the drums of war a bit louder in syria's rebel friendly power spearheaded by the u.s. def ophir militarists rather again scared tactics against damascus. and the consequent no longer be self-contained and syria's neighbors are feeling the heat but over a dozen killed in a series of echoing clashes in lebanon. mass murderer anders breivik is sentenced to twenty one years behind bars as a job to players he was mentally sound in executing dozens of people in cold blood . britain abandons its threats to storm victorian mission and take julian assange by force the day after both america's rose up in support of the people.

of the russian capital you're watching r t with me marina joshie another chunk of intimidation coupled with warmongering statements were piled on the embattled syrian government's this week the u.s. and its allies are once again talking up the possibility of assad's regime using its chemical arsenal while at the same time dishing out threats to engage in its internal conflict we're going to work now has more on what damascus had to say on that. as the violence in syria continues increasing western countries may be inching closer and closer towards military intervention this past week the us britain and france all separately signaled when or why they would take direct action u.s. president barack obama said that washington would intervene if the syrian government deployed chemical or biological weapons against civilians britain echoed

america's sentiments while france called for the consideration of a partial no fly zone to be imposed over syria's airspace and that is a suggestion that u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton previously made now the syrian deputy prime minister who was visiting moscow this week for talks has accused western countries of reaching for any reason that would lead to direct intervention he also said that president obama's threats are linked directly to the u.s. elections damascus also drew parallels between western focus on syria's chemical weapons and the invasion of iraq where the existence of suspected chemical weapons were never confirmed now this uptick uptick in talk and threats over military intervention into syria comes as the u.n.

security council is scheduled to have a ministerial meeting on syria on aug thirtieth that meeting was called for and will be chaired by france reporting from new york. r.t. we're correspondent and columnist eric margolis believes washington is being pushed into action by election politics in the u.s. . united states has no strategic interests in syria what this is all about is you ron and the fact that the u.s. is in a very sensitive election year where there's pressure on the obama administration to do something the republicans are screaming do something and so let's hope that these threats and verbal i'm still hoping that there will be a diplomatic solution but chances are receding as political pressure grows in the united states and behind us let's remember that the it's really a person pushing very hard to do something to. overthrow

a government and there are even support from fronts syria may be breaking up into little cantons fighting one another along religious ethnic and tribal lines or just as a lebanon was in the one nine hundred seventy s. this is a very frightening prospect and we have to work hard to make sure it does not happen. opposition activists claim saturday was the deadliest day since the start of the unrest with more than three hundred people killed in fighting between pro and anti regime supporters across syria a lion's share of deaths were reported in the suburbs of damascus which have been witness to fierce battles of late but the war hasn't yet swallowed up the whole country as i see the convoy going to reports. a phrase syrians use for someone who loves life and a good description of this nation's character even during a time of war some syrians to preserve their home or joviality. the town of sway there is one of the few communities in syria still largely

unaffected by violence but what let's get a man with a slice is usually here people come to the park with their families every night nothing has changed. it's just try king contrast to the rest of the country just fifty kilometers west lies data the city where the syrian uprising began and we're going out to buy bread is sometimes a major risk but for the residents of suede that is no coincidence populated primarily by the jews a religious group that incorporates elements of all major faiths this way that has so far proved syria's most successful peace laboratory the locals say it's because their culture breeds tolerance. in the listing to be different is a basic right guaranteed by humanity in psuedo we have people of different political opinions we all respect and accept each other as human beings that's why sweden hasn't witnessed any confrontations we can differ politically but we still

want to preserve our homeland we have people who are against the government but they're also going to violence then no army checkpoint on the streets and no fear of rebel snipers on the rooftops business is slower than usual but the outlook is a bit these hold open the doors just two weeks ago as general manager is convinced that tolerance both political and religious always pays off. have to continue. people who have. have to. accept each other. you have to accept the other. so out so i think it's good to open up this while the rest of syria gathers funerals in psuedo weddings are still the most common public event money and more

among about a dozen couples time the not on that particular day. it's the middle or in hotels where used to seeing very different people and we'll learn how to accept everybody that's what syria needs both sides need to stop killing and start talking to some in the west it may come across as ignorance and disregard to put those who are suffering but it's actually the opposite the syrians always valued the beauty of the simple life and they won't give it up easily human at gunpoint. but i never hear about. the economy where the killings are right now but the banks. maybe you never know. because every morning on the way down to the. minister made a twelve thousand people have spent two weeks blockaded in the syrian town of probably close to the lebanese border and they are experiencing shortages of vital supplies but can't leave the area due to the threat posed by rebel snipers that's

as the syrian conflict has already stepped over to lebanon at least thirteen people including a sunni shaikh were killed there in bloody syria related sectarian clashes this week troops were deployed to stop the trouble they were based political analyst and lawyer dr franklin lamb so if there's an overwhelming dread among the population in law. the concierge of my building who a syrian sometimes hides in my apartment they've been round up of syrian nationals here in beirut in south beirut even though it's a great deal of fear our people are saying not since the civil war how things been is so likely to ignite or the people are feeling so insecure as you know the two neighborhoods in tripoli the job of both for the the shia alleyways and the gavel to bomb is section right down the middle ironically is

the name of a big street cause serious street and that really tells the tale up there but we have seen in beirut and other parts of the country a similar division things are very much on the edge and it's not only the spillover of fact it's the fact that lebanon itself is so fragile and not quite a state in terms of that having a real central government that can enforce the laws and having a compromise army. so i have for this hour here in our team the road to ruin into the future holds revolutionary b.s. as recent as moment taps on the religious right there are fears the country's about to plunge head first into tribal chaos and bloodshed. and no time out for athens european leaders remain on swayed by a greek p.r. blitz asking for more time to implement cuts and its crumbling economy.

an average of three months for every person he killed a court this week handed a twenty one year prison term to mass murder under brevik for the massacre of seventy seven people last july it's the maximum sentence possible in norway but it can be prolonged if the killer is still deemed a man as to the society once the terms complete the prosecution has a man a brother should have been placed in a secure psychiatric unit saying he was insane but the judge ruled he was mentally sound the terrorists who never showed any remorse for his actions during the whole trial said he was satisfied with such a decision the cell brevik will be locked up and has sparked a wave of condemnation as many believing it's too comfortable europe saw a spike in far right activities after the tragedy and as artie's tests are still you know reports the hearing has highlighted the fact you are small to cultural policy is failing. no there is no doubt about his guilt for

right militant unders brave massacred seventy seven people in norway thirteen months ago to show his rejection of government policies and immigrants and is long over this case once again highlighted europe's deepening divide over immigration had integration and the subsequent radicalization of ideas. last week a twenty nine year old suspected brave exemplifies or was charged in the czech republic officers found weapons and police uniforms in his flat and they believe he was planning a brave slaughter. while in norway police are investigating a threatening email sent to newspapers and politicians from a person who claims to be brave and in command i would my soldiers to give all due respect to our people our culture and our ethnicity and warn all advocates of multiculturalism they get is this war we are now so deeply in physical violence is . a line that we draw very clearly now multiculturalism in the sense that everybody

could keep this culture well this idea which has been the official idea for over for the last twenty years this idea is over there is a leading culture of the european values and european culture has such far right fire has gained traction in europe but it's also angered the racism groups and proponents of the left there are some resorting to very public displays of opposition. while there's an increasingly vocal wash of ideologies and a rise in political extremes one step at the fringes countries are increasingly criticised for failing to properly engage people on what's needed to sort the problem out and so my social tensions are testing the limits of tolerance. yet despite the obvious threat of a deepening standoff between europeans and immigrants others say europe's tendency to walk on eggshells in the name of political correctness makes any real and honest

debate all but impossible when you have a riot in. we think occasion of this comes if we want to try to find some excuse. but condition of life and if we don't send a clear message to everyone far right. ok. muslim. it's become impossible to understand the police unders brave extra you may have reached a clue. zhen europe still nowhere near to ending at all to whether the cycle of fear and hatred. does or cilia r.t. brussels. lovano stand international consultant and former deputy speaker for the belgian parliament believes the idea of n.z. grading on assimilating migrants in to europe was doomed from the start there is more and more radical opinion in giving a voice to far right of use not i think hardly of cause there if we can all deny

there are problems with immigrants they are already being forced to integrate and it's the problem that this process of integration in the functioning that it is a basic problem but the thing is first of all multiculturalism first of all has always been in this i mean something that was used in a political context and secondly i do not believe that this was a key policy of the european union european union is an economic project and that is that was the key policy what is the big what is the real problem in society i do believe that there is a problem with immigration in europe i also believe that there is a much bigger problem with the economic reconstruction of europe as this for a moment which is causing all this social frustration. a good deal more still in store for us our including further drama from the skies above the u.s.

drone strike reportedly goes off target killing dozens of civilians while the officers doing remote highlighting. a new trick from. britain has backed off its threat to raid the door an embassy in london according to a statement from the us foreign ministry that withdrawal comes just a day after the organization of american states sided with ecuador in a blow to britain the thirty five nations that make up the new world declared amber season viable territory it's also means join the sounds the matter of the center of the storm is safe for the moment inside ecuadorian mission or smith's in london with more on the decision by the americas. it was a meeting that lasted five hours but eventually got what it wanted out of the meeting essentially the foreign minister made a speech in which he condemned britain for what he called an assault on all sovereignty and eventually what happened was that these thirty four countries

signed this resolution which rejects any attempts to put at risk the inviolability of diplomatic premises anywhere in the world and expressed solidarity and support for ecuador in their offering of asylum to julian assange but also to continue talks between ecuador and britain to try and sort out their diplomatic problems the usa and canada are members of this organization and they were very much against this meeting from the very beginning and they all say that they expressed reservations about the resolution that was passed in the end but it goes to show that particularly in its own region ecuador is not acting alone and it's now got huge international backing across the americas but we've seen no movement in britain stance so far they still remain committed to arresting judy in a. to fulfilling this court order which says that he must be extradited to sweden whatever happens and in fact we've seen further proof in recent days that britain

is not going to abandon its plans to arrest him we had a policeman photographed outside the ecuadorian embassy one of the many policeman who is guarding the embassy twenty four seven holding this piece of paper a piece of restricted information it says that you should be arrested essentially at all costs whatever it takes even if he emerges in some way in a diplomatic car even if as some have posited he emerges in some kind of diplomatic crate or bag that is not going to put the british police off arresting him really very intent on arresting him and fulfilling this court order so that it's a position that hasn't changed in the last few days and i see no reason that it will change as a as a direct result of this but as i say the international pressure is growing meanwhile of course still in the ecuadorian embassy in london still very unclear how he will get out laura smith reporting there commenting on the united nation from the americas attorney. steven van der says only continued pressure can force

the u.k. to let a songe go. the pressure is very important to continue to try to sort of whittle away a. position and it's stubbornness that england has in this specific case and i want to show each time that these types of meetings take place and that the resolutions happen and we see the u.s. position in particular is showing that you know it's going to me is behind all of this and is behind the persecution of the signs and so it's really important that comes out and people understand that governments understand that and eventually hopefully the british government will back down we'll have to wait and see. now it's been a hectic few weeks in the saga of join us on it but we've got the timeline of his predicament and for analysis in our website well there can also find a way dorian president rafael correa interview with r t and his thoughts on how the story will unfold all at r.t. dot com. meantime greece's week long pitch for leniency on bail

conditions has fallen on deaf ears whether it's touring pm on time as some are as told to show his achievements first the prime minister metz this week was various european leaders who funded the second greek bailout he's trying to win concessions from them to extend hysterically their lines and shore up the crumbling greek economy both the leaders of france and germany were a lukewarm at best saying any leniency with a panel grading of athens the steria for its next month after gavin marshall from the center of research globalisation says more time won't save greece if you actually look at the situation what cyrus is complaining about is that he needs more time to reforms what are the reforms there's three words which are most commonly austerity are just. if you simply take the rhetoric all the policies look at the facts you can actually translate the language to what it actually means so

austerity impoverishment adjustment means exploitation and growth means profits. they undermined labor they cut pensions cut social security cut health care spending cut all social spending in general hire more people from the public sector privatized the economy privatized the infrastructure privatized the water the electricity something foreign corporations can come in and buy everything up and this is all so that they can get a bailout which the money simply goes to the banks just the interest on the loans to the banks so it's this massive scam and it's illegitimate for him to be saying that we simply need more time to recover shark population. the german catholic church has pressed charges against a group of pussy riot copycats who disrupted a service and colognes cathedral to a man and a woman who were shouting and carrying a banner demanding freedom from the members of the russian female punk band were thrown out of the building immediately they could now face up to three years in

jail a potential punishment even greater than their inspires received a court in moscow sentenced the posi riot trio to two years in jail for their mock prayer in russia's main orthodox cathedral and germany faces a dilemma now being among the states which rushed to condemn the verdict. well for more details on the pussy riot case don't hesitate to log on to our website including anti-church hysteria that's been sparked by the trial several of the crosses have been chopped down in parts of russia as protesters unleash their anger over the fate of the band members. also the university of the wild west why colorado students can now pad guns as well as books and their school back. u.s. claims that killed one of the leaders of pakistan's feared terror network in a drone strike this week are quickly being debunked it's now being reported the

missile attack massacred most of his family instead including is thirteen year old son a former pakistani air force commander assault on the says it's exactly like this that fuel the insurgency. the information which is being given out is very sketchy because especially since two thousand and nine the united states seems to have changed the rules it has declared that any able bodied person . who can be considered a militant will be considered a military perspective a fact whether the person is ahead of the start not but it is a mockery of all kinds of human rights and especially coming from a country which calls itself the champion of human rights and reason why the united states is banking on the use of drones is because it considers it means by which its own troops its own people are not put at risk but the fact is that the

relatives of the victims are approached by the terrorists and since. for their lives have been targeted and killed it is high time that you can take a revenge and in fact the number of terrorists who are being groomed and recruited in this way is rising so it is not just a double edged sword it is counterproductive and it is increasing terrorism rather than reducing it. it's an age old tactic one can down throughout history and a favorite among terrorists but follow up tax or using the wounded to set up ambushes for those arriving to help them are now seemingly a valid strategy for u.s. drones in pakistan more than a dozen people in pakistan have been killed in the last few days in such strikes during international condemnation that if she can has the story. the u.s. prides itself on the rule of law but on a number of issues the line between what's legal and what's not kind of blurred in the last decade or so is wiretapping legal no but in the name of national security

yes there are attempts right now in congress to legalize big brother on the web by making it legal for providers to funnel all private correspondence to national security agencies the law in the u.s. protects free speech but never before has there been such a hunt for whistleblowers that's in america but as far as u.s. actions abroad the issue of what's legal and what's not even murkier washington has expanded its target assassinations program in different countries essentially putting itself above the law now i'm joined by john feffer author and co-director of the institute for policy studies he has an interesting theory of u.s. foreign policy he compares it to dexter the t.v. show dexter is a fictional character who is a good citizen by day and a serial killer by night but he only kills bad guys mystified for what's so wrong about being dexter i mean everyone loves dexter was a very popular t.v. show here in the united states and all across the world but this is difficult moral questions because of course dexter is judge jury and executioner and sometimes he

makes mistakes and the united states too is in a similar position united states often says it only kills the bad guys. in other figures that have been attacked by drones over the last few years but the united states also makes mistakes there have been any number of civilian casualties associated with these drone strikes so in some sense they're in a similar moral quandary dexter and the u.s. government as you said you know there's administration has expanded its drone program dramatically and the strikes in pakistan yemen and other places they end up killing many civilians we're talking about extra judicial killings and. there's a question that pops out. you know when when someone does something outside the law they're usually afraid of getting caught but in the case of the us who is the police to catch them there is no police is there well there isn't any police of

course there are international laws and there have been a number of reports on implications of international law on the drone attacks and the un for instance report tour has condemned drone attacks as being illegal but i think the chief concern here for the united states in terms of getting caught is being caught by blowback in other words by the consequences of these drone attacks and those i think are significant because of course we've seen people here in the united states who have cited these drone attacks as the reasons for their terrorist activities for instance so i think it's blowback which really represents the casualty or shall we say the consequences that are most direct the drone program. now said take a look at some of the stories from around the world. riots in germany had to use tear gas water cannons to disperse violent crowd of whose annual street festival

several hundred people started a bonfire and. bottles at police when they arrived the fastow has earned a bad reputation having been marred by violence in previous years. neil armstrong the man who once made one giant leap for mankind stepping for the first time in human history on the moon has passed away at the age of eighty two condition deteriorated after a recent heart surgery to clear a block of our degrees made of half a billion people watched armstrong ontario into the lunar surface start on july the twenty s. ninety four and sixty nine or forward in libya salafi islamists have been reportedly blown up and bulldozed a fifteenth century simply try reducing it to rubble the sites are seen as heritage by members of the sect and it's the latest in a series of recent attacks on the shrines which have once again sparked concern over growing sectarian tensions on the coast revolution country as follows last week's violence when an egyptian diplomats car was brought up in the city of

benghazi and after a deadly to involve attacks in the council political analyst and consultant peter iyer things libya only the same further into a bit of chaos because. libya is following the same trend as all the other countries where there was a for sure we have the same scenario in iraq we have the same situation in afghanistan we've got the situation in libya which was again a force regime and as you would expect there will be breakaway groups because at the end of the day although gadhafi was a fraudster in many ways he brought that country from the doldrums into great prosperity and the wrong government got in and so the military is still trying to pull the string you say and of course such failing very fast and i think we will see a natural rebellion it occurs like he is ongoing in iraq like he is ongoing in syria and egypt. well it brings us up to date here on r.g.p.

alley back shortly you were minor top stories of the week. mission. accreditation three years for charges free arrangement free. free. to free. and free.