caught in the crossfire. a slaughter of hundreds of kurds living in northern syria showing no mercy to women and children in their path to creating a breakaway islamic state. brock obama lashes out at moscow for what he calls a cold war stance while russia demands america act like adults we report on the spike in tensions triggered by the snowden saga. and as moscow gears up for its first of may or elections in a decade we'll look at how the leading candidates the acting city chief and a prominent opposition plan to win votes.

from our studios in moscow this is r t i'm sean thomas certainly glad to have you with us now the leader of the iraqi kurdistan has said that his fighters could intervene to protect kurds in neighboring syria who are facing daily attacks from rebel forces al qaeda linked factions which initially flooded into syria to fight the assad government are now preparing to declare in islamist state in the country's north east and the kurdish minority is in their way. reports. we've been speaking to eyewitnesses relatives and also kurdish journalists and from the sequence of events that we've been able to piece together that commie nineteenth of july you had an assault by islamist extremists at that stage they placed a bomb in a local kurdish school they also rounded up and abducted a number of civilians the very next day and number of kurdish houses in various kurdish enclave were blown up it was also an entire kurdish village that was

destroyed and some five hundred people were kidnapped that violence continued into early august when you had the report of killing at least some seventy kurds and the abduction of another three hundred and fifty now this week we saw a massacre in which some four hundred and fifty could were killed from the figures we've been receiving some one hundred twenty of them were children some three hundred and thirty of them were women that massacre happening in a syrian town on the turkish border not neither damascus nor the opposition has actually confirmed that massacre but we have been speaking to eyewitnesses and this is what they told us back in recently that they came into villages and started to blame the locals have been faithless it was during ramadan they opened fire on villagers people came onto the streets men women and children they fired at everyone who came in the way they captured many young men and began to cut them

with knives we told them that we were muslims too but they said that they would continue to kill us so they also said that our granted to them oh your money our property our women go to home then maybe even tomorrow everyone around my neck was killed. when civilians escaped their shot militias raided their house and blew up some of them and robbed others the conditions are very bad people are in fear and terrorized the all nusra fighters are out of control they're raiding the streets there's no media coverage and anyone who tries to reach out. it's being kidnapped by the militants and one of the problems we face is that some reports are difficult to verify as you heard there from kurds we've been speaking to they say that if they come forward and they report on any other directions kidnappings and killings they themselves run the risk of being looted so they want to head is there's a cd out of the language that is being carried out by the islamist fighters this is resulting in the sprayed of this information you have the scarcity of sources this

too is leading to discrepancies in the reports that are making it into the international media and then of course you have videos that are being posted online that are sometimes difficult to independently verify there was one video that was posted that purported to show the killing of kurds it said that they were burned to death later this turned out to be foals now we could simms solves say that the attacks are being carried out by islamised fighters that are linked to al qaida you have as one of these groups the all nusra front and this is an organization that is pledged to establish an islamic state in northern syria this is precisely the area where these kurds are living so this is why or both for some time you've had the kurds on the periphery of the conflict increasingly we're seeing them in the line of fire. policy are reporting for us there now journalist david morgan believes the latest massacre of kurds should be a signal for the bankers of regime change in syria to stop war monger. the

rebels are all new for a faction and all the other groups have been trying have been trying to provoke you know the kurds into into conflict since it will be quite some time when there's been incursions there quite some time. and it looks like there was a massacre of some kind the numbers are not certain and the save the children and children with him over them and civilians light rail even been killed is a war cry but if it's true true for it should be investigated and i would say that the international powers the e.u. and america are in that un they should literally be a block without school in going into it he's willing to solve the suit the syrian conflict is the route that's being pursued at the moment is not going to lead to any democratic syria the things will get worse turkey has found itself trying to balance two seemingly contradictory roles backing the syrian

rebels while at the same time trying to mend its historically hostile relations with the kurds on r.t. dot com filmmaker patrick henningsen shares his thoughts on kurds dilemma. where do u.s. russia relations stand that's the question the two countries can't seem to find the same answer to moscow says there is no sign of a cold war mentality but washington is calling for diplomatic ties to be paused and reassessed that's in the wake of president obama canceling a meeting with vladimir putin after moscow's decision to grant a temporary asylum to fugitive whistleblower edward snowden arties going to cannes

has commentary. remember the meeting between russian and u.s. officials at the state department comes days after president obama canceled the bilateral summit with the russian president in september more and more often we hear about a new cold war between moscow and washington so everyone was listening very closely to what officials on both sides were saying and we heard two different messages coming from president obama and four minutes to laugh off remember the rewards you saw when we were saying goodbye he said we'll i believe that we can make a difference in the rest and they're going to listen let's. as adults. and that's what we're trying to do because if you for. small. incidents. become an impediment to every single post. and i think it would be it would be very wrong it's for this president obama in the

meantime did the opposite he has basically hyped up the cold war talk when president putin who was prime minister when that it was president came back into power i think we saw more rhetoric on the russian side that was anti-american that . played into some of the old stereotypes about the cold war contest between the united states and russia and i've encouraged mr putin. think forward as opposed to back on those issues with mixed success president obama also said in light of all the disagreements with russia mentioning syria and snowden it's time to make a paulse and to recalibrate the tone of the talks at the state department at least the opening part that we have seen was different there was an agreement on both sides that they should not lead this agreement and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries can actually make one area where the two

countries can make a difference is the crisis in syria both state the objective the same objective that they want to political solution that they want to bring all sides of the syrian conflict together in geneva to try and map out such a political solution the syrian opposition says they are not going to sit down no one table with those who have blood on their hands moscow says in order to stop the bloodshed all hands need to come to the negotiating table and foreign minister lavrov this friday he said that secretary kerry assured him that the opposition will be there at that negotiating table so there were some very serious issues on the agenda like syria like missile defense in europe where russia and the u.s. obviously don't see. see eye to eye but making progress on any of those topics becomes that much harder when the relations are defined by scandals and today we heard foreign minister lavrov trying very hard to ease the tension to move it away from the cold war talk but president obama's remarks seem to have exacerbated the

tension international relations expert shirin sadeghi spoke to r.t. about the latest spat and she thinks it would be a mistake for the u.s. to let anger prevail over judgment as too many world issues depend on diplomatic agreements between the two countries the us administration simply cannot afford to exclude russia from important talks on very important issues. before snowden happens a couple months ago those issues were very much to do with syria and some foreign policy issues as well as some economic issues that the u.s. and russia have in common it just seems that this particular snowden affair has unleashed. in the u.s. government that has that is preventing them from actually doing what they do very well which is to manage foreign policy manage crises and use the press to do

that i think it's actually. a very unique and rarely seen sign of weakness. well while some analysts double obama's reaction as over the top it's quite mild compared to what some u.s. lawmakers want senators and members of congress are demanding that russia is punished for giving snowden temporary asylum and you can tell us what you think is this crisis bodes for russia on our website let's take a look at that right now so far almost three quarters of you believe that russian u.s. relations were already very poor and that this is not going to affect much just under one fifth about one thousand percent say that there will be no effect if that the economic ties between the two countries are too important five percent that little sliver of orange say that snowden's the whole situation is just a minor blip and that there will continue to be good relations between the two countries and then this green spot right here says that russia will suffer for

giving asylum to snowden snowden you can have your say dot com. well at the same news conference where president obama touched upon the chilly relations with moscow he vowed reforms for the disputed n.s.a. surveillance program as well he pledged more transparency but gave no indication that the mass data collected will be halted well having listened to obama's speech of the international action center thinks that the american president is unlikely to put his words into action. if you listen to the speech not much is really proposed that's actually concrete there's talk of some you know a privacy advocate being appointed to a board and you really see that not much is really going to change if you actually actually listen closely and you know as much as when obama was campaigning for president he made a lot of promises about protecting whistleblowers and all of that you see not much of this is changing and the fact that obama came out and gave this address and it's

proposing these reforms which aren't that sweeping but sound sound really great the reason he did that is a response to the public opinion people all over the united states are outraged you know that their rights are not being protected and all of this this patriotic stuff we hear about freedom and the u.s. is the greatest country in the world because the freedom how it's really it's really not true it's a lot of propaganda that's used to push us to war and to push us to blindly support government policies. well coming up later in the program but the concept of the pick your own food reaches a new level as the fast food culture takes a bite out of quality meals we report from one farm where customers get a chance to meet what will soon be on their plates. plus one of the globe's largest sporting events opens in moscow for the first time with over two thousand athletes competing in the russian capital at the world athletics championships. and wasted holidays british tourists uncontrollable drinking habits are causing headaches for u.k. embassies around the world these stories and much more after

a short break right here on our to. do we speak your language or not of the. news programs and documentaries in spanish what matters to you breaking news a little too negative angles stories. for you here. the spanish find out more visit.

technology innovation all the list of elements from around russia we've got the future of coverage. and you watching are to glad to have you back with us the heated race to become moscow's new mayor is in full swing with candidates now officially allowed to promote themselves in the media and with less than a month left till the vote all eyes are now focused on the top two candidates the city's acting head is expected to face a stiff challenge from a prominent opposition or arties and he said nellie takes a look at the front runners platforms. and they're on the last leg of the campaign has officially begun in the first election for moscow's mayor in ten years there

are six candidates over seven million registered voters and a lot of promises being made it's not easy to please a city of an estimated fourteen million people there are major problems huge projects and the seemingly never ending fight against corruption incumbents circus and beyond and his team in office for two years are confident the city's streets speak for themselves. so ben and completely change this city is prorated have been public space fighting traffic development of public transportation and to take medicine and education to new levels of development and his plan is to continue that work if he is elected also running is anti corruption blogger an opposition leader alexei nonviolently recently wrapped up in a fraud scandal arrested and then released his campaign volunteers are promising a new moscow have you ever been to paris that's what we want boulevards green everywhere look here for two months they've been putting down tiles bike paths our

plans for traffic will be like the rest of the world not like some banyan. although a staunch critic of the government no vine is platform so far sounds a lot like some guidance it's a liberal program you know it's a program geared for the reach for the reach young and active you know so that they would be able to survive in the c.q. so what about those who are old poor and need support but a state media is focused on some value and the opposition media with some help from the west and from angels is promoting a volley so the core mission of the socialists are sidelined but i think they would come to this format shape you i mean you go you know a scientist. also i think that asian man a scientist of the socialist kind of i think the program was more humane either way the vote is expected to draw tremendous turnout that's media coverage and possibly

even controversy and he's now a r t moscow. well having fun and relaxing are what holidays are all about but it seems that some brits just don't know when they've had enough of a good thing british tourists are among the most notorious drinkers around the world and as artie's further explained they seem to think nothing can stop them. you say you pull the take a and you finally of all your holiday from say the very last thing you want to have happen if it gets into trouble boarding at nineteen thousand people so cold chill the resistance last year according to the latest figures by the foreign and commonwealth office into british behavior a broad there has been a rise in some countries of more serious crimes and that's cool saying concern in particular the statistics run rate and sexual assaults are up by ten percent now the countries that have been pinpointed as a particular areas of concern especially in turkey and boys all countries popular

with young holidaymakers all countries renowned for their very busy night life now it has to be said the brits do tend to have a bit of a reputation of course and out the whole continues to be a major factor in many of the problems that i think we are as a nation quiet cooling approach especially for you you have to see brits completely drunk. yeah ok who's the biggest fight to earn income above says nine hundred thousand people so consular assistance thing a lot of that is going to be youngsters getting drunk a little bit a little bit different and so the foreign and commonwealth office reminding travelers once again to keep safe. well we have plenty more stories online for you including a toxic spill over contaminated ground water accumulating under the fukushima nuclear power plant in japan has risen above the protective barrier and is now

leaking into the pacific ocean on our website we have all of the details and live updates on the situation. well it's time to make a wish hundreds of shooting stars will dart across the sky over the next two nights you can head to our to dot com to read more on this huge meteor shower. right seat. first trip. and i think that you're. on a reporter's twitter. instrumental. to be in the. and it's one of the biggest sports events out there with only the fifth world cup and the olympics posting more popularity the world athletics championships has kicked off

in moscow for the first time artie's lindsey france has details. it was a beautiful day to kick off the competition here at luzhniki stadium beautiful blue skies and sunny weather for the nearly two thousand athletes coming from two hundred six countries to participate in this event now it runs runs until august eighteenth and so there's plenty of time to get an eyeful of these amazing athletes that show their stuff here on the field now as events have gone on so far the women's marathon that was run along the moscow river it was taken by kenya and the men's ten thousand meter was taken by england very impressive shows by both of them are people coming from far and wide throughout russia. the stadium to catch sight of these athletes these are athletes that are not often covered in the media they are not on the cover of magazines and cereal boxes these are people that are oftentimes under the radar but they work very very hard to hone their skills to become experts and we are getting to see that here now the topic that is on the tip

of everyone's tongue does seem to be the legislation that came out of the russian government to prohibiting the promotion of a homosexual lifestyle to juveniles and that seems to clash very much with be such olympics coming up so soon in twenty four teams many people political personalities and even in pop culture have spoken up and even promoted the idea of boycotting the olympics by certain countries seems however many leaders such as prime minister david cameron have also spoken up and said that boycotting would actually hurt the dialogue keeping the participation going in the olympics is something that furthers the dialogue in a situation like this and it's also worth noting that these athletes do spend a very large portion of their lives preparing for these events and to take that away from them because of a discord like this just seems cruel and so that argument also been put on the table over it something that will mark the discussion of the olympics up until and

even during the event and so definitely. it's worth keeping a close eye on which governments are coming forward. and saying you know let's stick. in the olympics coming up so soon. france reporting for us there now and to some other international news making headlines this hour you're looking at live pictures from cairo in egypt where thousands of supporters of egypt's ousted president mohamed morsy are rallying in cairo protesters are demanding that the deposed leader be brought back to power egypt has witnessed mass demonstrations both in support of and against the country's first democratically elected president since he was toppled by the army on july third again these are live pictures happening now in cairo. two alleged al qaeda militants have been killed and two more wounded in a suspected u.s. drone strike in southern yemen according to the country's military officials. a vehicle traveling on a mountain road in

a province the drone strike is the ninth in the country since the end of july. multiple car bombs across iraq have killed up to sixty nine people and wounded around two hundred nine separate blasts rocked mainly shiite areas of baghdad targeting cafes markets and restaurants in the city of kirkuk a bomb exploded near a shiite mosque more than one thousand people were killed in the month of july making it the deadliest month in years. now today it's not a problem to take a quick bite if you have a lot on your plate just warm your food in a microwave but for some that approach is simply not good enough they want to know exactly what they are munching on or t.s.p. are all over met one german farmer who's found a way to satisfy even the most picky of appetites. europeans want to know exactly where their food is coming from this year we've seen the scandal of

horsemeat being passed off as beef in ready meals and the genetically modified crop giant monsanto decides that there isn't a market for them in you. all this is given one pig farmer an idea how to assure customers that his product is the best it can be and trying to do. it's important for people to see the environment where that it will take an animal has grown up they get to see them in a field surrounded by grass not in some big star even if by buying from burned is a little different from going to your local organic butcher customers pick their pick from photos online and then through a web cam they can watch the animal grow when you get back and then several months later they receive their requested cut. the idea behind this belongs to a student from berlin who donates bookman his philosophy was that people should be better quality products he wanted to increase awareness and make it known how produced with famous chefs politicians and styles of music in sport queuing up the

bones products from the caucus and some with a whole pig going for around four hundred fifty euro for. the transport and their policy on customers like to have transparency in the production process and people want to know where their meat comes from if we're looking to fill that niche . these days more and more people are concerned where their food has come from but for some just because you like pork chops doesn't mean you want to come face to face with the pig. that you wouldn't like it would be kind to tell you i'm sorry because it would be great if. tastes great but i'm not sure i would have liked to see it when it was a lie many though seem happy enough to watch their. did it grow from a free range piglets to a juicy. couplet. you get to see where the biggest comes from how to grow up and

live ultimately to close his the product i've got no problem with the pigs are grouped in a natural habitat with big states better than a closed book you know what you're eating in light of the recent scandal that is important when to speak and most dine is would say they don't want farm animals ridden healthy conditions before they get to the but just whether you want a closer relationship with looks to him your sausages or chops is reason a matter of taste he told of a german the up of the kaiser report watching r.t. . you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear sees some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm charged welcome to the big picture.

and shut up sit. com. my colleagues and i will never shake mr saakashvili as hands cause i consider him a war criminal and the. heart of the. interview.