the syrian government takes its first steps towards chemical disarmament with washington's threats of force remaining one of the main stumbling blocks for top diplomats meeting in geneva. the n.s.a. has reportedly been disguising itself as google trick users into surrendering private data using techniques from the world's top packers. and also reporting the. latest crackdown on protests as britain has condemned for its willingness to support the actions of its top stories this hour.

from our studios in to here in moscow where it's just turned eleven pm this is international news and comment syria has made a key step towards implementing russia's plan to remove its chemical weapons the un confirmed it has received documents which will see damascus join the chemical weapons convention now this comes amid a crucial time with talks between russian and u.s. diplomats who are in geneva discussing the plan to put syria's chemical arsenal under international control with reports what the sides have agreed on and what sticking points remain. a lot of people holding their breath in geneva and indeed around the world at the moment while russia's and the u.s.a.'s top diplomats meet to try to come to a diplomatic solution for a way of disarming syria of its chemical weapons a u.s. military strike against syria is currently on pause while john kerry and sergey

lavrov meet and try and thrash out a viable diplomatic solution to the crisis now some progress has already been made we've received confirmation from the united nations that they've already received syria's treaty papers to sign up to the un chemical weapons convention and this morning sore a meeting between john kerry. and the international envoy for syria lakhdar brahimi all expressed cautious optimism about the prospects of coming to a viable resolution a diplomatic solution to the crisis let's take a listen to the. government. joining the chemical weapons convention we have to go a professional so there goes that was the chemical weapons have been is ation is regnery but do note that nations. do design a road which would make sure that these issues are resolved quickly professionally . as soon as practical countries our presidents are deeply concerned

about the death toll and destruction of. the both sides all sides and we are committed to try to work together beginning with this initiative on the chemical weapons in hopes that those efforts could pay off despite talk of working towards a diplomatic solution seems that there are a number of sticking points that remain between all the sides now one major issue could be the question of timing in his latest interview bashar al assad has said that. damascus will start to provide information on its chemical weapons stockpiles thirty days after signing up to the u.n. chemical weapons convention this is something that john kerry has already rejected he's rejected this thirty day timeframe he says that he said last week that bashar al assad should be able to give up all of his chemical weapons within

a week and he doesn't think that that's very viable that damascus will be able to do that that's already led a number of international observers to question how constructive such a strict timeframe from the usa is whether or not it's even viable considering that the process of chemical disarmament is extremely tricky and indeed dangerous now the u.s. military remains prepared and poised to strike syria if a deal is not come up with here in geneva that is what is at stake here at these negotiations and russia has already said that this very strict condition is unacceptable that they are not going to be able to come to a diplomatic solution if the usa is threatening to use force against syria this is something that was echoed by bashar al assad in his latest t.v. interview as well. this won't be about syria signing a protocol and delivering it with no positive feedback it has to be

a mutual process and above all the united states has to give up its policy of threatening syria once we see the united states truly want stability in the middle east once we see it refrain from threatening us and pursuing intervention once we see them stop supplying weapons to terrorists then we'll consider this process is truly acceptable for syria and we'll look to finalize it russia should play a major role in the disarmament process we don't trust washington and don't talk to them is the only party that can fulfill this role now so we are going to see if all these. major differences have been ironed out and if the two sides have been able to come together and issue of realistic plan and ultimately narrative avoid a u.s. military strike on syria. issue of syria is also dominating the meeting at the shanghai cooperation organization in kyrgyzstan a group which represents more than half the world's population the summit so iran's

new president insists that any possibility of force against syria must be condemned and diverted. as the details the russian president vladimir putin met with the iranian leader for the first time since he was elected and obviously syria was in the spotlight both countries are completely on the same page when it comes to understanding that any foreign military intervention would not only lead to more violence in syria itself but would risk spreading it throughout the whole region also both leaders to welcome to serious decision to sign up for the international convention on chemical weapons which basically bans the use and the fact that it agreed to the proposal to move control over its chemical arsenal to the international community in fact mr rowhani added that the way this proposal's been acting out so for creates real chances for a peaceful solution in the meantime is now widely recognized including by u.n. senior officials that iran is a key player in the region it's

a close ally of. and there is no way a diplomatic peaceful solution would be possible without it getting involved in this summit here in curious dan is a great opportunity for tehran to start doing so. discuss the syrian crisis and the current diplomatic efforts surrounding it we will plan who has this france's foreign interior and prime minister he told me. about why he thinks the use of force will do nothing to end the years of bloodshed. i think we should do our best to avoid the use of force we know that the force without law and the force without . diplomatic efforts is also is always useless that's why the priority today is negotiation but of course we should go forward and we should have results today we have one result to see the signature by the syrian regime of the

convention on the ban of to be called weapon that's a first step but that's not enough and washington is convinced syria agreed to be designed only because of the real threat of being attacked and bashar al assad said that's not the case or do you think but i think you're firmness is part of the game is showing some results but i think the main factor is the willingness of russia to take responsibility and russia taking the lead. making some proposal this is really changing the. fiona me of the of the situation threat of military force is now a stumbling block in negotiations and diplomacy as sad ones the threats to and why washington wants to keep the possibility of strikes on the table off the way out of this we know that military strikes are not easy. because there is nobody gerrity in the congress favoring the use of force second because we know that in the last

thirteen years the use of force did not gave any result in the international scene we've seen it in afghanistan we've seen it in iraq we've seen it in libya so we know that the solution for syria is not force. and we know also that there is a way to escape from force from the use of. an attack and this way out is to have some results on the ground some diplomatic results in order to find better solutions for the syrian problem that any other interests be behind the u.s. and its allies in wanting to strike syria beyond just punishing assad for the chemical attack here allegedly connected. well first we know that punishing assad should not be by force for that we have. the league the national legality we have the international criminal court so the answer to punish is never to use force the answer to punish is to go through justice that's

the real issue but the main problem today again is to try to protect the syrian people and for that the force is not going to give us any force will mean more people dying on the ground i mean new escalation we should not forget that not only we have a civil war in syria but we have a big fight between sunnis and shias and so the problem is not at the level of the use of force and we have seen in iraq that force. only created more problems we have won the south than people dying every months in iraq so i don't think forces and then their answer is to use diplomacy to have steps going forward and that will eliminate the risk of force if we can have peace again in this region. peter lavelle and his guests on cross talk program again addressed the syrian issue

later this time the debate the recent chemical disarmament made by russia's president and you can watch the full show later this hour but here is a brief preview for you. which not just mr but many other people have been saying is that this matter has to be dealt with in accordance with international law while all the great powers discuss everything with security council there are a hundred thousand syrians dead last time i came on this program october twenty eighth eleven there were three thousand syrians dead mark my words if this is numbers are it will be another one hundred thousand next time i appear and a hundred thousand after that what is extremely dangerous is when certain countries the united states britain to some extent france claim that they have a special proof all right which no one else has to intervene in those situations where they judge what they call international law norms being violated.

cross-talk of the way in about twenty minutes from now the n.s.a. in google's clothing media reports suggest the u.s. spying agency has been gathering private data through a stealth site they allegedly do so by carrying out so-called man in the middle attacks which help trick users into giving away information voluntarily well look here's how it works you want to find something online you log into your computer and then you open up a search engine and put in exactly what it is that you're looking for and now the interesting part when clicking on the go button your data is being directly transferred to the agency remotely connected to your internet service provider when after that information is checked your request reaches its final destination in the blink of an eyes so you wouldn't even notice or britain's g c h q is believed to be practicing the same technique but it's not only governments tracking online steps universities trace students private data claiming this could improve the education

experience for smith looks at where good intentions might lead to. remember the film minority report it's the one where tom cruise is the cost in the future and uses paths in the day to stop crimes before they happen while the fictional future is now universities are our allies in the electronic trail of students how often they use the library what books they guess out even where they park their cars to create a picture of them and how they learn and they use the data in different ways that different you need a marketing courses but also to predict which students are likely to fail or dropouts and here's where it isn't a nine hundred eighty four territory in the dystopian novel any negative thoughts is thought crime every party member has a telly screen in his or her home which the thought police use to watch them and record anything that resembles an unorthodox opinion or in the struggle now look

for a university in the midlands says it's considering doing something frighteningly similar monitoring students private emails but negative comments on their university experience to see if they're at risk of quitting. students at the london school of economics are not keen on the idea. that it would be an infringement of my integrity it sounds a bit cia now i think people are the things that went on i think people are much more kind of them. i don't think it's right it's a kill if you can say so you wouldn't do it in denmark where i come from i think people would like that i would mom my e-mail. i mean the private email is should have exclusive right to receive. private universities do you have a good track record for keeping dates are private but the worry here is that there's so much data and of course how it could be used ultimately the information

could be used to allocate resources for example if it identifies the type of person most likely to fail universities could stop recruiting those people altogether or not waste money on trying to retain them as students start returning for a new academic year they'd better beware big brother is watching them now more closely than ever. in moscow with the twenty four hours a day right after the break we'll look at the crackdown on protesters in bahrain stay with us for that and all the stories. russia has formally presented a proposal for the disarmament of syria's chemical arsenal plan amir putin has personally appealed to the american public and political establishment to give negotiations a chance in war torn syria though tough questions remain primarily whether washington can we frame from its habit of using brute force.

to. economic down in the final. deal and the rest i take it briefly. news continues here in r.t.

bahrain's ruling monarchy is threatening legal action against anyone taking part in protests should jeweled for today and thursday an anti-government demonstration was violently dispersed by police but meanwhile in london and all those fish showcasing equipment intended for bahrain security services saw a protest from activists demanding the british government stop supporting oppressive regimes but here rights activist saeed ahmed away he says not even weapons or legal threats will stop the movement for change. we have witnessed a severe a crackdown on the peaceful protests since february two thousand and eleven surprisingly those approaches have continued to protest and in fact nothing has disturbed and we have seen these are all the army entering the rain and participating on the crackdown did they stop the protest from carry on no they did not the answer is always the more restrained the bahraini government the more bans they they

basically issue the more people are more determined to continue i mean we have seen in last month they stopped people from protesting anywhere in manama and yet there is ongoing a protest in manama and people are determined to continue so basically the more repression they face the more they are clearer about achieving the demands of freedom and democracy. we've got more news all along for the moment including from to would that fukushima will be crippled nuclear the situation is our control had. plagued the city. with flames. in the american state of new jersey devouring fifty businesses. is on a website. a

blaze in the psychiatric clinic west in russia has claimed thirty seven lives including. trying to rescue one of the twenty three people managed to escape the four which witnesses say had been caused by one of the patients. as the details. of reportedly broke out in the evening hours and in a wooden an excess of this facility in the northwest of russia in your the village of luka apparently this wooden and extent does the men's ward many of these patients were bedridden at the time and witnesses are saying they saw a person within the facility who was engulfed in flames before the structure caught

fire obviously investigators are taking a very serious look at this and trying to ascertain the cause of this blaze now crews arrived within minutes but it is said there was very heavy smoke and rescuers who spent the morning searching the surrounding areas to find possibly any patients who escaped the fire and run out into the into the areas surrounding the facility in are possibly still hiding so many many concern. people out there trying to find people who may have survived this one nurse reported died trying to save patients now the emergencies ministry has said that it cited this facility for safety violations and the facility had until august first of twenty four to fix those so obviously that's being looked at very closely on a very tragic morning in the village of what really brought fire safety into focus the infamous lame horse nightclub in december of two thousand and nine one hundred

fifty six people killed because of a pyrotechnics show on stage. at the nightclub one leaf of a double doors shot and that really brought fire safety into focus here in russia and unfortunately tragedy has struck again last night and this morning in the northwest. time now for some of the global headlines this in iraq a twin bombing. killed at least thirty people and injured dozens the blast targeted worshipers as they were leaving friday prayers came just two days of the thirty shias were killed in explosions that struck a mosque in baghdad sectarian violence in iraq since two thousand and eight when there were five thousand people losing their lives this year. when the brotherhood supporters of clashed with locals in the egyptian city of alexandria during a rally in support of the else to president mohamed morsi scuffles broke out off

the demonstrators were attacked by stone throwing residents. thousands of brotherhood activists have taken to the streets to denounce the government movement's top leaders and hundreds of members have been arrested since a military coup. to. members of topless protest movement femen appeared in court charged with damaging the cathedral during a protest this february activists running the cathedral's bells with wooden sticks and chanted no more pope. homophobia. all of these actions could be punished with up to five years in prison and the seventy five thousand. in the trial will resume in february next year. red wine pungent cheese and for gras they're all products strongly associated with quality french produce and develop in their masses across the country but key political figures are now going to great lengths to get french consumers to buy more homegrown products to boost

the economy cilia reports on a new push to buy local and think national when fares is industry minister are no montebello struck oppose looking as french as one could be consumer affairs minister been one more thought it was a joke. this is a real photo of on new moon. i don't believe it was only when the value. in fact of what it was message was serious choose french products over foreign made ones to help more of their countrymen and keep jobs and appeal to french patriotism in the face of a thirteen year high unemployment rate with the number of jobless hitting three million for the first time a move that comes as france talks about reforms to restore global competitiveness a critical priority says the international monetary fund. a recent study suggests that if consumers were to buy only french made goods they would have to spend between one hundred three hundred euros more each month and amount that would

squeeze an already weakened purchasing power because of all the publicity the french are even more aware now are made in france products versus those coming from the outside but most of the time the difference could really be seen in the prices of the goods now this one for example is peaches from spain it costs for ninety five per kilo rather this one which is clearly marked made in france cost six and ninety five per kilo that's a two year old difference so the question here is how well it will decide d.s.l. to the french. we definitely know i won't spend three hundred extra you have to find this money first. yes if i have the money certainly. somebody does know i think globalization allows us to find cheaper goods you know it's when you look at the product you know or some of those short or whatever

you're bought over it has been dug into in france but part of the the been done as well in fact a french political parties have been accused of hypocrisy as a local newspaper's investigation last year showed election campaign materials had been made in china valid there were rocco you name it. musician is here for example this little case is made in china so i'm not afraid buying sings in china that's the part and the point is we have. no hope in france at all as the c.m. is a brand that takes pride of having its manufacturing base in france its director says the study was an important point that paying more to support their own industries creates local jobs it is far less of an economic burden than the cost of three point two million unemployed big amount of those ducks of course to pay. for social care we have in france and

a big amount of the social care is an employment so we'd move we would be much more healthier in france and we lower the deficit public deficit if everyone was to have. a job the world trade organization has criticized this campaign as patriotic protectionism as fast as economic y. was getting treated to manage politicians seem to be grasping at straws the government's new call to arms may look good on paper but its critics point out it could end up an economic fall past. tests are still there r t paris. will be back with the news team in half an hour from now with more news for you but as promised it's all a tease debate cross-talk that is coming away after the break. david

silver president of american atheists initially had his request for a custom license plate with the work in. rejected atheist written with a one as the i was deemed to be just too offensive after some pressure the new jersey motor vehicles commission caved in allowed the plate this is only logical because a properly spelled atheist point had already been in use i look at this two ways one if you're going to give people the freedom of choice of expression then some people are going to express themselves in an offensive way so if you're terrified of offending people then why not just give everyone a random plate with a random number and no one will be offended at all or to if you really believe in freedom of speech and expression all that then allow drivers to pick whatever they want and be responsible for themselves if someone throws a brick through their car window for having an ultra offensive license plate and if

you want to express yourself or express something really offensive on your car then you better be prepared for some blowback or at least a few people spitting on your windshield but passionist my opinion. polls are my language as well but i will only react to situations i have read the reports for. the players to know i will leave them to the state department to comment on your latter point. secure yet a car is on the docket no. thank you no more weasel words. when you fail to direct question the proof for a chase when you know you should be ready for a. pretty speech let him have the freedom to walk.

hello and welcome to cross talk where all things considered i'm peter lavelle putin's speech russia has formally presented a proposal for the disarmament of syria's chemical arsenal flatter me or putin has personally appealed to the american public and political establishment to give negotiations a chance in war torn syria though tough questions remain primarily whether washington can refrain from its habit of using brute force. to cross talk the war in syria i'm joined by mark levine in washington he's a senior fellow with the truman national security project and a radio host also in washington we have paul martin he is the political drug.