it will be told to go into. you know they were always greeted. syrian president bashar al assad speaks exclusively to our t.v. about his and his country's future saying he's not a western puppet and warning that foreign intervention would have a global buffer question. barack obama slaps new sanctions on iran in one of his first foreign policy decisions since israel action while lawmakers plan even more severe restrictions. and libya tells itself as a tourist destination just weeks after a deadly siege and clashes in the town of bani walid.

well world news from our moscow headquarters you're watching r t with me lucy cough and elf well the syrian president says that western states are used to creating enemies and they're motivated by their own interests in an exclusive interview with r t bashar al assad predicts a global catastrophe should foreign powers intervene in his country watching sophie shevardnadze i spoke to the embattled leader in damascus and has more details. that he's not a western puppet he also denies to fuck that civil war is taking place in this country he's saying that it's not civil war it's a conflict where he has to five different fractions of terrorism. and the fact that the financing of this terrorist fractions was unprecedented and it was coming from abroad he told me that if the sinuses were to stop then he would probably need about two weeks more to restore peace in his country and he also said that if the west were to intervene militarily it would have

a domino effect from atlantic to pacific and no one would be gained from that and he also said that west tends to create enemies for themselves like communism iraq saddam hussein and he feels that bashar al assad in syria is the new enemy not syria but hume himself so he feels that the fact that conflict has ask elated it is because the west has created a new anime in the space wasn't it told that there wasn't a problem you know the way. it was because we knew that. for different reasons you want to create a new. program that the president has to do that's what you have to focus on. i asked him it's not just the west but a lot of countries have betrayed you on the first occasion why do you have so many so many enemies in the arab world he said well actually a lot of arab countries support me but they're afraid to say it out loud i asked

him why and he said because they're all under the strength and power of petrodollars i also asked him about turkey and if the war with turkey was a real possibility and he didn't doesn't believe that there's going to be an actual war with turkey but he also emphasizing the fact that the turkish people are the enemies of syrian people and they're always been a friendly nation it's. his government that's the problem and that's against bashar and wants to all special because god wants to reassure his and strengthen his political position in. and in the region personally thing that you can use. to money and you can control the region as it was doing both many. different routes. which is. not gold money can buy not to be ready for but in his how do you think that if i ask him to regret anything what's your biggest mistake he says of course i have requests and of course i have made mistakes but when i ask him what is your biggest mistake he wouldn't give me a precise answer he said it's too early to talk about precise mistakes and precise

regrets because the war or the call think it's still going on i also asked him if he were to turn the clock back to fifteenth of march that's when the protests started to escalate would he do anything differently and he said no i wouldn't because within the marches within the protest marches there were people who started to shoot innocent civilians and the government forces so the government army had no other choice than to respond with force do what i did exactly the same for exactly the same just. different parties to form. and to stand against the terrorist group but i always thought if you didn't start as most people because there will be little emotion but within bills most with. militants with help with looting of the civilians and at the same time so he said he wouldn't change much about a year and a half ago when the protests started to grow and escalate he would do exactly the same. we can watch the full exclusive interview with syria's president bashar al

assad at one pm g.m.t. right here on our team of course you don't have to wait until then the full interview is also available on our website just head over to our team dot com. i'm so you know i mean. maybe you feel you have to be going student. in our two exclusive friday through sunday on r t v dot com well u.s. lawmakers are rip. didley working on a new financial and trade sanctions against iran which would prevent the country from doing business with much of the world now this would be on top of the latest round of restrictions just imposed by washington that helped development also come on the heels of a pentagon revelation that iranian warplanes tried to shoot down a u.s. drone near the country's border last week. has more. president obama's first moves after he won reelection have pretty much indicated that in the next four years he will aggressively pursue the idea of the u.s.

being the world police the administration has imposed financial sanctions against the iranian officials will be u.s. blames for jamming satellite broadcast and blocking internet access any rain that comes on top of a whole bunch of other sanctions that have been put in place by the u.s. which are proved to be crippling for the iranian economy and the population there is suffering a great deal because of that while campaigning president obama indicated that he didn't want to go to war with iran but that he would continue the sanctions policy and that's what he's doing we've heard reports that the obama administration might engage in direct talks with iran at some point but there has been no confirmation of that. threatens to attack iran and the u.s. appears to be stopping them some argue that the u. was might be playing a good cop bad cop diplomatic game there anyway the administration's strategy appears to be to make iran so desperate that they would agree to anything but sanctioning iran was probably not president obama's very first move after winning this election government officials here say the said on wednesday a u.s.

drone strike targeted a group of al qaida militants in yemen and the president had to authorize that and possibly he did that within hours after his reelection the use of drones has been highly controversial it's quite clear not everybody hit by those drones are terrorists and the administration so far has been far from transparent on how they pick the targets and basically authorize executions overseas the u.n. has raised concerns about the legality of such executions there. it's been a lot of criticism especially after numerous reports of civilian deaths in the meantime this administration is said to rely on drones more and more another drone related story this week the pentagon said the reunion military had fired upon but did not hit a u.s. drone flying close to the pentagon claimed the drone was there on a surveillance mission so looking at some of president obama's first moves after reelection one could say he takes the idea of america being the world police very

seriously but the question is who's going to hold that world police itself accountable. well the u.s. has so far failed to use the bargaining opportunity that sanctions potentially have that's according to reza marashi the research director at the national iranian american council. you can continue to ramp up the sanctions on iran but sanctions ostensibly are supposed to provide leverage at the negotiating table if you're not using them as a negotiating chip when you're at the negotiating table then all they are is a blunt instrument the ends up adversely affecting the lives of innocent iranian people this is the first instance in which we've seen obama move forward on sanctions and it remains to be seen whether or not he doubles down on the diplomatic track of his policy to try to find a peaceful solution to the crisis but we haven't seen to date tangible evidence of these sanctions causing the iranian government to change strategic calculus on its regional policies or on more specifically its nuclear policy and that's supposed to

be the goal that's the metric of success that both the bush administration and the obama administration have defined seen the obama administration really ramp up the amount of drone usage you know whether it is yemen or pakistan or even today we saw a report of the iranian government shooting at an american drone that was off of its coast so we're in uncharted waters when it comes to policy american policy related to drones and until we have some rules to this game that the international community can abide by you know playing off the same script that increases the likelihood of a conflict that the united states and the international community i think would independently seek to avoid. well coming up it's all in the name that's for one u.s. citizen who's stuck in qatar to find out how what you're called could link you to pro-military even bar you from entering your very own country. and a libyan tourist strive keeps silent on the recent unrest the saw the town of bani walid and left in ruins these stories coming up right after this short.

looking at some jokes you simply do not believe they come speak and good news how they can wrong oh. it's an international sled dog race with those driving the dogs. coming from as far away as a strength in canada and the us they come to russia and everybody is so very friendly they welcomed me with open arms and the scenery is so beautiful it's very much like alaska and so i felt at home the first blood joke was brought here from us straight here now it's trios come to this remote russian village to take part in the race it's not surprising they love it this trail are amazing but even more amazing is the story of how racing first started here atoll it wasn't the top

. grazing who set the trail ablaze but a nun and for all phones who brought their idea to life. five years ago. built a dog kennel in the village kids from the local open age came around to take care of the dogs and one day they state their life might seem extreme to some the boys wake up at six to feed the dogs before school in the evening they spend up to three hours training their full legged friends but smother her schedule also encourages her kids to become depth hands on the computer and internet the boys who regularly updates their websites and they're in touch with the busy mother twenty four seven on the phone each summer but children are the most important thing my only interests not play any rule any more and regardless of whether parsky has huskies window race or not she hopes the competition will take place in the village next year. but called these dogs and the children it really is not the winning but truly

just the taking part that counts. cultures that so much time on which records and what kind of. obama want to decisive victory returning him to the white house for another four years what accounts for this victory was it a well run campaign and changing that. morning's

today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. showing operation. welcome back you're watching r.t. live from moscow with me lucy catherine of why the libyan town of bani walid is still struggling to heal the scars of the siege which took place less than one month ago libya has actually surprisingly been promoted as a new travel hotspot artists are furth a visit at the world travel market in london to find out why tour operators remain silent on this tragedy we're here at the world travel market a trade show you taking place in london or people can come to look for holiday inspiration that scouts exotic spot for honey really one country you probably

wouldn't expect to see being touted as a tourist destination and that's libya the places where the tourist interesting the site is a political fight it's. going to and you've got to be served more than even dollars to breakdowns like london new york but there's somewhere that is not mentioned in the guide book bani walid a desert town that's remaining loyal to formally to colonel gadhafi it's just a few hours drive southeast of the traditional tourist destination tripoli but it's a world away from the safe environment the two guides of pitching. the towns become the scene of some of the fiercest fighting since the libyan uprising last year but despite reports of indiscriminate shelling and gas attacks on the local population at the hands of the libyan army there's been an almost total media blackout in the . r.t. ran the story for more than a fortnight before anyone else picked it up back in london and despite libya being

showcased it seems that bani walid has once again being conveniently left out of the conversation when i saw this. it was a goes with surprise and i came to the feedback of the situation at the moment in libya and if we have so many people it means that. situation is they could be coming most and we can think for next season to do something with libya and it's a wonderful country so we would about what's happening in bani walid at the moment when you were lead do what do you mean was hacked was being happening there's been fighting do you know about that no we went to confront the tour operator i saw you speaking some people eat telling them about what's been happening in bani walid at the moment. this is. for the future. there's a reason because it was deeply disturbing is that despite a growing body of evidence about crimes against civilians and increasingly vocal

concerns from human rights organizations the same media and government remain resolutely silent i've got to sort of package this as a success it's very important for nato so we have the speed of these countries to be liberated in inverted commas as great places to go great places to invest and the reality for the everyday person in these countries is a living hell really pick up one of the travel information then you'll be given reasons to visit libya and undoubtedly there are many there's a concerning silence that's being echoed by the u.k. media a seeming refusal to talk about what's been happening in places like. the reality is that the new government is struggling to control its militias and bridge the deep divides that remain in the country but none of that you're going to read about in the. surf artsy london while the libyan government says bani walid will soon recover locals believe that their current state of affairs is far from normal

or just go to a man named faraj who is in contact with his relatives in the stricken town and says the fighting is still not over and faraj not his real name is currently in egypt and has asked not to be identified over fears for his safety. governmental t.v.'s suborder to a list of militias. attacking and killing innocent citizens. city leave these militias out of looking all supplies no. this included minutes in food would undoubtedly life in the sixty's they are destroying almost with guns and bullets and use. of what he would eat this is a given store their definition of close. to humanity and how you see difference and know if you flew in to be

a one night and this young fellow who into another who too young. and because he didn't do it isn't his only good for the united states as was fred askew coming. to cities with bombs and guns in food but he looked on the different we're. now and i mean the government of libya. well leading by training human rights activists continues to await fate at the trial of an appeal for a job who's been under arrest and still lying will resume in a month's time after thursday's hearings in find out more by logging on to our website our trade dot com also for you there new frontier astronomers discover a planet seven times the size of perth which could support human life all those details for you on our website our team dot com. well an american now living and

working in qatar has been barred from traveling home to visit his sick mother and study along who is an air force veteran has been placed on a federal no fly list without any explanation adam soltani from the council of american islamic relations believes that his muslim name is what makes him an undesired. person and the united states there is no indication of any reason for him to be on this no fly list he has never been convicted of any criminal activity he has served his country for ten years in the u.s. air force and he has indicated that there is nothing he can think though that would link him to anything criminal in nature you know there are cases kerry has dealt with in the past of individuals who were placed on a no fly list sometimes it just has to do with the name their name may sound like someone who was affiliated with criminal activities or or something of the sort we've never really been given answers by the f.b.i. and the department of homeland security so we're not one hundred percent sure it's kind of speculation at this point but nevertheless you know he's indicated that he

has a law abiding u.s. citizen and really cannot think of anything that would prevent him from travel. well russia's interior ministry says it's discovered the theft of over two hundred million dollars allocated for the development of the country's satellite positioning system known as going os now a two year along investigation has implicated several top officials who have been working on this project. also which is now operational suffered a setback for two years and two years ago when three satellites were lost in a rocket crash meanwhile russia's military is also in the throes of a corruption scandal this as the country's joint chiefs of staff and their defense minister are replaced as much as andrew farmer explains the new man is wasting no time in her shuffling the ministry. of what if crazy hundred sixty five and in this instance they do it stand right in the russian little bit earlier today a man called larry good to see more is

a police forces general stanley chief believe it will be his responsibility not only do we see reforms in the army but also to help we are up to he was appointed by the defense to go sure he said. it was a. military man from head to toe the man who is so cool says a man who is respected in the military no i think the point in the timing of all this is significant because police have detained large disappointing for the sale of many three assets the allegations that these ounces we sold will be no more he places the federal security service is doing so repairing and tricks on high ranking officials within the limits raised. state tells to you should we give you said mr jones he's pretty clear that what you will be tolerated and tell from if you all been taken destroying we bestow i also understand taht if you see defense minister has been appointed by prison places in this part of the show you go on the

russian and it's the. royal we have more world news for you and brief this hour hundreds have taken to the streets of saudi arabia in memory of fourteen people who were killed during last year's anti-government protests that the demonstrators are criticizing the kingdom for refusing to investigate the killings and its stance on public gatherings countrywide protests announcing the regime and supporting political prisoners have grown significantly since last year and the government has issued repeated warnings against a rally is promising a strong response. now a series of explosions have a roof just through a chemical plant in quebec claiming the lives of two people injuring about one thousand more a massive initial blast was followed by several smaller ones raising concerns over toxic smoke as well as contamination around that industrial plant the cause of this explosion is not yet known. meanwhile university students in chile have clashed

with riot police over a new law against an authorized public gatherings the students through petrol bombs rocks and fireworks that the authorities have responded and like with tear gas legislation it would increase the punishments for those rallying without government permission to as many as three years in prison. china should be aiming to become a maritime superpower this according to that country's outgoing president now who gentile's message to the national congress comes ahead of a once in a decade change of leadership the president called on the country to step up its military prowess to focus on safeguarding its interests the fact china's defense budget is an already the second largest in the world and the country also boasts the world's second biggest economy. well don't go away crosstalk is coming up right here after the break stay with us on our team and.

world of the. science technology innovation hall believes developments from around russia we've got the future covered. wealthy british style some time to put in the. market why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's cancer run no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report on our. journey speak your language. programs

and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world talks books of p.r.p. interviews intriguing story to tell you. in troy arabic to find out more visit our. the plant that was responsible for causing. had been in a condition where it had become a source of pollution the most recent study that was done shows that this water pollution.

need to be. seen as five hundred dollars.

hello and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle barack obama won a decisive victory returning him to the white house for another four years what accounts for this victory was it a well run campaign in changing demographics or was it a campaign for the republicans to lose does obama now have a solid mandate and what is the future of the g.o.p. . cross-talk american politics after the election i'm joined by two crosstalk usual suspects steven lesser new york he is host of the blog talk radio show making sense

with steve lesser and a partner at democratic spring strategies and in paris we cross to rachel mars than she is a political communications strategist and a syndicated columnist all right folks you've both been on the program before so you understand how crosstalk rules work steve if i go to you first what is the primary reason the number one reason why your man and everyone knows that your man won the election. well there's two or three main reasons but if you want to know the number one reason i think that the american people gave president obama credit for coming to office at a very difficult time when the economy was losing eight hundred thousand jobs a month and it really looked like the financial system was going to completely collapse and he turned that around now maybe you could say that not you know more much much more needs to be done we wish we were a little bit better position that we were now but i think the american people when they finally looked at it and said i have to make a decision they gave him credit for turning things around and starting to create jobs again i thought.