and it will be covering a song just quest for asylum sound really over the next few days here for you and also if you missed any of the world famous whistle blows our own shows here on aussie you can watch all the twelve episodes online at. www dot com. there hasn't been anything yet on t.v. . it is to get the maximum political impact of. the source material is what helps keep journalism on the we.

we want to present. something of. there's been uncommon praise from germany towards greece and spain which both are taking major steps in combating the euro crisis that however flies in the face of warring new statistics showing the european union is entering a dreaded double dip recession i'm glad merkel has also proved a risky york and central bank planted directly by up spanish and italian debt at this point about being something the heads of germany have long resisted let's say but there has been left was no choice of both rome and madrid so weakened they could ask for forced a bailout at any time and that's something marco consulates happen under the about ten minutes time which speaks to motive german economist runs of the in believes the years simply hasn't learned the lessons of the crisis. what i find very

surprising is that the united states would never think of bailing out california when it goes bankrupt or every state is responsible for itself if there is a loss it has to be borne by the creditors of that state while at the same time they argue in europe there should be an international bailout and this is all too obvious they want to save and rescue their own investment this kind of torbor capitalism which we have seen in recent years this irresponsible capitalism resulting from the gamble for resort action played by the banks the best in risky enterprises hoping that their profits the profits will be privatized while at the same time expecting to be bailed out if something goes wrong this kind of capitalism should not have a future. almost fifty people have been killed and many more injured in

a series of attacks across afghanistan there was death toll came in the south west of the country a string of suicide bombings had there as locals were shopping and the pairing for the muslim holiday that ends the month of ramadan a separate bomb blast also struck at a market in the northern can do is province the violence comes as u.s. troops gradually hundred sponsibility to afghan security forces and provide training for them but as all she is the electric chair can now reports the legacy of the american invasion leaves much to be desired. senior u.s. military officers blew the whistle on horrific conditions at the national military hospital wing tabel they revealed photographs from twenty ten some graphic images showing severely neglected starving patients at the hospital which the u.s. military sponsors and helps oversee witnesses describe the conditions there as quote unquote auschwitz like lacking basic necessities like soap the hospital

treats afghan military personnel but the mentors are mostly americans one of the whistleblowers colonel mark fassel served as inspector general for the nato training mission in afghanistan he says the mission's top commander general william caldwell tried to stall the requested investigation into reported abuse and mismanagement at the hospital his first response to me was how could we do this or make this request. with election coming and then he made the really again. shocking comment that he called me bill what does that mean well i took it as you would for it to the present stage. moreover general caldwell command apparently ordered to destroy any photos and videos from the hospital here's the memo that they issued in september last year it says quote unofficial personal photos or video or audio recordings of patients or health care events which already exist will be destroyed or deleted end of quote so apparently

they wanted these shots destroyed or delete it while putting forward positive images like this one positive clips like this one but here at the national military hospital in kabul doctors nurses and technicians are working with u.s. military advisors last year the commission on wartime contracting estimated that the u.s. lost up to sixty billion dollars to waste and fraud in iraq and afghanistan they call the estimate conservative but in the case of this military hospital in afghanistan it's not just about money pocketed by some incompetent contractors or corrupt local officials but also about apparent attempts to hush down human suffering and possibly cover up abuse to present a training mission in afghanistan as a success story i'm going to shut down. time now to have a look at some other international news in brief bahrain has been going on to government protests which saw at least eleven people love arrested several

demonstrators were mccain should leave wounded as police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds the violence comes out record postponed its verdict on twenty opposition figures facing jail sentences for allegedly plotting to overthrow the ruling family bahrain has been granted by the government projects thinking. thousands have gathered for a demonstration against the ruling islam is poetry in the central tunisian town of sidi bouzid the heart of the twenty eleven uprising they demanded the release of nearly thirty five people arrested going to police dispersed a previous protest last thursday with rubber bullets and tear gas on monday this week thousands also took to the streets of that capital to vannes under a proposed amendments to the country's constitution that might reduce on women's rights on the there isn't his government. and at least thirty people have been injured after police broke up a massive demonstration against a done being built on colombia's millinery that sounds sensible of the main road

connecting their land with the southern kettle department protesters claim the construction company is not fulfilled its obligation to provide adequate compensation for that displacement dam said it's not arizona six a local it's a policy it's. it's time for the business now with katie hello there katie's all looks like the asian markets are suffering today what's happening in the oscar absolutely because of russian markets they have just opened a really they're following on from what's been happening in asia they have opened up and it is in negative territory today so they are raising the gains already made so far this week and as i say the following on from the global equity markets the peasant that we're looking at we've also got oil prices as well taking their toll very much having. an impact here as we can see what the r.t.s. around half

a percent down rules got to myself around the same kind of region in the first hour of trade a course we'll be watching the figures throughout the day and seeing if we can have any changes come to play as for the russian ruble then that too is moving and shaking just now as we can see it's losing out to the basket of cards is in the early trade meanwhile we've got the euro it remains flat now staying with russia the country's top pipeline make up to me and k. is preparing a lawsuit against the european commission the firm goes to the e.u. general court to cancel tyrus and russian pipes exported into europe team cases the recent extension of fees is unfounded goes against w t o walls and affects cells of other russian producers in the region. ok keep track on that one let's get to asia now because you mentioned that you. see they are still sliding they're now entering the seconds part of their day and it's for the third time in four days that they're

experiencing it declines we still make is they're down in that solved an official report saying that the world's biggest oil producer china their golden years of growth are over us about having a ricochet to that we've also got big japanese banks as well extending their weaknesses from the previous session and investors as well they're also reassessing the chances a central bank stimulus to support the global economy and now don't seem so optimistic that it is actually going to transpire and come very. close it was a mixed finish as you can see the very front those u.s. retail sales figures they had a mixed reaction over in the u.s. because investors now they're taking these steps to mean a reduced chance of quantity of easing from the federal reserve at least as well just to say it credit agricole anyway now there was also a report saying that greece is trying to extend its who started the program that didn't go down too well so i'm moving on britain's standard chartered they have

admitted breaking u.s. sanctions against iran the lender has agreed three hundred forty million dollars settlement with new york regulators that accused it of hiding operations with the islamic republic the bank said the amount of illegal transactions totaled fourteen million dollars instead of the claimed two hundred forty billion. see or prices and we can see they are still the cool lining that's because we've got a four going stockpiles in the u.s. the world's biggest crude used are rising for the first time three weeks as according to an industry reports of its just clarify that means that the potential for more supply in the market and therefore we see oil prices to climb ok general motors is facing a three billion dollars lawsuit over interfering into a possible sale of saw u.s. car giant is accused of deliberately bankrupting the swedish or to make it instead

of handing it to russian and chinese investors artie's marina explains. defunct car maker saab automotive may be running on empty but the saga surrounding its bankruptcy is only accelerating now the swedish company filed for chapter eleven back in december after takeover talks with chinese and russian investors failed u.s. auto giant general motors which owned part of saab was reportedly against chinese carmakers assessing saabs technology licenses now if there are war if there was a successful deal made that would have purportedly provided saab with the nuff capital to stay alive while also saving some three thousand jobs in sweden according to experts g.m. would have also profit now spyker cars which currently owns saab is accusing g.m. of intentionally driving saab out of business by railing takeover talks with

chinese investors spiker leverage those charges in a billion dollar lawsuit recently filed against g.m. meanwhile some experts are questioning if g.m. was simply using saab as a pawn in a hidden economic conflict or divide between the east and west and if that is true could that be a developing trend in practices within the global economy that question and many others may likely be raised when spiker cars and g.m. face off in court merino port r.t. new york. ok julieann next hour the european markets they'll take center stage when they open good stuff katie thank you very much we'll be looking forward to seeing you with some more optimistic news hopefully. next stars he talks to a renowned german economists who says there's more to fear from the worsening

financial situation in the united states than there ever was in the eurozone. wealthy british style it's a small town to the guys. down.