to keep the security in damascus perhaps what we have witnessed in some parts of damascus. tiny amounts on the security of the city but then of course cannot really. truly predict because things are changing and i suppose what we have to do is to wete for the next forty eight hours we're in for a defense and as i was saying to what is more if a national who's in damascus are right here in moscow the u.n. arab league peace envoy to syria continues on his diplomatic rollercoaster of course kofi annan and he's just met with president putin here in moscow hole amid deep international divisions on how to curb the drawn out crisis in syria artie's a short thomas now has more on this. it certainly is a very tricky agenda for kofi annan right now as a situation in syria is degrading as a time of progress isn't forward in fact let's just take the situation just at the beginning of this month where syrian rebels met with sergey lavrov here in moscow and at that time they said they were not willing to deal with president bashar al assad since then they have launched what they are call

the fights continue in some parts of damascus. the bombardment has just continued in the south part of the city, and some clashes are going on in the eastern part of the city. in the morning we also heard some shelling by tanks. >> yes, we have seen on state television in damascus a claim that mydan, one very important city has been retaken by the military. the tanks have moved in and as they put it, the terrorists have been crushed. do you believe that the syrian military now is going to apply such a lot of force to this situation? that the rebel fighters in damascus are going to be under enormous pressure. >> you're right, they're under enormous pressure, and we've heard since the morning, practically withdrawn from there. it's obvious that the free syrian army are planning to something new, but of course because of the enormous pressure put upon them on that area, that big area, and the important area for the regime and rebel as you said, they've withdrawn from the region. but, it doesn't show that the regime is gaining control

do you keep the security in damascus of perhaps what we have witnessed in some parts of damascus. tiny improvements on the security of the city but then of course cannot really. be truly predict because things are changing and i suppose what we have to do is to meet for the next forty eight hours we're in for a deep comes or indeed a mr george as president of the syrian un association joining us live from damascus thank you very much for coming on r.t. today. r.t. is coming to you live from moscow now a belgian region has issued a controversial starter kit for moroccan immigrants it's a move that some claim is another nail in europe's multicultural coffin those arriving from north africa feel insulted saying the document triggers islamophobia and social stereotypes artists are silly or has this investigation. did you know that in belgium the flemish eat healthy live inside their homes most of the time and don't make noise after ten pm or did you know that men and women are equal and it's forbidden to hurt someone mentally or physically including your partner or children and that i

to be honest, it is a very [unintelligible] seen in damascus. there are several areas in damascus with shelling and bombing, but it is not normal here. i cannot share information that i do not know exactly what is going on. but france confirmed that the shelling has not stop -- friends have confirmed the shumlin has not stopped. shelling has not stopped. the shelling has not stopped all night. we have just learned it is getting even more dangerous. i am not sure yet, but there are reports many have been injured. >> in terms of how the syrian media, television and newspapers, have been reporting what happened yesterday, can you give us an idea about that? >> to give the an idea of -- >> how the syrian media has been reporting the latest incidents, the killing of the defense minister and other members of the president's inner circle in the bombing, how they have been portraying this action? >> i am sorry to disappoint you, it to be honest, i do not watch the media at all. since i woke up, for now, they're trying to send aid and finds a places for

not just the attack, the violence in damascus. we've seen a barracks overlooking the presidential palace set on fire overnight. we are not sure how that happened. clearly, there's a sense of things happening both from the side of the activists in terms of the activities on the ground, but these actions that may have come from inside the regime itself. there are certainly rumors that it could have been the defense bodyguard that blew up the meeting. the feeling is that things are moving and starting to move very fast. to keep it in perspective, in military terms, the main centers of the regime power have not come under direct attack. the skirmishes in some parts of the damascus, the fires have definitely come to the capital. now we have this blow in the very heart of the establishment. it is -- it could still be quite some time before things either crumbled enough from within the regime, or pressure from without to bring it down. >> though this is a long game and it could be weeks or possibly months, it does look as if the diplomac

shelling heard in the capital opposition fighters say they are behind the latest bomb attack in damascus that killed several top officials but although there has been some condemnation that's been drowned out by stronger western calls for more action against assad and the national reports now from damascus. we only have been hearing reports that it's been a massive very intense bombing but as you can see the building is not very much damage some windows broken and actually this is all the damage as we can see from here also from what we can see from here we can understand that the explosion happened inside the building free syrian army has already claimed responsibility for what happened and for that blast and for the killings the news about blast has come at a very tough time for the syrian capital in the last four days damascus has been seen for what the opposition and free syrian army have dubbed the final battle for damascus a decisive battle for the syrian capital shootings have been heard in very different parts of the syrian capital warsaw have seen black smoke drifting over the c

in damascus perhaps what we have witnessed in some parts of damascus. tiny. on the security of the city but then of course i cannot really. truly predict because the scenes are changing and i suppose what we have to do is to reach for the next forty eight hours one friday. syria's top international mediators says he hopes the world will strike a compromise over the country's crisis at the u.n. security council kofi and man's view was shared by the russian leadership. followed his meeting with president putin here in moscow. and is in a very complicated position right now since he himself admits that the peace plan in syria isn't working since neither side of the car that it's putting down as weapons it is getting to peaceful negotiations when in fact if president assad did openly say that he is ready to for talks apparently that's not the case with the opposition which is continuing its attacks on government forces on government facilities and openly says that all stop until syria falls into a state of total and complete civil disobedience that's leadin

from the capital damascus. and of russia's foreign minister says the policy of supporting the opposition will lead to an impasse as the turkish prime minister visits moscow he's right here now trying to convince russia to get the. u.s. agents to bolster security at the london olympics as the british with guarding the games apologizes for a company. flight from moscow this is r t thanks for joining us today syria's defense minister and his deputy have been killed in a suicide bombing in damascus the minister is the most senior official within the syrian government to have been killed since the conflict began last year the attack adds to the violence that's been rocking the syrian capital for days now joining us live now from the center of the city but also let's get the latest on this good to see you maria can you update us on the latest developments from where you are. well it already is suicide bombing that killed syrian defense minister and his deputy who's also been the president brother in law and former. c

here in damascus at a time when. of cabinet ministers and security officials has been a go in all that there have to say the area where this happened things known to be very safe and very calm is actually a luxury air we have been there many times and there are many restaurants that it's home to many a free show buildings such as all foreign ministry of culture ministry of course security has been very specific in these areas so this is why right now there are many concerns on security situation here in damascus all visibly free syrian army has already claimed responsibility for what happened but we're also hearing the. news agencies a say that the man who carried out the said tag has been one of president bashar assad's gods. given how massive the last will so we can understand that there's been many civilians killed and many many damage is caused by these blasts the buildings and cars around the syrian capital has been going for really tough times in the last seventy two dollars in the last full day as we've been g

as the latest from damascus. the efforts to put an end to violence in syria or on the country to stoke tensions in this country that depends on your worldview or worse still continuing just a few days ago the arab league has called for an emergency meeting of the un general assembly to discuss this a humanitarian corridors now in theory the square there should alleviate human suffering and allow for the safe passage of humanitarian workers and refugees but in practice when you look at the map of syria it is surrounded by the countries that are being used to smuggle weapons for the free syrian army we are talking about turkey lebanon on iraq possibly even jordan just a few days ago there are there's news agency published the story quoting an f.s.a. officer who was boasting about new deliveries of rocket propelled grenades katyusha rockets anti-tank missiles on the top of that refugee camps on the border with these countries are being used as a recruitment grounds for the militarized syrian opposition my colleague

in damascus. perhaps what we have witnessed in some parts of damascus. tiny. on the security of the city but of course i cannot really. truly predict because scenes are changing and i suppose what we have to do is to reach for the next forty eight hours. now syria's top international mediators says he hopes the world will strike a compromise over the country's crisis the u.n. security council kofi annan view was also shared by the russian leadership r.t. if you're going to follow his meeting with president putin in moscow for the past few hours today good to see you a. second visit to moscow has come to a close i'm sure a lot of the ears and eyes of the world what change you think anything or do you know of anything that's been achieved at today's meeting. is it a very complicated position right now since he himself admits that the peace plan in syria isn't working since neither side of the conflict is putting down his weapons and is getting to peaceful negotiations when in fact if president assad

deputy have been killed in a suicide bombing in damascus and the minister is the most senior official within the syrian government who have been killed since the conflict last year. to the violence that's been rocking the syrian capital for days now and in the very near future will be crossing live. to bring us all the latest developments on this story. well for now the turkish prime minister is here in russia for talks in reaction to the growing bloodshed in syria while moscow's staunchly opposed to any unilateral sanctions on the regime in damascus ankara has other views let's get more on the story sean thomas now joining us live here on r.t. good to see you sean obviously rusher insists it doesn't want any boots on the ground in syria do you think a turkey will be able to convince moscow otherwise. well roy it is certainly interesting this visit by ed one is seen as a last ditch effort to try and swing at russia over to the side of a lot of the international community who want to go for this a boots on the ground option with the u.n. security council resolution coming up now russia

in damascus and around damascus because that's obviously the seat of power. when they hold on to damascus or not we're going to see them strengthen and bolster their position in the west and the mountains in the west where the alloites have their strong hold. that's one of the dangers of the conflict it keeps muting ever more to a sectarian tellerrized conflict. the more it goes on is try to build bridges when those communities. >> rose: this incident said to many of them the time is now. the moment of decision is here. >> i think one of the thing with the opposition is it's so fractured and so many people that i spoke to whether they were activists in damascus, people in homes was that this common thread which you hear often in the middle east is that there was, there's a third element that's now introduced to the free syrian army. i interviewed several government soldiers who were wounded who said i saw fighting opposite me. libyans lebanonese, and i said you know, clearly how did you know this. their act sense, they were not syrians. this is one of the myt

drafted resolution calls on damascus to seize the use of have been heavy weapons and withdraw from the heavily populated area within ten days if the syrian government does not meet the requirements then the security council would be allowed to impose sanctions on damascus that is something that russia and china say they do not support they do believe that there is a problem that needs to be addressed with more pressure in syria that was by request of kofi annan the joint envoy by russia and china do not believe that of putting all the pressure on the syrian government and not putting any pressure on the arm rebels with lead to a positive outcome russia on the other hand has proposed and drafted and tabled a resolution to the security council that calls for the extension of the u.n. supervision mission in syria for another three months as you mentioned worry this mission expires on friday and if the mandate is not extended that means the international will not have any observer presence in syria to monitor or mediate this crisis that the world has seen as. well so if they want to come t

explosions and fighting in the syrian capital as rebels announce a full scale offensive against damascus that's amid another diplomatic attempt to end the crisis. america sends its own agents to patrol britain's airport at the london olympics while the u.k. is forced to draft more troops and police after security contractors bite off more than they can chew. h.s.b.c. one of the world's biggest banks says it's sorie for laundering billions in international drug money as well as doing business with saudi arabian terrorist sponsors. live from our new center here in central moscow this is r.t. with the twenty four hours a day syrian opposition fighters have taken their battle to the neighborhoods of damascus with reports that the city has witnessed explosions and intense daylight shootouts what is more of a notion is that. the capital damascus since the beginning of the uprising last march has most of the time been under governmental control and the closest the fighting has ever moved has been in its suburbs in the eastern part of damascus hours curse in the area known as duma there have bee

clarissa, why has the fighting moved to damascus? >> well, scott, rebels who we've spoken to are saying this is beginning of the battle for control of damascus, that this is some time of an all out offensive or that we're entering an end game, if you will. of course, it's impossible to say how many fighters are inside damascus or how sophisticate it had planning is that has gone into this operation and certainly how long the fighting will last before the syrian military quashes it, but this is the most serious fighting that we've seen in the center of damascus since this uprising began nearly a year and a half ago. >> pelley: and you have done a lot of reporting from damascus. what do you think the affect might be there of all of this fighting? >> damascus is really the beating heart of president al-assad's power base. and to the extent that the violence during this uprising has really been kept at bay from the center of the capital, many members of the assad regime in damascus, residents, have been able to essentially exist in a sor

explosions and fighting in the syrian capital as rebels announce a full scale offensive against damascus that's another diplomatic attempt to end the crisis. here in. america to patrol britain's ports with. the u.k. is forced to draft more troops and police security contractors bite off more than they can shoot. and insulting. describe a new start which is nothing more than a guide for. the civilized world. here in moscow with you twenty four hours a day syrian opposition fighters have taken their battle to the neighborhoods of damascus with reports that this city has witnessed explosions and intense daylight shootouts. in the capital. the capital damascus since the beginning of the uprising last march has most of the time been under governmental control and the closest the fighting has ever moved has been in its suburbs in the eastern part of the mask personally area known as duma there have been several army assaults against opposition hotbeds there but the clashes have never actually taken place inside this city and this is exactly what is going on right now the free syrian army has c

damascus not far from the center of the city center we've been here for the. in the months now and we've been to these districts many times by something talking to people and of course it's been very sad to see how different the picture is right now people are trying to deal with this situation and we are in mazed how brave they are in this situation facing horror of war that has come to the home they say yes we know it is happening right now here in damascus and in our country it's been here for seventeen months already but we cannot do anything with these and life has to go on and we have to leave so they're trying to do with this is just waiting for this nightmare to end this is what they say. well you can always stay up to date on what's happening in syria just follow maria's twitter feet she's one of the very few international correspondents still reporting right from the heart of the fighting to get photos from the scene also impressions you can find maria. underscore. well meanwhile the world has been going around that assad may be ready to step down wi

syria's capital damascus suffers its fiercest fighting since the uprising against the government began as a special envoy kofi annan travels to moscow seeking president putin's support to end the bloodshed. the new see that in belgium leaving losers who does that leave the munira can live in trees tend to gratian insults about how immigrants in belgium feel about a new starter kit they say is nothing more than a guide for savages coming into the civilized world. to get away tourist or a place to decide the world's great occupy protesters demand transparency and media coverage as the wealthy and powerful gather at a california retreat. from screaming all mine twenty four hours a day seven days a week this is our. most serious armed conflict has now engulfed the capital damascus and its suburbs with fierce battles between regime troops and rebel forces now taking place in broad daylight the military is thought to have deployed armored vehicles near the city center after the threat of a full scale assault on loyalist units across the country is in damascus. clashes between the army and re

is in damascus. clashes between the army and rebels never stopped here in syria now the fighting is going on here in damascus activists and residents have described it as the heaviest the most intense fighting in the capital since the beginning of the revolt here last march was in fact this is the first time we see the battle in the very heart of the regime damascus has been considered the area totally under governmental control the fighting recently has moved as close has to its suburbs there have been several army assaults against opposition but in the eastern outskirts of damascus some fourteen kilometers from the city center now we're hearing about at least four neighborhoods in the southern part of damascus some twenty minute drive from the city center where governmental troops are fighting gunmen governmental sources are saying that most of these gunmen are not from damascus but they've come here from homs in central syria and from a blip in the country's north where the army had seen success l

from damascus in syria. well maria is one of the very few remaining international correspondents that continue to report on the events from the heart of the conflict you can follow her on twitter to stay up to date on the developments in the syrian capital live coverage throughout the day via her feed for notion or underscore r.t. . when we get more on the events in syria and at the u.n. from process activist he's joining me now from spain so this latest u.n. resolution has been vetoed what impact will that have on the situation now in syria . i think the draft resolution that was proposed by the west by britain and the united states. was expected to fail i don't think they really had. any delusions that the russians and the chinese won't use the veto so they obviously have something in mind and they are stating now that we've done all enough. in the security council and it's obvious you're not going anywhere so we are going to seek other measures and this really opens the door in front of the international

say that life must go on my final shot from damascus and syria. there is one of the very few remaining international correspondents that continue to report on the events from the heart of the conflict follow on twitter to stay up to date on the developments in the syrian capital live coverage throughout the day via a feed and from motion underscore to. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has blamed hezbollah for the terrorist attack on a bus carrying jewish tourists in bulgaria in which eight people died tel aviv has already accused iran of being behind the attack but has since extended its billing list is our correspondent with more from israel. but no minutes on yahoo says that the fault because of this attack that happened on wednesday in the bulgarian city of burgas is clearly on the shoulders of hizbollah netanyahu says that his bill that acts as the long term of iran in the region and while this is no secret certainly everybody here does know that hizbullah is a proxy for iran and the fact that in a time yahoo is not naming his below

refine ocean has been keeping across the developments for us from damascus. free syrian army soldiers are now controlling all four border crossings at the syrian iraqi border but the top official has also said that the iraqi guards have witnessed extreme ballers from the side of free syrian army soldiers from opposition fighters we also been able to see the to posted on you tube from the syrian turkish border where gunmen have been shouting religious slogans and shooting. portrays a free syrian army has been able to take control over crossings at the border that means that they they are very determined in large scale operation against regime of president bashar al assad but that doesn't necessarily mean that there's still keep in this control because everything changes very fast we have to be very careful with information and even with picture is we see because since the beginning of this our privacy it's also been media war and just recently we've been hearing from opposition that they've managed to take control over the airport just yesterday we were at the

has been seen for what the opposition and free syrian army have dubbed the final battle for damascus a decisive battle for the syrian capital shootings have been heard in very different parts of the syrian capital warsaw have seen black smoke drifting over the city's skyline and we've also been hearing helicopters not only flying over one of the oldest continuously inhabited capitals in the war old but also firing we can see some smoke even now in actually many different neighborhoods of damascus many countries have closed the embassies here in syria had half withdrawn all personnel in this neighborhood alone turkish embassy over the saudi embassy this is the building of american embassy tallon embassies these embassies have also suspended their work but ordinary syrians don't have the same choice the world has come to their door and they have nowhere to run and they're trying to organize their everyday life waiting for this nightmare to end one of the most important rule these days in the syrian capital is not to go to the cities troubled areas where the clashes between the rebels a

syria's conflict is now closed in on the capital damascus suburbs with battles between regime troops and rebel forces now taking place in broad daylight the opposition says that some of the worst fighting since the crisis began and threatened a full scale assault on loyalist units all across the country but as financial reports now from damascus the real picture may not be quite dramatic. clashes between the army and rebels never stopped here in syria now the fighting is going on here in damascus damascus has been considered the area totally under governmental control the fighting recently has moved as close as to its suburbs there have been several army assaults against opposition but in the eastern outskirts of damascus some fourteen kilometers from the city center now we're hearing about at least four neighborhoods in this southern part of damascus some twenty minute drive from the city center where government told troops are fighting gunmen governmental sources are saying that most of these gunmen are not from damascus but they've come here from homs in central syria and from in

from damascus and syria. and there is one of the very few remaining international correspondents that continue to report on the events from the heart of the conflict follow her on twitter to stay up to date on the developments in the syrian capital live coverage throughout the day via her feed it. under school. and as the conflict in syria continues it seems the battleground has now taken an online dimension as r.t. reports in just a couple of minutes from now and find more and a load instructional videos on the best way for syrian competence to kill their enemies or gaining popularity on the internet stay with r.t. to learn who is behind these lethal lessons. but first israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has blamed has been after the terrorist attack on a bus carrying jewish tourists in bulgaria in which seven people died to give his already accused iran of being behind the attack but have since extended its blame list meanwhile media reports identified the suicide bomber as an algerian swedish jihadi

but not in damascus. the only suicide attacks in damascus appear to have been the work of jihadi is coming in from outside. in may, for example, two big bombs went off in central damascus and killed a great many people. now, that was thought to have been the work of jihadi s. i do not think the young men working -- fighting in the free syrian army would do this sort of thing and sacrifice their lives. it is one thing to sacrifice your life on the battlefield, and another to blow yourself up in order to kill someone else. that demands a particular friend of mine, i think, which -- the opposition is divided. it is divided in many different ways. those who say we must take up arms and those who say it is a mistake, those who are pleading for foreign intervention and the sick, no, we do not want that. those who are allies to the muslim brothers and those liberals who say, we do not want that sort of regime in syria because syria is a mosaic of communities. 10% christians, top% [unintelligible] 4% or 5% jews,

and we do not know if he is in damascus. no one, no one can say how long he will remain in power. but, policymakers here at the state department are bracing for the prospect of regime change in syria occurring on a much swifter timetable than previously contemplated. analyst whose monitor social media like twitter and who have advised the state department during the arab spring on how to mine open source online data and how to interpret it is warning the assad regime or control of damascus could collapse in 36 hours which saw similar online activity prior to the fall of muammar qaddafi in libya and is regarded as be "amazeingly accurate," following the ouster of mubarak if egypt. all this is spinning out-of-control rapidly. and for that reason, it is >>guest: i steamily important the international community working with other countries have concerns in that area bring maximum pressure on assad to do what is right, to step down and allow for the peaceful transition. >>reporter: replacements have been named for the assassinated interior minister and the dense minister who is visible

house from damascus. we only have been hearing reports that it's been a massive very intense bombing but as you can see the building is not very much damage some windows broken and actually this is all the damage as we can see from here also from what we can see from here we can understand that the explosion happened inside the building free syrian army has already claimed responsibility for what happened and for the blast and for the killings the news about blast has come at a very tough time for the syrian capital in the last four days damascus has been seen for what the opposition and free syrian army have dubbed the final battle for damascus a decisive battle for the syrian capital shootings have been heard in very different parts of the syrian capital also seen black smoke drifting over the city's skyline and we've also been hearing helicopters not only flying over one of the oldest continuously inhabited capitals in the world but also firing we can see some smoke even now in actually many different