on. today's news in the week's top stories washington races to muster support for a strike on syria key world leaders slammed the attack plan as russia says the syrian rebels are trying to provoke military intervention. an r.t. crew gets caught in the crossfire in syria where al-qaeda linked rebels have been besieging and ancient christian village terrorizing the population. and today's the day moscow chooses its next may with acting leader surrogates again in taking on opposition rival alexy.

i welcome watching the weekly here in r.t. with me andrew farmer. american secretary of state's doing the rounds in europe to try to drum up support for a unilateral strike against syria foreign ministers have largely agreed with the u.s. claims that the syrian government was responsible for the alleged deadly use of chemical weapons last month but brussels has stopped short of openly supporting you know that from the u.s. military response european leaders want to wait for the results of a u.n. probe into the toxic allegations it's the key world powers at the g twenty summit in st petersburg spoke out against the use of force without a un mandate while russia accused the syrian rebels of unleashing chemical weapons to provoke foreign intervention and they say now it reports i was elected to end wars and not start a u.s. military intervention in syria dominated talks that the g twenty but if obama was

looking to gather overwhelming support at the summit he didn't get it in st petersburg no military solution there is lot military. we will not participate in military action. aside from france turkey and saudi arabia few countries expressed outright support for obama's proposal a military strike in a joint statement they condemned the use of chemical weapons blaming the after government and called for some kind of response but they stopped short of backing a u.s. attack on syria from it host president putin accused the rebels of being behind a chemical weapons attack near damascus in august that he says was carried out to discredit syrian authorities in the eyes of the west just the way. i view everything that happened with the so-called use of chemical weapons in syria was a provocation by the count on help from abroad from those countries that originally

supported them that's the reason for this provocation i also want to remind you that the use of force against a sovereign state. it's acceptable only if it's done for self-defense and we know that syria hasn't attacked the us and only if the un security council approves such action as one of the participants of our discussions on the issue put it yesterday those who do otherwise put themselves above the law obama continues to insist also it was behind the attack and he won't wait for the un to respond assad's regime brazen use of chemical weapons isn't just a syrian tragedy it's a threat to global peace and security the u.s. president is due to address the american public on tuesday and try to make his best argument for an attack on syria one that failed to convince global partners at the g. twenty this summit could have been a last chance for a political solution to the syria crisis or at least an attempt to push forward

with diplomacy but leaders part of st petersburg split solidly on those for or against military intervention in the syrian war what has been called the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history reporting from the g. twenty and he's now a r.t. . well syria wasn't the only topic being thrashed out in st petersburg this week later this hour that and helplessness weigh heavy on g. twenty members the head of the i.m.f. christine lagarde defends monitoring policy. should also have more first hand inside when makes for the world economy. u.s. congress remains splits on whether to attack syria and the latest polls show most americans oppose intervention there's been a fresh antiwar rally in washington as hundreds call for restraint from the white hands. much of the public remains

unconvinced of a washington's claims it has evidence implicating the syrian government in the deadly use of chemical weapons but president obama maintains he still has the authority to order an attack even if congress by its against it. things by the secretary of state some drum up support will not be bored by america's allies in. the entire history re cited by kerry neglects to mention the allegations on the hugely substantial evidence in this case that the rebels are the ones that are using chemical weapons in syria where they've been used now assuming again that there would be some perhaps presentation of actual evidence about the facts on the ground in syria because the facts that have actually been disclosed to the american public and to the congress in public are not facts their arguments accusation and conclusion and that is the basis on which they're going to war

illegally by the way outside of the u.n. mandate outside of the u.n. charter and not just legally according to international law but according to u.s. law. and the u.s. congress prepares to reconvene on monday and debate whether to wage war on syria the senate intelligence committee has released what it says is footage of last month's alleged chemical attack and might find the following images distressing despite the assertion of u.s. officials that the footage is authentic it cannot be independent and confirmed nor does it point to who was responsible for the ledge to trial city in which more than fourteen hundred syrians are said to have been killed. now the syrian army has sent reinforcements including tanks to the village of moola which has been at the forefront of heavy clashes this week an ancient christian sanctuary has been besieged by al qaeda affiliated rebels since wednesday artie's marie fanaa has gained access to the stricken area we entered my lulu through its ancient gauge

burnt and damaged in recent attacks shortly after the syrian army announces that most of the militants were pushed back signs of the recent battle and destruction a reverie where we were told to move fast and to follow the military's vehicles without stopping or even slowing down there are some parts of the road where we have to speed up offices still fear they could be snipers around we hear them shouting go go fast on one turn we suddenly stop. a minute. it's hard to understand exactly what's happened we only hear a loud boom and feel the earth shake. we get out of the car to take a look around when i was inside our little. christian community all over the world now it is

a battlefield look at this. and then we realized we have landed in the heart of this battle as some live bullets start flying around us we've ended model of village with the army but just just a few minutes later they told us to get back the militants launch an attack fire and throw in explosives from the safety of high ground so this is what we're doing right now we're coming back to you to the entrance this is where. a car bomb exploded on wednesday morning and this is how it all started after a suicide attack militants mostly from just the looser group stormed in and since then the question is have been contained in for three days and as you can see they are considered now soldiers firing shots back but they can't even see enemy fighters who are cooped up in the hiding places. that

their own militants and that my little now and. us i fear hotel this is the mountaintop hotel which was my. brother told me up. front. also from behind the mountains surrounding the ma lula village and that's is where the danger lies because the wrong many snipers and the raw rocket grenades and the rock warms mortar boards well as you can see the situation on the ground it's very hard you can see that the army is recruited right now but this. is that the morrow monday visitation. because this is the day when the american congress starts debate on syria whether to strike this country oh no not the decision made thousands of kilometers away from

the battlefield will affect the set up at this military theater but exactly how it is not easy to predict. from in syria. now the fight to be moscow's next may reaches its crescendo today the key battle in regional elections taking place across russia it's a landmark poll too and it's the first time in a decade that moscow's voters have been able to choose and the stakes are high artie's lindsey friends is in the heart of the capital. all six candidates running for mayor have submitted their ballots but the only two candidates that anyone is really watching with a lot of interests are acting mayor sergey and his opponent alexei never ali now let's talk about what the acting mayor is all about right now he was appointed in two thousand and ten and during his time in mayoral seats he has worked very hard

at updating moscow's infrastructure especially transportation it's a real sticking point with many politicians in the city government here it's a real headache for commuters and moscow is known for its traffic problems not only that but he's also focused heavily on. increasing more public transportation within the capital as more and more people squish into this space he has also wanted to tackle illegal immigration very very tough stance on that as well now his opposition the opposition candidate alexi he's a trained lawyer anti-corruption activist here in russia he's won a very grassroots campaign very youth driven very old fashioned sort of western style campaign stump speeches leaflets and in this day and age he's social media blitzes are at the top of his list as far as what he's employed to get the word out obviously not as much money for campaigning so he's really using the grassroots

technique there is no courting to the polls. race is really so to lose at this point according to the russian public opinion research center when asked respondents were asked who they would vote for ten percent said no thirty eight percent said. asked today would never vote for twenty three percent said the volley and fifteen percent said. and then the question was how are you well aware of who the candidates actually are twenty seven percent said the following. sixty six percent said so beyond and so the polls are open until eight o'clock tonight officials have quite a few days to count everything up so we are watching this situation obviously very closely and to see how this develops throughout the day of course we're for the details as as it unfolds there is another election on the horizon too but for

candidates in germany it's about sweating the small stuff from getting the nation on a healthy diet to reducing stress at work the general elections political hope for lifestyle manifestos well the crucial issues of debt and unemployment remain somewhat sidelined we've got the details coming up also in a couple of minutes it seems big brother has been getting digitally devious in recent years with the leaks exposes the partnership between computer software companies and intelligence agencies in getting the president had access to the private data of virtually any internet i'm back just after a quick break. science technology innovation all the developments from around russia we've.

covered. it with the infertility. treatments that can. choose to give you the great. choose the stories to. choose be. true. if you're. going to take three. three. three. three. three. three balls video. free media. dot com.

welcome back now a british firm has been revealed as the brains behind invasive spying software which allows clients including governments to get limitless surveillance access to people's computers international was named in the latest we kill each tranche of so-called spy files this week exposing close ties between intelligence agencies and private contract is as the story. say good bye to the days of super sleuth skagit and surveillance bugs to invade a person's privacy listen into their phone calls and view the internet activity and emails all you need is spy web wiki leaks newest leak spy files three reveals that it's british companies that are pioneering the technology this is a promotional video for gamma international about its advanced surveillance software the program boasts that the technology can be installed inside an internet

server which in turn allows a government to infect any internet user in the country with spyware nothing you say type capture is safe and that includes all your online passwords and usernames the voice but a government or just install internet service providers browsing web site and. inject spyware into the web site. behind me on. gamma international's headquarters from where the company develops and sells the capability to tap into anyone's smart phone or computer reporters without borders have named the company one of the five corporate and the mes of the internet. the technology is marketed world wide to law enforcement agencies as a way of identifying and catching serious criminals but human rights campaigners say that the software is regularly sold to repressive political regimes where the

definition of criminals can be somewhat different as one human rights campaigner in bahrain found out she says that gammas finn spice of alienness was used to target her off to she took part in anti-government protests looked like a genuine email addresses from another political activist saying that they were going to begin talks with the king of bahrain about the future of the country so i was in fact very intrigued very curious to the manufacturer was government and national just opened my eyes into this other world of surveillance technology morning so we know that the british intelligence carries out this kind of activities are allowing private part sextant to carry out these kind of activities for all the foreign governments researches have identified. around the globe. activists and journalists last year. servers for the spy work. number of other countries. called are you also

a sample of the spyware spyware appeared to be targeted back to ethiopia the scary thing. is that this technology in china work for it around the world without any sort of debris it may be the stuff of spying movies but campaigners say the british government needs to wake up and start regulating whose hands the invasive technology is falling into but we need to start acting like the weapons that can be used online are exactly the same as the kind of weapons like bombs and guns that can be used to hurt people. lunde. well let's round up more of today's other top headlines for you now and nato airstrike in afghanistan has reportedly killed fifteen people mostly women and children local authorities say six suspected militants boarded a vehicle transporting civilians which was then attacked

a nato spokeswoman confirmed what she called a procedure strike and that it took ten insurgents but caused no civilian casualties. in tunisia's capital tens of thousands of people have turned up for rallies against the country's islamist government it also marks forty days of mourning for an opposition lawmaker who was murdered in july his death along with the killing of another prominent politician a previously triggered mass protests the ruling party denies any responsibility for the murders pointed the finger at salafi hardliners. brazil's independence celebrations have turned violent in k. cities as people gathered to demand better public services and an end to corruption in rio de janeiro police fired tear gas into the crowd injuring at least five brazil saw a big wave of protests in june over the high cost of hosting next year's before world cup. the g twenty summit overshadowed as it was

by the syrian crisis still manage to get around to its core business as the push for job creation and tackling tax evasion artie's katie pilbeam was in some petersburg. we did have a big financial decisions that were made and we know the only official agenda it was to do with job period in how to tackle the vast amounts of unemployment another big theme here was the volatility that the emerging markets and now currently faced with and that is in light of ben bernanke the federal reserve chairman saying that he's going to be pulling the plug on his stimulus measures because of that investors have been pulling that cast out of what is perceived to be risky assets i managed to catch up with the international monetary fund chief christine legarde and i asked her for her opinion on the current state of the global economy what about monetary stamina do you think that these measures have run their course and

they simply doesn't work that we need pain in the short term in order for a healthy what would you say that the monetary policy doesn't work because we believe that it does hard to free positive effects and certainly seeing the u.s. economy and the japanese economy pick up as they are of the moment despite the. you know fiscal. door in place and that we would like to see improved a bit i managed to catch up with the former finance minister of russia alexei could today and he referred to these cash injections as almost like a jog at work america for the world's economy its current state can be characterized as being on life support for its vital functions are being kept running by the federal reserve the european central bank and other banks by constant cash and directions this should only be temporary if a sick man goes through treatment and it doesn't help there's no point continuing it is something else i want to talk about is the brick development bank because this was a breakthrough as well and we have the countries of course i'm talking about brazil

russia india china south africa and they have set up this bank which just to put it into context for you would rival the likes of the i.m.f. and the world bank it would out as a safety net to support the struggling emerging economies so there was a danger that the political tensions would completely override the proceedings but there was certainly plenty business stills and agreements made here at the g. twenty in st petersburg. now germany's federal election is creeping closer but politicians are managing to evade awkward but pivotal questions over unemployment and the european debt crisis peter oliver reports on how candidates are taking a more trivial task by championing healthy eating and tackling the tardiness of local trains instead. the post as the flesh is being pressed but this german election campaign is hotly setting pulses racing maybe that's the whole idea make as boring as possible so i know everybody kind of goes to sleep and

doesn't worry about the real issues what we have being treated to is chancellor angela merkel talking about potato soup the main challenge. reading fairy tales and the green party suggesting compulsory vegetarian days where does it stop they going to start cattle to refrigerators at home and check to see what you've got there as well or they're going to shut down the burger kings and mcdonald's on tuesdays and so you have to serve aside from the greens apparent food fascism have been some peculiar manifesto promises the social democrats want legislation to prevent stress in the workplace and the free democrats hoping to win over commuters by making it illegal for trains to be late all distraction tactics according to those hoping to win their first seats in the bundestag they don't want to touch the real problems with the euro crisis. diminishing pension fund survey come up with

things like the green party wanting a veggie day one reason being cited is the lack of a major issue for the parties to really attack each other on when you talk about their support for the government's decision to implement the. to initiate further payments for greece they all said yes yes yes there is no real opposition in parliament so providing the comic relief in an otherwise dreary campaign. by the party. is going to remember. with policies such as banning tourists from berlin and building a wall around the whole of germany these jokers are quietly confident we want to get into power and then we will decide what we are going. to do with it what do you think the chances of. our chances are pretty good we expect to take one hundred percent of the vote and even more in all seriousness though with greece looking

likely to need a third bailout package will be no laughing matter for those that come to power after september the twenty second they're going to have to deal with some real issues as they take their seats in the boat in the stock peter all of a girl and now she's coming up to half past two here in moscow and ochs on a boycott will be here shortly probably america's campaign for a military strike on syria and we'll support. with economic ups and downs in the final. day of the old sang i and the rest

because i think the cake will be everything. dramas the truth be ignored. stories others refuse to know. faces change the world right. so picture of today's. on demand from around the globe.

hello and welcome to worlds apart saving lives has long been a convenient pretext for fighting wars than it is invoked he has again as the united states considers a punitive strike against syria and while u.s. politicians seem to be taking all of our bybee yes we can mantra the rest of the world is more on the side of do no harm we each of the two is in service of human rights while to discuss that i'm now joined by can draw for executive director of human rights watch mr off i really appreciate you being here if our viewers go to human rights watch website now and check some of the news releases that were issued over the last few weeks they can find all the usual suspects russia and china as in bob way leave there even israel but what they wouldn't be able to find is any criticism of the proposed serious strikes against syria doesn't mean that human rights watch is in favor of these proposed attack but we've actually put out two

statements on this subject and so i mean i do refer people to our website h r w dot org the we are explicitly not taking a position for or against particular airstrikes our main focus as you can find in the statements that was we've issued is that our concern is with protecting civilian lives and obviously you know the issue on the table at the moment are the approximately fourteen hundred civilians who died as a result of the chemical weapons attacks in the damascus suburbs but obviously we're concerned about the tens of thousands if not hundred thousand civilians who have died during the conflict mostly at the hands. of conventional weapons and our concern is that while there is heightened attention to this problem of syria now we hope that the answer is going to address the plight of civilians across the board

the many who have died already the many more who might still die the two million refugees there's a lot to be concerned about live there you just mentioned that you're trying not to take sides and the latest statement that i saw your issuing on the syrian issue was in late august when the organization put out a statement in which is sad that not gassing children in their sleep is a basic humanitarian norman obviously everybody would agree with you on that but the major disagreement in the world is who actually was gassing children in their sleep and it seems to me that despite positioning itself as an international organization standing up for universal human rights human rights what seem to be taking the position of the american government in assuming that it was the assad regime who actually perpetrated that chemical weapon attack i wonder why is that if you are indeed an international organization whining not why.