wonders in afghanistan against the soviets to working with rebel political groups in northern ireland cambodia and colombia as a former special envoy to the middle east he has brokered a number of cease fires between israel and the palestinian movements fatah and hamas he now serves as the director of the conflicts forum in beirut where r.t. sat down with him for an exclusive interview thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us but is the wave of recent violence the anti-american a wave of protests across the middle east do you see that as a coordinated effort or or perhaps just a reaction to what's going on on the ground it seems to me that what happened in libya was well planned well conceived i mean very well planned. and was certainly not something that happened just out of the blue and it coincided of course with the anniversary of nine eleven. and seems to be more serious i don't think that necessarily suggests that everything else that this that

occurred during this period. was therefore coordinated or well designed or or well planned but more to touch was a real late sense of anger at what people see as the continuing aggression as they see it against their tradition for against their culture against their way of being in this region by western states the recent events the sudden outbreak of salafist bombings in libya itself in benghazi the very seat of what the americans or a new new year or a marriage break will cause. the west cumulatively to begin to question and start the process which they need to do which is really to reassess what actually is going on it's not the awakening that people thought it's not simply a popular. impulse of the oppressed against your precious it's far more than that

and what we are seeing is the overlay of the dynamics here is the gulf states saudi arabia or. other gulf states that are trying to create a sunni bloc in the west. as they try to create the salafist sunni bloc in the east and succeeded no it's the there and it's causing huge turmoil and huge internal conflict within the reach well referring to the killing of the u.s. ambassador in libya secretary of state hillary clinton or mark how could this happen in a country that we helped to liberate what are the u.s. foreign policy makers missing when it comes to their supports our interfering in countries with that complicated stance towards the west indeed i think it is causing a real sense of anxiety and a sense of schalke in the united states widely because this whole narrative that

somehow the awakening was going away was reflecting and you know much of that was simply based on this rather press. narrative that was promoted by many mainstream western press did look they're using twitter and facebook therefore it must be western in its orientation well of course you find the salafist groups are seeing facebook and twitter not necessarily to promote western values but i think that gave it the sense that somehow this was flowing in the west direction and i think this is come as a big wakeup call to to the western states for the moment we see a tacit if you like alliance between the of radical elements in the united states in bringing down assad and bringing down gadhafi but when that's finished where will their anger where will. their object. if turn it will turn precisely

on israel and america. is living i've seen for twenty five years people think big are using the salafist as sort of simple pious people who don't understand politics for their end only to find the salafist use them for their ends and i fear that this is what they will find that it will turn on them and will bite them just as it did twenty five or thirty years ago but what lessons has the us failed to learn when it comes to its experience in afghanistan and how does that relate to what's going on right now i remember in eighty seven going and talking to the americans about it and saying you know you need to really understand the big differences between these groups that are taking part in this alliance put together and you have to understand some have credibility and real roots within the community but others do not at all quite different and the americans and the senator i remember at the time turned to me and said listen i was to thank you for the advice and

mourning is about certain groups in afghanistan but look i just want to tell you they're the ones that really came communist pass and so we looked away didn't want to know what was happening we preferred not to go because it was so popular domestically with president reagan with mrs it was going down well nowhere in the way kicking gadhafi. came president assad is a popular sport in the west and good domestically so we don't look who are these groups in syria who were the groups in libya what really owe their get all their objectives truly to bring about some in the west imagine a simply a more liberal society a more democratic and easy breathing society of course not just as twenty five thirty years ago people didn't want to hear it was unpopular to say things. so

it's been extremely unpopular here so are you saying that the west miscalculated chose the wrong alliances perhaps i think that they miscalculate totally what was happening they chose they created americans for themselves it was a constructed narrative that really all of the initial awakening which was popular and had real popular impulse in it was somehow a vindication of european values of american values and they misread it was not it was in fact when you heard that it was a protest against injustice in iniquity it was a protest against neo liberalism it was a protest against the absolute support of the west against for israel and for. its policies against the palestinians that may not have been at the forefront of all of the climate but the reason that these dictators like mubarak had been so

unpopular was precisely because he was the instrument of the west the instrument of suppression of the president and that it was all was really behind the protests that took place so it was not an endorsement of western values it was a reaction and i think the recent violence that we've seen against western embassies not just american and western him sharply underlines symbolically the limits of western influence in this region this is pushback against their attempt to shape and mold the so-called arab awakening for their own purpose to install their own people their own successes for their own interests in the area but when it comes to syria how do you see the conflict there playing out is peace at all possible at this point perhaps we surpassed that opportunity i don't think until now we've had. window does not really be

a real window for negotiations because the west has not wanted. the opposition to seriously negotiate except on a complete collapse. of president assad and in the syrian system i think. maybe a window arising in the near future and i do hope that the west will instead of ridiculing it and belittling russia's attempts to try and have a negotiated outcome in support because russia place a crucial if there is ever to be a negotiation between the two parties will have to be guaranteed to have to be guarantees for the opposition for who's going to give the guard the u.n. . west of course only russia can really play the crucial role in resulting i'm sorry but a u.n. negotiate the u.n.

has no standing and no legitimacy in syria amongst either side at this time and are you worried about be ongoing violence in syria spilling over here into lebanon and potentially fracturing the society here of course everyone is worried and it's already has had effect here in lebanon it is polarized the politics of lebanon. it is resulted in conflicts that have taken place in tripoli it is resulted in. skirmishes that have happened in beirut and in in the south in. the reflection of this taking place and lebanon is of course vulnerable to this type of sectarian conflict but so was jordan and so is iraq and we are seeing the same effect also taking place so it's.

the whole region and if there is if it continues and of course if the money and the weapons continue to be poured into syria it will of course continue for a certain extent. no government can stop two or three people and car bombs does continue the tensions will increase but they may explode outside in fact i think in many cases. at this stage it's the states outside that are more vulnerable the neighbors of syria could be said to be more vulnerable than syria itself to call for gratian and civil war israel remains a surprisingly untouched it would seem at least honest on the surface by the rise of radical islam do you expect that to continue and how do you see this playing out i think at the moment it's quite crude but the palestinian issue is almost obscured hardly even on the agenda. but of course i don't believe that this will persist i

believe that the palestinian issue has been so crucial to the self identity of so many states whether it's egypt whether it's syria itself that when things settle down the palestinian issue will of course reemerge and of course israel is not unaffected it may not be feeling the effects now but look i mean what's happened has been as dramatic a change as south africa experienced all those years ago at the time of the implosion of the soviet union suddenly. israel is now surrounded in egypt perhaps soon in jordan and elsewhere by a very different region from the one in which. it previously existed thank you.

the sun rises over what seems like and lowest forest to here in the new directions cry for hundred kilometers north of light of all stalk as in much of the world it's disappearing at a catastrophic rate. bloggers both illegal and those finding ways to outsmart the system for filing down the forests of the more skewed region for them profit goes well beyond the future of our planet and the result could be an ecological crisis the world wildlife fund for nature makes regular trips to help local rangers do what little they can to stop the logging but it's not easy lager set up trucks making them hard to reach in an already rough terrain and have mastered ways to jump through legal loopholes this is a nature reserve we're only sanitary logging of disease trees is allowed according to law and not

a single berry can be picked but loggers like this use their sanitary logging permit to cut down absolutely healthy trees and sell the profitable timber over the border in china we are on the hunt for illegal loggers and it's not going to be easy the forests or nets in our chances are slim now for now we can stay in our dreams but as soon as we find solid tracks we'll have to drop our wheels and get out silently in order not to scare the loggers off alexander some more you go has been a ranger for over twenty five years he can spend weeks at a time tracking a single group of loggers easier to work when snow falls in autumn it's impossible to find human tracks and even transport tracks are hard to see after hours of driving we get sent in the right direction by word of mouth you can see that the ground is soft here which means that the twelve tractor trails are very fresh which in fact means that we need to be quite. nor to not scare them off as we get closer . this team says they're illegal but have no documents

now xander can now call the police to take over his work here is done he is overwhelmingly outnumbered there are too few rangers working in the promote the region and the w w f says the government isn't doing enough to stop it i got to go and look now as i start observing for more of forest legislation so assumes that doesn't so in regards a new forest court and according to columbia loaf over for us this is the guys in waltham in the in the forest through the still forest called steel doesn't work just. no one tries to stop them in just five years the forest will be gone they'll fill it all to china what will the people who live afterwards do. it's a question more and more people are aware of today climate change and the safety of our environment as a whole are being discussed around the world and perhaps it's those small steps

that might be a start to people living in harmony with nature. but pictures coming out of madrid right now as thousands take to the streets on the spanish capital blocking roads in protest at the government stepping in fresh austerity budget to combat the fast growing deficits. and the backing of syrian rebels russia again uses the new went to complete ceasefire and calls on some foreign powers to stop sidestepping the world body. plus a teenage protesters killed by police and framed as thousands of pro democracy

activists and keep up the pressure to resign albeit on the elected prime minister. accept units here with the latest sports news. good to have you with us this is sports today let's have a look at what's making headlines this hour. the talk of tokyo patrol beats defending champion i guess go to advance gears a claim the biggest title of her thirteen year career that pompous ific open. let the kind die and begin fief is the final list of cities that will host games at world cup twenty eight games in russia. and feeling blue russian football champions in its weight for a win this month goes all of this in petersburg side drop home to lockable team. is

where we begin with the russian premier league where two time defending champions and eight are yet to fully right the ship despite bringing back in battle striker alexander from the reserve squad this in petersburg man playing a draw with lokomotiv to stay six overall forward see action from the start of the second half but things started well enough with him tally in the fender dominico chris chito by the minute albeit the feet of the flexion who really man whoever goes right back on track eleven minutes later and release striker. of the ball past keeper we have to tie perceiving the game more for its ill disciplined and free flowing football with a red card issued to each team and nine yellow cards dished out one one how it ended. last see terek were unable to mar city day celebrations incrusted are locals to burnley emerging issue on winners and i want

to go off opening the footballing festivities thirty two minutes in a free well executed compound free kick turks more in your neck have his say in the proceedings three minutes later. early contender for cool of the season this simply an incredible strike longshots the story of our ass billy's effort in may even for a minute or so come one interpret their second straight loss after six wins in a row to watch how it ended. for from a dive into a car before that smashing the hosts year long on beaten rather home in the process it was a car though who secured the early advantage couple none of which to reach an instant before firing the boss fights net new signing can cost from the level modest beautifully with a free kick on thirty three minutes his first goal for spartak two teams goalkeepers how eventful even. a reuben receiving

a straight red early in the second half right after the red white's under a decal and had left the field three henri immediately putting the new keeper to the test and exported to only the sixty seven minutes archie was zuba would put the finally on the coffin heading on right at the death. basketball where the next few months promised to be the most exciting and challenging period alexy sheds life the twenty three year old joined the minnesota timberwolves from saskia moscow during the summer those richard brown portrait reports he'll have a more than familiar face to help the march stateside. it's a dream come true for alex has she had to finally move to b. and b. a the twenty four year old has improved dramatically over the last couple of years as a key part of his country side who won bronze in london this summer he hasn't had much rest of the form a serious car guard says he's raring to go i have already been in training for the last two weeks and i just want to get there and. see the first season in the n.b.a.

. but i hope one particular friend will help me out when i get there and i hope everything will be ok we'll have a massive helping hand when moved to minnesota and still be joined by n.b.a. veteran and he couldn't come i'm the russian says it's fantastic to have such a good friend of teammates still goes up the hill he's been the pain in the n.b.a. for ten seasons and he's vastly experienced he's always the kind of guy you can go to for some advice but he's a good person to have around and he's a good friend of mine both on and off the court i'm sure he will help me out when i get there and i'll try to take his advice and. he was ok linda says that shit has every chance of being a success in north america so he's a talented guy he has all tools to become a star so you don't know who says he just did more to. me as a veteran i will help him as much as possible should scheme has really developed into jordan says come people say season x. and shaun from the frequent find those sometimes that down by lapses in

concentration and poor decision making but as he showed at both european and international level he has what it takes to succeed in the biggest stage of the everything started to prove for me when i got more time. i was on the court i just kept on improving minnesota could well spring a surprise a season in me in the eight hours they have a young and dynamic team that the likes of kevin love america rubio met roster. of carolyn can should set to join the future looks bright for the team from minnesota which of them both an eternity. i to tennison our nightly patrol has claimed the biggest win of her career the russian be throwing reaming champion. at the pan pacific open but over getting off to the best possible start taking the opening set to love the second set though proving almost exactly the opposite of the first were advanced bunting by fiercely secret six once again concentration when it mattered

most though re getting the initiative in the this thirty year old only able to be denied her second title of the season winning out six one six six games to retain. i mixed martial arts where the m one challenge tournament hits the russian capital on sunday night's new reports the top of the build clash features a very familiar name. i. don't know good or bad but the minute you go fight song. with arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time having level sport in june his younger brother nick sunder is still in the business. for and fame during the heyday of the private funding championships. in early two thousand the biggest and the may stage of them all back down. i'm not disappointed with footers decision to leave it all of course fans would love him to

keep on fighting because he's the best but everybody enjoyed watching him fight seeing these unique style proving his outstanding skills over and over again very good that's why his retirement was just slightly disappointing but he's not a machine and you realize it was time to leave and devote himself to other things and i'm all glad for those legacies untouchable. state undefeated for a decade well xander screener has been sent down. to do inspiring through sheer aggression and of us why did fits each of those without fear or approach one of them is devastating losses came in november last year when the next on there was near where he's compared to. my league up just twenty seconds into the boat but he recovered with a claimed three wins in a row on sunday the thirty one year old is set to face lottery as constantin look

in the main event shows tournament in his book he will be there to give us all his band when i respect him as a fighter for bore hole he's good at both punching and kicking also seen him take his opponents to the ground and i must be ready for that to her how ever he's first and foremost a very good striker should. i consider alexandre you know yachting club very strong in excess. syrians to ponder the i'm very much so for a very rich of joy i wish him all the best group i want to be involved in this big fight them a little bit around will enjoy it where there is surely something more than just a stick rode somebody maybe. we in the road to redemption we lose and he's right back to square one. on top of that the thing that. has always been superseded with right is once again.

and finally the kind of defeat for world cup twenty eighteen can i begin in earnest right here in russia for the host cities for the biggest event in football were announced live on russian t.v. on saturday evening moscow sim petersburg and saw they were all sure to be picked from the thirteen hopefuls on shows and they were the two regions have to be dropped to make the final shortlist of twelve stadiums in eleven cities across nodar and jaroslav all seeing their dreams of watching the sport's biggest stars up close and that means moscow st petersburg's saw a coloring berg kaliningrad. nizhny novgorod summer volgograd surrounds. all the knowledge russia which had never held a world cup before beat off competition from england. from spain portugal netherlands belgium to win the right to host the twenty eighth and i think that

young. is all your sport for now. you won't come to the place to shop for a swimming bird you can catch both of the premier maritime aviation show of the summer check out a whole family of russian engineering feats of the let ships truly fly or just go with the flow and take in the view of the bay below but hold on there could be

turbulence on board the plane it's only jet powered insidious plane the marcellus. pellet up of the world's most powerful chopper and you've got a team bring to douse any flame technology i'm doing here on r.g.p. we've got the future of coverage. sigrid laboratory to mccurry was able to build a new most sophisticated robot which all unfortunately doesn't give a darn about anything tim's mission to teach me the creation and why it should care about humans and world this is why you should care only on the dot com. we've. used to meet.

wealthy british style sun. that's not on the. markets why not. why not what's really happening to the global economy with my stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines to name two kinds of reports. 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 anyone would but they do tell a story they tell a story of. oxen. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know.