can you that. giant corporation. the drums of war beat allowed in syria as rebel friendly powers spearheaded by the u.s. to step up their militaristic rhetoric scare tactics against damascus. mass murderer breivik is sentenced to twenty one years behind bars as a judge declares he was mentally sound when executing dozens of people in cold blood. britain abandons us threatened to storm the ecuadorian mission and take julian assange by force it's just a day after both america's rose up in support of. the

top stories of the week here on r.t. and i'm a rule research with the weekly another chunk of intimidation coupled with aggressive statements were piled on the syrian government just this week that the u.s. and its allies are once again talking up the possibility of assad's regime using its chemical arsenal lot of the same time dishing out threats to engage in its internal conflict. has a more and exactly what damascus had to say in response. 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 up to uptick in talk and threats over military intervention into syria comes as the un 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. . correspondent columnist eric margolis believes that washington is being pushed into action simply by election politics ongoing in america. united states has no strategic interests in syria what this is all about and 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 the use of threats of verbal i'm still hoping that there will be a diplomatic solution but chances are receiving as a political pressure grows and the united states and behind this let's remember that it's really pushing very hard to do something. overthrowing the government and even supports

a syrian you'd be breaking up into little cantons fighting one another along religious ethnic and tribal lines that are just as loving i was in one thousand nine hundred seventy s. this is a very frightening prospect and we have to work hard to make sure it does not out. opposition activists are claiming this saturday was the deadliest day since the start of the rest with more than three hundred people killed in fighting between pro and anti regime supporters all across syria at the lion's share of deaths were reported in the suburbs of damascus which have been witness to fierce battles as of late but the war has not yet at this point is followed up the entire country is ati's a box on a boycott 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 still preserve their home or job reality of.

the town of sway there is one of the few communities in syria still largely unaffected by violence. and with flashes he show here people come to the park with their families every night nothing has changed. it's a striking contrast. 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 sway that has so far proved syria's most successful peace laboratory the locals say it's because their culture breeds tolerance. in the 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 confrontation we can differ politically we still want

to preserve our homeland and we have people who were against the government but they're also gets the violence then no army checkpoint on the streets and no fear of rebels not a person on the rooftops business is slower than usual but the outlook is a bit this whole to 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 have to. have to. accept each other. you have to accept. the culture of the people so. i think it's good this while the rest of syria gathers for funerals and sway that weddings are still the most common public event when if i'm wrong about

a dozen couples time the not on that particular day higher than the minimum i mean hotels were 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 for 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 at gunpoint. because. we are killing me right now that. maybe i'm never. going to. now an estimated twelve thousand people have spent two weeks blockaded in the syrian town of very close to the lebanese border they are experiencing shortages of

vital supplies but can't leave the area because of the threat posed by rebel snipers but all of this as the syrian conflict has already stepped over ten eleven on at least thirteen people including a sunni shaikh were killed there in syria related sectarian clashes this week troops were deployed to stop the trouble but our beirut based a political analyst and lawyer dr franklin lamb says there's an overwhelming dread among the population in lebanon. the concierge or vi building who is 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 people are saying not since the civil war how have things been is so likely to ignite or the people are feeling so insecure as you know the two they were hoods in tripoli the most certain for the the. alleyways and the gavel to bonnie section right down the middle ironically is the

name of the 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. ten minutes past the hour moscow time of this is r.t. thank you for joining us today still ahead for you in this program i had no time off for athens but european leaders remain unswayed by a greek p.r. blitz asking for more time to implement cuts and issues to prop up its crumbling economy. and average of three months for every person he killed that's a quarter handing down the decision this week

a total of a twenty one year prison term to mass murderer anders breivik for the massacre of seventy seven people last july it is the maximum sentence possible in norway but it can still be prolonged if the killer is still deemed a menace to society once the term is complete and the prosecution has demanded breivik should have been placed in a secure psychiatric unit saying he was insane but the judge ruled that he was mentally sound the terrorist who never showed any remorse for his actions during the whole trial said he was satisfied with such a decision and the cell will be locked up in there has sparked a wave of common a condemnation many believing is just a bit too comfortable europe's or spike in far right activities right after the tragedy and as artie's tester arsole reports the hearing has highlighted the factor in the issue of europe's multicultural policy. there's no doubt about his guilt for right militant unders brave they could massacred seventy seven people in

norway thirteen months ago to show his rejection of government policies and immigrants and islam oh this case once again highlighted europe's deepening divide over immigration had to gratian and the subsequent radicalization of ideas. last week a twenty nine year old suspected brave exemplifies it was charged in the czech republic officers found weapons and police uniforms it is flat and they believe he was planning a brave extol slaughter. while in norway police are investigating a threatening e-mail 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 such far right fire has gained traction in europe but it's also angered 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 up the fringes countries are increasingly criticized 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 for us europe not 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 the riots in. we think

of you in this comes everyone trying to find some excuse. but condition of life and if we don't send a clear message to everyone far right. 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 are still the r.t.e. brussels. and vanno stand international consultant and former deputy speaker for the belgian parliament believes the whole idea of integrating an assimilating migrants into europe was ultimately doomed from the very outset there is more and more radical opinion giving voice to far right if used.

i think partly of course dear if we can all deny there are problems with immigrants and they are already being forced to eat degree and it's the problem that this person integration in those functioning that it is a basic problem but the thing is first of all multiculturalism first of all has always been. i mean something that was used in a political context in secondly i do not believe that this was a key policy of the european union european union is an economic projects 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 and this room which is causing all this social frustration. watching the weekly here on r.t. is going to join us today still plenty more to come this hour including further drama from the skies a bungled u.s.

drone strike reportedly goes off target killing dozens of civilians while the officers during the remote piloting pick up a new trick from al qaeda. britain has backed off its threat to raid the ecuadorian embassy in london that's according to a statement from ketosis foreign ministry their withdrawal comes just a day after the organization of american states sided with ecuador in rather a large blow to pressure the thirty five nations that make up the new. world declared in vallejo baltar a tory it also means julian assange should the man at the center of the storm is safe for the moment inside the ecuadorian mission to use morris metal with more of the decision by the americans. 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 and expressed solidarity and support for ecuador in their offering of asylum to julian our sons 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 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 julian assange and adds 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 person 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 julian assange 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 here merges in some kind of diplomatic create. that is not going to put the british police off arresting him that they're 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 soon as a direct result of this but as i say the international pressure is growing meanwhile dude in essence is of course still in the ecuadorian embassy in london still very unclear how he will get out what is our lowest with reporting there and commenting on that united condemnation from the americas attorney and our spanish

host eva golinger asserts that only continued pressure can force the u.k. to let us go. the pressure is very important to continue to try to sort of whittle away. position is 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 have been and we see the u.s. position in particular is showing that the united states government is behind all of this it is behind the persecution of the signs and so it's really important that comes out and people understand their governments understand that and eventually hopefully the british government will back down after wait. so fewer hectic weeks in the saga of julian assange but we've got a whole timeline of his predicament and full analysis at our website our two thought com there you can also find ecuadorian president rafael correa is interview with r t you also has thoughts on how he thinks the story will continue to unfold.

the german catholic church has press charges against a group of pussy riot copycats who disrupted a service in cologne's cathedral two men and a woman who were shouting and carrying a banner demanding freedom for the members of the female russian punk band were thrown out of the building immediately they can now face up to three years in jail a potential punishment even greater than their inspirers received a call to moscow did sentence the pussy riot trio to two years in jail for their prayer and russia's main orthodox cathedral and germany does face a dilemma now being among the states which rush to condemn this verdict. by twenty past the hour moscow time greece's week long pitch for leniency on bailout conditions has fallen on deaf ears with its touring prime minister and told to deliver results first the prime minister met this week with various european leaders who sponsored the second but i doubt he's trying to win concessions from

them to extend austerity deadlines and use the time to shore up the company's recall me but both the leaders of france and germany were lukewarm at best saying any leniency will depend on the grading of athens austerity efforts next month however in a marshall from the center for research on globalization says more time will not save greece. if you actually look at the situation what's the maris is complaining about is that he needs more time to implement reforms what are the reforms there's three words which are use most commonly austerity just banking and croaks if you simply take the rhetoric follow the policies look at the facts you can actually translate the language to what it actually means so austerity. just might mean sexploitation growth means profits they undermine labor they cut pensions cut social security cut health care spending cut all social

spending. general. public sector privatized the economy privatized the structure privatized the water the electricity something foreign corporations can come in and buy everything out for cheap and this is also that they can get a bailout which the money simply goes to the banks just the interest on the banks so it's this massive scam and it's illegitimate for them to be trained that we simply need more time to recover shark population. thought you know it's mine you can always find all the latest stories comments and videos of course on our website dots he taught com let's have a look and see what else is standing by if you there right now for example the defense on the go brush your unveils a brand new missile system that is capable of ultimately breaking off the wings of almost any flying it target or thereby creating a full scale shield within minutes. of a look here is big bulging eyes and chubby little face captured the hearts of locals where this baby seal has now taken up home on

a russian show all the pictures and videos online at r.t. dot com. live from moscow this is our u.s. claims it killed one of the leaders of pakistan's feared hakani terror network in a drone strike this week a quickly being debunked it's now being reported the missile attack massacred most of his family instead including his thirteen year old son and a former pakistani air force commander sultan m. hali says it's exactly episodes like this to continue to fuel the insurgency. i'm afraid 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 militant in respect to other facts whether the person is a terrorist or 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 the only 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 their tall dark sense . of 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 is an age old tactic one condemned throughout history and

a favorite among terrorists but follow up attacks or using the wounded to set up ambushes for those arriving to help them and are seemingly a valid strategy for u.s. drones in pakistan and more than a dozen people there have been killed in just the last few days during such strikes certainly drawing international condemnation artie's guy next to candace 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 of what's legal and what's not even murkier washington has expanded

its target assassinations program in different countries is actually 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 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 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 this 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. the 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 and 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 the implications of international law on the drone attacks and the un for instance rup or 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 is 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. this is all it's he strode into the world cup that we will start with germany where riot troops of a tear gas and water cannons to disperse a violent crowd of youths if you will street festival several hundred people stopped at a bonfire and threw stones and bottles of police when they arrived at the festival has a rather bad reputation haven't be maad by violence in previous years. thirty six people killed in northern china as a fuel tank collided with a packed bus and gulping both in flames police say most of the passengers were sleeping at the time of the crash and only three of them managed to survive at this

point it's not quite clear what caused the accident state media suggests sixty thousand people die on the country's roads every year. almost forty people have been killed and more than eighty injured off an explosion of venezuela's biggest oil refinery the blast that was caused by a gas leak comes off the repeated outages on installations run by this. state oil company the country's president hugo chavez has already declared a three day long mourning period this is by far the worst accident to have ever hit the opec nations industry. 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 as condition deteriorated after recent heart surgery to clear blocked arteries an estimated half a billion people lost on strong t.v. he stepped onto the lunar surface on july twentieth one thousand nine hundred sixty nine. all right back in just

a moment with another recap of the week's top stories to stay with us here on out saying.