our correspondent is in damascus. some of the images in her report are disturbing. >> just before 8:00, the first one went off. within minutes, more powerful explosions were captured in this emma richard video. they tore through a major highway south of the capital. this intelligence complex appears to have been one of the targets. many lives were lost. .he anguish was roaw explosions caused damage across the area. >> i counted more than 20 vehicles across this highway. >> taxis, family vehicles, buses, all of the making their way into damascus early in the morning, not far from here. >> the crowd quickly gathered, and a guerrilla group. this man -- not a crowd quickly gathered and grew. >> this man blamed saudi arabia. the head of the monitoring mission came to see the scene for himself, and he pleaded for this and violence to end. >> we need everyone to understand this is going to create more suffering for women, children, and the syrian people. >> hatred and mistrust runs so deep, both sides believe the worst of th

i think we are going to go to damascus now. i'm sorry. my colleague, lyse doucet, is in damascus. lyse doucet, i think you are at the hospital where many of the injured of least two explosions have been taken to. >> yes, a major hospital close to the scene of these two powerful explosions in damascus this morning. we were taken into the morgue at this hospital. the scenes were absolutely horrible. we saw at least 30 body bags. these are the type of images we could not show on television. the bodies are basically char red. faces unrecognizable. the emergency services were clearly stretched there. in intensive care, one doctor said he had never seen an emergency of this kind of damascus. he talked about the 30 dead. he said he had seen many injured. many of the injuries were so severe that people were dying as they came into the hospital. >> that is the aftermath, if you like. there is the other question, who has claimed responsibility for this, if anybody, and what is the speculation? >> as always, at the scenes of these blasts, crowd quickly gathered. they also gathered at the hos

our correspondent is in damascus. some of images are disturbing. >> just before 8:00, the first blast went off. within minutes, another more powerful explosion was captured in this video. they tore through the tarmac of a major highway. this intelligence complex appears to be one of the targets. many lives were lost. the english was wrraw. the explosions damaged across a vast area. >> i counted more than 20 vehicles. yellow taxis, service vans, family vehicles, all of them making their way into damascus early and the morning. >> the crowd quickly gathered and anchor grown -- anger grew. this man curse saudi arabia and qatar. another man insisted the government did this to discredit its opponents. ahead of the u.n. monitoring mission came to see the scene himself. he pleaded for the violence to end. >> we need everybody inside syria, everybody outside syria, to understand this is going to create more suffering for women, children, and the syrian people. >> hatred and mistrust runs so deep and both sides believe the wor

area of damascus is slightly outside of damascus on the road to the airport and it's a lot of civilian areas you've got the schools that are nearby in the area it's a very central road that he's between damascus and that airport a university nearby as well and the number at the moment of people killed and injured with reports is around two hundred people in total twenty five of. the mates have been killed in this bill we've heard a lot of people who are in a critical condition being taken to the hospitals now this is two car bombs that exploded one coming a couple of minutes after the other explosion at the un observers who of course here in the country trying to see the limitation of the peace plan they've gone to the scene this morning the head of that mission. general robert needs made a statement that he said that what these people are doing is not helpful he was very sorry to the families and that the people who are doing this should stop and find another solution without killing civilian people here in syria so. of course there's a lot of people who are going to have been affecte

live in damascus good to see you the vote comes amid ongoing reports of violence as we continue to hear here at r.t. is that a big impact on the amount of people willing to actually venture out and cast their ballots. well there is no election fever here by any stretch of the imagination that being said there has been a steady stream of people here in damascus since the polls they pinned at seven am this morning and our state t.v. is already reporting that the turnout his high population of around twenty four million fourteen million people are actually eligible to participate in the parliament here elections votes the polls close at ten pm so it is going to be interesting to see what the actual voter turnout is onesies polls have closed as he said here in damascus there's been fairly big build up to the voting you can see campaign places all aver the capital that being said damascus can often hear phil a bit like a parallel universe in other cities that have seen fierce fighting and indeed very close to damascus and some of the suburbs is a very different story indeed in fact we visite

and two strong explosions rocked damascus with dozens reported dead and injured the u.n. warns the spate of violence could put its observer mission in jeopardy. it is one pm in the russian capital you're watching r t i'm reading josh leiter important has unexpectedly pulled out from the g eight summit in the u.s. state of maryland that starts next week instead he's sending prime minister dmitry medvedev let's get the latest on this now from our correspondent peter oliver of here tell us what's behind this sudden decision. as being a very busy week for vladimir putin on monday he was sworn in as president on tuesday how to deal with the election of a new prime minister in the poll of and on the wednesday he was part of the annual victory day parade here in moscow so the president called barack obama and explained that he couldn't get the g. eight next week he had to remain in moscow to finalize key cabinet appointments while the two leaders will instead meet next month in mexico the g twenty meeting. the dimitri medvedev the prime minister who will be attending the g. eigh

what we felt the blasts here in the center of damascus this morning around seven fifty am local time it happened on a very very busy road that leads to the airport from damascus near a government intelligence building near the faculty of engineering it's an area where there would have been security and soldiers but also highly populated civilian area as well and fortunately we've seen that high number of casualties and these injured as well as a result of these blasts it's a twin car bomb and one going off a few moments after the first blast had occurred as the u.n. monitors who of course here in the country at the moment to see the implementation of the peace plan had been at the city we heard the general the head of the mission here general robot meet he gave a statement he said he was very story for the families to be affected by this and that what these people are doing this is what he said what these people are doing is not helpful and they should find another solution without killing civilians of course this is exactly what the u.n. observer mission is here in the country. impl

it's midday in london, 7:00 in the morning in washington, 2:00 in the afternoon in damascus, where the peace envoy kofi annan has arrived for talks on tuesday with president assad. the faltering peace process remains the best hope to end the conflict. is something britain and russia agree on. beyond that, a meeting of the two foreign ministers in moscow shows continued divisions on how to deal with a conflict that has killed and least 10,000 people in the last 16 months. >> despite international uproar over the massacre at houla, the violence and killings continue. still coming under shellfire according to unverified activist video. houla isge art dominating the news. syria is blaming rebel fighters for the bloodbath. this boy said that he survived by playing dead. when the army tanks got outside the family house, a mixture of government troops and army came in. he said that they killed his mother and sister right there and took away his brother and uncles, who were found dead later. russia is reluctant to blame the regime outright for the massacre. but the foreign minister sergei lavr

stretch of the imagination and that being said there has been a steady stream of people here in damascus since the polls they pinned at seven am this morning and i think t.v. is already reporting that to turn out his high population and syria around twenty four million fourteen million people are actually eligible to participate in these parliamentary elections votes the polls close at ten pm so it is going to be interesting to see what the actual votes a turnout is won't say as polls have closed as he said here in damascus there's been any big build up to the voting you can see the campaign places all aver the capital that being said damascus can often here feel a bit like a parallel universe another stiff these that have seen fierce fighting and indeed very close to damascus and some of the suburbs it's a very different story indeed in fact we visited some of these and they've actually had mock ups of the campaign posters instead of the candidates face is that the people have been killed in this ongoing conflict and obviously this election taking place against the backdrop of the u.n.

security council has condemned twin bombings in damascus.uicide bombers killed 55 people in an attack in the syrian capital. they wound more than 370 others. two suicide car bombs exploded in close succession near a military intelligence building. government and opposition forces blamed each other for the bombings. the security council issued a statement strongly condemning the attack. >> the members of security council condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks that occurred in damascus, syria, on 10 may causing numerous deaths and injuries. >> the statement called on all parties to stop fighting. council members stressed that they support the mission of u.n. observers monitoring the cease-fire. secretary-general ban ki-moon said u.n. officials will continue to do their utmost to bring an end to the violence. >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. thanks very much for watching.

damascus. and more on syria in just a few minutes in our interview with author and war correspondent chris hedges he things are there's no point in pushing for the toppling of syria's president assad when there's no organized opposition in the country. fifty two meters. more than a thousand tons it's. skin thickness thirty centimeters the guinness record. commemorating the battle of stalingrad. the motherland called. on our teeth. six. six. six. s. .

damascus. the syrian opposition is reportedly sending its militants to kosovo to be trained to the assad regime to be going to the same guerrilla comes built for the kosovo liberation army a group that was seen as terrorised by the u.s. the u.k. and france and. the foreign affairs for the u.s. based chronicles magazine good can come from this. the charolais was singularly unsuccessful in its rebellion against the serbian security forces until the nato bombing and even then they were not engaging in combat they were acting as mere orders complete cleansing not obey any now this should be a huge wake up call for those syrians who are not supportive of the opposition especially in the minorities the syrian rebels are on the k.l.a. that means there will be a bloodbath product at the end of the fall of assad and there will be no room for any one about the majority group which subscribes to its extremist creed or whether it is there to a greater albania in kosovo or. muslim brotherhood not shooting s

damascus. next hour we speak to also on the war correspondent chris her dress her sayings there's no point in pushing for the ouster of syria's president when there's no organized opposition in the country. i don't think anyone in the muslim world thinks that we care much about human rights or democracy we have since the first gulf war planted military base some the size of small cities i think there is at this point absolutely no credibility i'm talking about within the middle east when the united states claims that it would like to bring liberty or democracy to syria my feeling is that everything should be pushed through to create some kind of a ceasefire rather than pass a resolution that calls for assad removal or resolution. calls for intervention or anything else there is no real formal opposition. you know it's a sort of a mess and they just went through this in libya. egypt has seen a sharp surge in violence this week as maass run is against the military has ended in deadly clashes tens

damascus now the syrian opposition is reportedly sending militants to casal for training there thought to be headed for grohl accounts formerly used by the end. of liberation army which was for years seen as a terrorist force by america britain france. from the us based chronicles magazine told me a little good can come from all of this. the colonel a was singularly unsuccessful inmates rebellion against the serbian security forces until a major bombing and even then they were not engaging they were not going to give us marauders and complete cleansing normal brain needs now this should be a huge wake up call those syrians who are not simple to. your position especially the minorities the syrian rebels. low. that means there will be a bloodbath of the fall of us and there will be no room for any one but the majority group which obscure. its extremist creed whether it is there to greet her old brainier in costs of a dollar or muslim brotherhood offshoot in syria. and in about fifteen minutes from now our interview with alter and war correspondent chris hedges who thinks there is no poin

made some small in rights situation in the country is far from stable tension in the capital of damascus is palpable explosions here a regular occurrence now and security everywhere is tight firefighters rushed to the scene after a demonstration preservers themselves have admitted a resolution won't happen even night and it will have to come in large parts from the syrian people themselves but with parliamentary elections next week and with the observer mission. under close scrutiny a scenes like this would do anything to raise hopes that this mission will be a success but they also show the very real and urgent need for it to be say surf city damascus. now i'll be back with a recap of the headlines in a couple of minutes and also then join us for a fascinating trip into the very heart of russia stay tuned. to. join me on a journey to the heart of the kremlin to places him from the tourist you're going to meet some real kremlin insiders although they may not be the usual news makers you see on t.v. . it . is defeat it. please. please it is. just so. lucky. to lend. a cake at. the end. yo

in the heart of damascus thousands come out to. the funerals of people killed during clashes in the capital once again drew into focus the very precarious situation the country now finds itself before the bodies of that they carried through the streets of damascus as heroes the people who were killed under the station they here's the story you've got the military the security watching this is at the same time as the u.n. observers are supposed to be here overseeing the peace plan but it not only in the day we've joined the u.n. observers on one of the daily to is to flash point areas. this is been traveling to some of the areas where the fiercest by things being breaking out and you can see on the ground small slow steps are being taken in the observers are really going to be wanting over the coming period to be building all night observers are also based full time in some cities like homs and it led many have felt that their presence there has bought some car or we have little time between stops to speak to the people who live her

damascus. i'll be back with a recap of your headlines in just a couple of moments and then it's over to peter lavelle and cross-talk. culture is that so much as i've ever been which of course you're right on a few of them so here it is the lessons of the job of a major crisis but more on the speculation control the markets and can free markets do better things than regular it. is believed to be. you do need. to a substantial degree and one form or another socialism has spread the shadow of human regimentation over most of the nations of the earth and the shadow is i'm approaching a couple of. the early twenty first century military bases a network of military bases all around the world for misleading empire that the united states is trying to build it's astonishing most americans have no idea there are more than a quarter of a million or more than two hundred fifty thousand u.s. troops stationed on these bases all around us. we don't have foreign bases in america we don't have any british base

for the attacks let's now get the latest from our to sara for through standing by for us live in damascus. sara this is the latest blow to the ongoing u.n. observer mission in the country one of them one of the what's the take on what's transpired today. well they condemned the site saying he's responsible for. the actions that they're taking stop killing the syrian people and the message is really find another way see condemnation from the u.n. it's a mission. to mask they went straight to the scene of these two explosions. and they really shook the entire city everyone here and we've been speaking to people today just beamed down at the floor of the devastation it's caused is just. at the moment the cleanup operations underway and with the people dead because they were a lot of civilian homes that were also destroyed a lot of civilian lives have been lost this is the largest explosions that have happened in recent times because you see in this space recently these types of attacks in damascus this is the capital as long as the view for a long while is having remained relatively safe fro

damascus. the syrian opposition is reportedly sending its missions to kosovo to be trying to oust the assad regime thought to be going to the same guerrilla comes built for the alan to serve kosovo liberation army a group that we did seen as terrorised by the u.s. the u.k. and sons and trick of the foreign affairs editor for the us based chronicles magazine believes little good can come from. the colonel a singularly unsuccessful in its rebellion against the serbian security forces on two millimeter bombing and even then they were not engaging they were going to use my goal is complete cleansing normal brain needs now and this should be a huge wake up call those syrians who are. of the opposition especially the minorities even the syrian rebels. are on the tail that means there will be a bloodbath propped up the the fall of assad and there will be no room for anyone but the majority group which should survive. its extremist credo whether it is there to greet her old raynier in kosovo all or. mu

and what is one of damascus is poorest neighborhoods as a real sense of a revolution. was there is uprising began as a peaceful pro-democracy movement that has splintered into a confusing mix in various groups political a nonpolitical. and the continued instability here left the country wide open to attacks like this taking place. it's a problem for the syrians that. provided the chance for everyone to and the world to interfere and this you know. either by providing arms of providing five funds or providing fighters and saucers and terrorists as people are left to bury their dead and with the hospitals full syrian people are once again trying to rebuild their homes and their lives and the fake is has once again turned the peace it is looking more able to day a wall is now in place around the blast site stark reminder that terror has served only as yet another barrier to peace here. gloom for greece tonight after disheartening start yesterday greek political parties again failed to agree to a coalition government today more talks are now underway but the forecast is bl

damascus. the syrian opposition is reportedly sending its missions to kosovo to be trained to assad regime thought to be going to the same guerrilla camps built for the and his kosovo liberation army and prove that for years as soon as terrorist by the u.k. and france and. the foreign affairs editor for the u.s. based chronicles magazine believes little good can come from this. well first of all i don't think they can learn much from the care only about through. the christians because the carol a was singularly unsuccessful in its rebellion against was the serbian security forces until them into bombing and even then they were not engaging in combat they were acting as marauders quickly cleansing normal bini so the first point is that there is nothing to learn in terms of conduct of fish and sea and in terms of actually organizing a successful guerrilla war i understand that armada. one of the syrian opposition leaders who came to the united actually spoke to an a.p. reporter so we're here to a

damascus. be back with a recap of the headlines in just a couple of minutes and right after that interview with author and war correspondent chris hedges he things there's no point in pushing to topple syria's president assad because there's no core harrod opposition in the country coming up next a stay tuned. the . wealthy british style czar it's time to rise. to the. market and. find out what's really happening to the global economy for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines to cause a report to. join me on a journey to the heart of the problem to a place is hidden from the tourists you're going to meet some real insiders although they may not be the usual news makers you see on t.v. . you. news today violence flared up. and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations rule the day. you're watching r t let's take a recap of the headlines a socialist francois hollande has won france's presidential election beating incumbent nic

damascus. now i'll be back with a recap of the headlines in a couple of minutes and after that join us for a fascinating trip into the very heart of russia stay tuned. join me on a journey to the heart of the kremlin to a place is hidden from the tourists you're going to meet some real credible insiders although they may not be the usual news makers you see on t.v. . me. looking. for ways to be. i'm. just so please. come up. to its. mother's. milk and to. see. beyond.

damascus. the syrian opposition is reportedly sending its missiles to kosovo to be trying to oust the assad regime that's thought to be going to the same guerrilla council built for the kosovo liberation army a group that for good is seen as terrorised by the do as the u.k. and france and. the foreign affairs that's for the u.s. base chronicles magazine believes little good can come from this the charolais was singularly unsuccessful emits rebellion against the serbian security forces until a major bombing and even then they were not in gauging how much they're reacting because my orders quickly cleansing not brainy so now this should be a huge wake up call those syrians who are not supporting. your position especially the minorities even the syrian rebels. are on the caylee that means there will be a bloodbath of the fall of assad and there will be no room for anyone not the majority group which subscribes to its extremist credo whether it is there to greater albania in kosovo or. muslim broth

damascus. this week delmore terrible just twenty minutes apart on thursday and the republic of dagestan killed thirteen people and wounded more than one hundred two vans packed with explosives detonated in the outskirts of the capital market. artie's maria talk to the relatives of those who gave their own lives to save others. national mourning dagestan under muslim tradition three days after the funerals family and friends come to the symmetry twice a day to pray and to paris packed to their loved ones over. two massive car bombs hit the capital on thursday claiming more than a dozen lives this freshly dug grave is the final resting place of twenty nine year old police officer. back of his name is hendry can hear. me he says he feels lost without his brother who'd acted as the head of the family since their dad passed away years ago. when the first blast happened i tried to call him but it varied that he called me back saying he was around and had gone to the seed to help he said all was fine

parliamentary vote the first such election in decades meanwhile a series of blasts in the capital damascus and in the north or in city of aleppo killed at least three civilians on saturday and as sara first reports and people are placing increasing hope on the u.n. observer mission monitoring the frequency breach cease fire. in the heart of damascus thousands come out at the funerals of people killed during clashes in the capital once again drew into focus the very precarious situation the country now finds itself before the bodies of the that they carried through the streets of damascus you are all the people who were killed on that the station day here's the story you've got the military the security watching this is the same time as the u.n. observers are supposed to be here overseeing the peace plan but in our early in the day we've joined the un observers on one of the daily to is to flash point areas. this has been traveling to some of the areas where the focus is by things being breaking out and you can see on the ground small slow steps are being taken in the observers are really g

damascus. and more on syria in just a few minutes in our interview with author and war correspondent chris hedges he things are there's no point in pushing for the toppling of syria's president assad when there's no organized opposition in the country. the. height fifty two meters. more than a thousand times each. skin thickness thirty centimeters the guinness record for. commemorating the battle of stalingrad. the motherland call. on our team. loses. it's to. see. us. fall. for. thank you for joining us here on our t.v. let's take a look at the headlines socialism francois hollande has won funsters presidential election beating incumbent nicolas sarkozy with fifty one percent of the vote to become the country's first socialist president in seventeen yes. a fugitive exiled to russia not only god. put a bounty on vladimir putin for anyone willing to detain the russian leader at the presidential inauguration on monday. protestors or throw smokes a grenade and fireworks in clashes with wide police

to live damascus is palpable explosions here a regular occurrence now and security everywhere is tight firefighters rushed to the scene after a demonstration servers themselves have admitted a resolution won't happen overnight and it will have to come in large parts of the syrian people themselves but with part of it sheer lections next week and with the observer mission under close scrutiny a scenes like this won't do anything to raise hopes that this mission will be a success but they will say show the very real and urgent need for it to be say so see damascus. the syrian opposition is reportedly sending its missiles to kosovo to be trained to as the assad regime that thought to be going to the same guerilla counts built for the kosovo liberation army a group that for years has seen as terrorised by the door as the u.k. and france and. the foreign affairs that for the us based chronicles magazine believes little good can come from this the charolais was singularly unsuccessful inmate's rebellion against the serbian security forces until a major bombing and even then they were not in

damascus. now i'll be back with a review all the headlines in just a couple of minutes and right after that interview with author and war correspondent chris hedges he things are there's no point in pushing to topple syria's president assad because there's no coherent opposition in the country that's coming up next stay with us. an. well with. science technology innovation paul believes developments from around russia we've got the future covered. wealthy british style it's time to. market. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to cons a report on. the people of the united states and their friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder is a regime as an active program to acquire and develop nuclear weapons and let there be no doubt about we know for a fact that there are limits there. this work is being carried out unde

be a success but they also show the very real and urgent need for it to be say sara for our city damascus. i'll be back with a recap of your headlines in just a couple of moments and then it's over to peter lavelle and crosstalk. culture is that so much as i wish of course you might want to get all of them severely of the lessons of the fascinated by system learn the speculation control the markets and can free markets do better things then regulate. the elite ability. to leave. us or stand shoulder green and one form or another socialism has spread the shadow of the regimentation over most of the nations of europe. and the shadow is encroaching upon all the birds. in the early twenty first century military bases a network of military bases all around the world for misleading empire that the united states is trying to build that's astonishing most americans have no idea there are more than a quarter of a million more than two hundred fifty thousand u.s. troops stationed on these bases all around us. we don't have a foreign bases in america we don't have any british base we don't have any

quick to blame each other for the attacks as though there could be a foreign hand in the bombings in damascus with the latest artie's cerified. well the russian foreign ministers commented on the events today saying the foreign interference in syria is unacceptable it is widely acknowledged that there are foreign nationals operating in the ground that are criminal gangs is a big dilemma for the syrian people on the nation from the units of the mission here in damascus they went straight to the scene of these two explosions it was a huge huge explosion they really shook the entire city everyone here felt it and we've been speaking to people today we've just been down at the blast site as the devastation is schools is just immense at the moment the cleanup operations underway and we found the people dead because they were loaded civilian homes it will also destroyed a lot of civilian lives have been lost this is the largest of the explosions that have happened in recent times of course you see in this space recently as these types of attacks in damascus as it was the capital was largely viewed

dozens are killed in the syrian capital by a pair of bomb blasts with damascus and the rebels both play me each other for the attacks. just a few hundred meters separate rescue teams from the crash site. in indonesia as authorities say it is unlikely that any survivors will be found. just too busy a lot of. join the g eight party next week hosted by the us this studio is demanding . just after five pm here in moscow this is arts he lives with me rule research showing two massive bomb blasts have ripped through the syrian capital during rush hour killing at least fifty five and wounding nearly four hundred the government and the opposition have been very quick to blame each other for the attacks as though there could be a foreign hand in the bombings in damascus with the latest ati sarath. well the russian foreign minister commented on the events today saying the foreign into faris in syria is unacceptable now it is widely acknowledged that there are foreign nationals operating in the ground that are criminal gangs it is a big dilemma for the syrian people of the nation from the units of

a deadly day in damascus. at least 55 people are killed and hundreds injured when two explosions ripped through the capital. early rush hour. take a look at the two massive crate erskine that were caused by -- craters caused by the force of the blast. he listens to survivors of his deadly rampage. and lighting the olympic flame. now the fire of an vent greece begins its relay to london. >> welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it was a deadly scene in the syrian capital today after two car bombs exploded killing at least 55 people and leaving many more injured. the blasts went off near a military intelligence building in morning rush hour. the opposition and government forces have blamed each other for the attacks. our correspondent is in damascus, and i must warn you some of the images in her report are disturbing. >> just before 8:00 the first blast went off. within minutes, another more powerful explosion was captured on this video. they tore through the tarmac of a major highway so

in the program are we closer and closer now to a military intervention to overthrow the regime in damascus. well here we're getting closer to it yes the great question is what kind of military intervention will it be an air intervention as we saw in libya which took after all six months to overthrow gadhafi in another two months to see him killed or grounded which is a much more difficult operation to imagine and also we have to ask ourselves is it really just a political intervention to change the regime or is it supposed to be an intervention to make life better for the people on the ground supposed to be humanitarian and moral case or is it a case of real politik summer where do you come in on this because you know a lot of people don't like the regime in damascus but then a lot of people say it's complicated i really find that in a dark way in a black humor way you know it's complicated ok but the intent is to overthrow this regime ok it's just how you do it isn't it yeah i mean i don't think there's any question the syrian regime has lost a lot of legitimacy on the ground and certainl