he was stationed in rif, damascus, the suburbs of damascus. these two were stationed in deraa in the south, and he was stationed in tartous, which is on the coast in the north. the men claimed they had deserted because they were forced to fire on protesters. what were your orders? >> navai: this man said he'd seen other soldiers killed for disobeying orders. >> navai: these soldiers, whose stories can't be independently verified, claim many deserters are joining the revolution. >> navai: some deserters have formed a group called the free syrian army. they claim to be at least 10,000 strong and warn, without war, assad will not fall. but they face security forces totaling more than 300,000. the un says nearly 200 children have now been killed. i was taken to meet one child caught up in a protest. his father said his 15-year-old son was lucky to have survived. >> navai: on his way to the shops, the boy had excitedly joined a demonstration. the security forces opened fire and he was shot in the head. >> navai: the only way the boy can communicate

we report. >> in the suburb on the outskirts of damascus a crowd is growing. three arab league observers in bright orange vests emerge. in order to be unhindered by security forces, the first time that's hatched since they arrived in the country 11 days ago. the bbc correspondent being given rare access and they have accused the government of misleading the arab league monitors by taking them to only pro government areas but during mohammed's visit the demonstrators encircled the diplomats, many giving their own yines accounts of what they have seen. >> these women died trying to save the other from being taken hostage by security. >> this man said his son had been shot by a sniper and then knifed to death and he was only leaveing a mosque during a protest. suddenly while he was filming these pictures a masked man drives up to distribute plaquerds and banners, this the last one to be taken out. observers, please help us. monitors may have seen them but during their visit they saw no violence. this was the same place at a different time of day. the pictures wer

damascus syria. also coping with unrest is egypt coming up for you here in r.t. a year after its uprising back to tell here square as hundreds of thousands rally against the absolute power of the ruling military junta and its reluctance to step down. but still to come for this hour but first u.n. nuclear inspectors have started a three day mission to examine iran's atomic activities terrilyn says it's certain the talks the first in more than three years will prove its programs purpose is purely peaceful the i.a.e.a. visit comes at a time when tensions between iran and the west are approaching crisis level on monday adopted and i'm president it's set of sanctions against the islamic republic which include a complete embargo on oil supplies from iran that comes into force in july but iran is considering an immediate halt of oil sales to europe in retaliation well let's discuss the latest developments around the iranian crisis with manesh he's middle east studies program coordinator and professor emerit

the west's talk about syria which would be changed and leave saudi arabia damascus says rejection was no surprise they sides of the conflict of shame equal a willingness to soften their stance even when the daily death toll in the country continually rising the killing of the head of the syrian arab red crescent was on the right to damascus yes you know the remind the spiraling situation. of such a creature of even to the country's crisis is seen as clinching show the arab league essentially has no credibility on the arab street what the arab league mission is trying to accomplish is good enough everything is concrete everything about human rights abuses on the part of the are so very easy to then take to the un the evidence will be so strong that even russia and china will feel compelled to work but as of now one month after this mission started they seem to know the monitors thing to know more about what's going on the ground and they think. at the beginning and so it all looks like you know we're going back to square one as the death toll rises the proposal being floated to increas

damascus syria. is coming to you live from moscow and on the way in just a few minutes. versus the crisis. low ball political and economic leaders meet here at the world economic forum to tackle the eurozone crisis and also the arab spring meanwhile those who protested activists that want their voices heard remain locked out. of food fuel and a few surprises as a russian rocket heads to the international space station for the first time this year by taking some cargo that the crew can't live without. the top job in the world's largest country is a highly prized position so meeting the other contenders requires some creative thinking those up for the russian presidency are using every avenue available to get their message out there. i think our show has been looking at the campaign as a vote attracting tactics most of our doesn't want is that we're right just like ones that are going to raise you some time and slogans cool down from the poor d.m. on the traditional election season fair but they're no longer considered police invoke. today's complaining has gone online in

artsy damascus syria. well also coping with an arrest is egypt coming up on r t a year after its uprising its back to the rear as hundreds of thousands rallying against the absolute power of the ruling military john and its reluctance to step down. u.n. nuclear inspectors have started a three day mission to examine iran's atomic activities to iran says it's certain the talks the first in more than three years will prove its programs purpose is purely peaceful the i.a.e.a. visit comes at a time when tensions between iran and the west are approaching crisis level on monday even nations adopted an unprecedented set of sanctions against the islamic republic which include a complete embargo on oil supplies from iran that comes into force in july but experts say the imposed band will hit the struggling european economy much more than iranian this is not in favor of european interests what we are doing there with this stupid senseless and also wrong embargo and what we clearly see is that this happened upon washi

damascus syria. one post has been killed in a school in russia's volatile north caucuses earlier tonight security services say there were no children the school at the time of the incident you talk is have now fled the sea caucasus correspondent in a coach never brings us up to date. one man was killed during the school siege of the republic of good buddies in the balcony in russia's north caucasus and this man is reported to be a serviceman aged twenty seven at first also there were reports that there were up to you a seven people taking hostage that leader this information was denied and we know so far that this three armed man stormed the building of the school and at that time several people were playing volleyball in the sport hall and also at that same moment there were no children in the building but the police blocked the whole neighborhood and the search operation continues the capital of focus but you know about cairo republican was a witness to a number of violent accidents in the past cou

artsy damascus syria we're coming to live on the side of moscow still to come on the program here davos versus the crisis the leaders of the global finance and politics tackled the arab spring and the embattled eurozone switzerland's exclusive ski resort people who question the efforts. in the snow. also. few and a few surprises as a russian rocket heads to the space station for the first time this year is taking a few tons of vital cog early but the crew cannot do without. egyptians are valid to remain in the capital's career square after a rally marking the first anniversary of the uprising which toppled president mubarak protesters want a speedy handover of power from the interim military rulers one key demand has finally been met that was to lift the mubarak era state of emergency but a egyptian author and filmmaker philip risk says the concession will bring little change. i don't see it as being that big of a shift i mean we lived under military rule for thirty years and that gave the government the authority to do just about what they wanted today we live under military rule so to

artsy damascus syria on the way to divorce versus the crisis. mobile political and economic leaders meet here at the world economic forum to tackle the eurozone crisis and also the arab spring meanwhile those who protested activists they want their voices heard remain locked out. next though the top job in the world's largest countries are highly prized positions of beating the other contenders requires some creative thinking those up for the russian presidency using every avenue available to get their message out there. looking at the campaign as vote truck to to talk. i swear it doesn't want is that you were right is that was that it was very soon some time and slogans called out from the poor d m r the traditional election season fair but they're no longer considered politically in vogue. today's campaigning has gone online in a whole new trend in russia. with programming and bloggers making fun of the opposition portraying them in prayer outside the u.s. embassy on sundays claiming they are connected to the u.s. state department and the oppo

artsy damascus syria. well if syria is locked in a spiral of violence and libya is not far behind coming up on our team months after the fall of gadhafi respected n.g.o.s doctors without borders suspend its mission to libya after being forced to treat torture victims were then sent straight back for further interrogation. but first un nuclear inspectors have started a three day mission to examine iran's atomic activities tehran says it's certain the talks the first in more than three years will prove its programs purpose is purely peaceful the i.a.e.a. visit comes at a time when tensions between iran and the west are approaching crisis level on monday even nations adopted an unprecedented set of sanctions against the islamic republic which include a complete embargo on oil supplies from iran that's meant to come into force in july but experts say the imposed ban will hit the struggling european economy much more than the iranian this is not in favor of european interests what we are doing there with this s

damascus and to discuss the battle in an over syria with me now is on the risk of an expert on middle east affairs so a diplomatic showdown at the u.n. with western and arab nations trying to persuade russia to back this controversial resolution what do you expect to come out of this meeting. well i think that the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov made it very clear because basically what he was saying in those statements which we heard is that the u.n. security council will not become a body for regime change and now previously what we had seen is that for example during the bush administration military force was being used for the sake of regime change in libya for example we saw in nato now when it comes to syria i don't think you can either see unilateral american military action nor can you see no to action of course when it comes to unilateral military action from the u.s. the u.s. now its military it is overextended the pentagon is decreasing its its budget and also we have america focusing more and more on the chinese threat which leaves that less room to focus on on the

says damascus has stepped up its crackdown on protesters but assad claims no order was ever given to fire on. the president's pledge commitment to democratic reform promising a referendum on a new constitution by march and free elections soon after let's get more on these developments with independent news editor james corbett coming on the program with us here on r.t. good to see you so assad spoke yesterday for the first time now since june and then just again twenty four hours later he's sounding off why so much talk now is it a sign of desperation or possibly just a new tactic. well i'm not sure about desperation so much as something of a necessity for him at this point to make sure that people don't start spreading rumors about him fleeing the country and other such things that we've seen spread to for example about mubarak in egypt last year or about gadhafi in libya these types of rumors start to spread as government becomes more in battle and more and more slandered really in the international media in a lot of ways and i find it interesting that pretty much every single engl

turn our attention to the out of syria now where syrian troops are storming a heavily populated damascussuburb where government forces pulled out earlier this week after clashes with opposition fighters the u.n. security council could vote in the next few days on a resolution aimed at stemming the escalating conflict the draft calls on the syrian regime to comply with an arab league proposal for president assad to leave and pave the way for a unity government russia has made it clear that it will veto any u.n. resolution that allows for foreign intervention or sanctions its origin in syria itself the arab league monitoring mission has resume for the first time in a week because of violence that's after the source gulf countries pull out call on the u.n. . saying they get by and heading home the observers from the gulf states leave for the airport then mission in complete leaving behind a country in a deepening crisis is never going to be easy so you want the arab league monitors to stay i don't want there first right from the word go the missions prove problematic the opposition accused

artsy damascus syria and i still to come on the program here on our t.v. we are in the powerbrokers playground in switzerland to see whether davos falls on deaf. activists way to get their voices heard as global leaders meet for the world economic forum here in davos for their annual business more or less or we'll have more coming up. it's the online election battle front where nothing is off limits that's russia's presidential campaign hot political activists are moving away from traditional tactics and embracing the internet whether promoting ideas or spreading fear webcam painting is playing a bigger part than ever before. perhaps the story. oh sorry doesn't want is that you were right is that was that it was that there was a way suits and ties and slogans called out from the poor d m r the traditional election season is there but they're no longer considered politically. today's campaigning has gone online in a whole new trend in russia. with programming and bloggers making fun of the opposition portraying them in prayer outside the u.s. embassy on sun

artsy damascus syria. some of this part of the hour here in moscow still to come your way in the program davos opposed to the crisis. global political and economic leaders meet here at the world economic forum to tackle the eurozone crisis and also the arab spring meanwhile those who protested activists that want their voices heard remain locked out of. food fuel and a few surprises as a russian rocket heads to the international space station for the first time this year taking some vital cargo that the crew cannot do with. but top job in the world's largest a country is a highly prized position so meeting your contenders requires some creative thinking those up for the russian presidency are using every avenue available to get the message out that r.t. is you're going to regret over has been looking at the campaigns are voter attracting tactics over there doesn't want is that you were right is it was that it was down to three suits and ties and slogans cold out from the poor d m r the traditional election

well this was in the damascus suburb of the as he said. and we went there with other various members of the press and if they would actually started the day with the arab league observers and it was thought that they were going to travel to one of these areas i have thought what they ended up doing was just sort of circling around the city here in damascus and going back to the hotel where that they say that point other members of the press it decided to push on and visit this particular suburb and essentially when we got there we were met by the free syrian army now have control of the area and they showed us around they took us into the stand there was absolutely massive anti-government demonstration going on there's a funeral procession going on at the same time as well so we were able to speak to the people who were living in this area to speak to some of the free syrian army members as well because of course a very little is known about who exactly these people are we we know a lot of them are army defectors and speaking to a number o

mission not accomplished as key states abandon the arab mission in damascus. an attack by an islamist sect killed hundreds and frustration boils over. >> who do you blame? >> the government, because they cannot protect us. >> caught between two worlds in china. the country is racing towards the future but at what cost? welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the arab league peace mission to syria is in serious jeopardy this evening after more countries decided to pull out of the operation. the gulf states have joined saudi arabia and withdrawn, accusing syria of not respecting any agreement. in damascus, the foreign minister blasted the league for waging a conspiracy but they agreed to extend the mission for another month. >> isolated and under pressure but still defiant. for the syrian foreign minister, what is happening at the arab league and the moves it to involve the u.n. are all part of a plan. he said it was not a surprise that some of the arab states ignored the report of the arab observers and they did not like what it said. >>

artsy damascus syria. is syria is locked in the strong opponents libya is not far behind coming up on r.t. mom saw after the fall of gadhafi respected and you doctors without borders suspends its mission to prepare after being forced to torture victims and then sent straight back for interrogation. so that's still to come for you this hour but first you and you can. back to the start of the three day mission to examine iran's atomic activities to iran says it certainly talks the first in more than three years will prove its programs purpose is purely peaceful the. visit comes at a time when tensions between iran and the west are approaching crisis level on monday e.u. nations adopted an unprecedented set of sanctions against the islamic republic which included completing bargo on oil supplies from iran professor marandi from the university of tehran says the fact the ban was approved just before the i.a.e.a. visit shows that talks are unlikely to change the west's approach to iran. the a currently has full

artsy damascus syria. well as syria simmers so too does libya months after the fall of gadhafi we're now going to enjoy a doctors without borders says it's suspending its mission to media after being made to treat torture victims who are then sent straight back for further interrogation. and the global markets are bracing themselves ahead of a crunch vote in the iranian parliament as the world's fourth largest group producer threatens to hold the oil supplies to your. u.s. police have used to tear gas and flash grenades against some two thousand occupy campaigners in oakland california around three hundred people have been arrested the crowd was trying to seize one of the city's buildings to make it their new have quarters in a fortnight has more. it began around saturday afternoon when roughly two hundred fifty occupy occupy optimists in oakland california began demonstrating in the streets and as hours passed the crowd grew stronger and stronger up to roughly twenty two thousand people strong ultimately

damascus syria. was ahead in the program the anti capitalist side of the world economic forum activists although on the outside as a global decision makers in downforce take part in a new business bash. it's the online election battle front where nothing is off limits as russia's presidential campaign hot sub political activists are moving away from traditional tactics and embracing the internet promoting ideas or spreading fears where campaigning is playing a bigger part than ever before how do you communicate to the story. doesn't want is that you were right is that was that it was gray suits and ties and slogans cold out from the poor d m are the traditional election season fair but they're no longer considered politically in vogue. today's complaining has gone online in a hot new trend in russia. with programming and bloggers making fun of the opposition portraying them in prayer outside the u.s. embassy on sundays claiming they are connected to the us state department and the opposition filming

artsy damascus syria. well if syria's locked in a spiral of violence libya is not far behind coming up on our team after the fall of gadhafi for second angio doctors without borders suspends its mission to libya to being forced to treat torture victims were then sent straight back for further interrogation. but first un inspectors have started a three day mission to examine iran's atomic activities to iran says it's certain the talks the first in more than three years will prove this program is purpose is purely peaceful but the i.a.e.a. visit comes at a time when tensions between iran and the west are approaching crisis level on monday even nations adopted an unprecedented set of sanctions against the islamic republic which include a complete embargo on oil supplies from iran that's meant to come into effect in july but iran is considering an immediate halt of oil sales to the to europe in retaliation but let's discuss these latest developments around the arena and crisis with the same hommage marandi who

are to damascus syria. to developments in libya and now international medical aid group dot. without borders is wrapping up its mission in the libyan city of misrata claiming continued torture in the country's detention centers the group has been working in the city since august twentieth love and then say they've treated a total of one hundred fifteen detainees suffering from torture related words the organization says it has reported all the cases to misrata authorities but nothing has changed since january they claim several patients returned to the interrogation center were tortured again political analyst dan glazebrook says the n.t. c.n.n. western supporters are aware of the torture that i've done and have little desire to stop it. it started with the very beginning of the rebellion the very beginning of the insurrection the second day of the rebellion on eighteenth of february so if the african migrants were rounded up locked in a detention center and burnt to death by the rebels and this really set the tone and this kind of behavior by the rebels now the so-called gov

has reported that damascus regrets the league's decision saying it may result in more bloodshed and foreign military intervention meanwhile an arab you were peon draft resolution on syria which drew russia's criticism is being revised at the u.n. security council the initial text was calling for regime change and warning of further action damascus fails to comply with it on top of this the e.u. imposed more sanctions against syria this week to further pressure president asa. decision to freeze the fact finding mission comes after a gulf nations withdrew their observers leaving people to prepare for the worst as artists are for three ports. saying they get by and heading home they've said it's from the gulf states lethal the airport then mission incomplete leaving behind a country in a deepening crisis it's never going to be easy to see what the arab league monitors to. i don't want there from russian the word gay the missions prove problematic the opposition accuse dimona to sit being too closely aligned with the government the government's now accused of being part of a foreign conspiracy

damascus syria. could start paying iran to end gold for its crude oil purchases that is according to israeli website file the move as an attempt to work around the same actions imposed by the west over to iran's nuclear program effectively bypassing the freeze on iran central bank assets and as priya sridhar reports china could follow. india actually has already bought iranian oil using gold instead of u.s. dollars and this is extremely significant because every year india actually spends twelve billion u.s. dollars on iranian oil and now actually beijing is also saying that it might want to jump on board with the new delhi and also look into some sort of agreement with iran to continue to get oil new delhi and beijing actually account for forty percent of the imports of iranian oil the e.u. only counts for twenty percent obviously we've been talking about all week about this oil embargo that the e.u. announced on monday that they're hoping to roll out and put into place by chill live first and obvio

damascus syria. well have been street demos and cyber attacks in poland and anger at the government's decision to join a glow. protest to say threatens internet users freedom also is expected to sign up with the us canada japan. proposal similar online piracy act which led to wikipedia as tempy boycott last week. the decision of the polish government to join in with the internet anti-piracy treaty known as the a.c.t.a. has already caused some dissent in the central european state several thousand people have gathered here choose the evening in front of the presidential palace here in warsaw to protest against what they believe could lead to serious censorship on the internet now the protesters held banners saying down with the censorship and also had their mouths shut with sticking tape as of symbolizing their protest against what they believe could be in fact the biggest censorship polish websites in this country but this is not the only step which the protesters took against the signing of this tre

to act forty surface house more from damascus. saying they get by and heading home they've said it's from the gulf states leave the airport their mission incomplete leaving behind a country in a deepening crisis is never going to be easy so you want the arab league monitors to stay. i don't want right from the word go the missions prove problematic the opposition accused the monitors of being too closely aligned with the government the government's now accused of being part of the foreign conspiracy and they will it just tickle complains to the observers seemed ill equipped on the ground and there were concerns that they were simply too few numbers to undertake such a major task but if things were bad at the beginning now they seem even worse following in saudi arabia's footsteps all the gulf states withdrew their observers after damascus rejected their recent proposal that included president this seat to a deputy and form a unity government was interesting that these countries is very interested in democracy and they have nothing

damascus. and new year but no resolution here despite the presence in the country of arab league observers in ten months of bloody clashes the violence in syria continues to escalate. and that's what's our fault what's our peoples far it's a sound that our children are dying it's a sense they are just ordinary people we simply want to have the man seen here his life doctors are battling to save as a soldier. the he died he is just twenty five years old. was his family to mourn him and this is just one man one family across syria at the moment there are many more people experiencing exactly the same thing as the country edges ever closer toward civil war hundreds of people from both sides losing their lives every month. on friday another suicide bombing in damascus is yet further evidence of the escalating conflicts and this is continued to take place despite the presence of arab league observers on the ground and then have we went to the leading them to help but they didn't want to listen to wa

damascus syria. where just a few minutes from r.t. doubles vs the crisis. mobile political and economic leaders meet here at the world economic forum to tackle the euro zone crisis and also the arab spring meanwhile those who protested activists they want their voices heard remain locked out. food fuel and a few surprises to the russian rocket heads to the space station for the first time this year thank you some cargo that the crew just can't do without find out what. the top job in the world's largest country is a highly prized position so beating the other contenders requires some creative thinking goes up than for the russian president so using every available avenue to get the message out he's a country groucho has been looking at the campaign as voted truck to tactics. i swear it doesn't weigh on is that you were right is that was that it was very suits and ties and slogans called out from the poor d m r the traditional election season fair but they're no longer considered politically in vogue. today's campaigning has gone online in a hot new trend in

you're watching archie with me and you see now it's two pm here in the russian capital twelve noon in damascus syria but we begin with the global activist group anonymous which just hit some of the most prominent websites in the u.s. including those at the white house and f.b.i. and the department of justice major film and music companies have also been targeted the attacks come in retaliation to a federal raid on the massive file sharing service mega upload which is around fifty million daily users the web sites bosses have been arrested and are now facing prison sentences so the move comes hot on the heels of a mass blackout of thousands of websites including with a pedia in protest against controversial new web control laws washington hopes bills will be approved by lawmakers to curb illegal downloading and protect copyright but critics say this will lead to censorship of the internet brown who's worked with anonymous on various operations before says the latest hacker attacks are just the beginning. the problem is that the track record of the u.s. and all governments. is such that giving t

in one of damascus at the moment now we were traveling to a suburb called entire we thought it was a friday. but we just received a phone call telling us that it's not safe to travel at the moment with the situation so volatile to show you really that you simply don't know what's going on in these areas even the people who are living in these areas don't really have full grasp of the situation at the moment we make it into the suburbs the job or using that creates the opposition that just last week had control of some of these areas have now gone underground so there was a funeral for a resident of who died in the file during his funeral people and his relatives were voicing slogans and called for freedom someone was shot dead during the funeral and we had to go and hide from the security forces. had taken to meet some members of the f.s.a. . begins and some other members join as well and has talked to people they know he's just been arrested changes in the atmosphere starts to feel so we leave such uncertainty right now it seems mistrust is rife. it seems sort. of convinced the free

damascus syria. bring update on our breaking news so one persons reportedly being killed tonight during a school siege in russia's volatile north caucasus.

damascus syria. and still to come for you this hour here on our when fear of lawsuits comes at the cost of human life how rescue services in the u.s. coming under fire after a number of cases where they looked the other way all of this during life threatening emergencies. but british students' fate hangs in the balance as he faces extradition to the united states it's due to the controversial agreement between london and washington that allows america to demand any want to be handed over to us justice system or on the grounds of reasonable suspicion alone and authorities either bennett reports treaty originally designed to deal with terror suspects and now appears to have gone far beyond its initial limit. from running a website in his bedroom with links to pirated movies to up to ten years in a u.s. federal prison richard o'dwyer is the latest victim of the u.k.'s controversial extradition treaty with america his actions aren't even a crime in britain that count as copyright infringement in the us f

artsy damascus syria. bring if they don't migrate you so one person is reportedly being killed tonight during a school siege in russia's volatile north caucuses the agency. russia's interfax news agency we're hearing at least seven people were taken hostage in the middle school we can now talk to these correspondent the caucuses said pelosi dennys hi there and what more do we know this is only what he broke in the last ten fifteen minutes or so we have suddenly have not been confirmed yet we have heard reports one person has been killed can you bring us up to date with what you know so from what we know so far additional special forces have arrived on the scene in the capital kabul you know most right here after conflicting reports some of those are the coming in the seventies both the possible hostage situation and one of the all six schools this is from eastern had to be confirmed and a scene from one of russia's new agencies suggesting that sauce seven people none of them the work children were playing

artsy damascus syria. well also coping with unrest in egypt coming up a year after its uprising its back to cockers where as hundreds of thousands rally against the absolute power of building military drones and its reluctance to step down. but first u.n. nuclear inspectors have started a three day mission to examine iran's atomic activities tehran says it's certain the talks the first in more than three years will prove its programs purpose is purely peaceful but the i.a.e.a. visit comes at a time when tensions between iran and the west are approaching crisis level on monday you nations adopted an unprecedented set of sanctions against the atomic republic which include a complete embargo on oil supplies from iran that's meant to come into force in july but iran is considering an immediate halt of oil sales to europe in retaliation well let's discuss this latest development around the uranium crisis author michael winter who joins us live via broadband from boston thanks for being with us mr winter that yo