i was actually born in canada but i grew up in beirut.in canada because when i was born, there was the israeli invasion on lebanon and my parents fled. but for the most part i lived in lebanon. one of the things that i really loved when i was growing up is i would take things apart. some things i would steal from my parents, like radios and things like that, i would break them open. i feel like i grew up in a very special home where my parents didn't believe in gender difference. they didn't raise us like girls the way girls are raised a lot of times in the middle east. my mom wanted us to be scientists and engineers and really push ourselves and be career women and she was a career woman and still is. my mom has been a very big influence on me. >> aya is 1 of 4 daughters and she's always has been different. she has this character in her, she never liked to be the same as others. >> my dad when i was 12 years old got me programming lessons on a commodore 64, even though a lot of our friends used to get barbies and doll houses and all sort

activists are joining us live from beirut here on r.t. many many thanks for coming on our program thank you. are still to come here on a tomb raider is on a rampage find out why north or it is a failing to stem the increasing flow of stolen artifacts from the country. now the summer olympic games are finally underway in london and while the athletes were gearing up to go tough on their opponents police were getting a bit tough on locals around one hundred cycling activists taking part in a monthly mass bike ride arrested during the opening ceremony to the olympic games so they claim to have been encircled by police while pedaling towards olympic park officers reportedly used pepper spray as the scuffles broke out at the opening show itself proved to be a breathtaking masterpiece of art a final price tag of twenty seven million pounds the olympic torch was delivered by a football superstar david beckham via a speedboat on the river thames and seven young athletes nominated by british sporting greats lit the flame to the largest. bell it lo

backed regime has recently banned all forms of public protest well she joins us herself now from beirut to talk about what is happening in bahrain you've spent time in situ are known as the heart of bahrain's uprising what is the situation like there. hi it's great to be here the audio feed seems to have a lot of static though so i wasn't able to quite hear your question can you just tell us a little bit about the situation in bahrain in terms of what you've seen and how you have witnessed the up the uprising. oh absolutely i spent about three weeks in bahrain and i was i was largely embedded you could say with the pro democracy and human rights activists while i was there and what i witnessed is an increasing increasing repression against the pro-democracy and human rights activists in the short time that i was in bahrain i felt like the situation was actually deteriorating and house raids and arrests and attempts to silence free speech are all intensifying right now in bahrain. just reading your blog you paint a very grim picture is this only happening in places like sutra or is it ac

john muir is watching developments from beirut. >> getting ever closer into the central damascus and the people of the regime -- seat of the regime's power. people throughout the city could hear explosions and the shooting. it does not mean damascus is about to fall. but many feel the noose is tightening. families have been sent scurrying for safety. the name of the town means solidarity in arabic. in nearby neighborhoods the activists set up barricades and burning tires to block a main road. there were solidarity demonstrations in many areas with that down. u.n. observers were trying to get to the bottom of what has happened near the town of hama where scores of forces were killed last week. the security council has to agree on the future of the mission and what to do about syria. kofi annan is spending two days in moscow talking to the russians. underussia is under strong western pressure, but there's no sign of them budging. >> there are elements of black male. they say if you don't agree to resolution chapter 7 of the un charter, they will not extend the observer mission. i belie

. >> > >jim muir now from beirut. the defense minister is dead. i gather the information minister is critically ill after this suicide bombing. this is beginning to look like a heavy blow for the regime, is it not? >> this is a blow to the very heart of the security establishment, not just the defense minister killed, but also the president's brother-in- law, who is another i security official has been reported, but not confirmed, to be dead. certainly very injured. other top officials -- possibly the interior minister. rumors are going around. we are not getting confirmation. we're dealing with a very secretive regime. obviously, we are waiting for official word for anything. we are not going to get much apart from that. the defense ministry is about to make a press conference very shortly at which it will presumably, obviously, mourn the defense minister, but perhaps give more details of exactly how this bomb was managed -- was smuggled into this major security building where this top-level security meeting was going on. it is a huge blow to the

my ideas about syria were formed from going up in beirut and the living and teaching at beirut during the civil war, when i watched christians and muslims kill each other in big numbers, and people who are very sophisticated. then i watched the iraq war whenever he said oh, we all love each other, we're going to get along, just knock out the regime and it will be good. it didn't happen. and living in syria, my first year living in city wasn't 1981-82. in the dormitories in the city of damascus and it was the year of hamas. i watched syrians, every room in my dormitory was divided by but there was a through z. room and we talked about mike is the this was the truth room. it's all the people visiting would be from. from the same sect or the same village. and it wasn't the people would come and visit from different facts that they would change the conversation but if an alawite want to know i can tell you, the conversation changed her medical. and there was this world of different communities. and that's what made me so worried about syria. because yes this regime held hostages but there

. >> i remember in 2004 we were in beirut for the beirut summit of arab states to come to some kind of by the passover bombing where many people were killed. you could see how some people might think these scars represent something where we open up to discussions and we face violence. how do you stop that? >> look what's happening in europe today. the relationship between france and germany they kill each other. look at germany and russia. how is it that's the kind of peace we need? it's mature leadership, bold leaders to step up and say, it's behind us. we need to live together. war is not an option. >> what are your greatest fears? >> ignorance about the situation in washington. the stress of going to israel. they are treating it with steroids without thinking of winning the war in peace. >> the greatest hope? >> the people around us. always remember how diamonds are made under pressure. >> craig joins us live here in jerusalem. >> it does seem better. is there an economic boom or not? i didn't quite understand they are building that as an economic boom. >> it's an economic boom they

or the live from beirut that is a german journalist and i will if i thank you so much for coming on r t today i certainly wish we had more time for this conversation thank you so much. this is all to live from moscow and washington has begun reaching out to hackers in an attempt to get them on board to aid national security the country's top surveillance chief is right now attending the world's largest hacking conference in las vegas and offering participants some of the major career opportunities and i could represent a major u. turn on washington's approach to cyber warfare in zante its marina portnoy reports over the past two years the f.b.i. has arrested and jailed dozens of a legit how curves and or whistle blowers in connection to groups like wiki leaks. anonymous and the file sharing site mega upload but in addition to prosecuting master hackers it appears as though the u.s. government may soon begin aggressively recruiting them now one indication that many are pointing to is the fact that the head of the u.s. national security agency general keith alexander is expected to spea

the shabby who joins us live from beirut thank you very much for being with us i want to start with the u.a.e. and it's a good number of people who must be content with their lives especially with the country's generous welfare system what has spurred the on ras and the erast well as in all the other countries i believe the twenty two nations there are some legitimate democratic reforms that are necessary and asked for by the people and there are some there are some limitations on basic freedoms there are some there is a lack of a system of accountability and that hello yes we hear you fine hello. yes i'm sorry but there's something i don't know the screen just went went off but anyway we still are you find. all these countries and therefore one would expect people to come out and take to the streets and call for these these reforms and this is completely illegitimate however when things go out of hand and violence comes in and you know things go out and nothing happens as is the case in syria and that's what we're witnessing in syria today and i believe that's what we witnessed earlier

let's get more now on this from political analyst more since sunday and he joins me live now from beirut. now saudi arabia fears shiite led protests will escalate as they have done in bahrain what is the likelihood that this could lead to violence and. well everybody knows that the. party in saudi arabia have been for a long time for probably centuries the nineteenth century and twentieth century and they have been deprived of their basic rights when the revolution peaceful this revolution started in behind i guess the saudis saw it and they are right in thinking so because they are discriminating against the essential part of their people in the eastern part and it's an irony that the find in this is all kinds of . produce there so these people who are in their country that's why they feel that the the the agony of these people might be a mark of a greater volution in saudi arabia and that's what the united states and the saudis really are afraid of that's why they are killing people detaining people and shooting some of the great figures like. and also they go to behind and also in a c

understood french explain to us dr motion salai a political analyst to talk to us on the line from beirut. twenty four minutes past eight of the evening moscow time let me bring you up to date on some new stories misstating first of all the yemen there at least ten people being killed in a suicide bombing at a police academy in the yemeni capital sana'a port said the bomber blew himself up as cadets were leaving classes it is active in the country which has been difficult since last year. thousands have been gathering tahrir square to protest against the supreme court blocking the president's to create a reconvening column and that's to say the judge's decision to generals egypt's parliament was dissolved last month by the would literally cause. it comes from rather off the court ruled the election of the for the very reason valid because the voting record. every ranger struck in ukraine these are the latest pictures we go through there causing severe flood damage. but some of our gas and water supply lines want to. merge into crews are battling to try to do with the situation that follow

in beirut president assad took immediate action to replace his defense minister today because the previous minister was killed yesterday in a blast along with two other members of assad's inner circle. this was the first appearance of assad since the blast. >> the wife of mitt romney has given an exclusive interview to "good morning america" robin roberts. ann romney reinforced her husband's refusal to make more of his tax returns public. >> we've given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life. >> she said her family 10% of their income to the mormon church and he did not take a salary as massachusetts's governor. she says being diagnosed 14 years ago with multiple sclerosis was her darkest hour. >> it wasn't just the feeling, it is the unknown where is this taking me how long is this going to go on is it going to drag me down so much i have nothing left in life? >> romney says she found value in life again during her therapy with the help of family and friends. >>> president obama started two days of campaigning in florida one of th

we report on these latest developments from beirut. >> the battle for damascus is on. that is what the opposition says and government forces have been on the move to defend the city. israeli intelligence says some syrian forces have been moved them -- have been moved here. on the air -- on the move in the air, too. it is the first time helicopters have fired inside the city limits. clashes have moved to the northern side of the capitol, too. the government said what it called a terrorist damaged a power station here. activist said security forces used mortars and attacked. shooting was reported in a main street right in the heart of damascus. in other parts, things seem to be fairly normal. the main centers of the regime's power have yet to come under attack. the free syrian army is calling its operation at damascus volcano. after 16 months, the uprising has finally arrived in the capital. >> to libya, the national forces alliance looks to of done very well. in contrast to a neighbor in -- neighboring countries, islamist parties are trailing behind. here is our corresp

in beirut president assad took immediate action to replace his defense minister today because the previousinister was killed yesterday in a blast along with two other members of assad's inner circle. this was the first appearance of assad since the blast. >> the wife of mitt romney has given an exclusive interview to "good morning america" robin roberts. ann romney reinforced her husband's refusal to make more of his tax returns public. >> we've given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life. >> she said her family 10% of their income to the mormon church and he did not take a salary as massachusetts's governor. she says being diagnosed 14 years ago with multiple sclerosis was her darkest hour. >> it wasn't just the feeling, it is the unknown where is this taking me how long is this going to go on is it going to drag me down so much i have nothing left in life? >> romney says she found value in life again during her therapy with the help of family and friends. >>> president obama started two days of campaigning in florida one of the

from beirut, jim muir reports. >> syrian state television is now following the aleppo fighting on the ground, as it did for damascus last week. it says government forces have moved into salah al-din, the southwest portion of aleppo which had become a rebel stronghold. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we have taken complete control from the mercenary gunmen and will make it peaceful and just a few days. >> activists say they're still fighting in the quarter and in other areas, syrian troops have defected, handing over government tanks to the rebels. as the battle rages, growing concern for of of many civilians trapped in the city. believes 200,000 have fled. many pouring into improvised field hospitals are civilians. >> [speaking foreign language] >> some days, we get 30, 40, or 50 wounded. that does not include the bodies. some of the bodies are so disfigured that they cannot be identified. >> water supplies have been cut off. the only shops that are open are the bakeries, working round-the- clock to produce bread for the hungry. is the fasting month in midsummer heat is adding to th

. >> last year in beirut two prominent lebanese politicians came to blows while clashing over presidentredible. the pro syrian politician picked up his chair in attempt to hit his opponent. all of this we'll put to practice on the set of "morning joe" in about ten or 15 minutes. i'm going to throw a chair at rattner who is over here reading the paper. >>> last night mike tyson was on "watch what happens live" and answered everyone's most pressing question. >> mike tyson, what does an ear taste like? >> it depends on we're did you bite. but since i bit holyfield's ear and didn't have holyfield's hot sauce on it. >> needed the holyfield hot sauce on the ear -- >> that would have been a delicacy. >> oh, man. an amazing survival story when a chinese acrobat fell off his tightrope yesterday. he was walking backwards 657 feet above the ground with his eyes covered. he fell about 130 feet, but since he was close to the platform -- whoa -- the drop was relatively small. he suffered only minor injuries. he got up and walked just after the fall. don't try this at home today, folks. >>> still ahea

bbc news, beirut. proceed to oppose a former head of intelligence and former vice president has died. -- egypt's former head of intelligence. he was a trusted deputy of mubarak and was often seen as a possible successor. he was ruled out in the latest presidential election. voting is underway in india to elect a new president. the position is largely ceremonial, but the new president could play a decisive role in who forms the next government in 2014. the front runner is a former finance minister. and i spur price the size of manhattan has broken off a glacier in northern greenland. images show the 120 square kilometer piece of ice separating from the peterman glacier. ice for twice that size broke off two years ago from the same glacier. still to come, when was this an olympic sport? historic olympic games around the world. we continue our look at that. 250 people on a ferry have sunk off the coast of tanzania and near the island of zanzibar. >> holding on to whatever floats. one of the passengers of

al jazeera beirut bureau chief last rule. year. he is concerned that the media reports would aggravate the conflict. >> translator: media in the arab world only seemed to follow the policies dictated by the leaders of gulf countries that are financially supporting them. and this is fuelling confrontation in syria that is simply escalating the fighting. >> reporter: on the other hand wbt assad administration is backed by major power, iran. a syria products fair has been held to support the assad regime. which is struggling amid economy sanctions. >> because of the embargo, i believe that we can work together. >> iran seems to be supporting military support to syria. with rocket launchers and other arments. in january, antigovernment forces released image of people who are said to be iranian snipers helping the assad forces. iran denied it. saying they were engineers dispatched to help with infrastructure work. looking increasingly like a proxy war of neighboring countries. fighting in syria is intensifying. nhk world. >> people in j

well, elizabeth kennedy, with 9 associated press, we thank you for talking with us about it from beirut, thank you. >> thank you. >> brown: still to come on the newshour: the staggering losses at j.p. morgan chase; the power of tracking power-use; the debate over outsourcing jobs; shields and gerson; and the refugee crisis in south sudan. but first, the other news of the day. here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: the stock market surged higher today in a rally fueled by shares in big banks. the dow jones industrial average snapped a six-day losing streak, gaining nearly 204 points to close at 12,777. the nasdaq rose 42 points to close above 2,908. for the week, the dow gained a fraction of a percent; the nasdaq fell 1%. china's roaring economic growth hit a three-year low in the year's second quarter. new data today showed expansion there slowed to an annual rate of 7.6%, still far above growth rates in the west. the chinese government denied the slowdown was actually much worse. meanwhile in italy, the moody's rating firm downgraded the country's bond rating by two notches. the news

more on the situation in syria, we turn to elizabeth kenned the associated press's bureau chief in beirut. i spoke to her short while ago. >> elizabeth kennedy, welcome. is there anything you can add to that report we just heard from inside syria? >> well, we have spoken to activists in the area who do say that this is yet another massacre, that they're enduring another massacre in syria. and they are desperate for help f not from the outside, then some sort of release from more than a year of horrle vioncin syra. >> and we just heard that very firm comment from secretary of state clinton. what do we know about was's happening on the diplomatic front? >> the diplomatic process in syria right now is paralyzed. it's really struggling. there's been like i said more than a year of violence in syria. by some estimates 17,000 people have died but it's very difficult to point to even one concrete result that's come out of this pro sets. after reheard about the latest violence in hama we heard very strong words from hillary clinton from ban ki-moon, from kofi annan, all condemning the violence, c

joining me from beirut is our correspondent jim muir. i gave just a couple of details there. could you bring us up to date with the latest? >> well, conflicting claims by government and rebels as to the state of an area which is on the southwest side of the city. it's a very important place for the rebels because they've made a stronghold there. it's quite a packed area. now the government is saying that it is pursuing the remnants of armed groups there and inflicting heavy lots on them but the rebels are denying that the government has got control there. in fact, rebel commanders are saying the government kept trying to attack there but was being constantly driven back. elsewhere, activists are reporting more shelling on various areas to the south and to the northeast of the city where there are again, rebel pockets. so it's really quite hard between these conflicting versions to get a clear idea of what happened on the ground. yes, there's shelling, there is bombardment by helicopter gun ships, etc., but what is happening on the ground in terms of movement is subject to the

jim, "bbc news," beirut. >> now let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. typhoon jets and surface-to-air missiles are all to be deployed to defend the air space over london for the olympic games. restrictions on air travel are being nut place and passenger flights are not affected. with more details on this, our correspondent, nick is at the airport in northwest london. nick, tell us more about these restrictions. >> yes. well, i think this is a final information offensive by the authorities, if you like, with these restrictions coming in at midnight local time tonight. basically a prohibited zone over the main olympic park and much of london and a restricted zone over pretty much a large chunk of southeast england. there are one or two other zones where there are olympic venues as well. but those for the months and then smaller ones for the paraolympics after that. they are insisting the scheduled airlines are not going to be affected by this but pretty much everything else is. private pilots are all informed on what these restrictions ar

. >> pelley: elizabeth palmer is joining us now in beirut. liz, when you talk to the free syrian army people, what are their concerns going forward? >> well, they're concerned this is going to be a long fight in a very costly one. and the people we talked to here also are concerned about what they see as a split in the free syrian army. and they say that the fundamentalist islamic brigades are getting more money, more support, and maybe even the upper hand in this fight and that's not going down well with everybody. >> pelley: elizabeth, thank you. syria rarely allows recorders into that country but our clarissa ward managed to get in and earlier today she sent us a short description of what this war looks like on just one street in just one town. >> reporter: syrian tanks pulled out of this village yesterday and residents here tell us that they are thrilled to have their liberty. but look at the scene that was left behind. people here told us that helicopter gun ships swooped in here on thursday and obliterated this entire street and just lo

. >> arwa damon monitoring the developments out of beirut, lebanon.s is just a glimpse of what is actually going on. >> it most certainly is, kyra. there's been fighting throughout damascus, very close to the heart of the capital. the seat of power. bashar al assad's seat of power in and of itself for the last few days. opposition activists have been describing it as the most intense fighting that has been taking place. the images coming out quite dramatic showing street-to-street guerrilla warfare. that story you saw, that is just a fraction of what it is that people are going through inside syria and the lengths that these opposition activists are going to try to put their plight into the international spotlight. of course, the aim of all of this, the reason why they're taking this risk, is that they're hoping that at the end of it, the international community is going to somehow unite, is going to rally, and somehow bring about an end to the fighting because the death toll only grows more devastating by the day, kyra. >> we're going to be following

alex marquardt, abc news, beirut. >> and it is reported about 20,000 syrians have reportedly fled to the jerry sandusky child abuse sex scandal is hitting the penn state board of trustees. bowing to growing pressure, former chairman steve garbin stepped down last night. former fbi director louis free found out he knew about the sandusky investigation but neglected to share that information with the rest of the board. >> the 72-year-old was picked up by police during a routine inspection if and accused of engaging in a lewd act. you can imagine what that was. willard was the narrater of "the antiques road show" spin off, "market warriors," but his voice will now be replaced on the episodes that he has already taped. willard told tmz it all is a big misunderstanding, saying it flat-out did not happen. he's hosting a new angst show call "trust us with your life." it is still scheduled to air next week. yet another member of peewee's playhouse hanging out in the theaters. who still goes to theaters in 2012? don't you have a laptop and a dark room like a gentleman? i don't understand that

. >> pelley: elizabeth palmer is joining us in beirut.elizabeth, from looking at your story and from what we've seen over the last week or so, the tempo of the fighting seems to week increased quite a bit. ms reporter: yes, july is on track to be the bloodiest month yet in this conflict. she syrian observatory for human rights says 2,752 people have aied so far this month alone-- a quarter of them government troops. >> pelley: and about 19,000 killed in the last 17 months of 19 this uprising. uz, thank you. it was two months ago that a nuclear submarine went up in flames while it was in dry dock in maine. the fire caused $400 million in inage to the u.s.s. "miami." today a civilian employee was ararged with setting the fire. naval investigators say the worker has confessed and he said he did it because he was suffering from anxiety and he wanted to get off work early. she was the first american woman to orbit the earth. mbmembering sally ride next. at all those toys. insuring that stuff must be a pain. nah, he's probably got... [ dennis'

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, beirut. >> jeff: the worst rainstorm in six decades has swamped china's capitol. nearly nine inches of rain fell overnight flooding roads and collapsing rooftops, at least 37 atople are dead. thousands of others were forced fo higher ground. hundreds of flights were canceled at beijing's airport. norway today remembered its own ass killing. 77 people most of them teenagers were killed one year ago when a gunman opened fire at a youth camp after setting off a bomb in oslo. another 240 people were hurt. its confessed killer anders behring breivik faces sentencing next months. behring breivik faces sentencing next months. we'll be right back. ♪ [ upbeat ] [ bark [ barks ] beneful playful life is made with energy-packed wholesome grains... and real beef and egg. to help you put more play in your day. whether you're a protector... or a collector... at kenmore appliances we get it. that's why no brand in america gives you more of the capacity you need. we put more in, so you get more out. kenmore. perfect golden color. rich in fiber. my dad taught me, and i taught my s

he was a junior officer in beirut back in 1983 when he was caught in the first major bombing of a u.sy by islamic terrorists. he was ambassador to iraq where he helped turn that war around, and he retired in 2009, but then, president obama asked him to take on afghanistan two years later. ambassador crocker is joining us from the state department. ambassador crocker, one of your goals was to get the enemy to the negotiating table. that really hasn't happened, and i wonder why the taliban aren't talking. >> scott, bear in mind, that while we definitely want to see a negotiated settlement-- that's how insurgencies end-- it's not our negotiating table where we want to see the taliban. it is the afghan negotiating table. what you're not going to get, scott, in my estimation, is some kind of grand bargain or the entirety of the taliban come to terms with the afghan government. it's going to be chipping away, breaking them apart, breaking them loose, defections, and a general degradation, i think, of the taliban through political as well as military means. >> pelley: that sowns like a long

beirut based political analyst couple was me says washington hasn't changed its stance over syria and continues to encourage rebels to carry on their fight against the regime. i mean if you hear the statement of the russian and you have the statement of mrs clinton the secretary of state of the united states you would hear there is a huge difference between that statement one is calling healing the country and one mr clinton saying we won the president to step down and we wanted him out of the pictures and we it's time to go and he's not talking about starting at transitional period and obviously the sentiment the american sentiment the negative sentiment that actually feeding into this chaos in syria. is i think it's time for the americans to be silent and set aside for the persian gulf country stop meddling inside syria so we can see positive reinforcement and real dialogue taking the place as long as these. countries take in this negative damaging grog i think the level of violence and the hate that will continue to fuel the violence in syria. well later in the program we take a lo

region really would welcome that and we're already beginning to see some spillover effect here in beirut where i am right now and i think that this is this problem has got to be resolved i don't see removing assad is the answer at this point he has been a balance for the most part he's got to defend the country and if people are shooting the government forces they have to defend themselves. as syria looks for ways to end the violence a revolutionary fever is spreading well beyond the arab world later this hour here on r.t. we explore the negative effect that foreign military engagement can have on the wider region and nato involvement in libya last year is blamed for sparking conflict at this time in mali. but putting on a welcoming face obama congratulates egypt's new islamist president despite strong indications of a troubled relationship to come. now this week german chancellor angela merkel dubbed europe's of nine was seen to taste defeat for the first time in years it was decided at an e.u. summit to give brussels the power to pump e.u. taxpayer money into failing banks we'll all wi

well let's get some more analysis on this now across live to beirut based political analyst come i'll watch new joining us live here on the program good to see you today thanks for coming on as i'm sure you were listening to the reporters there from maria financial and what we've been saying all day today syria's opposition groups have already slammed the plan saying it's unrealistic and just a big waste of time would you agree with that assessment i think this is the voice of the opposition from the day one they wanted violence and they want the killing to continue and we have to actually see the countries that support of the opposition mostly the united persian gulf country. actually fueling this violence and actually this allowing genuine peace process to take place that's why the killings still continue in syria because somebody is determined to look at this to asian and one way they mention and i think that some process of killing preventing from the country from healing the wounds and beginning the process of healing i think the president of assad i think you had that advice of

prediction kummel thank you very much indeed for your thoughts political analyst coming live from beirut. let's have a quick look at some other stories making headlines around the world. egypt's former spy chief president omar suleiman has died aged seventy six in the u.s. he was reportedly undergoing medical tests at a hospital in cleveland when his condition took a sudden turn for the worse the cause of his death is yet to be announced confidence of egypt's ousted president hosni mubarak he was due to run for the country's presidency how did this year was disqualified from the race. a senior security officer colonel abdullah has been killed in a car blast in yemen's port city of aden this is the latest in a series of high profile assassinations in the country's volatile southern region most of the attacks have been blamed on al qaeda linked militant groups which seized power in the region during last year's popular uprising against the former president ali abdullah sunday. also in world update this hour the german parliament approved a one hundred billion euro rescue package for the sp

to look at iran as a sort of influential ally in any sort of potential peace negotiations and the beirut based middle east expert. you hear a lot he says that russia's stance on the conflict in syria could be gaining more traction. the see the national council doesn't represent all of the syrians and i think with some pressure being put on b s n c there might be a change of mind you have to recall here that western powers and the other our powers of world have stated very clearly that they want out of power these members of the syrian national council are very much to influence than actually i have to say perched to one of the statements were to the stance of the west in general the russians have shown that they have been more even handed approach now the tide is turning in favor of what we could call the russian chinese iranian club i mean coffee i learned right after visiting by shot her so he goes ahead and pays a visit to iran and iraq coffee i learned according to my information during his talks with showed us that he focused on the geneva meeting and didn't view of any importance o