as america debates whether to strike syria washington use of the time to sundry enforcements to the middle east including and have called carrier group. foreign minister calls a bit is that the syrian government used chemical weapons unconvincing saying he's saying nothing that resembles a plot. and radiation levels at japan's stricken fukushima nuclear plant are so high now they are not to kill at passing exposed for as little as. international news and comment life. with me here thanks for joining us the

u.s. military is sending seven amol sources to surround syria in a situation of a first strike would have from washington congress will reconvene in a week's time to debate whether to tongue damascus while barack obama has made it clear he may order an assault even without the agreement of lawmakers american defense officials have confirmed that and their craft carrier group is now on its way to the region the nuclear powered u.s.s. nimitz carrying dozens of aircraft is accompanied by five smaller warships and with tomahawk cruise missiles the strong group is expected to team up with several ships already in the position in the mediterranean all of those who are in caused the combined afraid could pummel damascus from a safe distance dealing massive damage to the country. the reaction from the syrian capital. tomorrow next week next month series wondering if or when america's missiles will strike and what the aftermath

will be but for many people here it doesn't pay to linger on what tomorrow will bring because the resolve ready award today. the how it went on the real money oh ya think we've been at war for two years with bombs falling in our hands just a few kilometers from here cruise missiles or a missile is the difference in the us i could get the shot every day every hour every minute we endure bombardment we have bombs and terror attacks shelling it's not very hard to face america after dealing with the jobs for so long michelle will lead not his real name has a nice apartment in an upmarket area of damascus but a year ago he moved into the hotel his running for safety reasons after family member was kidnapped by what he says were members of an al qaeda linked group we don't feel safe of course not because of. of. the strike we've got just at

the last stop they are throwing these things against a sea of civilians and that's very bad and to have had a looser is considered to be one of the most successful and aggressive opposition forces promoting fundamental islam and proclaiming the end of the assad regime they have believed to hold several districts around damascus where they engage in almost daily battles with government troops both the u.n. and the u.s. and others consider it a terrorist organization a treaty i see that america should side because we are fighting terrorism america doesn't agree i have decided that the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets that's just another entry on a long list of daily concerns which already includes terror attacks nothing's and killing. those living in residential areas of damascus say several days ago they started receiving letters like this one advising them to clear their basements in

preparation. for now no one i spoke to who likely would follow the advice syrians may vote with their feet when the bombs start to fall but for now there's good plenty of other things to worry about. reported from damascus in syria. british firms recently sold syria chemicals which can be used to make nerve gas the agent allegedly used during last month's deadly attack near damascus it's been revealed that london granted export licenses last january when syria was already ravaged by its war let's now get the latest from. she joins us now live from london foreign eyes to see it so has the government explained why it's allowed those chemical substances to be sold to syria. well business circuitry vince cable certainly going to be facing some tough questions over these revelations that the

british government has granted export licenses to as yet as yet unnamed british company now this was for a substance is to be sent to syria and it was for two so-called tool use substances and that was potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride and both these agents can be used as precursor chemicals in the manufacture of nerve gas and of those export licenses granted by the department for business innovation and skills it's reported in january the seventeenth and eighteenth and that license valid for six months in two thousand and twelve as you mentioned when the syrian civil war in syria was already raging and so huge concerns over the fact that those export licenses were ever granted in the first place and some big questions remaining of the department has come back and said that it has had to surface over whether there was a risk that that could be used for internal repression they said that they felt the

export license was correctly granted and also data excepted it assurances from the exporting company that these chemicals could be used for the manufacture of window frames in industrial processes that as we said those chemicals can also be used as precursor chemicals in the creation of the types of nerve agents that we've seen the british government accusing the syrian government of having used on its own people and certainly now some huge outstanding questions remain as to how this export license was ever granted in the first place and indeed if it was the only one granted as you say these chemicals have already been sold and possibly used to manufacture chemical weapons but what kind of ramifications could that have given the u.s. intention to strike. well that's part of the business skills and innovation skills has actually said that the export licenses were granted these chemical agents never

actually making it to syria because of course six months later he then had the sanctions tightening and so these licenses revoked critics of the business secretary as saying that that was simply by chance that these chemicals never actually made it there again as we said huge questions surrounding the fact that these licenses were never granted these revelations coming on the back of course of the u.s. saying they've got further evidence that the assad regime has used chemical weapons against the syrian people that huge concern anyway again about the suspected chemical weapons stockpiles in the country i think we've got a map of some of the suspected sites there of course huge concern about what the syrian government could potentially be doing with those chemical weapons but of course also that some of those sites where it's thought there are chemical weapons stockpiles could fall into the wrong hands if the situation gets ever more complex on the ground in that country but it's thought here today there are going to be

questions tabled in parliament really runs through and scrutinize exactly how these licenses for chemical weapons or chemical agents that could be used in the types of weapons that the syrian government a big accused of using on their own people who granted for a british company to send to syria. live from london sara thank you very much indeed for that appreciate it thank you. the white house is tracing goes by building a case for war in syria based on inconclusive evidence that's according to russian foreign minister sergei lavrov who retire it is the kremlin stance against intervention without you on backing and he's shown thomas has more. this is the first statement from the russian leadership after obama's speech on saturday and at first he made some broad sweeping statements about western policy in the middle east saying that it's inconsistent and that there are double standards but speaking

on the idea of the united states having evidence that it was the assad regime that used chemical weapons in syria he said that that evidence is not concrete it does not give specifics it does not give locations it does not talk about specific people or places therefore russia is skeptical let's listen to what he had to say about that. because we believe we've seen these papers there is no evidence it's just accusations if you have read any super secret data well you need to remove the secrecy because we're talking about war and peace. now one thing lavrov did talk about was the situation in the aleppo syria back in march where the russian government believes they have evidence that it was the syrian rebels the opposition that actually used chemical weapons that they pointed to the fact that the ordinance used to deliver sarin gas were not manufactured by mass and also

that the gas itself was not industrially produced therefore pointing to the fact that it was the opposition that used chemicals at that time they wanted to have an investigation they were willing to cooperate they were ready to move forward and lavrov said that it was the western partners on the u.n. security council that delayed they didn't seem interested in having an investigation at that time perhaps because it was the rebels that were in question here so today. reiterating russia's stance and strongly against the idea of western intervention. as we've just heard from sean the u.s. is building a case for war on its own planes and intelligence to washington has also pointed to on the footage posted online allegedly showing victims all the time even unconfirmed accounts by reporters eyewitnesses are being used as solid evidence panera while the latest claims from the state department were all around alleged samples from the war zone which they say can fund the use of chemical weapons but

most are america's allies on buying the arguments with only france agreeing to weigh in with force to support a u.s. attack while the u.s. says it is the only one who can determine whether chemical weapons were actually used the united nations mission is uniquely capable of establishing impartial and credible manner the facts of any use of chemical weapons based directly on evidence collected from the ground ok and if the u.s. here in any of this evidence that is described with the u.n. well as we've said repeatedly serves member states are encouraged to share information information they may have with regard to alleged incidents the u.s. has been accused of overlooking some facts that undermine and see all of how the region should be dealt with all seasons to say churkin looks now at claims that washington rarely lets inconsistency get in the way. the use of chemical weapons on

august twenty first killing hundreds of people with an ongoing un investigation is now the anchor to weigh a more direct involvement and the option of a military escapade but this is far from the first time chemical weapons have come up in the conflict although incidents which are apparently less convenient for the us to pay attention to one example in may this year a top u.n. investigator said a chemical attack with the use of sarin gas had taken place in march with indications that it was done by the opposition forces to mill it up while our investigators have been in syria and in neighboring countries interview victims doctors and few tostitos and in the latest reports we got last week i saw that although there is still no incontrovertibly prove there are very strong suspicions judging by the kind of medical help the victims received the gas has been used by the opposition rebels and not the country's authorities but it's not surprising because militants and people from outside have only to infiltrate the opposition

from ignoring the reports of un investigators that would rather kept quiet to turning a blind eye to the feet of kurds the largest ethnic minority in syria at the hands of the opposition leading to the displacement of tens of thousands of people. people villages for the vicious assault chased out of their homes and become victims of massacres and ethnic cleansing everything connected to the kurds is being destroyed to episodes of finding sarin gas in the homes of syrian militants reportedly to be used for bombs in may this year when russia and turkey called for an investigation but the west did not questionable and uncomfortable factors have been downplayed by the us time after time of possible end to the syrian crisis is as far away as ever but misinformation and selective reasoning seem to be alive and well and i said sure going to r.t. moscow. the arab league or the sewer any of sherry saudi arabia and qatar calling

for decisive action which they say would prevent blanshard continuing iraq however which has suffered and intervention from u.s. forces is strongly against the iraqi prime minister urged washington not to resort to military action again lebanon tinnies and cheerio also spoke out against foreign intervention the leaders of britain and france support bloc obama although the british parliament voted to stop its forces from being directly involved and now attention is on the us congress which is expected to respond to president obama's request full support and next week. and coming up here and i'll see a thousand days staring at the walls that's different a wiki leaks as a journalist son is still stranded inside ecuador's embassy in london with little leaving holding a lengthy house arrest law analysis on the. the radiation level at japan's fukushima nuclear plant days eighteen times higher than

previously reported scowls show that in some areas it could kill a person exposed to it in just four hours independent nuclear consultant shaun burnie believes that the situation of the plant crippled by a twenty eleven earthquake and tsunami is only going to deteriorate. to see themselves up to the chair will be no one as it's the picture so again with a very complex three reactor meant time and space in the hoops to get not enough workers on site the workers and dirty getting deep suits that need not being told about the themselves or are they not. and then going forward this is a problem it is only going to get worse there is already way we get into absolute certainty the amount on straight to get the savings is there's three times as much caesium it's very dangerous we correct we get into q three times as much as was released by the church thanks again he's trying to be sitting in the trenches in

the tanks should something. as been a top destination for tourists from around the wildfires center is the way guests in paris have being welcomed and treated has suddenly become a cause for concern for the such as authorities but tell you why in just a few minutes just about. it was a. very hard to take a. while to get people on their. block that we have had to act with that hurt that they're willing. to believe.

me but. please. please. let me. you're watching i'll see live from moscow it's good to have you with us some fifteen million germans launched a tepid t.v. draw between chancellor angela merkel and her main rival by those who it came to appear on top of issues like the e.u. or tax policy and u.s.

spy programs but there were no real clashes between two candidates fully aware that they may be forced into a coalition together after this month's general watch all of our reports. now this one and only televised debates between the main front runners in the german elections could potentially have a huge impact on who wins and who can try and pick up the few votes currently as it stands at the moment called into the the latest polls that came out on friday angler merkel was quite far in the lead with forty one percent the s.p. deepish x. party behind them with twenty six percent however personal feeling amongst the german voters could see could be huge in this one of the reasons for that is that the two parties are quite similar and blue green on a lot of issues has accused merkel in the past of hiding the true cost of bailing out greece from the from the german people germany has put in the lion share of the

money to try and help the the financially struggling be fiscally struggling mediterranean nation after this election whoever is chancellor whether it's merkel whether it's time to is going to have to deal with what seems like would be almost inevitable the bailout for the mediterranean country now one of the other major issues that in this election in this election is the n.s.a. spying scandal and just what's being done about it and what was done at the time now one of the main questions being pointed at angola merkel is just how much did she know about it and how much did she allowed the n.s.a. the united states to spy on german citizens so greece and the n.s.a. emerging as the the two things that the the two main candidates can go head to head on however what we are going to see though is them slam each other too much personally it's very likely on the to after the twenty second when the vote is here in germany these two might have to sit down and talk and i in out in bash out

a coalition that could lead germany in the coming years. now inches away from a rock n roll day the passengers of this kind taiwan miraculously escaped unharmed when this giant boulder threatened to crush them had to come to see the full version of this amazing video plots. playing in the rain the world's top military bonds turned out in their finest hour hassles and a heavy downpour for the downswing military top two in red square at last until september the eighth and you can enjoy that video on our website in motion page. monday marks one thousand days of confinement or we can weeks episode. of it under house arrest but since june twentieth the whistleblower has been holed up in

london's ecuadorian embassy attempting to avoid extradition to sweden where he's wanted on sex crime on occasions fee is should he step out of the embassy he will be arrested and ultimately hundred over to the u.s. to face life imprisonment we can expect spouse and kristinn hrafnsson told r.t. why they're so. it is quite obvious if you read through the transcript of the trial against chelsea manning and see what kind of arguments were raised there and how often we killings was not mentioned in the trial that there is a very strong possibility that the next target is to know science and it might already be an indictment against him and all those in our organization we see as well the escalating war against to those who commit the act of journalism and this is escalating from month to month the argument is this that bradley manning was the

first whistle blower and he was history who has been. prosecuted and found guilty on the basis of. journalists will come next it could possibly be we can leaks all the media organizations that's a real possibility i mean all bolted on investigation in the us too we could leave which has been no go on for three years and probably cost. quite a sum of money because it has been. stated as one of the biggest criminal investigation in la times in the u.s. so it is a very worrying situation and let's not check our world up days and we'll begin with scenes of violence in mexico. clashes erupted between police and protesters demonstrating against a proposed education and energy reforms there they tried to disrupt a parliament session near the congress building in mexico city students threw stones and petrol bombs and security and police responded with tear gas teachers

how going out on the streets for two weeks now against mandatory evaluations of that the formants while others accuse the government of trying to sell off the nation's energy and its. protests in romania continued into the night on sunday after thousands rallied over the opening of a new mine in transylvania people were angered by reports that a canadian mining company could use some tricks trying to goad demonstrators condemns the government for backing the plans saying the technique would harm the environment. being the world's top dissipation for tourists is a gold mine for the paris city budget but the notoriously grumpy service in the french capital could finally be too many people all of ten saucy reports now on how visitors are losing affection for the city of love. coming up are you. smiling faces the belie a troubled economy with the number of job seekers rising to three point one eight

million in july from the twenty seventh month in a row in a budget deficit the government can barely rein in france has been walking on eggshells since europe's economic crisis hit but there is a small respite this is the street pages of paris is the last thing for sure the city prices the in charge of the world's top destinations one to twelve would be three million visitors thirty three million in paris alone the numbers may not be as the reality is not always up to car weekly with the city of like known as much for its beauty as its unfriendliness at the extreme end of it a few years ago dozens of japanese tourists were reported to have been struck with the so-called paris syndrome they were so madly affected by rude encounters that they had to be repatriated back to japan in a state of shock. various is beautiful it's wonderful but the reason siregar and they have to change this because their line revenue from two. hundred

a month if you've met there but i haven't. if. i'm shocked at the behavior of some people who are supposed to be tourism professionals i won't get into details but really i'm shocked at the attitude they've given me. with tourism making up more than seven percent of the french gross domestic product tourist officials in the country's capital decided to attempt the naysayers claim is impossible giving those who work in the service industry to be more pleasant. and. a good team was launched this summer in paris called do you speak truest guide for. drivers and shopkeepers on how to behave towards their city's guests and giving them hundred by country advice on what is expected from them. it is important for everyone involved in parents' economy to treat tourists better regardless of their nationality in order to make them want to come back and to

spend more. and that's precisely where france lags behind the competition despite being the number one destination the un world tourism organization found out that visitors to the u.s. spend twice as much as those who travel to france and that's despite fewer people making the journey to the states that the loss of revenue is proving twice as costly as europe continues to struggle with debt quizes that seriously endangering the french economy this paris taxi driver insists though that while the dream speak tourist is a good idea creating positive experience is not a one way street. first of all for us taxi drivers that are passengers who are very excuse me for saying so annoying. something they may simply have to accept with a smile if they want to hold on to one of its economic i mean this move losing hands but it's important to remember good manners cost nothing as france is learning bad

manners maybe very pricey indeed. duster sylvia r.t. paris. under a few minutes to bring you the story of one extraordinary miner who took out the challenge of bringing out dozens of opens up so what he describes as a message from have that. many gay bars are starting to refuse to sell russian vodka as a means of protesting the homosexual propaganda laws in russia. as i said before boycotts are a great way to put pressure on people but are they putting pressure on the right people not only is it racist to assume that hurting the vodka flow will deal

a massive blow to the russian economy but it is also racist to think that any vodka with a russian sounding name is itself russian and many videos angry gay bartenders were pouring stolichnaya vodka which should be pronounced by the way onto the ground in a fury but if those bartenders would take a closer look at the labels they would see that exported stoli is produced and bowed in latvia by the s.p.i. group not in russia also according to the n.p.t. group beverage alcohol report the most popular vodka in america with a russian sounding name is smeared off which is british owned and produced and bottled in various countries around the globe including the usa itself we did support the american worker people of the panic over the hip and trendy scandal of the month but everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that homosexuality itself is legal in russia and is punishable in many other countries including a death sentence in some of them and yet russia gets all the attention if people really wanted to effectively boycott any country with any laws even hinting against

homosexuality they would have to hit them where it hurts and stop getting natural resources imported from countries like russia saudi arabia venezuela and iran and so on and so on that is a vastly more difficult proposition than pouring american made vodka onto the sidewalk but that's just my opinion.