your. courage activist send out a plea to world powers urging them to prevent ethnic cleansing in syria we talk to an eye witness of the brutal attacks while coddling groups. russian and u.s. foreign policy end of fans hands are due to meet amid a deepening political round which see each side pointing the finger of blame. and the fountain of hope that's run dry later we'll look at the roots of the arab spring that flourished on the promise of democracy which is failing to bring the stability and prosperity many died for.

this is coming to life in moscow with memories and josh kurds who tried to report attacks by radical islamists in syria are in danger of being abducted or killed that's what an eyewitness to an assault has told r.t. the kurdish minority in northeastern syria has reportedly been enduring horrific attacks by al qaeda linked groups for around three weeks now our correspondent in the region iran who brings you what's come to light so far. our ticket is getting new details horrifying details from the eyewitnesses who happened to be in the area those details are extremely hard to come by because of the essential information and physical blockade which has been put up against the rest of the world by the extremists who are permeating the kurdish areas and towns in the northeastern syrian provinces now when we do get to manage to speak to some of the eyewitnesses for what is happening in this region we hear truly horrendous reports. of the skate there shot militias raided their houses blew up some of them and

robbed others till now they have more than two hundred civilian hostages we are in contact with some of those who managed to escape they are in a shock and fear for their logs the conditions are very bad people are in fear and terrorized. out of control there raiding the streets there's no media coverage and anyone who tries to reach out is being kidnapped by the militants the united nations investigators are on the ground right now trying to piece together whether earlier reports of some four hundred people being killed in cold blood are indeed true the un has said that if indeed those reports have any basis in reality that this amounts to a war crime nevertheless this is doesn't seem to get any better even though it does get more coverage at this point the problem is like i said it's the lack of communication it's the lack of opportunity for people who are inside the kurdish towns and villages to reach out to the world because they are essentially fearful to even come out on the street where extremist groups are roaming the cities and

towns and of course the reporters or any other journalists type people who are trying to get into the areas again they cannot get through because of the extremely dangerous situation so of course the situation doesn't seem to get any better and it is something that said the international community is definitely becoming more and more alarmed about. the reports that those kurdish civilians who are unable to flee and remain. holed up in their homes in fear of extremists follow her twitter feed for all the latest developments in the ongoing crisis. around the world must quote defend the kurds from massacre and ethnic cleansing that's the plea from kurdish campaigners who are seeking urgent protection from the international community peace in kurdistan activists are asking the united nations as well as the u.s. and the you to act now to stop what they call brutal massacre they are also demanding that western powers stop sending weapons to groups in syria that use them

to attack civilians and commit war crimes the statement also calls for a probe into turkey's role in fueling the conflict in the kurdish areas of syria kurdish pull it politician hossam muhammad ali things to support the syrian rebels are receiving from abroad is the main cause of his people's plight. all of this is happening because the rebels have been on from the group by countries that do not want democracy and peace in syria turkey in the gulf monarchies are arming these terrorists meanwhile western countries are turning a blind eye to all those they're ignoring the atrocities being committed against the kurds were calling on the west to stop supporting the rebels and to assist us otherwise these extremist forces could eventually turn against their back. and while washington still wavering over whether to provide lethal aid to the rebel forces in syria the director of the institute for policy studies phyllis bennis says it's clear where these weapons would eventually end up. despite all of the

assurances of the various representatives of the free syrian army or the national syrian council who say well we'll make sure they don't get in their hands because we'll keep receipts i'm sorry but receipts aren't going to make it when one force has the capacity militarily to overcome the other force they can't make that kind of a guarantee that they won't fall into those hands it's been true for quite a while that the most powerful militarily of the opposition forces have been the islamist forces allied consciously of their own choice with al-qaeda certainly there will be challenges for the west if there is another permanent stronghold of al qaida someplace like syria and the danger of. other unaccountable forces who have no commitment to international law getting control of weapons of mass destruction that may exist inside inside syria such as chemical weapons that would be disastrous. following the fallout over moscow granting asylum to edward snowden

russian an american defense chiefs and diplomats are said to sit down for talks the meeting also comes amid tensions sparked by barack obama calling off a summit with a lot of important as washington cited a lack of progress in relations but moscow has blamed the americans for being on unwilling to negotiate on equal food ng are these going to count as more. u.s. russia relations with a new low over snowden president obama has just scrapped the bilateral meeting with president bush and it's in this frosty setting that secretary of state john kerry and secretary of defense chuck hagel are meeting their russian counterparts to get a lover off and they're going to try and find common ground on a whole range of issues snowden of course will be part of the discussion it is a part but it is a not a large part of what the agenda will be on friday the obama administration keeps saying they scrapped the meeting with the russian president not just because of snowden but because of a lack of progress on other issues naming missile defense and human rights in

russia but the u.s. had helped talk some disagreement over missile defense from me to yours with regard to human rights imagine you meeting with the u.s. president one possible so it's pretty much clear to everyone that at this point it is about snowden and the question many ask ahead of the friday meeting is whether this scandal basic pension will affect cooperation between the u.s. and russia in other spheres on syria for instance where cooperation is already under a lot of strain to say the least both moscow and washington agreeing to meet somebody in geneva where they would bring all sides of the syrian conflict together to map out a political solution but are they any closer the opposition has been clear they will not sit down with people who have blood on their hands these are all part of the discussion and all issues we continue to work through the idea of the summit was about bringing all hands to the negotiating table in order to finally stop the bloodshed and save syria from becoming an all but one thing that both the u.s.

and russia agree on is that the terrorist threat is growing in syria russia is sure to raise the issue of u.s. plans to arm the rebels when it's clear that the weapons can easily migrating to the terrorists' hands that happened in libya so similar concerns on both sides but very strong disagreements on what to do and how to do it nobody expects that before . official john kerry said a lot of raw chuck hagel and sergey shy go walk out of that meeting on friday with a big smile on their face but the hope is that they will at least not let disappointment and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries ten actually make now the u.s. is unwilling to back down to make any concessions to moscow on key international issues and that's according to geopolitical analyst william randolph washington is determined to encircle russia with its missile defense which is an often substrata

jeannot a defensive one by the way it's a nuclear first strike preparation strategy and that's something that russia understandably is not exactly overjoyed about the issue of syria is non-negotiable in terms of what the us is trying to put into power in syria similar to what they tried in egypt and failed that is a muslim brotherhood controlled regime that would allow qatar to control pipeline flows in to europe and not to iran so among other things so this is there is not a basis of agreement on these fundamental questions snowden is as i say is not the issue the issue is this fundamental disagreement and washington is not prepared to change its agenda and openly and honestly negotiate to resolve these differences therefore obama is using this childish maneuver of capsule in the meeting because of snowden supposedly and just a hand we investigate the legacy of the arab spring as the nations that were once

who got on the idea slide into chaos. there's a lead out so we leave that maybe. i will see the motion see your. play your party there's a bill. for shoes that no one is as good with the gas that you deserve answers from . politics. please write the simply. first strike. and i think you're. on our reporters. instantly.

please. please. please. please. welcome back it's been two and a half years since the arab spring erupted by the optimism that swept the region back then has been brutally crushed the street riots are raging in egypt militias are slaying civilians in libya and most recently the country that had favored the best tunisia seems to be descending back into an anti-government turmoil the one where people hoping for are too many so now investigates. the arab spring captivated the world just over two swords years ago changed democracy and new

elected governments were promised in the three countries that began this wave of revolution but what prevailed is nothing short of chaos almost full circles in tunisia and egypt and in neighboring libya a situation some described as much worse than before regime change we don't hear anything about libya in the western press or western television channels what we know is different groups vying for supremacy people are desperate to try and put a cover on what has been created by the libyan disaster in the fall of gadhafi trends have formed take tunisia we all remember mohamed boise's the the fruit vendor who set himself on fire in december twenty ten his death sparked mass protests followed by the president fleeing in mid january twentieth eleven now again the death of an opposition leader sparked protests in july twenty third teen they haven't let down still this week tens of thousands are on the street demanding

the resignation of the government in egypt similar to two thousand and eleven and mass protest mubarak he's out twenty third seen mass protests morsy is also out and violence reigns with the help of the military the fact that morsy violated human rights does not justify overthrowing him and especially if together with the overthrow we get more violations of human rights rather unless you're an investigator on torture one mendez there he told r g the most worried he is it's about countries like libya where the organization is denied access but are aware of atrocities far worse than under gadhafi very troublesome because we hear about clandestine to. centers of. detention centers that are run by militias that are not accountable to anybody so many experts including mendez expects positive

change in the arab world it's just not clear at what cost and how long it could take it its military backed government is facing an uphill struggle to contain protesters and restore stability but there is another problem looming with the post ramadan and fees over food is in short supply all across the most populous arab nation whose economy is at its weakest in eighty years are true has a story. at a cairo hospital food bank volunteers offload banks of provisions to prepare a traditional ramadan dinner for many like most of our words a hospital worker tonight's donated meal is the largest one he'll get this week i earn about fifty dollars a month and we are six people so the maximum i can do is buy beans two for a few sounds so i can eat we want justice i work a whole day and make practically nothing when i'm leaving but if i don't this tiny salary my family won't eat the poorest are suffering in egypt as policymakers and

the media are distracted by the deepening political crisis food banks like this one who tried to cover the whole country are stretched to their limits explains coordinator money amount of thought. the poverty line is so high food is the most important think we. will provide hundreds of food baskets full of fries and basic food stuff so that they can feed families for a month in some places will go to utterly destroyed every time we visit it gets worse even provide livestock so that they can feed themselves for a while with the country in turmoil food distribution centers like these a plug in the gaps amid an escalating crisis food insecurity has risen significantly in the last few years according to the world food program resulting in a rise in stunting anemia amongst children due to malnutrition over a quarter of the population is under the poverty line and they're the ones being hardest hit with the continued civil unrest and dwindling foreign exchange reserves and they say the situation will only get worse as egypt is unable to import much needed wheat for the brat millions depend on government subsidized bread that sells

for about one cents a loaf however critics say egypt's food subsidies are wasteful and don't filter down to those who truly need it it's basically subsidizing items at a very cheap prices and baling it to the mainstream populations with a very high calorie intake very slow nutrition and very close to nineteen percent of the poorest people are not getting any use of the subsidy and we know that twenty percent of the subs. and he goes to the richest strata of the society and i guess if there's a number of active says subsidy egypt is facing its worst economic crisis since the one nine hundred thirty s. and food prices have doubled since two thousand and twelve making nutritious food inaccessible to many in the world that there are high prices everywhere to meet his vegetables are too expensive for me with few functioning state institutions and a new interim government focused on developing political events these issues will continue to go unresolved and for the moment the most fundamental will be left

starving bell tree for r.t. cairo. now look at some of the stories from around the world and pakistan's restive city of at least nine people have died in a shootout gunman opened fire in a crowd of work hours that were leaving a mosque it's half marks a bloody start to the ied festival which culminates the holy fasting month of ramadan am on thursday thirty eight people were killed in the same city bomb blast a funeral the region's plagued by violence mostly targeting pakistan's shia minority. an indefinite curfew has been imposed in a town in india administered kashmir the restriction comes after muslims and hindus clash there jewelry aid celebrations police had to respond with tear gas and warning shots to disperse the crowds and another incident police confronted thousands of enter india protesters in the city of srinagar dozens of people have been injured on both sides kashmir is divided between india and pakistan with both

states vying for control. of the u.k.'s sending three warships to the british overseas territory of gibraltar amid a worsening diplomatic round with spain it's after gibraltar's chief minister asked for the point to stop spanish incursions into the rocks territorial waters the centuries old conflict night in late july when british boats created a makeshift reef of concrete blocks in the sea spain. responded with long delays at the border and lengthy car checks. japan is marking the sixty eighth anniversary anniversary of when an atomic bomb was dropped on nagasaki together with hiroshima the attacks by america killed over two hundred thousand people and prompted japan to surrender in the second world war during the ceremony in august mayer criticize the country's authorities for what he called a lack of effort in nuclear disarmament opposition to atomic power has heightened

after the fukushima disaster in twenty one. now calls to boycott soar to two thousand and fourteen are growing louder and causing quite a stir in the global media they were prompted by a russian lawmakers decision to ban the promotion of homosexuality to children british actor stephen fry has gone as far as branding the law fascist and drawing an analogy to nazi germany here's a good to separate fact from fiction and the media frenzy. stephen fry's open letter said that russia is making scapegoats out of gay people just as hitler did the jews which is why he's called for a boycott of the upcoming winter olympics set to take place in the russian town of sochi next february not a boycott sort she idea is gathering at lightning pace with clemente says on both sides of the story weighing in some of the service of pointed out that the legislation passed in russia isn't unprecedented in fact the u.k.

itself had a similar lower in place until very recently the united kingdom had something called section twenty eight in place until two thousand and three which was almost exactly the same is the recent law passed in russia which said that homosexuality should not be promoted in schools or to minors so much for keeping sports and politics separate which is exactly the message that the international olympic committee gave to r.t. boycotting sochi twenty four team would only serve to deprive the country's athletes from fulfilling their dreams of competing at an olympic games something they've dedicated a great portion of their lives to accomplish history has shown that boycotts do not solve anything but simply punish olympic athletes those campaigning for gay rights also doubting whether stephen fry's proposed boycott is the right path to go down the only people who will suffer because of this because it is the sportsman who are participating in these in these competitions that's why i'm against the best solution in this in this case is to go and protest during the olympic games

concerns surrounding the new gay propaganda on the war in russia has even led to worries that gay athletes could be arrested when they arrive in sochi for the games to which russian or sources of fire a fide that the new law doesn't outlaw homosexuality and that those attending and participating in the games will be safe despite the assurances in this former olympic host city the talk of boycott shows no sign of abating. artsy london british world affairs journalist new york large things a gay rights issue is being deliberately over exaggerated in the media. in nazi germany homosexuals really were discriminated against they were putting to concentration camps and killed in large numbers and of course this is not happening in russia today if it was i'd be the first person said we go to russia all together it's not happening what's happened in russia is we've got a new law which bans promotion of homosexuality to under eighteen's now i'm not

saying i support that law i oppose all anti-gay laws wherever they're passed in the world but why stephen fry focusing on russia there are about eighty countries in the world where homosexuality is actually illegal one of them is a country called qatar where the world cup is going to be held in twenty twenty two you go to prison for five years if you're homosexuals it's political i think there's because i said there's eighty country but eighty coach the war you have worse records on gay rights than russia so i think it shows double standards here it shows this kind of russia phobia i think among the western elite that they look down at russia they patronize that the this idea that russian people more homophobic they're racist it's nonsense it's not true. meanwhile in sweden the i.t.n. energy minister is finding herself on the wrong side of her own laws as you can find out on our website or the politicians been looking for her stiff anti-piracy stance but will now have to explain why she herself costs to live in copyright several times. and it may be a very long way from us orbiting jupiter in fact but one freezing moon could in the

distant future offer a man times best chance at survival find out why. mosque is cracking down on illegal workers coming from abroad and there will be tougher punishment for those who exceed a permit for a one month stay in the country as well as for the businesses caught hiring them of the five million migrant workers now in russia an estimated three million are illegal a situation of which authorities are struggling to get under control our kids are going off reports. about me as i'm really they came here thinking it's the road to opportunity but instead many found themselves on their way back home. we were working and then all of a sudden police rushed in and detained us. over one thousand illegal workers were arrested this week alone so many in fact that a temporary camp had to be set up to house those awaiting deportation several human

rights organizations have criticized the conditions the migrants are kept and only the basic necessities are provided meals toilets and showers there's just one you do which comp of course this isn't a summer camp or your vacation getaway but we do have to remember all these people have violated the law. but some n.g.o.s claim these conditions are still better than the ones most of the workers experienced during their so-called employment like i did it's like the reality is these people lived as slaves almost none of them got paid they work for food independent public movements have also been trying to help authorities get the situation under control for instance this is one of the basements they raided home to over a dozen workers many without documents and their employer. how can we find a who's in charge here our boss yes not here right now can we call them i don't have the number. workers are usually hired by contractors which service

buildings and apartment blocks clean streets and look after other infrastructure but also cuts in on the studio because of high rent prices in the city it's cheaper for contractors to house in the basement even though it's illegal we've gone to around fifty in the last six months around five hundred migrants have been passed over to the police most refined and some with approach to the wall of according to migration officials there are around three million illegal migrant workers in russia but independent studies show much higher figures but clearly for companies hiring migrants is a much less of a hassle than hiring russian citizens quare entitled to social benefits while illegal workers have no support at all it's not only about cleaning streets servicing buildings or working at markets construction alone is a major source of jobs with some projects creating hundreds or perhaps even thousands of new places most of which also usually end up being taken by migrant workers the lack of transparency is found in all spheres of business and experts

say it's now undermining the full system just some entrepreneurs hire strictly legal like rules and invest in difficult amounts of money and this while those who hire illegal aliens don't you or how can they compete from august the fines for breaking russian migration and labor laws will be substantially increased companies will have to pay up to thirty thousand dollars for each illegal worker they hired for them saving cash this way has never been so expensive you got this going on r t moscow. up next here in r t larry king grills a democrat running for the post of chief fiscal and auditing officer of new york.

everyone respects a promise written in stone promises written on the internet well they're a bit more flexible and a lot easier to erase obama made a lot of promises as a candidate on his site change dot gov including some about protecting whistleblowers and obama said that we need to empower federal employees as watchdogs and that he would strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste fraud and abuse of authority and government but strangely and possibly coincidentally two days after the first revelation of government spying by stoughton these promises of the change dot gov site were taken down if this is not just some odd coincidence and they consciously chose to hide obama's campaign promises that this is political cowardice at its worst and worse even worse is that they didn't think that this would get exposed almost immediately if you try to conduct some sort of medieval book burning to distort information on the internet then you are only going to get burnt yourself but that's just my opinion.

speak your language. programs in documentaries in arabic in school here on. reporting from the world talks scipio piece interviews intriguing story. arabic to find out because it arabic. he is the disgraced former governor of new york he resigned after being caught in

a prostitution scandal he's the man once referred to as a client nine in federal courts and the sheriff of wall street for his aggressive actions is new york's attorney general he's now running for comptroller of the city former governor eliot spitzer joins us next on politicking with larry king. by the long way eliot spitzer and i will use to sit in the back table at the regency hotel in new york that leaves with his attorney general of new york what he would dine for breakfast alone. into that breakfast that was the power breakfast invention there spot people who may be culprits now that leave the bag table at the reason that you make it sound a little more sinister than.