a lot. of walking. this hour's top world headlines more than a dozen syrians testify at saying that an alleged chemical attack in the town of duma was in fact stay. in that they were scared they started to pour water and i don't know why they did that. as professionals we saw that there were no symptoms suggesting chemical weapons had been used in. the north and south korean leaders hold an historic summit the first such meeting in more than a decade and it's hoped to ease tensions on the peninsula. and protests and gas or that have already seen forty eight killed and thousands injured in the past month are set to go on for another two weeks.

just turning midday here in moscow this is r.t. international thanks for joining us we have your top world headlines for this hour . local syrian doctors have testified that they saw no patients with signs of chemical poisoning in the aftermath of the alleged attack on the town of duma went to explain how events unfolded on april the seventh to the un backed chemical watchdog alongside russia's representative however not everyone was willing to listen to their accounts as artie's explains when these reviews emerged pundits and politicians took them as gospel the truth conclusive indisputable and irrefutable proof of chemical since the chemical weapon that killed dozens of civilians and that the us had regime has previously used chemical attacks

the assad regime has used this same yellow gas canisters the n.s.c. telling fox news they have a high degree of confidence that it was yours they must have had solid evidence you don't just flew into a hundred cruise missiles in an act of war without convincing proof beyond any doubt right. right wrong. we were in the basement and then heard someone outside scream go to hospital we were scared they started to pour water on me i don't know why they did this. pundits and politicians who've never been to syria where it happened witnesses the locals who were there in the hospital in question say they didn't see a thing all the exhaust was white helmets dousing confused of aliens with water neither did the doctors see anything. on the seventh of april i was in the

emergency room treating patients injured during the fighting the same day around seven pm we started receiving patients with breathing problems about fifteen cases this happened because people were inhaling smoke and the only shows symptoms of choking and nothing more it all happened because one missile hit a building nearby and a lot of dust got into the hospital rooms with. the screams chemical weapons chemical weapons were used to create panic this lasted for about an hour we were treating the patients and then sending them home so we had no fatalities or instances of people suffering from poison substances this isn't helping western journalists their leaders insist it happened syria russia and locals insist it didn't dead end usually when you put your mind to not a monologue if you don't understand normal language let's try a different way if you're impervious to arguments let us bring you the witnesses so

russia aboard more than a dozen witnesses to the west to the u.p.c. w. and invited western press perfect opportunity for journalists to get to the bottom of this right. right how low do you have to go to bring a little child all the way and threaten them right off the bat the nile but here's the but if we came here willingly we demanded the red cross allow us to come here. wrong in truth there isn't a right answer no matter what you say to some people no matter what you show them they'll never ever come around or change their views how threatened do you have to feel to change your story into the noise a chemical weapons attack stubborn doesn't do this fellow justice he's really the reason that the boy had to fly over the yes my son is young and it's been difficult

for him to make it here a flight here is no easy thing so little has scientists told you the truth something you do not want to hear it was a necessary measure we needed to show that there was a line in a very dangerous one. anyone who hoped there would be a breakthrough was in for a disappointment hours of testimony and the evidence all for naught that you mentioned in a russian press release that somebody here was going to be present to was a witness of producing the video of the white helmets and i was wondering where this witness is and if he can tell his testimony. more and more it's my view all these witnesses we heard from today are the evidence the white helmets feel is fake i don't know maybe i missed something in one ear out

the other with no pause in-between. britain france and the u.s. boycotted the chemical watchdogs hearing with the witnesses calling it a stunt experts from the o.p.c. w. are currently still in syria trying to investigate the alleged chlorine or sarin gas attack on duma we discussed at the latest developments with the former u.k. ambassador to syria peter ford and middle east expert i'm not a walk up. either either ignored or attempts will be made. on the mind but i think when ordinary people. the footage testimony. abound to be impressed what the british media are also failing to point out is that it was russia and syria which requested the o.p.c. w. mission. they requested it britain america still not to this day

confirmed that they wanted the mission to to go ahead they refused to see this as evidence obviously pending what the o.p.c. double team is going to come up with from duma it's highly unlikely that they would say first of all that there was a chemical attack while these three actors were quick to do what they did to bomb the place because they knew they didn't have a solid case they wanted to bomb without with disregard to whatever was happening over there so it shows actually that they knew that there was no chemical attack but they were willing to do whatever it takes us or there are forty or so they think and say we're still on the table. a new history starts now those are the words that were left in a guest book by the north korean leader during his historic meeting with a south korean counterpart it was the first meeting of its kind in more than a decade.

the two sides agreed they should end the confrontation and speed up the unification process. the south korean leader proposed creating rail links between the countries and expressed a desire to visit the holy mountain in north korea for his part kim jong un said he looked forward to visiting seoul and joked that he wouldn't interrupt his

counterpart sleep in the early mornings anymore most likely referring to the north's missile tests which typically took place at the door. of the korean leader's visitors a symbolic pine tree on the north south korean border putting down a mixture of soil from both countries and water from their rivers the tree dates back to the one nine hundred fifty three the year the korean armistice was signed now the leaders have also brought each other some cool and every delights kim jong un sent a special chef to the border to prepare a cold buckwheat noodles for moon while the south korean leader ordered a traditional swiss potato fritter for kim to remind him of his school days in switzerland for dessert right there a cake with a symbol of a united korea on top and it's understood that north korea's first lady will also attend the dinner something that has never actually ever happened. in the meantime the u.s. president donald trump has displayed

a striking shift in his thinking about north korea's leader moving from a war of words just a couple of months ago to open praise you can't have mad men rocket man. shooting rockets all over the place we will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea they will be met with fire fury. we're having very very good discussions him. was he really has been very open. and i think very honorable from everything we're seeing nato chief u.n. stoltenberg gave us somewhat mixed reaction to the ongoing historic meeting of the korean leaders. while calling. into korean summit i think that's been encouraging we must continue to put pressure on north

korea to continue with the sanctions well despite the pressure on north korea a final peace treaty could now be possible human rights attorney eric surat can says both koreas are ready. i think what we can expect is a exciting moment in time in which. as they said a south african history and hope could live if you have it in a certain time in a certain plates and i really am hopeful that from these talks we can see the framework for a full peace treaty to finally end this conflict it seems both sides are ready and willing to do that if the south and north create the framework of their own steps in self-determination then the us as us much smaller role to play if we can agree that and hold them to the notion that ending the hostile policy creating

a peace treaty with the u.s. and south korea will lead to denuclearization of the korean peninsula. and other palestinian and he ok patient rally slated for today in gaza as part of the ongoing great march of return in the past month the event has seen forty palestinians killed and over five thousand wounded. the israeli army denies using excessive force against the protesters it also

accuses hamas which controls gaza of using children to carry out acts of terrorism israel's defense minister has called on people not to approach the border meanwhile doctors without borders recently released a report saying that teams have provided medical care to over six hundred palestinians injured by bullets since the start of the month they also say that the number of patients treated in just three weeks of this month is higher than the number treated during all of twenty fourteen the year of the gaza war and we spoke with the head of the mission in palestine who believes many of the injuries will result in disability. what i can tell you is that. there will there be white. so you staying in the news disproportionate use of force and that when you're against protesters this is a most important point tonight. we were

a little fragments for you see you know we see sharon's and now i think teach so we mean that. one's. exploded and these people. you know. they received their injuries. quests a lot of time also will be titian so. so it's not a question of just this writings which we just heard of monks and even. when we are quite sure about civilization we are very afraid of high uys instruction leaves the bones which are exposed we know. but. then he she corrects these complications and that he will rise to requests sufficient to resist certain force sufficient to say against any state once more conjoined that. we have signed a request to be i.d.f.

asking for comment on the doctors without borders report as well as on claims that its crowd dispersal methods could leave people with serious disabilities are so far no response on that inquiry but in the meantime though israel says it uses non-lethal sponge tipped bullets however they are believed to be harder and heavier than older versions they can not only cause severe injuries but can kill most happened back in twenty fourteen but an israeli human rights group recently released a video showing soldiers in the west bank discussing the use of live ammunition. one israeli x. policeman received a nine month sentence for killing a palestinian teenager in twenty fourteen the court accepted the claim that he had mistaken a live bullet for a rubber one of a story caused outrage after earlier this month a palestinian girl was sentenced to eight months in jail for slapping and israeli

soldier we asked political commentator amir oren to comment on the two crimes and punishments of course if he's not similar to a coup and when one puts on a scale eight months for just to get an officer or trying to slap him in the face and nine months for the earlier case it doesn't seem just but yes there is no level playing field always and everywhere in the world governments will give their uniformed personnel more leeway and would be more lenient towards them then towards those who resist the government we may find it. totally unjust but this is the reality and not only in israel. sophie shevardnadze spoke with the i.d.f. chief of staff about the current escalation in the region asking whether his

position are allowed him to stay neutral the full interview aired all day today on this channel but for now a preview you are obviously a very patchy arctic man who served and served his country are you able to take a step back and see this from a distance how unbending both sides are. i think i think they can associate think that both the palestinians and israelis need. to give up. in the illusionary dreams of getting real on the other we are staying here they're staying here it's an israeli palestinian challenge it should be an israeli palestinian issue was disappointed decides to give this support and i really think that for the benefit to the future the future of the palestinian kids born yesterday will today or will be born to morrow and same stands for my kids or

other kids in israel it's most need to sit down and try to solve it with the help of the others but i was can also vote for us. halfway through the program here on r t on this friday still to come ethiopia a u.k. museum to return treasures seized by british troops one hundred fifty years ago that full story in the mix after the break. manufacture consent to public wealth. when the ruling class is protect themselves. with the find.

the root sick. most people think just in this is this you need to be the first one on top of the story or the person with the loudest voice of the biggest greed in truth to stand losing business is just the dance the right questions and the right answer. question.

it is good if you to join us today here for the news american stock kanye west has caused a stir with his return to social media by tweeting in praise of donald trump after deleting his twitter on instagram accounts a year ago the man who calls himself the voice of a generation is now facing up backlash from his fans some of the media and fellow musicians correspondent caleb mufon has details. kanye west the musician personality entrepreneur who fancies himself to be the next president of the united states is now being called all right those turning on him say as a musician is once again struggling with mental health issues so what triggered all of this well kanye has thrown his support behind donald trump it's easy to cast west as just another lost man seduced by the far right's promise to provide a sense of purpose it's also possible to connect to west's eccentric behavior on twitter this isn't the first time his forays into politics of discomforted some

fans to the mental health struggles that led to his twenty seven thousand hospitalization perhaps politics in music just don't mix as some of kanye as critics have argue however these folks didn't really seem to mind back in two thousand and six when kanye criticised george w. bush as new orleans was coming to terms with hurricane katrina the way america is set up to help. the poor the the the less well off as slow as possible whether or not that famous rapper is thinking straight is irrelevant kanye is known for his extravagant streak on twitter. not smiling makes me smile. men are kind of cool i just don't know any personally maybe i couldn't be skinny and tall but i'd settle for being the greatest artist of all time says consolation but only now that kanye is open and throw trump on twitter are we seeing his

followers abandon ship some people say we should really be surprised that donald trump strikes a chord in the music world like the fifty cent of the republican party. really do barrow you leave now as it is sad not to have that if you go away home. with his own vodka brand porn stars giving interviews about him the love of bling donald trump has been included in over sixty different hip hop songs it's actually a star studded list dr dre ice cube and a ludicrous iconic long before he took office. so we have. now one award winning rapper has spoken up and said the backlash against kanye west

is pretty understandable and rather simple most people feel that prominent african-americans should be democrats crazy celebrities make for good reading and we don't really mind the offensive lyrics until you mix with the republicans. artsy new york. if you're calling for the return of artifacts seized by british forces in the east african nation one hundred fifty years ago the treasures are currently on display at the victoria and albert museum ethiopia first officially requested that the objects be returned in two thousand and seven v.n.a. used says it's ready to give the artifacts on a long. and i do. has rejected that offer saying it wants them all back permanently meanwhile the museum says that the exhibition it's hosting was organized with the help of the ethiopian community in london it also wants dialogue with ethiopia to keep the artefacts in its collection british journalist john go into an ethiopian

political commentator. shared their views on this issue there. we have looked after these historical arch effects we have seen what's happening around the world when we have left things there i mean i could point one perhaps a to our rock stroke syria and what happened with islamic state absolute nonsense as long as we're willing to give them out a long term loans i think that should be the end of the matter this is entirely colonial narrative and i think it is extremely kwanten sending to say that these nations are unstable and therefore cannot provide protection for those looted artifacts they have sufficient capacity to do it is yes we did take them but is he really ethiopia is slate completely clean on this one i mean i just think it's a conflict it's raul there doesn't need to happen we're not saying we won't display them there we're not saying that when we displayed here we're not putting them in

the historical context we are this is just nonsense ethiopian states continue to be the moral owner of the same time the legal order all of these precious artifacts that were looted of the heat of imperial plunder by the british in the uki has no business was for evil to hold them indefinitely and a claim to somewhat have a moral high ground to. to the to be in people and to do to a pianist it how long do we have to where the horses are sure for how long do we have to we're past selves of an empire i mean a lot of what we did when we had our empire was good i'm not excusing what i've done i can't actually condo near i can't excuse it and i can't con demick it was over two hundred years ago disorder may not be as cosmopolitan as london or may not have the kind of infrastructure facilities that london has but it is still africa's

capital and how the resources to display these these these artifacts and people around the world cannot. season it is in the financial interest of the people in the in the states if these people could actually. see these facts. are we can our bring you the latest from that historic meeting between the north and south korean leaders taking place right now in the demilitarized zone the two leaders have just come up with a joint statement they confirmed that a nuclear free korean peninsula is their common goal and agreed to maintain ongoing contacts involving defense ministers and south korean leader will be visiting pyongyang in the coming autumn the two sides promised to connect the south and north with the railway and to resume work on uniting families that were divided by the korean war and starting next month all propaganda activities including loudspeakers and leaflets will be stopped after signing that the declaration the

two leaders are shook hands and there we are they even hugged each other. thanks for sharing some of your friday with us here at r.t. international we're back in about half an hour with more of your world's top stories. from foreign policy could be described as double speak the president doesn't have a defined policy approach even if goals are difficult to discern is this what the art of the deal g.'s is transforming policy making america great again the world safer. washer buying gold as i remind all the psycho three don't think he's right that they you know no one lives

in a fiance alistair house is blown away by the huffing and puffing of the big bad feel wolf and then taking a number two you've got countries like india that are like one step it was that bad sector household sector has all the gold their government doesn't exactly and then the big best fill will often fall to the people the problem is that to survive the government has blown away then you've got the countries like china and russia that have said wow stay out of twenty four carat gold bullion and the big bad theo walcott and it didn't blow their house away. los angeles the city of luxury and free but also an alarming number of people living in the streets. a simple fact in l.a. use there is just not enough shelter even if people on the streets right now decided to come in there's no where to come in and it's been a struggle. this man from his own response to the problem and constructed

dozens of tiny homes for people in need of shelter when you have nothing in order to go. you know having something like this may as well be a castle but do the authorities accept such solution. me house on a city parking space is not a solution your craft to have someone wanted touring the site otherwise it will be a free for all the news there a better alternative to end the homelessness crisis. somebody

you know kind of feel thought of and live down in a intifada or the salt of the soft looms as they're going to the fore.