so we have been brought to the military hospital here in damascus.gh-ranking officer who was badly wounded in a battle just south of the city. his name is general ibrahim, both legs are shot up. but he is defiant. he tells me he wants to get back to the fight. i ask him about the allegations that his troops are massacring syrian civilians. this is a false accusation, he says. had it come done to me, i would have adopted a scorched earth policy with these armed men. this man lost his leg. but he too says he will fight again. it is a dirty war and though it is far away america can't ignore it. the map shows why. the chaos engulfing syria threatens to spill over into iraq on one side, israel/lebanon on the other and nato ally turkey in the north. a nightmare scenario for the u.s. for syrian civilians the nightmare is here. jihadist fighters funded by u.s. allies, saudi arabia and other persian gulf states are warming into this country. threatening to turn the conflict into a holy war. and syria an incredibly diverse nation of muslims, christians, kurds

damascus may fall. there is deep concern in washington that if damascus falls, assad will continue the fight. >> a very tenuous situation in syria. that crisis is high on the agenda of the next defense secretary. chuck hagel was asked about it during questioning about his job. there was questioning by john mccain about the surge in iraq. >> or you correct or incorrect when you say it -- when you said that the search would be the most dangerous foreign-policy disaster sense the non? the question is right or wrong. i would like the answer of whether you are right or wrong and then you are free to elaborate. >> i'm not going to give you a yes or no answer. >> let the record show that you refused to answer the question. >> if you would like me to explain, -- >> i actually would like an answer. >> what else did we learn from today's hearing a short time ago? he did not do the best job of defending himself. >> no, it was a fractious hearing and pointless. he referred to the government of iran as legitimately

and from damascus, we head now to iran. and, a new, defiant challenge from that country, a country filled with nuclear ambition. and once again, abc's david muir is reporting live from tehran tonight. david? >> reporter: diane, good evening again from iran this evening. the inspectors who say they've discovered advanced centrifuges installed at one of iran's main nuclear facilities. they say it's proof that iran can speed up the process to a nuclear weapon. iran says it has no such ambition, but the state department, diane, reacting quickly tonight, calling this further escalation, a provocative step, just days before the u.s. and iran are back at the negotiating table. and tonight, right here, you'll hear from the iranian people with spoke with today, many of whom say they're the ones caught in the middle. allowed rare access to the streets here, today, we went in search of one of the biggest pharmacies in central tehran, having heard life-saving medicine is now running out. >> hello. >> reporter: this doctor runs the phar

a car bomb explodes in damascus.d in the deep, we join an expedition hunting for species we may never have seen before. ♪ >> welcome to our viewers on public television and in america. faces chargesuus of killing his girlfriend but the lead detective faces seven charges of attempted murder. the detective has been pulled off the case. from pretoria, andrew harden reports. >> center stage for the wrong reasons. the

>> the rebels control parts of the southern and eastern parts of the damascus.the past month we've seen rebels try to push their way forward into damascus from the northeast and, in fact, they have seized several army checkpoints on the highway linking the capital with northern syria. but those advances have largely been reversed now and the government is mostly back in firm control of the capital. but in recent days we've seen the rebels launch mortar attacks from these areas into central damascus. >> warner: so what can you tell us about the rebels' overall strategy for the country and how key is -- do they want to seize control of damascus and are they trying to drive the assad regime from power? what is their overall game plan? >> for the rebels, damascus is the prize -- the seat of the assad's government power and this is what they want to get at we've seen after they've lost momentum in recent weeks the rebels have had some strategic victories say cross country. they've been gaining some momentum again but we're still a long way off before they can achieve

he is in damascus itself. >> reporter: the road from beirut to damascus. we drove into syria along this heavily guarded route -- checkpoint after checkpoint after checkpoint. it is now a lifeline, as damascus, the stronghold of the government of president bashar assad, becomes a city under siege. it is a dirty war, in a crucial country. just look at the map. the kay use engulfing syria threatens to spill over into iraq on one side, israel and lebanon on the other. a nightmare scenario for the u.s. the united nations now estimates that 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting, though, no one really knows. a u.n. commission today called for war crimes investigations of both sides. assad's government, which has sought to crush the rebellion by any means necessary. and the rebels, many of whom are increasingly seen by ordinary syrians as war lords, gangsters and religious fanatics who regularly post videos of beheadings and other atrocities on youtube. damascus is quiet tonight. some light traffic. no one really walking around. 5 million people hunkered

top stories on al jazeera, at least four explosions in damascus.ne after blast targeted the headquarters of the russian embassy. activists say that more than 30 people have been killed. hilton botha -- oscar pistorius has appeared in court for the third day of the bail hearing. prosecutors have been dealt a blow after mistakes were remitted to have been made of the crime scene and the lead investigator himself is facing murder charges. the bulgarian parliament is expected to accept the resignation. despite the entire administration admission to step down. human rights watch is blaming the government of former mexican president. a report says that many went missing while in the custody of security forces. >> this is the face of the disappeared. >> my husband did not go missing. he has been banished. no one knows anything, no one gives us any help. >> each day there are more families asking what happened to one of the round. >> this is happening all over mexico. the authorities pay no attention. they do not listen. >> an internal mexican government c

damascus is quiet. some light traffic. no one really walking around. 5 million people hunkered down, as the terrible war that is tearing their country apart has now arrived here, in fierce battles raging in the city's suburbs. >> that's terry moran for us in damascus. terry is in syria, with permission from the government there. he'll be reporting on the conflict throughout the week. >>> one more note from overseas. we learned overnight who is likely responsible for recent internet attacks on the u.s. government and businesses. a security firm tells "the new york times" it can tie those attacks to the chinese army. the company has traced the attacks to a building in shanghai used by an army unit. other security firms and u.s. government agencies also believe the hacking is government-sponsored. >>> and back here at home, it will be a day of severe weather in many states. a storm now on the move brought dangerous conditions to the dakotas and western minnesota. two people, in fact, were killed in an interstate pileup near f

: the road from beirut to damascus. we drove into syria along this heavily guarded route, checkpoint after checkpoint after checkpoint. it is now a lifeline, as damascus, the stronghold of the government of president bashar assad, becomes a city under siege. it is a dirty war, in a crucial country. just look at the map. the chaos engulfing syria threatens to spill over into iraq on one side, israel and lebanon on the other. a nightmare scenario for the u.s. the united nations now estimates that 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting. though, no one really knows. damascus is quiet tonight. some light traffic. no one really walking around. 5 million people hunkered down, as the terrible war that is tearing their country apart has now arrived here, in fierce battles raging in the city's suburbs. >> that is terry moran in damascus. terry is in syria, with permission from the government there. he'll be reporting on the conflict throughout the week. >>> one more note from overseas. we learned overnight who is likely r

people here in downtown damascus, they're still trying to carry on. but the war stalks them, edging ever closer. this evening, smoke billowed from a strike on the outskirts of the downtown. the suburbs are the battleground -- for now. so, this is the first one? earlier, at a hospital in the christian quarter of town, we were shown some light damage from a couple of primitive mortars fired by rebels. it's another stop on this trip where we have been granted visas by the government of president bashar assad to tell their side of the story in this brutal civil war. as we talked to witnesses -- and you hear this boom, boom, boom, all the time? they hardly notice anymore. but it takes its toll. they all know it could be so much worse. in the damascus suburb of daraya, government air strikes have reduced much of the place to rubble. as they have in the northern city of aleppo, where they were pulling more bodies from the wreckage. but all sides suffer in this war. this afternoon, we went to a wake for a beloved local politician in damascus. he was kidnapped

continues.ng >> the fighting for control of damascus has intensified. these videos were up loaded onto an youtube and, although al jazeera can not independently verified. it is reportedly a suburb. the government says it has launched a major campaign against rebel positions in damascus. the voice describes what appears to be two dead soldiers and rebels say is a captured government gun. rebels say the fighting escalated on febris 61 they attacked the two checkpoints ini towns.u this is a british-based syrian observatory that says government reinforcements arrived here in recent days. >> escalation in fighting comes as an opposition leader suggested peace talks with president assad, but the government ignored the offer and another opposition group slightly rejected it and promised to fight on. rebels say the battles are now raging in and around damascus more intensely than ever before. that's a sign the government believes it could break a military stalemate in the capital and win back control of areas so close to the president's seat of power. charles s

deaths are reported in damascus as bomb blasts ripped through the syrian capital the most powerful explosion posing damage to the russian embassy. adoptive mother of a three year old russian boy who died in the u.s. says his death was an accident as investigation into the case drags on. and the u.k.'s energy regulator warns that britain is on the verge of a fuel crisis in your stereo stricken population getting hit hard by poverty. live from our studios here in moscow this is r.t. on carried on. and we start with news just in from syria where a series of explosions have shaken damascus i witnessed reports enormous damage and several bodies at the site of the strongest blast which also damaged the russian embassy in downtown damascus where to go live now to artie's middle east correspondent paula slayer for more on this paula what else is known about these blasts. well what we can tell you is that a car bomb has exploded near the headquarters of the ruling baath party in central damascus it happened in front of a battery away regular troops are stationed this is also not song from the russian

what it sees as a lack of international condemnation of the asada government the rebels and his damascus of multiple civilian killings with the same mark as a shows being pinned on vellum position militias are widely suspected of being behind a devastating bomb blast in damascus on thursday that assad have killed about one hundred people syrian problem for america first of all maher what qantas says western powers could be losing their grip on us. we are being told that these sort of contribute to a political solution to all of them they are going to be heavily armed in order to defeat the syrian government and they do not want to have any dialogue with the syrian government because all their strategy you know since the syrian government falling and them i mean as a substitute they do not have a lot of on the ground the also would. for the rebel each one of them the political elite that are called the national council would receive the national commission so all they are interested in is for the government to fall they know that the western society the western countries have invested a l

militias are widely suspected of being behind a devastating bombing in damascus thursday that's thought to have killed about one hundred syrian pro-reform activists amar what cough thinks the western powers could be losing their influence on the rebels and if you opposition may not be interested in talks they are being told now is that they should have a sort of tribute to a political solution to all that and they are going to be heavily armed in order to defeat the syrian government and they do not want to have any dialogue with the syrian government because all this strategy based in a sense on the syrian government falling and them coming as a substitute they do not have a lot of on the ground the also the east for the rebels rather than the political elite that are called the national council to see the national commission so all they are interested in is for the government to form they know that the western society the western countries have invested a lot in them both in money and time and so on in organizing them and they think that they could probably make a stand here at it wit

tensions are rising in and around syria as a powerful blast rocks downtown damascus causing damage to the russian embassy as the rebels threaten to attack neighboring lebanon. the adoptive mother of a three year old russian boy who died in the u.s. says his death was an accident as investigation into the case drags on. and the u.k. energy market regulate britain is on the verge of a crisis as the country becomes more dependent on imports to generate energy. use and much more twenty four hours a day you're watching. and we start with news just in from syria where powerful car bomb is said to have shaken central damascus damaging the russian embassy comes as the free syrian army threatens to launch assaults on who's been and that's the lebanon based groups this is its alleged shelling of rebel held areas in syria from the latest developments we're joined now by paula. what's the latest you're hearing about this explosion. well what we have to stand is just a few minutes ago there was a car bomb explosion in downtown damascus very little information at this stage but we often told that t

the shelling of damascus continues.ving more people fleeing for areas they hope are safer, at least for a while. so, wolf, of course we have to be clear that what we have is an official journalist visa from the assad government. that of course brings with it a lot of restrictions on our reporting. most of those restrictions are really on movement. what we have is a piece of paper that says we can film in damascus but nevertheless, everywhere we go, there are these plainclothes government agents who tell us we're not allowed to film in certain places. and of course one of the things that also brings with it is that a lot of people are afraid to speak to us when those government agents are around and they're usually around everywhere we go. >> it's unusual, even to get one of those visas even to get into damascus. it's been a long time since we had anyone there. how did you do it? >> reporter: well, basically what happened is we applied for this visa and a couple of days later they told us they would consider letting us i

cnn's frederik pleitgen has the latest from damascus. >> reporter: while the streets in central damascusquiet, fierce fighting in the capital suburbs can be heard and seen throughout the day. this woman tells us her name is jamila, she says her house was destroyed during the battles. she fled to the relative safety of damascus with her two children, one only a month old. but now she sees the violence closing in on her again. >> translator: we are afraid. sometimes i want to take all my thing and sleep outside in the park because it is safer than being indoors. >> reporter: she says she depends mostly on handouts from private people to get by. the u.n. estimates that around 2 million syrians have been internally displaced because of the ongoing conflict and many of those who remain in the government-controlled part of the country try to make it to this part of the capital. that's where we meet this woman who left her husband behind in the suburbs of damascus when fierce fighting broke out and he hasn't been heard from since. now she has to support four children on her own. >> translator:

there's also violence in damascus. this video meant to show army tanks in a damascus suburb blown up by what appeared to be a roadside bomb. there have been violent clashes between rebels and government forces on the outskirts of hamas. iran's top nuclear negotiator has met the syrian prime minister. the allies have threatened to retaliate following an israeli air strike in syria on wednesday. u.s. vice president joe biden has met the head of syria's main opposition coalition. biden's meeting is the highest level u.s. meeting with the syrian opposition since the conflict began 22 months ago. the conflict in syria has created a security vacuum that criminal elements are taking advantage of. now the syrian opposition is trying to restore law and order by setting up a police force in aleppo, syria's biggest city. the new force includes the sectors from assad's regime. some locals say they can't trust officers once loyal to the president. >> this is yet another armed group in rebel controlled districts of aleppo city but t

the issue is an israeli air raid on what syrian officials say was a military research center near damascus. >> the arab league has also condemned the strike, but the actual target is still not exactly clear. some reports suggest a weapons convoy believe to be carrying russian-made anti-aircraft missiles from syria into lebanon. >> we will speak to an expert on the region later. first, this report. >> the israeli government has not issued any statement, but national papers are full of the news. u.s. officials say the raid targeted a weapons convoy headed for members of hezbollah, an ally of the syrian president. but the syrian government denied the existence of the vehicles, saying the israeli planes bombed a research center near damascus. russia says the facts are not yet clear but adds that any air strike would be completely unacceptable. >> we are analyzing the information as we receive it. if the allegations are confirmed, then it is our position this is a serious breach of the united nations charter. this would be an unacceptable action against a sovereign government. >> the syrian med

militias are widely suspected of being behind a devastating bomb blast in damascus on thursday that is thought of killed around one hundred people and adding to the tension rebel fighters have reportedly launched attacks against hezbollah targets of the syrian lebanese border activist chandan believes the syrian conflict is being deliberately pushed across the frontier. but in fear it is trying to orchestrate in syria is also trying to impact on his blog which is a historical revenge act especially seeing much of the resistance movement hizbullah expelled the israeli occupation in two thousand and also beat them in a battle in july two thousand and six now an open confrontation with hizbollah by means of nato or particularly the white settlers on a state will probably is not the ideal situation the ideal situation is to get brown skinned people to do it themselves light like they developed in the in the lebanese civil civil war so for the west it's an ideal situation doesn't matter how much what capacity. say of the other terrorist are going in syria it's the ideal situation is for the

opposition militias are widely suspected of being behind it devastated devastating bomb blast in damascus thursday thought to have killed about one hundred people syrian pro-reform activist amar what cafaro says the western governments could be losing their influence on the rebels that the opposition may not be interested in the talks they are being told now is that they should have a sort of contribute to a political solution to all that then they are going to be heavily armed in order to defeat the syrian government and they do not want to have any diet over the syrian government because only a strategy based in a sense on the syrian government falling and them coming in as a substitute they do not have a lot of on the ground the also the at least for the rebels rather than the political elite that are called the national council which is sort of the national commission so all they are interested in is for the government to feel they know that the western society the western countries have invested a lot in them both in money and time and so on in organizing them and they think that the

his robe faces an international backlash over its alleged airstrike on a damascus research center in syria which reportedly killed at least two people. to do us political elites indorse new secretaries of state and defense with neither expected to train much on america's foreign policy. the latest news and the week's top stories this is all see with me thanks for joining us for us turmoil in egypt has entered a second a week with the opposition stepping up calls for president mohamed morsi to resign the latest wave of van and project so one person killed and more than five fifty injured in clashes near the presidential palace. brutal crackdowns by police on demonstrators and reports now for a lot of for us from cairo. i personally witnessed a lot of police brutality there's been a criticism of the place in the ministry of interior i'm off the footage was broadcast of a protester stripped beaten and trying to cross the tarmac i saw this with my own eyes it could just but i this balcony the man who did the picture and he was just into any threats towards the police caught his trousers

israel could already be trying to capitalize on the syrian crisis while damascus is busy fighting rebels at home israel has given a us company a license for oil digging in the golan heights land annexed from syria but internationally still considered of its own territory investigate in the story sees paul asleep. off to israel decided last year to allow for oil and gas exploration in the go allowed genie energy was awarded the license to drill but the new jersey based company still needs further work permits for drilling to commence and this is a process that could still take several years the company is headed by none other than the golan heights residents and a former general and could cabinet minister the company's shareholders reportedly also include rupert murdoch and one of the company's advisors is former u.s. vice president dick cheney geological tastes have indicated that potential for oil and foreign oil discovery in the golan heights which is all captured from syria back in the one nine hundred sixty seven six day war in one nine hundred eighty israel and mixed the area in a m

conference in germany israel hints its forces were behind the airstrike on an arms transport near damascus. the military operation in mali will go on as long as necessary according to france's president despite the growing number of reports government troops are engaged in war crimes. berman a revolution egypt back in crisis as deadly clashes return to haunt the country's streets as thousands stayed in nationwide protests demanding president morsi step down. and the ball choice theaters artistic director says he's certain it was behind the acid attack doctors. which has doctors fighting to save his sight. for i am in moscow i'm at treasure bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on our t.v. we start out in syria where president assad says his country's military can take on any force that confronts it while accusing israel of trying to destabilize as a nation it was assad's first public statement since israel reportedly struck an arms convoy inside the war torn country wednesday this after israel's defense minister gave the strongest vacation yet that the i.d.f

his robe faces an international backlash over its alleged airstrike on a damascus research center in syria which reportedly killed at least two people. they do as political aides indorse new secretaries of state and defense with neither expected to trying to much on america's foreign policy. the latest news and the week's top stories this is all c with me thanks for joining us first time all in egypt has entered a second a week with the opposition stepping up calls for president mohamed morsi to resign the latest wave of violent crosshairs so one person killed and more than five fifty injured in clashes near the presidential palace but brutal crackdowns by police on demonstrators and reports now for a lot of for us from cairo. i personally witnessed a lot of police brutality there's been a criticism of the police in the ministry of interior off the footage was broadcast of a protester. beaten and trying to cross the tarmac i saw this with my own eyes it could just but i this balcony the man who didn't appear to show any resistance or any threats towards the police caught his trousers

in germany israel hence its forces were behind an airstrike on the are on an arms transport near damascus. the military operation nollywood go on for as long as necessary according to france's president despite the growing number of reports government troops are engaged in war crimes. permanent revolution egypt back in crisis as deadly clashes return to haunt the country streets of thousands stage countrywide protests demanding president morsi resign. and the bolshoi theater is artistic director says he's certain who is behind the acid attack that has doctors fighting to save his sight. three i'm in moscow i'm at treasure bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on our t.v. our top story president assad says the syrian military can take on any force that confronts it while accusing israel of trying to destabilize a nation it was assad's first public statement since israel reportedly struck an arms convoy inside the war torn country wednesday this after the israeli defense minister gave the strongest indication yet the i.d.f. was behind the airstrikes are his p

the golan studies has has been at the heart of previous talks between israeli and syrian leaders damascus is demanding its full return and there was concern that as the syrian revolt threatens the president bashar assad's rule israel is digging in its heels on the golan heights it was also an observation that on the eve of almost every high level visit to israel by american officials the israeli government has without fail angered the americans by coming up for example with announcements of settlement expansion in the west bank president obama is due to visit israel at the end of march and no doubt the state department is likely to criticize this permit as they do not recognize the area as being part of israel. well french movie star gerard depardieu is now a fully signed up russian citizen he's formally taken up residence in the capital of russia's republic of marjoe via telling r.t. exclusively why he chose that place. to work for beats so. well on r.t. dot com we have more on months here different views and missions and his new home went to after he quit friends complaining of high tax

israel faces an international backlash over its alleged to ask strike on a damascus recess center in syria which reportedly killed at least two people. and the u.s. political elites and dos new secretaries for state and defense would neither expect to train in america is a foreign policy. the latest news and the week's top stories this is the weekly here and i'll say it was me your leisure paula hello and welcome to the program set in egypt has ended a second awake with the opposition stepping up calls for president mohamed morsi to resign the latest wave of violent protests so one pass and killed and more than fifty injured in clashes near the presidential palace is so brutal crackdowns by police on demonstrators and reports. from cairo i personally witnessed a lot of police brutality there's been a criticism of the place in the ministry of interior. i'm off the footage was broadcast of a protester stripped beaten and trying to cross the tarmac i saw this with my own eyes it could just but i this balcony the man who did that picture and he was just into any threats towards the polic

an ox plains of damascus is too exhausted by its internal battle to deal with israeli expansion. israel has awarded its first ever license to drill for oil in the golan heights to an american energy company this is according to sources in the energy sector who say that after israel decided last year to allow for oil and gas exploration in the golan djimi energy was awarded the license to drill but the new jersey based company still needs further work permits for drilling to commence and this is a process that could still take several years the company is headed by none other than the golan heights residents and a former i.d.f. general and could cabinet minister the company's shareholders reportedly also include rupert murdoch and one of the company's advisors is former u.s. vice president dick cheney geological tastes have indicated that potential for oil and foreign oil discovery in the golan heights which is all captured from syria back in the one nine hundred sixty seven six day war in one nine hundred eighty israel and mixed the area in a move that is not recognized internati

conference in germany israel hence its forces were behind the airstrike on an arms transport near damascus at the same time gathering russia tends to mediate peace by meeting with syria's main opposition groups for the first time. military operation in mali will go on as long as necessary according to france's president despite the growing number of reports government troops are engaged in war trying war crimes. herminator revolution egypt back in crisis as the deadly clashes return to haunt the country streets is that was in the stage countrywide protests demanding president morsi resign. and the bolshoi theatre is artistic director says he's certain who's behind the acid attack that his doctors are fighting to save his sight. two am in moscow by mattress i bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on r t president assad says the syrian military can take on any force that confronts it while accusing israel of trying to destabilize the country it was assad's first public statement since israel reportedly struck an arms convoy inside the war torn country wednesda