actually bart stay with r.t. because up next the director general of the u.n. atomic watchdog tells us what he expects from the resumed nuclear talks with iran. although i was born after the vietnam era i remember t.v. discussions about that buddhist monk who burned himself to death as a form of protest the commentators on the news said that people there just have a different mindset that westerners could never understand you know which is probably true but they were implying that people in the west are just different and would never use this absolutely extreme form of protest which is also probably true until just recently with the cost of electricity exceeding the income of the average bulgarian and a new government coming to power that looks exactly like the old government that collapsed at least six paul gary and have used self-immolation as a very desperate and extreme form of protest but why kristen ghodsee a professor at bowdoin college who has extensively talked to bulger and protestors claims that those who self-immolating are just incredibly desperate and cannot feed their ow

u.n. sanctions with another nuclear test it's becoming obvious to journalists that the administration is now targeting not just the leakers but also reporters just recently we learned that the u.s. justice department secretly obtained two months of telephone records targeting a.p. reporters and editors work and personal phone numbers a.p. believes more than one hundred of its journalists were caught up in this surveillance sweep the some president eight hundred full leaks has had an enormous chilling effect on investigative journalism the obama administration has brought more cases against whistleblowers than all previous presidents combined journalists have seen their sources drying out as government officials are much less inclined to share these days but now we see a different probably more alarming development the government making journalists the subject of their investigations and it's not clear what the government expects from journalists just to copy paste whatever they say in press releases if that is the case that would be the end of our profession. well the f

the u.n. mission for iraq has said that since two thousand and two thousand and eight april was the deadliest month for more than seven hundred people were killed sixteen hundred were injured these attacks continue to happen on almost daily bases and there it seems that there is no way for them to stop of course now we have the now we have the tribal leaders from the sunni provinces mostly to the west of the country and they're saying we will stop the attacks if you will give us autonomy and the prime minister nuri al maliki said he is going to think about establishing a ton of this region in that part of the country but he says of course it has to be done through proper legal procedures and that means more time more people work and more bureaucracy and until until it's that actually happens who knows how much more blood will be shed and of course the wider fear in iraq today is that become this country today is what could be what we could be seeing in syria tomorrow and this is what we have to be paying a special attention to when it comes to iraq and of course to the region as a w

mean we're talking about very powerful people with lots of money involved and the idea that the u.n. can step in and take a good first step is you know it's kind of like an alcohol get or alcoholic getting close to admitting that alcohol is a problem and you know we still have a long way to go and and to tell you the truth i feel like it's just like the lives of the gun control debate in the u.s. i think we'll get to that and we'll get to that we'll get to the whole just going to adapt up in. jeff those are those are nice quips jeff but i mean look the countries that approve this treaty one hundred fifty five are deadly serious about putting in place regulations that for the first time make sure that governments report on what they're transferring that establish clear regulations for policing in enforcing those regulations and also this would apply to arms dealers the people who are operating the black market who are who have sold weapons to your responsible rebel groups in the past so you can say that this won't make a big difference but if you're a person in congo if you're a pers

we're very disappointed that because of political games the u.n. has failed to act on this we expect our turkish colleagues to quickly provide a full report on this latest case this issue ation is too serious for those who constantly talk about the chemical weapons problem to keep playing games around it each and every incident needs to be investigated. in march this year the syrian government appealed to the u.n. calling for an investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons in a rebel attack near aleppo now according to officials and military experts around two dozen people were killed by that nerve agent then most likely to be sarin sarin gas has been classified as an outlawed weapon of mass destruction since the early one nine hundred ninety s. but one of the mostly tourist cases of its use of five thousand people were killed back in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight when an ethnic kurds city in northern iraq was bombarded by cluster bombs loaded with sarin highly toxic compound was also used in a terrorist attack in tokyo back in one thousand nine hundred five but he

action from the u.n. while the u.k. calls for an end to the arms embargo on the opposition saying peace in the region is now under threat. and in bahrain a quarter sentenced thirty one protesters to fifteen years in jail for throwing four bombs during the regime riots last year.

u.n. during a discussion about the recent international arms trade treaty. check it out. to the guy without thinking of the gun runners who are responsible for the flood chad. is just. into their you know what's going to do so. this story. woman is named kathy who in austin is a former u.n. arms trafficking expert and is the founder and executive director of the conflict awareness project nonprofit organization that investigates major arms traffickers and war profiteers and trans national criminal networks that few armed conflicts around the world earlier i had the chance to speak to kathy about her work i first asked her what the craziest things she's seen in her experience hunting down arms traffickers is and here's what she had to say. well you know often i'm flying in crazy airplanes and have had to survive crash landings just in order to document a certain weapons flow going to an illegal rogue group in the congo for example i've come around like corners and met with a lot of somalia militiamen had to bargain my way out of those situations ultimately being asked to be married w

that's been agreed on by the world medical association and the u.n. the u.s. and we disagree with them it's a matter of national policies are courts of up held that. sustaining life you lawful means is lawful we have a medical protocol where we evaluate detainees based on their weight loss and co-morbidity we allow them to hunger strikes that if they get below eighty five percent of body weight some damage could be down we will do the involuntary feeding all of those allegations are false they're not they're not being subject to extreme temperatures they're not being denied food and water the conditions are as good as they can possibly be they had satellite television and they had communal living that all kinds of good things were transparent facility. your producers are walking to calm. yourself. now lawyers for the detainees strongly disagree with captain drawings assessment they claim the captives are being held in unbearable conditions and they're subjected to daily harassment wife's efforts to misrepresent several of the hunger strikers and saying and says they are being forc

u.n. commission on syria says there's no clear proof of any chemical weapons being used that despite one of its top investigators saying she suspects the rebels have resorted to gas. meanwhile israel's condemned for a series of air strikes inside syria but takes a look at whether the ultimate target of the attacks could lie elsewhere. here off the antigovernment protests. in moscow to demand the release of those accused of inciting clashes with police. and record unemployment painful austerity and the lowest ratings and recent french history. marks the end of a tough first year as president.

nothing absolutely nothing not even the u.n. millennium goal over in five dollars pity when the glasgow city authorities say they want to help people like arise but our hands are tied because of policies made over six hundred kilometers away in westminster the law has been constructed in such a we actually illegal for the council to provide support for asylum seekers so what has happened is that the numbers of destitute people have to rise and build up over the years it's a terrible situation it's a humanitarian crisis or school scotland's biggest city is the first in the u.k. to openly condemn the government's treatment of failed asylum seekers we want to treat people with compassion in school and they get in government won't let us do that in the standing in our way it's not known exactly how many destitution asylum seekers there are drifting about the city because after the home office rejects a case they slip through the net and disappear from the view of the old thirty's so they're left with no support and no way of working in a city that's just been ranked the most violent

in the u.n. back in the u.n. truth commission in one thousand nine hundred nine they. put out these orders that within followed by otto put his money in and then going back to our yes. so there were so he did actually give direct orders for for that activity let's talk about the crimes i mean what exactly happened because obviously he was only accounted for seven hundred but i heard there i mean i've read that there's reports of way more deaths than atrocities they couldn't directly link to him well during the thirty six year civil war as you said the numbers are hard to point and you don't really want to use numbers such as a body count to understand something that has deep human impact but he ruled for fifteen months and one thousand nine hundred eighty three and during that time he carried our operation so for you which was the continuation of a scorched earth policy and acted by a previous government and in that time included actually to do so executions as well as the targeted extermination of entire villages and you know this does hold enormous significance obviously for the p

the missiles have a range of one hundred twenty kilometers the u.n. secretary general appealed to north korea to soften its aggressive stance. out in just a couple minutes with the ensign team giving one of russia's most exquisite museums in tip top condition. the illusion of safety trumping you're right seems to be the main political theme of post nine eleven america i noticed pushing the keep you safe at any cost more the new york billionaire mayor michael bloomberg who originally her. to defend his stop and frisk strategy after giving a speech to police brass stop and frisk is the practice of just being able to search anyone in new york at any time for any reason with your hands this gestapo style practice has been in place since two thousand and two but thankfully was finally recently found to be unconstitutional by a federal judge you know the fourth amendment all the talk about no unlawful search and seizure seems pretty clear to me why did this take so long bloomberg despite that silly constitution thing stands firm with this policy to occur and if you and st stops looking

the strike demanding action from the u.n. while the u.k. calls for an end to the arms embargo and the opposition saying peace in the region is now under threat. and in bahrain a quarter sentenced thirty one protesters to fifteen years in jail for throwing four bombs during the regime riots last year the top stories this hour. with a look back at the past seven days top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly on t.v. syria says israel has effectively declared war after its planes bombed targets in damascus the second airstrikes in as many days syria's state media says israeli rockets targeted a military research center on the outskirts of the capital video footage an eyewitness account suggests the attacks hit weapons dumps triggering large explosions serious as a number of people were killed amid widespread destruction the arab league has condemned the strikes and demanded the u.n. security council act to stop any more. t.v. station run by lebanon's hezbollah militant group showed images of what it claimed was the site of an israeli air strike in syria this unverifi

somehow like being bombed more than being shot it the u.n. has questioned the legality of the use of drones and here's how the president addressed the issue america cannot take strikes wherever we choose or actions are bound by consultations with partners and respect for state sovereignty. america does not take strikes to punish individuals we act against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the american people when the president talks about consultations with other countries one should mention that you have the whole population of pakistan its parliament unanimously opposing the drone strikes so the administration may be in consultation with the governments of those countries but obviously not the people there the president said this wednesday he signed a presidential policy guidance on the use of drones which is supposed to lead to the establishment of some guidelines oversight and accountability now also on the issue of legality did mr still operates under the congress authorization for the use of military force adopted in two thousand and one which says the u.s

we're very disappointed that because of political games the u.n. has failed to act on this we expect our turkish colleagues to quickly provide a full report on this latest case this issue ation is too serious for those who constantly talk about the chemical weapons problem to keep playing games around it each and every incident needs to be investigated well let's examine the history of sarin a bit more shall we back in march this year the syrian government appealed to the un for an investigation into the alleged use of sarin gas in aleppo by rebels. according to officials of military experts around two dozen people died then and i think the nerve agent used indeed was sarin nerve sarin has been outlawed as we were saying just now by the international community is a band weapon of mass destruction in fact since the one nine hundred ninety if it had been used in aleppo it isn't the first time it's been used it was also used you may recall very notorious case of its use in one thousand nine hundred eight in a northern kurdish city in northern iraq it was bombarded by cluster bombs five

arrested are believed to be members of the al qaeda linked al nusra front earlier this month u.n. investigators voices suspicion that the nerve agent was being used by opposition fighters moscow is concerned is the use of chemical weapons could prompt foreign military intervention in syria artie's middle east correspondent part of syria has to details. the group was seized in southern turkey and that is according to local media reports the media are also saying that they carried two kilograms some under with the nerve agent sarin now turkish authorities haven't yet commented on this report and we are waiting to hear from them russian the united states and france in the past have said that they believe it is a sad however that is using chemical weapons but they haven't been able to prove to produce any kind of evidence to prove this the british government has written to the united nation's banking new alleging we knew incidents of chemical use by assad's forces and at the same time the french government says that it is testing samples of f. were smuggled out by journalists but all

guantanamo bay as torture the u.n. human rights office says that indefinite detention and force feeding constitute inhuman treatment and violate international law this comes as more prisoners joining the grueling three month hunger strike at the u.s. facility in cuba the american military admits that the total number of protesters is now over one hundred but lawyers for the captives have said all along that the actual figure is even higher twenty three detainees are now being force fed a procedure that's had to be extremely painful well earlier my colleague having no one spoke with cindy trying to cope who represents one of the inmates and she says washington is failing to take the steps needed to defuse the crisis at guantanamo bay the prisoners are quiet ohio has been on strike since february sixth he was chosen not to eat any of the cards in protest of minutes in terms of forcing someone to do what they don't want to do or tying them down strapping them to the chair and sticking to that there are no words is depriving them of the liberty you have it was for their own. good bu

ti anytime anywhere. near. a top u.n. investigators says there are strong suspicions rebels in syria had used chemical weapons but says there's nothing to suggest the government forces hopped on the safe. meanwhile israel's condemned for a series of ads trikes inside syria but also takes a look at whether the ultimate tanya told that tonks could lie elsewhere. on record unemployment painful austerity and the lowest ratings in recent french history francois hollande among the end of a tough first here as president.

detainees are screaming for justice. where is the end for. bringing the u.n. general assembly is preparing following new resolution which would condemn the syrian government under law rebels to become part of the country's political transition and motion is being called by. the nations that seem unlikely to win an overwhelming majority this comes in the wake of into. outrage over brutal tactics opposition fighters on the edge of reducing russia will be voting against the document which it says is a symbolic move and kind of waiting for them. and based on hundreds of supporters of the m.q.m. party have gathered to protest against a recount demanded by the election commission official say a new count will take place in more than a full two polling stations and the economic capital caracas they say polling stations start of the late and didn't begin at true and others in the past followed the second party and testing the same seat as an h.d. and q. and gauged in vote rigging during last weekend's elementary elections. and i will back with more news for in around thirty minutes but before that

league has condemned the strike demanding action from the u.n. while the u.k. calls for an end to the arms and. saying peace in the region is now under threat. and in bahrain a court has sentenced to thirty one protesters to fifteen years in jail for throwing fire bombs during anti regime riots last year. in broadcasting live from our studios in moscow this is r.t.m. sean thomas glad to have you with us. israel has affectively declared war after its planes bombed targets in damascus the second airstrike in as many days syrian officials say missile batteries have been pointed at israel and according to unconfirmed reports they will be launched in case israel strikes again syria state media says israeli rockets targeted a military research center on the outskirts of the capital video footage and eyewitness accounts suggest the attacks hit weapons dumps triggering a large explosions syria says a number of people were killed and wounded amid widespread destruction the arab league has condemned the strikes and demanded of the un security council act to stop any further attacks meanwhile a

in the united europe as well. and atomic allegations iran that gives the go ahead for u.n. inspectors to visit one of its nuclear facilities only if they sign a protocol suspicions about the country's nuclear program we speak to the head of the international nuclear watchdog. the very latest developments this is. a double bomb attack in the iraqi border town of has been followed by another string of deadly explosions in the capital the five blasts in baghdad iraq's shiite neighborhoods killing sixteen in reading scores more least ten people died earlier blasts in a town near the border with iran. the situation let's cross to paula what more do we know about these attacks. well according to iraqi officials some five to six car bombs we're hearing different figures have exploded in the shiite neighborhoods of the capital city of baghdad now police officials say that the blast struck bus stations as well as outdoor markets on monday morning what officials are also saying is that each bomb happened in a different place to be looking at some five to six different locations now

time i mean remember obama did press for three u.n. security council resolutions that would've essentially enabled america to pull a libya in syria all three were vetoed by russia and china so now the americans have a pretty much of getting around that a u.n. resolution again unilateralism and doing it to be covertly and now pretty much just overtly well you know the hell with the fact that the u.n. isn't doing what we wanted to do which is going to send them arms anyway and that is the obama administration as i saw it again going back to the original point it seems you know not too dissimilar from the the bush administration policy michael would you like to respond to that continuity. well i mean there's certainly something to be said for covert for cia operations though certainly have a tremendous blowback potential and actual if it actually happens but it's a lot different from an outright military intervention which would cause even more problems blowback and of course it depends on the case we're talking about syria but you can be talking about different types of world dif

assad government of doing that now this geneva based u.n. investigation is believed to be separate from the investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons in syria in the middle of march assad forces and the rebels blame each other for that damascus has requested a u.n. mission to investigate the incident but the investigation is being stalled because in addition to investigating that specific incident the u.n. chief now demands access to all facilities in syria and there are concerns that this inquiry could wants the u.n. into the center of a possible hunt for weapons of mass destruction where it faces the ghost of iraq the fear again is that politics may get ahead of facts. ati's guy nature kind reporting that from washington and german journalist and magazine editor and writer i spoke to him just a bit earlier in the program he said he finds it hard to believe the opposition got access to syria's chemical arsenal but says there are other ways for illegal arms to end up in the hands of rebels i am very much sure that exactly this theory that these chemical weapons will co

gives the go ahead for u.n. inspectors to visit one of its nuclear facilities and if they sign a protocol a not this suspicion about the country's nuclear program speak to the head of the international nuclear watchdog.

just accepted by the u.n. human rights council is here to talk about the case and the new investigation is laurel krauss the co-founder of the kent state truth tribe you know whose sister was among the protesters tragically killed that day laurel thanks so much for taking the time. it's my honor to be here so what is the forensic evidence that disproves the government narrative of what really happened that day. in twenty ten and a forensic internationally acclaimed forensic expert stuart allen analyzed the can states to be tape it was commissioned by the cleveland plain dealer and it took a look at the tape for the first time from a digital point of view using k.g.b. software to make go faster slower inhibit sounds. in hand sounds basically he could he found the kent state worker to shoot which had been denied for forty years along with for seventy seconds before that command for low caliber pistol shots fired by the kent state sniper terry norman was also working for the f.b.i. . so so just so people understand the government claimed before that they heard a shot fired wh

situations is highlighted again at the beginning of this year when the u.n. launched an investigation looking at the extent of civilian casualties. at the legality surrounding drone use now research team for the london university are assisting them in that investigation and their findings are going to be presented to the un general assembly in the also the based on what they find they could then recommend that further action be taken as we're seeing this increase during usage with the u.k. having launched its first strike is a grieving ever more important to many campaign is that the legality and the question is a video nice and now it just properly in a clear and apron arena. being out of a job the disabled the homeless so there are no excuse against being jailed was some us caught simple failing to pay even the smallest debt on time an american civil liberties union report has revealed is fairly common practice in the state of ohio despite claims that it violates the constitution and investigates a midwestern us state. internationally recognized for being the battleground where amer

areas in violation of a u.n. security council resolution but they insisted the floods would do nothing to ensure israel's security we spoke to freelance journalist. but he says recent events only tension in the region. while israeli planes are constantly carrying out flights over lebanon usually they coincide precede or follow a military ground operation or these are surveillance flights to israeli jets violated the airspace above the syria lebanon border and headed north for four consecutive days the israeli air force has been carrying out intensive flights over southern regions for the first time several planes carried out simulated attacks on several areas anyway tension is growing this is shown by the intensity of israeli jets flying over lebanon especially in recent days. called helen and contributing editor for us think tank foreign policy in focus believes it's unlikely the embattled syrian government would have risked provoking an israeli attack. i think the idea that the syrian government would be shipping arms to has billa in the midst of a civil war or to be a very dubious k

u.n. meanwhile is sending its own messages of double standard let's remember that washington has been fiercely critical of russia's transfer of anti-aircraft aircraft missiles to the assad government now while moscow's maintained that it has been fulfilling defense weapons contracts that were signed long ago with syria washington believes that it's wrong for her moscow to fulfill any contracts because civil war is taking place there and whatever contracts russia is fulfilling could be used to inflame the conflict taking place there but yet now the u.s. is welcoming possible flow of arms to this syrian rebels with this e.u. arms embargo on syria expiring now it's also worth noting that just a few weeks ago u.s. secretary of state john kerry was in moscow he traveled there and pledged to the u.s. will work closely with russia and the bloodshed in syria kerry and foreign minister sergey lavrov and sergey lavrov underscored their commitment to the communique signed in june. which calls for a transitional government to be established in syria that includes both sides but how can the i

contractors are also staying on middle east and u.n. issues activist phyllis bennis told me that because afghanistan strategic location is as it is it allows washington to keep a foothold in the region. we know that the agreement signed between the u.s. and afghanistan allows for some number of u.s. troops to remain after the end of two thousand and fourteen the numbers have varied there's been estimates of as low as eight thousand and as many as twenty two thousand that the obama administration would like to keep in afghanistan after the the withdrawal of so-called combat troops this has everything to do with the neighborhood where afghanistan is located afghanistan doesn't have on its own but it has a large territory in the midst of a very crucial neighborhood in terms of oil and in terms of the expansion of power the u.s. wanted for example to keep permanent bases in iraq that it could use as a base from which it could attack iran the iraqis said no the afghans will be asked the same thing will they allow those bases even if it's only nine of them to be used potentially to att

middle of march assad forces and the rebels blame each other for that damascus has requested a u.n. mission to investigate the incident but the investigation is being stalled because in addition to investigating that specific incident the u.n. chief now the men's access to all facilities in syria and there are concerns that this inquiry wants the u.n. into the center of a possible hunt for weapons of mass destruction where it faces the ghost of iraq the fear again is that politics may get ahead of facts. and denise a from the french center for intelligence studies told us see when rebels and they have received chemical weapons from abroad. well it's very difficult to say probably be told them in. syrian stock but they could also are being. received. from the foreign countries because we don't know what they've got to riyadh plague them or know but for for us it's not really a surprise because from our see for two years we save that all but we are faced with a very huge disinformation campaign against bashar regime because the mass and bashar they don't have any interest to use chem

country bomb any country and kill whoever it wants the u.n. charter is quite clear. the united states like all other member nations of the united nations can only go to war in gage and more engage in military activity. as an act of self-defense in other words the defense from an imminent threat but in fact the united states by arrogating to itself the right to war anywhere against anyone all the time is clearly in violation of international law but president obama says the administration does not violate anybody's sovereignty because it operates in consultation with the governments concerned the whole population of pakistan their parliament unanimously the monthly oppose drone strikes and yet they continue so maybe the administration is in consultation with the government there but certainly not the people i'm going to check on me today was brian becker with the answer coalition from our studio in washington thanks for watching. but we return to our top story where russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov and the u.s. secretary of state john kerry will meet in paris later on to prepare

anywhere. in the u.n. after a syrian militant group kidnaps for its peacekeepers secretary general ban ki moon demands the hostages immediate really. cracks at the heart of europe is france rejects the stereotype while in britain the queen gets of pay rises her subjects further tighten their belts. and central asia royals in a violent wave of his largest unrest leaving nearby states hammering out plans to contain what is being the talibanization of the region. and i welcome you watching r.t. with me andrey farmer. the u.n. is calling for the immediate release of four of its peacekeepers the troops were taken hostage by syrian rebel fighters in the golan heights the demilitarized zone between syria and israel we cannot go live to our middle east correspondent paula. paula thank you for joining us now we've heard reports that the u.n. mission could even withdraw from the region following these kidnappings do you think that's likely. well i don't think it's likely i've just gotten off the phone with the deputy chief of staff for the united nations peacekeeping force in the area and he