syrian rebels say they are responsible for a large blast that went off close to a hotel where the u.n. observer mission is staying we bring you a report from archie's very own correspondent who was there to witness the blast. ecuador do bulks rumors that it's already granted asylum to julian assault with the decision that and the whistleblowers two months quest for refuge now expected later this week. and no end in sight explosions rocked afghanistan right after the deadliest day this year saw almost fifty people killed while another scandal flares up for u.s. presence in the country.

and welcome to our t.v. this wednesday i'm karen taraji reporting live from moscow and it is five o'clock here well the main syrian rebel group say they're behind a powerful blast that ripped through the capital damascus the explosion struck just outside of a hotel being used by the u.n. observers mission and an r t crew our correspondent oksana boyko witnessed the attack and was among the first to report from the scene. i know this appears to be relatively calm the past few days but as you can see this call was very deceptive and very sharply explosion took place around eight in the morning just ten meters from the hotel where un observers are staying right in the center of damascus close to al malky area it was a very loud bang that was followed by a series of smaller explosions that sounded like a chain detonation of ammunition the blast itself took place at

a closed arming garage adjacent to the hotel it appears that the device was planted on the fuel tanker parked there it is still unclear whether it was an inside job or how the perpetrators managed to get access to this heavily guarded facility three people are believed to have been injured in the blast none of them works for the u.n. meanwhile syria's deputy foreign minister who rushed to the scene suggested that the choice of venue for the attack indicates that it was targeting the u.n. observers the real choice of this army in a place for a mix approach and indicates the intentions of those who are behind this is terrorism attributes all the international community must work hand in hand against terrorism one supports here near the united nations observers everywhere they had a view of the mission in syria didn't talk to reporters today though he did appear

in front of the cameras his mission's mandate expires in four days and it is still unclear whether it's going to be extended the last time he spoke to the media he was very skeptical in these assessment of the situation on the ground because clearly the violence is increasing in many parts of syria. indiscriminate use of every weapon spider government and targeted attacks by the opposition in urban centers are inflicting. on innocent civilians he also said that despite all the dangers involved un observers will continue with their efforts of documenting violence in syria till the last minute and now it seems they don't even need to leave their hotel rooms to do that . r.t. reporting from damascus in syria i also spoke to independent journalist james corba who has written extensively on the syrian conflict he believes rebels are unlikely

to draw condemnation from some foreign countries after the latest attack in damascus. we've seen previous terror bombings taking place in damascus and not only has the governments of the western countries that have been backing them refused to remove that backing they've actually strenuously supported those terrorist bombings here too it doesn't seem to follow any rules of logic here and i don't think that this is going to find that the kind of kind of widespread condemnation that we would expect for a terrorist blast like this you know rebel friendly washington has said iran is backing of the syrian regime as more dangerous than they are filtration of al qaeda fighters within the opposition what's your take on that that has to take the cake is one of the most hypocritical statements in modern political history it's so head scratching and so bizarre that one can't help but laugh at the hypocrisy obviously people now i don't know well i mean it's now openly admitted that obama signed

orders for the cia to open we cooperate with the so-called free syrian army several months ago we know now that the free syrian army is training at a u.s. air base in turkey and we know that the u.s. state department has been openly funding the syrian opposition since two thousand and six so for them to come in and say that iran should stop funding me out of the syrian government in helping support is just such a bizarre such a hypocritical statement that no one i think will take it seriously but it will i'm sure generate many headlines and turn national press freedom group reporters without borders how worn the syrian opposition over the growing number of attacks against journalists in an open letter the organization said government reporters have increasingly become targets of abduction and murder while foreign media have also received death threats from rebels artists are selling i met journalists who've lost colleagues in real crisis gripped the country. january eleventh two

thousand and twelve the first western journalist was killed in holmes frenchmen. well the initial reaction from france and many french journalists were that of anger and condemnation over here a fence elevation to speak of jackie's colleague who was with him in syria when he was killed. we can't show it as we're shiels desk used to be now there's only a black and white picture of him. and he was a great friend he was always smiling it was hard he always wanted to go places always curious he loved his job he was also someone who was very friendly who would go filming we were happy to do together because we would be able to live you adventures like the one we lead to syria he really had this need in his body to tell what's happening on the other side of the world his camera with my camera we were always together i lost a friend christophe 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 defined that he wasn't alone in coming to that conclusion i met by mistake by random french intelligence guy. i don't understand why your report didn't pick up. the music that there are because it was our conclusion intelligence services and friends got reach a conclusion that he was killed by a mortar eighty one millimeters coming shooting from the rubble area by mistake i published the story it was denied of course by the minister of defiance ministry of foreign affairs of all because it's not really politically correct medical correctness that's playing into what is increasingly become an information war as as much. it is a civil war where the villain is usually the heavy handed regime and 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 and in a life phone interview he told r.t. my point is. you don't. have it working out of the backs of any journalist or the battery and always going to be an appalling rise again. so the migrations of the rebels from mind that is. very old there's a nasty war where truth is a smushed victim as those who've lost their lives what. are those who are here 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 are still mourning every day every day when you test

or sell your r.t. paris. and just to remind you are to screw in syria are posting constant updates about the situation there via twitter you can check out analysis and discussion about developments in the conflict torn country several images from the scene and also available all. thanks for joining our to the fate of the world's most famous whistleblower julian a solid remains unclear despite some sources in ecuador saying has a solemn as a done deal the president of the south american country personally denied the rumors saying he's still awaiting a report from the foreign ministry to make the decision julian assange has been

holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in london for almost two months now he took refuge there seeking to avoid his extradition to sweden where he's wanted for questioning in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct his supporters believe that he might be handed over to the u.s. where they claim he's already been secretly indicted artie's laura smith is in london and has more on a soldier's plight. we put in a call to the presidential administration in ecuador who said that he denied that there has been a decision any kind of major whether to grant. asylum in ecuador now that of course is not to say that he will 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.

television address by president. 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 his decision so 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 could do it 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 expectations that a verdict on the asylum is close our company concerns that even a positive decision won't change much for the wiki leaks editor kevin zeese an anti-war activist and member of the bradley manning support network says the biggest obstacle for asylum will be escaping the u k. he needs to get safe passage out of great britain you know england has to agree or there are negotiating with it

or it sounds like there were trying to negotiate a great deal prior to making this decision so maybe that's already been done but if not that will be the next challenge save that which you know it doesn't solve the problems the charges are still outstanding and once he's in the air you have to or the u.s. military or the universe around us are just plain and bring him down so even when down united states force in the land and outside of the door so this is not a done deal it's a big step and it's a good sign that a country will stand up with you and stajan say that we recognize that you're being mistreated that there is which our needs and and and pushes for to try to find a political. the long running saga surrounding julian assange has certainly never lacked any plot twists artie's christine has a look back at how the whistleblower went from being hailed a hero to being condemned legit criminal. it's good we first met julian assange 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. in the forthright is to get information out about the real world and the second step is to comment on it and to think about the. sources who can get this through to be rationed out to the public in the weeks following a sauna and wiki leaks were everywhere with a week's 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 bush the american people the way to deal with and they were and the nashik your united

states the way to 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 team requests. that can change the world tomorrow where he interviewed hezbollah leaders saeed has on those rollo as well as ecuadorian president. dorrian people think about the united states and its involvement in latin america and in ecuador and it would be president rafael correa

that would give joy in a songe the green light to make ecuador his new home as on has been living in the ecuadorian embassy in london since june nineteenth and since the president said he would make his announcement after the olympic games president correa said if he does grant us on political asylum it would be an informed decision and one made in the name of human rights in washington christine for his our party will be following us on just quest for asylum and updating you on all the latest developments over the next few days right here on r.t. also if you missed any of the world famous whistleblowers interview series for r.t. you can watch them all all mine at a solemn star dot com. there hasn't been anything yet on t.v. . it is to get the maximum political impact. before the source material is what helps keep journalism on we.

we wanted to present. something of. wealthy british style. markets why not. why not what's really happening to the global economy with my stronger no holds barred look at the global financial headlines. guys a report on our. here with r t and i'm karen taraji and there has been a fresh violence in afghanistan where at least fourteen people have been injured after an explosion rocked a market in the country's northwest another attack took place in

a mosque in eastern afghanistan during morning prayers injuring now on people it comes after the deadliest day this year with almost fifty people killed in a series of bombings across the country more than one hundred were injured in the three separate attacks the surge in violence comes as u.s. troops gradually hand responsibility to afghan security forces that's as another scandal concerning the american mission in the country unravels archie's going to chicken has more on that. senior u.s. military officers blow 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 first response to me was or could we make. a lurch. and then he made. a really. sharp income and. he called me. what does that mean i took it. for a jew presumably stage moreover a general calls 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 kind of. time now to take a look at other news from around the world this hour. at least eleven people have been arrested in rain during anti-government protests several demonstrators were

injured as police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up the rally the latest protests come after a court delayed its verdict on twenty opposition figures were allegedly plotted to overthrow the ruling family forty one years ago today behind gained independence from britain after the leaders signed a friendship treaty. egyptian president mohamed morsi has appointed a new defense minister and chief of staff the move comes just days after he forced the nation's top two commanders into retirement nearly elected islamised president has already appointed new military leaders to the vacant positions corsi has been in a power struggle with the military since he took office in june the previous four egyptian presidents have come from the military indirectly allowing it to rule the country for the last six. australia's highest court has blocked the extradition of

a former hungary and soldier charles zentai is accused of torturing and killing a jewish teen and nine hundred forty four during world war two the court sided with a previous federal decision to stop the extradition saying war crimes charges didn't exist at the time of the killing then todd says he's innocent and has been fighting extradition for nearly a decade. time now for the business update dimitris so the markets are in for a chill today but apparently the reason is the same as the markets were growing the day before that's absolutely right depends on how you look on things really because yesterday we had the retail sales in the us coming better than expected for the markets were growing today the same factor the same u.s. retail sales are an indication that everything. it's fine with the u.s. economy and therefore no stimulus is needed and so traders are going now so let's take a look at what's going on the markets right now so really europe is shrinking around

half a percent in london and in frankfurt the two interesting stocks here worse than the market british american tobacco is down almost two percent and of much better than the market is the controversial bankers' standard chartered it's up more than four percent let's go through these stories one by one now global giants have failed a huge turning in a stroller and he's a buck a law now this means that from december the first all cigarettes must be sold in plain green packets without any branding in the country british american tobacco and philip morris now claim the new rule breaks their intellectual property rights britain norway new zealand are all watching this case and similar similar measures in order to help fight smoking. meanwhile standard chartered has admitted to breaking u.s. sanctions against iran the british lenders agreed a three hundred forty million dollars settlement with new york watchdog that

accused of hiding operations with the islamist republic and threatened to take its u.s. banking license however the bank said the amount of illegal transactions totals only fourteen million dollars instead of the claimed two hundred forty billion. saying with financials all serious folks buying has become another european lender to stop speculating trading in food commodities that's after corn and soybean prices surged to get a new all time highs on the u.s. . the decision is a stand against critics who blame speculators for expensive. brian let's move over to other markets currencies first the euro is the losing value versus the greenback but that's normal given the previous sessions it was strengthening its positions in the past two weeks we have seen a pretty stable this where the russian ruble is in line. with that trend to losing to the dollar and winning some against here. let's take a look now at the russian markets the r.t.s.

and the my six are down more than one and a half percent also a pretty logical thing to see because a correction was in the making and here we have it because the previous couple of sessions we have seen very stable but moderate growth. now moving the my six we've got the diamond giant al ros are down more than one percent despite the fact that the reported sales go up a seventy three percent abroad in the first half of the flag carrier float is down as one of its shareholders as said he's ready to sell his stake to the governments at a discount and russia's top five make a t.m.j. it's also down around one percent. and in commodities we're also seeing a slight decline in light sweet bread managed to go up a bit now they've been kind of out of sync the past couple of days and this is all in anticipation of a report in the u.s. crude of the trees will have it in just. right now general motors is

facing a three billion dollar lawsuit over interfering into a possible sale of sab now the u.s. car giant is accused of deliberately bankrupting the swedish also maker instead of potentially selling it to russian or chinese investors that sees money in the port reports. defunct car maker solve automotive may be running on empty but the saga surrounding its bankruptcy is only excel orating 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 they're 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 three 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. or imo business news on our website. business or fifty five

minutes we look forward to thank you dmitri next the struggles and current american and vietnamese children who bear the imprint of an ancient agent orange a deadly toxin that was once sprayed over the dense jungles of vietnam that's after the headlines shortly. in the little room.

well. it's technology innovation all the developments from around russia we've got the future covered. my parents really truly honestly believe that what had happened was as a result of my father's exposure to agent orange i was born with multiple problems . i was missing my leg and my fingers and my big toe on my right foot i use my hands a lot in my artwork i find myself drawing my hands quite a bit to me for my hands you know just as if anyone would. but

they do tell a story they tell a story of. oxen. wealthy british style it's not something that's not on the rise. right now the. markets why not come then.