ran over their. stories that shaped the week here in r.t. u.s. russia ruckus barack obama cancels an upcoming meeting with vladimir putin and suggests relations need a time out after moscow granted temporary asylum to whistleblower edward snowden. claims the genocide could say they're being targeted to ethnic cleansing amid mounting reports of al-qaeda linked fighters attacking their villages in syria. moscow comes under pressure from the global gay community who want the winter olympics taken away from russia over the introduction of what they call a fascist style law against homosexuals.

and i welcome you watching r.t. with me andrey pharma. now relations between russia and the us suffered a major setback this week at least according to the american side first president obama canceled a one on one summit with vladimir putin and then even called for a pause in the relationship russia while expressing disappointment over these developments insists however there are no signs of a return to the cold war. as the details. this week when president obama canceled the bilateral meeting with the russian president in september u.s. russia relations have hit a new low on friday the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov and the russian defense minister arrived in washington as planned to meet their u.s. counterparts and we heard two different messages coming from president obama and foreign minister lavrov both held

a news conference on the same day at the same time in different venues of course with foreign minister lavrov trying very hard to ease the tension to move it away from the cold war with president obama seemingly doing the opposite take a listen remember very real words you said when we were saying goodbye you said will i believe that we can make a difference. let's. as adults and that's what we're trying to do because if. you incidents. become an impediment to every single. nice and good would be the very room who gets through. president putin who was prime minister aware 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 president obama also said in light of all the disagreements. it's time for the u.s. to make a pause and recalibrate but the tone of the talks at the state department seemed a bit different 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 eye to eye but it seemed there was an agreement on both sides that they should not let disagreements and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries can actually make and one area where the two countries ted make a difference is the crisis in syria both state the same objective that they want to political solution and that they want to bring all sides of the syrian conflict together in geneva to try and map out such a political solution and the syrian opposition though says they're not going to sit down at the at 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 said john kerry assured him that the syrian opposition is going to be there but making progress on those very important issues concerning global security becomes that much harder when galatians are defined by scandals now going back to president obama's news conference it was not all about russia president obama has announced proposals for me and i say some failings president obama said he intends to work our way through one provision of the patriot act known as section two fifteen the government broader authority to obtain business phone data records he announced the creation of a panel of outsiders former intelligence officials civil liberty. and privacy advocates and others to assess the programs and suggest changes by the end of the year but everybody understand it's all happening because of edward snowden's revelations probably that's why the majority of americans say edward snowden is a whistleblower and not a traitor now it's not clear whether the government will actually go through with

those reforms promising is one thing delivering on those promises is something else but at the end of the day the american people may actually benefit from what snowden did which can't be said about u.s. marshal ations. well opinions do you differ on whether a set back in relations was provoked by russia granting fugitive u.s. whistleblower edward snowden asylum or whether that was just a pretext whichever is true moscow's efforts to limit the damage from snowden's affair are being underestimated says mary did the chief editorial writer for the u.k. based independent newspaper know that some people say oh relations between the us and russia generally are very strained that the the reset never really happened that it didn't have the desired effect but i think that to an extent is exaggerated what i find more interesting is what i think the great efforts. president putin has

gone to to try to make sure that the snowden affair damages relations with the u.s. as little as possible i think there's a lot of evidence for that which really hasn't been appreciated i think that being two maybe three one on one telephone conversations between president putin and president obama since snowden landed unexpectedly in moscow so i think there are actually great efforts are being applied to find some source sort of some sort of solution but it's very difficult to see how that can be a solution which such plays both sides. and john laughland from the institute of democracy and cooperation in paris says there's much more than snowden's asylum behind president obama's decisions obama in a sense felt i had to cancel this bilateral meeting because of the internal political pressures and that's really what it's ultimately about but of course the there is a lot of background to this it's not just about snowden obama of course the president

of the famous reset four of five years ago in other words of the restart of relations with russia has turned out to have been not much better really in terms of friendship with moscow than his predecessors there is a drifting apart i think things are going badly in a way i think the americans are being very infant tile and silly about this russia and america don't have an extradition treaty so whether or not. snowden was granted asylum in russia or is of absolutely no significance at all the differences between moscow and washington business relations will carry on regardless that's the view with the head of the american chamber of commerce andrew sourness his full interview is coming up next on a boy coast worlds apart later today. they

could minority in syria has reportedly been the target of heavy attacks by radicalism for over three weeks now with stories of killings and kidnappings increasing almost daily four hundred fifty civilians were allegedly slaughtered in one incident alone although that information is hard to verify due to the chaos and violence in the gulf in the region at the moment kurdish journalist barzani has helped us put together a timeline though of what's been happening according to him islamist launched their assault on the nineteenth of july trying to plant a bomb in a kurdish school and kidnapping local civilians the next day many houses across the kurdish enclaves were blown up one village destroyed completely around five hundred kurds were kidnapped while a radical cleric declared from a local mosque that those killing kurdish civilians will go to heaven also

encouraging people to loot and destroy kurdish homes the violence continued early august al-qaeda linked fighters murdered seventy and abducted three hundred fifty artie's correspondent in the region is following the conflict. horrifying images of slaughtering mayhem from a region already in throes of conflict this week some reports emerged that hundreds of kurds had been slaughtered by extremist groups in northeastern syria they're still in very fighting because insurgents keep the media from getting close they said just syrian kurds find themselves in a grave gruesome situation. that the militants started shooting everyone who came out onto the streets become should young men and started cussing them with knives the rebel shouted granted them all their money homes and their women then they started losing houses the kurds who are one of the largest nations in the world without a state have tried to stay neutral for as long as possible in the syrian conflict

and it's for that they believe islamic fighters from al-qaeda affiliated groups turned up there killing pressure on the kurds. kurds do not want to be part of the war and they have achieved that by not siding with the the saudis they're showing their ability to administrate themselves and that all the some international players such as it has been hoping those facing against the kurds for example there are several al qaeda affiliated organizations in turkey going in fighting against the kurds in syria kurds however want to have a democratic syria not just for the kurds but for everyone on top of that jihad is themselves have made statements alluding to their hopes of creating an al qaida state right here on what they hope to be vestiges of syria but there friday deadline came and went the situation is getting worse and the number of people who have been kidnapped and killed and beheaded is rising every day are they know what's going on especially into a lot it's a loss a free army as they are united against this through video just as they are killing

people on i didn't take they call their people you can kill them kidnap them capture their women and it's all on how long that means it's or allowed for you once you fight for force. russian foreign minister sergei lavrov was among the first to sound the alarm over reports from syria urging the security council to step in we believe in this action in this we were shocked by the reports of around four hundred fifty kurds massacred in the north of syria including children just because the men were fighting against and it's not the first such report of the un security council will condemn all these terrorist attacks we've seen some of its members refusing to condemn terrorist attacks in syria justifying it with the fact that the people behind them are fighting against the outdated regime and this stance is totally unacceptable terrorism should be treated without double standards kurt seem to be facing a double threats on this side of the syrian state border they're up against

extremists on the other lies terry it's been a bit or a long running battle with the kurdish workers party and only recently seem to be making amends at the same time on karrar backs the syrian opposition which is known to include al qaeda sympathizers and allows for arms shipments into syria which the gerd say end up in the hands of extremists the twin it comes to helping kurds western powers who wasted no time in trying to force out president assad seem to do little encouraging extremists an approach that looks ominously familiar through the overthrow gadhafi in libya to syria we've been supporting al qaeda the very people who attacked united states of america. is a cause that spreads from north africa all the way to the gulf that could bring us to a new world war if we don't stop obama and the british policy but for now syrian kurds plea for international help to seems to have been met with indifference but in the

go to school r.t. istanbul. while the kurdish community say they are being targeted for genocide and that's force the iraqi could lead to threaten to intervene in syria if the reports are confirmed. kurdish democratic union party appealed to the e.u. early this week calling for help and protection and the peace in kurdistan campaign has urged the world to defend the kurds from massacre and ethnic cleansing they are asking the un the us and e.u. to act now to stop what they call brutal massacres demanding they stop sending weapons to groups in syria which could be used to attack civilians and commit war crimes the statement also says turkey's role in fueling the conflict in the kurdish enclave in syria needs to be examined as well its author's down to claims that it's not involved or that it doesn't support al-qaeda affiliated fight is investigative journalist man motion writer who's been closely following the she alleges both

turkey and the u.s. have links to the radically scrips fighting in syria i don't expect any international reaction except. protests to right now i don't think so because they are international interests especially the international the geopolitical interests of turkey was a very important nato member we shouldn't forget that nato troops also german troops are now at the turkish syrian border with patriot rocket systems heading against syria so we have turkey on this site and it's long turkey place this important role in this conflict i don't think that there will be any serious international reaction a former member stated that the leader of the north. or working close with the cia and we have other information from the kurdish popular defense units who claim that front is also organized and supported by the turkish

intelligence and i think this is not a coincidence when we know how the kurds are treated in turkey itself. in response to artist request the un said it's launched an investigation into reports of kurdish civilians being targeted in syria the office of the high commissioner for human rights said if verified those acts would amount to war crimes karen luke filed an international correspondent focusing on syria says militants are pushing for control in the kurdish enclave to get their natural resources actually what is behind all this fighting is it's a struggle about control struggle about control of certain areas we know that in the area of fighting in the north and in the east of the country we have. fields and to at least two of the very big oil fields under the control of the kurdish defense movement and they have been threatened openly by you know western diplomats

if they don't give the control of these oil fields towards the free syrian army. they will have a problem so i think it's a fight about control of both about the resources of the various groups because the kurds are not going to deliver to their request and take a quick break now but there's plenty more when we come back including a former guantanamo bay prison guard tells r.t. he was instructed not to regard detainees as human stories and more in a couple of. world . technology innovation all the developments around russia. the future covered. you know sometimes you see

a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew. i'm sorry welcome to the big picture. speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world talks of p.r.p. interview intriguing story for you to. see arabic for and out more visit our big. welcome back now hundreds of gay rights activists have staged protests in london

and glasgow calling for russia to be stripped of the winter olympics in sochi because of what they say is an anti-gay policy backed by law however authorities in moscow say the bill which only bans the promotion of homosexuality to minors doesn't restrict freedom of expression the u.k.'s prime minister rejected the calls to block the games but the gay community is keeping up the pressure a renowned actor and gay activist stephen fry who joined a rally in london accused the olympic committee of not trying to fight what he called russia's barbaric law he's also compared president putin's attitude towards minorities to hitler committee responded saying that sports should be available to all on the new law will not affect those attending the games and british journalist neil clark believes gay rights are a disguise for other political ngs. in nazi germany homosexuals really were discriminated against they were put into the 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 they are not saying i support what i oppose or anti gay laws were passed in the world but why stephen fry focusing on russia there are about eighty countries in the world record where homosexuality is actually illegal one of them is a country called qatar where the world cup is going to be helping twenty twenty two go to prison for five years if you're homosexuals it's political i think that's because i said there's eighty countries who have worse records on gay rights the russia stephen fry's are talking about there so i think it shows double standards here and it shows this could have russia phobia i think among the western elite that they look down at russia they patronize them and they get this idea that in russia people wore homophobic they're racist it's nonsense it's not true. in the wake of the international protests against russia r.t. centerpiece now is to find out exactly what life is like for gays in moscow and she found a thriving community. so there is. no stoli

no sochi. dumping russian vodka and calls to boycott the olympic games the l g b t community in the west is furious with the passing of a new russian law banning gay propaganda to minors a detail almost never mentioned lot of here putin signed a law and some very strict anti-gay measures these laws absolutely obscure they're not clear in what they mean of course it will not have a wide ranging gretzky's of being applied everywhere and to everyone and members of the gay community have been attacked and arrested you cannot say that there is massive suppression or messi of attacks against gay people in the streets and that wherever you say that you are gay you will be killed or beaten russian gay activists are taking their case to the european court of human rights and say the law is meant to target specific individuals but see the picture of gay life in russia from abroad is warped these pictures being shown and being

portrayed just because this little became a symbol of protest against the suppression of l.g.b. community in russia supporters of the law argue it represents the russian majority . if there is a large number of people who believe the lawyers to soft thirty years ago there was criminal punishment for being if you take examples from some states in the us the relationship is much crudely and strict and this propaganda law was. it's important to remember this law is about gay propaganda to minors and it will be enforced with fines not criminal punishment russia is still a very traditional conservative country it wants to called on to that. this is one of moscow's many day and night clubs yes it's in a discreet location but it holds three thousand people is. down the weekends and it's full of foreigners it's owners outdoes not to film on the inside to protect

the privacy of its clients but real business is a group or is a happy arriving excitable you know wonderful gay community which is great martin andrews is british openly gay and living in russia for eight years he opposes the law but won't be dumping his russia is dominated by the church in general far more than the u.k. i think if you compare america for example you can't look at some for los angeles and new york and then look at the middle part of texas and that's what russia is especially moscow you've got the old meets the new and you've got soviet mindset to use with this capitalist with exciting western lifestyle i was in such a last week filming there's a gay community there was a great day seem insult to you but the west has a big and it's bought it regarding russia politically. stay right there together and he's now a r.t.

moscow. or supporters of the gay propaganda law say upholds the views of the majority of russians in the survey by an independent research group called the levada center seems to support that this is what they found just under half the people they question believe that homosexuality is actually immoral i want some even believe it could be the result of a mental trauma or an illness not only twelve percent of people here believe it is actually a normal sexual orientation while some people remain undecided interesting leave the figure is of the same survey conducted in one thousand nine hundred ninety eight well most identical suggesting has been little change in attitudes in fifteen years. at our website at the moment liquid danger online we've got the story of contaminated ground water under the crippled fukushima nuclear power plant which is now leaking into the pacific ocean get the full information and the timeline at r.t.

dot com plus time to make a wish hundreds of shooting stars were dart across the sky over the next couple of nights at r.t. dot com to read more about this and the huge meteor shower. now the hunger strike at guantanamo bay prison has entered a seventh month with the inmates still struggling to change their situation the detainees protesting over indefinite detention and mistreatment also complain of invasive body searches which sometimes include sexual assault sorry holbrooke's a former guantanamo guard told us how his former day job they had him to quit and

convert to islam. we were told not to interact with them not to look at them as humans not to talk with them not to speak with them had nothing to do with them unless it was absolutely necessary important to work we were told to be very aggressive in searching growing. i don't think any of us as guards felt comfortable doing that as a result of such we didn't do that there were certain rules that we were given that many of us just didn't all of we didn't see them as being the political logical or ethical in some circumstances and as a result such we didn't implement them and over a hundred sixty six remaining we've had a living year to find any shred of evidence to charge try and convict them and we've not been able to do that nor we've been able to falsify the evidence i would think of america being the great nation that it is and having the wonderful legal system that it does can extend the courtesy of sending people home after ten

years eleven years twelve years of captivity. maybe we need to have a good look in the mirror and take a look at ourselves. guantanamo officials claim the number of hunger strikers dropped by more than hof join the holy muslim month of ramadan however the detainees lawyers said the fact that clients were to celebrate their religious holiday didn't mean the private test is. that sense of desperation that's going on in guantanamo bay has an abated in any way shape or form i find it kind of odd that we score how one ton of obey is doing by the number of prisoners willing to starve themselves to death let us first look at the fact that only twenty men of the hundred sixty six that remain will ever be charged with a crime according to the united states government the sense of desperation is overwhelming as far as ramadan goes the men were given a choice in that choice was you can spend your religious holiday by yourself

without any of your personal effects or hygiene items such as soap and water in towels and things of that nature or you can break the hunger strike and spend it in a communal setting with the rest of your brothers the way ramadan is supposed to be spent so i think after ramadan you may see a resumption of the hunger strike. coming up here and say we traveled to the setting of region five years after a devastating war with georgia. wow revolutions in the middle east sure get a great deal of coverage but you don't mix a lot of sense revolutions are exciting t.v. peaceful protests are nice but footage of moloch tough cocktails flying and crazed crowds of local middle easterners really grab attention so there's a logical next reason why some protest movements get a lot of coverage in the mainstream media well others kind of adult please forgive

me for being conspiratorial but there is one revolution going down which does have all the exciting visuals of the arab spring but just doesn't get any of the mainstream coverage in fact unarmed people in this country recently stormed the parliament trapping ministers and lawmakers with that they held them down for eight hours demanding the government resign until police with shields smashed their way through creating a narrow corridor through which the officials could escape now that sounds like exciting and visual news but why did you hear about it all over the mainstream press that's because it didn't happen in libya or egypt or any other exotic country but in good old boag area right in the e.u. where u.s. and e.u. interests are best served by the status quo being maintained there is no need to hype up an intervention or kinetic action in bulgaria the only time you ever hear about the need for a crackdown in bulgaria is when a government there actually started working in bulgaria own interests and not the us use desires but that's just my opinion.

knew my name is natalia preacher. yet i'm russian my husband loves us if it's a said. we came here to south as dirty as from russia it was to him it's been four years since we moved here i don't regret it.