a very close ally of president bashar al-assad. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. two men have been found guilty of systematically stealing babies from the families of political prisoners. they were jailed in an argentine court together. here is our correspondent. >> jorge videla has already been convicted of crimes against humanity. the trials of stolen babies is probably the most gruesome of charges he has had to face in court. mr. videle and bignone received lengthy jail sentences. the verdict was met from cheers from relatives and friends. this had been one of the most compelling cases in argentine history. the accused were said to have overseen a systematic plan to steal babies from political prisoners, who were tortured and killed there in the country's last military rule, which lasted until the early 1980's. the trial is the result of years of campaigning. the human rights organization -- >> this is justice. we started this in 1996. we did not know if we were going to make it to this m

al-assad. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we're to on a reporter david enders who is a special correspondent for mcclatchy, based in beirut, lebanon on. he has been to syria four times this year, most recently in june. what is your assessment of what is happening in syria, the significance of the attack yesterday, the killing of the inner circle and the situation on the ground as she listened to our guest from damascus right now on "democracy now!" party of string? >> i think what is happening is this is the trajectory of things for probably the last six months. we seen the rebellion grow in numbers, organizational capability. they have attempted to strike at al-assad and his inner circle many times. this is the first time they have been successful. we have seen the fighting officially moved to damascus and the government for the first time shell neighborhoods inside the city proper is.

al-assad. stay with us. ♪ [music break] ♪ [music break] >> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we're to on a reporter david enders who is a special correspondent for mcclatchy, based in beirut, lebanon on. he has been to syria four times this year, most recently in june. what is your assessment of what is happening in syria, the significance of the attack yesterday, the killing of the inner circle and the situation on the ground as she listened to our guest from damascus right now on "democracy now!" party of string? >> i think what is happening is this is the trajectory of things for probably the last six months. we seen the rebellion grow in numbers, organizational capability. they have attempted to strike at al-assad and his inner circle many times. this is the first time they have been successful. we have seen the fighting officially moved to damascus and the government for the first time shell neighborhoods inside th

true or false it is a bashar al assad ready to step down as president of syria i'm sure thomas in moscow and coming up with sort out all of the details. police great angry crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets on the streets of spain as the public rages against the latest wave of a stir he imposed on the country in return for a bank rescue by the e.u. . live from our new center here in the russian capital this is r.t. with twenty four hours a day where we start with our breaking news story this hour all members of the u.n. security council have voted in favor of a resolution extending the observer mission to syria the mandates being given a final thirty days but could be renewed if certain conditions on that. has the latest now from new york what's the russians reaction to this motion does moscow feel its concerns have been taken into account. the level of violence must be. one question of course is why then did the u.k. put another resolution to the vote on thursday knowing it would get vetoed. well many believe that it was purposely done because when russia and china did strike there

any of them with certainty, but it means that those closest to bashar al assad, the assad family in charge for more than 40 years, those people have the security perimeter has been breeched and assassinated. this sis something unthinkable a year ago. this is meaning potentially the beginning of the end of the assad regime. whether the end comes in 24 hours, i doubt it. it is not one of the libya mubarak, 18 day type things, and nothing that we predicted anyway. and could it be weeks or months? that is the question. but in the end, this regime is now has been attacked the security perimeter breached and this is significant. >> we are hearing from the world leaders and heard from our own defense secretary leon panetta, and the british defense minister who are condemning this in the strongest language possible. i want the viewers to listen to this. >> the violence there has only gotten worse and the loss of lives has only increased, which tells us that this is a situation that is rapidly spinning out of control. >> in these circumstances, it is ever more imperative that the internation

any of them with certainty, but it means that those closest to bashar al assad, the assad family in charge for more than 40 years, those people have the security perimeter has been breeched and assassinated. this is something unthinkable a year ago. this is meaning potentially the beginning of the end of the assad regime. whether the end comes in 24 hours, i doubt it. it is not one of the libya, mubarak, 18 day type things, and nothing that we predicted anyway. and could it be weeks or months? that is the question. but in the end, this regime is now has been attacked, the security perimeter breached and this is significant. >> we are hearing from the world leaders and heard from our own defense secretary leon panetta, and the british defense minister who are condemning this in the strongest language possible. i want the viewers to listen to this. >> the violence there has only gotten worse and the loss of lives has only increased, which tells us that this is a situation that is rapidly spinning out of control. >> in these circumstances, it is ever more imperative that the internatio

a key member of president bashar al assad's inner circle has defected. we're talking about the brigadier general manaf tlass. he's a friend of the syrian leader. his father served as defense minister to al assad's father for three decades. just recently, the israeli deputy prime minister told me right here in "the situation room" that bashar al assad simply can't hang on for much longer, especially if he starts losing his officer core. he says when the military starts to desert in large numbers, it will be, and i'm quoting him now, the end of bashar al assad. last year's mass uprisings in tunisia, libya, and egypt led to the ouster of their longtime leaders. we saw moammar gadhafi dragged through the streets and hosni mubarak caged in a courtroom. after a brutal and bloody conflict, could bashar al assad now be next? let's go to cnn's ivan watson. he's watching all of this unfold. give us some perspective, ivan. the defection of this general, general tlass, i sense it's a big deal, but what are the folks where you are saying? >> reporter: well, he comes

. >> you in on what kofi annan is with president bashar al-assad. we will stick with activist rafif jouejati. the justice department goes to blocks the texas' voter id law. >> according to the state of texas' own analysis, anywhere from 600,000 to nearly 800,000 registered voters did not have the required id and those were disproportionately hispanic. >> we will speak with nation reporter ari berman about the texas' voter id law and such laws around the country, and with the naacp attorney robert havingor the group as havinis its annual meeting in houston. a >> there should be no sympathy for goldman sachs. we should be doing everything to try to bring this matter forward. >> what is the matter? oakland city council votes to end its contract with goldman sachs that locked into a financial deal that cost the city millions. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a record-setting heat wave in the eastern u.s. is starting to ease after two weeks of scorching temperatures. th

true or false is a bashar al assad ready to step down as president of syria and sean thomas in moscow and coming up we sort out all of the details. police create angry crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets on the streets of spain as the public rages against the latest wave of a stir imposed on the country in return for a bank rescue by the e.u. . live from our new center here in the russian capital this is r.t. with you twenty four hours a day all members of the u.n. security council have voted in favor of a resolution extending the observer mission to syria the mandates being given a final thirty days but could be renewed if conditions are met lottie's marina porter has the latest from new york. brush ambassadors of the united nations vitaly churkin says he's a very pleased with the way the vote out friday with his security council unanimously approving a u.k. draft resolution that extends the u.n. supervision mission in syria for a final thirty days investor churkin said this is what russia was hoping for from the very beginning and the vote that took place on thursday of course p

by bashar al assad. of course, the regime will try and destroy my reputation. this is a well-known tactic. i may be the defection that hurts the regime the most. >> reporter: does the syrian president and supports, do they believe they'll win in the end? >> they're trapped. they entered into a war of blood. and they are aware that they're going to pay for it. they're just buying time. maybe they will get a chance to escape. >> reporter: do you want a military intervention into syria from foreign powers? >> this regime will not go without force. the suffering of the syrian people is very great and they want it to end by any way possible. i support military intervention because i know the nature of this regime. this regime will only go with force. >> reporter: what message would you like to send to bashar al assad and to your former colleagues in the syrian government right now? >> my former colleagues, i ask them to join the people and leave this corrupt regime. and there's still time for that. to bashar

true or false is a bashar al assad ready to step down as president of syria i'm sean thomas in moscow and coming up we sort out all of the details. police greet angry crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets on the streets of spain as the public rages against the latest wave of a stir he imposed on the country in return for a bank rescue by the e.u. . live from our new center here in the russian capital this is r.t. with you twenty four hours a day all members of the u.n. security council a vote in favor of a resolution extending the observer mission to syria the mandates been given the final thirty days but could be renewed if certain conditions are met. has the latest from new york. brush ambassadors of the united nations vitaly churkin says he's a very pleased with the way the vote out friday with his security council unanimously approving a u.k. draft resolution that extends the u.n. supervision mission in syria for a final thirty days investor churkin said this is what russia was hoping for from the very beginning and the vote that took place on thursday of course put a lot of con

could bashar al assad be next in line? let's talk about it with fran townsend, a former homeland security adviser to president george w. bush. if this report is true, that he has now defected, a huge guy in syria and the syrian military, fran, this would be huge. >> absolutely, wolf. not only is he in the republican guard, which is a very close -- it's meant to protect assad and the senior members of the regime. it's meant to sort of enforce regime stability, but this is a close personal friend of bashar al assad's and that makes the defection all the more damaging. let's remember his father was the minister of defense for decades when bashar al assad's father was ruling the country. and so this is really a blow, not only sort of in fact but sort of to the psyche of the military. we understand him to have been very well respected and well regard eed by his troops. look, this isn't the first. remember we had the jet pilot who defected with his plane to jordan recently. but this is certainly the closest senior military perso

al-assad are not known. 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: replace

true or false is a bashar al assad ready to step down as president of syria and john thomas in moscow and coming up we sort out all of the details. police greed angry crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets in the streets of spain as the public rages against the latest wave of austerity imposed on the country in return for a bank rescue by the e.u. . it's a pleasure to have you with us here on our to today. live in moscow the u.n. observer mission to syria expires later on friday but the security council still split over a resolution to extend it another vote is expected any moment now after russia and china yesterday vetoed a western backed draft which they considered simply put is unacceptable and with more from new york. now joins us live here on the program good to see you so so what's russia claiming is at stake if indeed the observer mission is not extended today. well of russia and i have to say add to that the secretary general of the un and joint special envoy kofi annan all say that there's a lot at stake if this mandate is not extended because we have to remember these as t

an asian free of bashar al-assad is a nation -- a nation free of bashar al-assad is a nation we can do business with. >> the regime says they have chemical weapons and they are. -- and they are prepared to use them against outside aggressors. do you believe them? >> i do not believe there -- i do not believe a word the regime says. they are demonstrating the in the main tactics they are using now. people are asking their government in israel for gas masks now. he should understand that one use of any type of poison gas would be the end of the line for him. >> people keep saying, it is the end of the line. he is continuing to do exactly what he wants. he clearly does not care what you or anybody else in the international community says. >> he has disregarded the international community and he has been enabled by the iranians, the russians, and the chinese. we have to continue to put pressure on the chinese and the russians. we have to bring together coalitions outside the un and within the region to bring to bear pressure on the regime and support for the resistance. the resistance has

al assad can stay in power and he could go but this is a decision they can be made not by the u.n. security council not by anyone else but only by the president himself and by the syrian people certainly there's always rumors in fact it's hard to believe anything that comes out of syria unless you can that he personally see it for yourself because there's lots of different sources of information and misinformation as a word we've heard that bashar al assad has fled to damascus we've also heard that assad has been injured and that just immediately after those reports came out there were pictures of assad perfectly fine having not been injured also reports of assad's wife coming here to moscow and about those rumors the foreign ministry here in russia has said on the general idea of rumors that the world is usually awash with rumors these rumors it tended to game some information around and spread very fast i would not like to comment on any rumors today i think that it is a very good honest information trap and that we should be careful not to fall into it so basically a lot of info

if russia could replace bashar al-assad tomorrow, with bashar al-assad, the clone, they would do it. it is not a matter of individuals, it is a question of the regime itself. and, as long as the united states doesn't face up to that reality, you could have negotiation after negotiation and nothing will change. >> eric: ambassador, finally your prediction, stalemate, continues as-is? >> as far that's eyes can see, the civilian deaths continue and hostilities continue and the stand-off continues. >> eric: ambassador john bolton, always terrific to have your in sight every sunday morning, thanks for your in sight. as always. >> the ballot counting underway in la in libya after the first free election and we expect results by tuesday and more than 1.5 libyans took part in the vote and the leaders will make up a 200 seat parliament, and it is seen as a key milestone after the end of a bloody civil war that ousted dictator muammar al-gadhafi. >> dave: coal miners are underground and four were pulled to the surface yesterday and they spent three days in a flooded pit in a mine in china. and

at its core is president bashar al-assad and his brother, a military commander. the president's sister, her husband was killed today. assef shawkat has been called the power behind the scenes and the architect behind much of the crackdown of the syrian uprising. his death is a major blow to the inner circle. the government has vowed to defeat the rebels. >> this is a decisive battle, this is a decisive battle not only in damascus but in syria as a whole. they are wrong to underestimate us. >> these street fighting pictures and damascus were not filled by rebels, they are from state television. a tacit admission by the regime of house serious situation has become. -- of how serious the situation has become. the violence has crept in from outlying districts like these. last night, the barracks of the presidential palace were set ablaze. this morning's blast was a place presume to be a secure stronghold. >> this sent a message to the regime that the hands of the syrian people can reach any one side of damascus and even bashar al-assad. he is not safe anymore. >> but

al assad. also this hour emergency aid sent to russia's flood ravaged southern region of krasnodar wherever one hundred sixty people were killed and tens of thousands lost their homes. and the former boss of barclays bank gives up a twenty million pound bonus after resigning but is still in line for a tidy payoff. that fuel claims the big bang because a rewarded stiff allegedly wrongdoing at the parliamentary grilling failed to back any freight. on screen online international news and comment live from our new center here in moscow this is good to have you with us russia says it's ready to host another meeting of world powers over the continuing violence in syria members of the main syrian opposition alliance are here in moscow and have reiterated their main aim is to oust the current leader bashar al assad. reports. no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of talks between

he's planning to meet with bashar al assad. assad says annan's plan is good and should not be allowed to fail. according to one human rights group more than 30 people were killed yesterday. in clashes between syrian government and rebel troops. susan mcginnis has more this morning. susan, good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning. an estimated 14,000 people are now dead in this conflict that's about 16 months old now. kofi annan heads back to damascus to try again. kofi annan's convoy pulled into a secured hotel in damascus. he will meet with bashar al assad today to try to revive the failed peace plan he first brokered. >> the government of syria and all parties on the ground must recommit to the six-point plan in its entirety. >> the annan plan called for a cease-fire and for the government to withdraw its troops from populated areas. but in the three months since the plan was agreed to, the fighting has only worsened. >> a violation of human rights continue to take place. >> assad blames the u.s. >> they give -- they off

al assad but that doesn't necessarily mean that this keeping 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 prize in 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 airport here in damascus that it's functioning normally been here on the ground for almost fifty days already and i have to say what we've been able to see in the last five days has been the most dramatic moment for the syrian capital of the clashes between the army and the rubbles have been taken place in at least five districts over damascus and it's been extremely difficult to get in side these districts but on thursday we finally managed to do that and what we saw really devastating destroyed streets abandoned houses no people of variously and many many traces of war and a very fierce clashes we've even seen many tracks of tanks and although not totally on the roads but on what used to be

al assad. russia's a flood ravaged the southern region where over one hundred sixty people were killed and tens of thousands lost. on the former boss of barclays bank gives up a twenty million pound bonus after resigning. for a tidy payoff that claims that big bankers are rewarded. wrongdoing as the parliamentary failed. on screen online international news and comment live from our new center here in moscow this is. russia says it's ready to host another meeting of world powers over the continuing violence in syria members of the main syrian opposition alliance are in moscow and have reiterated their main aim is to oust the current leader bashar al assad. reports. no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of talks between the head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on wednesday now for with the violence in syria essentially entering its sixteen mo

well no dialogue with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of topps between the. head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on an un tuesday answer when say now for it with the violence in syria essentially entering its sixteen months all sides do agree on the need for some sort of a transitional government in syria some sort of a transition in that country the divisions however are over what role if any president bashar al assad should play in this transition now for the s.n.c. again this is the main opposition group for syria there negotiating position there precondition is that assad is removed from power before any negotiations over a new government take place in fact that statement was reiterated today when the s.n.c. delegate told reporters quote there could be no dialogue with the ruling regime there can only be talks on how to switch to a quote new political system effectively they want action before any sort of talks take place so you see as you say the

at its core is president bashar al-assad and his brother, a military commander. the president's sister, her husband was killed today. assef shawkat has been called the power behind the scenes and the architect behind much of the crackdown of the syrian uprising. his death is a major blow to the inner circle. the government has vowed to defeat the rebels. >> this is a decisive battle, this is a decisive battle not only in damascus but in syria as a whole. they are wrong to underestimate us. >> these street fighting pictures and damascus were not filled by rebels, they are from state television. a tacit admission by the regime of house serious situation has become. -- of how serious the situation has become. the violence has crept in from outlying districts like these. last night, the barracks of the presidential palace were set abla. this morning's blast was a place presume to be a secure stronghold. >> this sent a message to the regime that the hands of the syrian people can reach any one side of damascus and even bashar al-assad. he is not safe anymore. >> but t

al- assad. so do not go away. ♪ ♪ >> welcome back. south sudan is celebrating a very important anniversary. a gained independence at this time last year. the former autonomous region broke off in sudan after years of enter-ethnic warfare. >> the landlocked nation now has to share a border with sudan, and it is that sharing that is causing trouble, especially in the small oil-rich region of abyei. our coverage starts in south sudan's capital juba. >> the capital of south sudan, jean-claude juncker, was a -- juba, was awash with music on monday. one year on, tens of thousands of people gathered in the scorching sun to celebrate. but many concerns remain, such as ethnic unrest along the disputed border, and oil. the south controls production. the north, the pipelines to the outside world. and the south has stopped pumping because the two sides cannot agree on how to split the revenue. >> these decisions have a huge impact on the economic situation in the country. therefore, a huge impact on peo

enjoys the support of a significant portion of the people however russia does say that bashar al assad is not in power because of russia's support of the regime rather because of that support of people and in fact russia has stated repeatedly that they do not support the assad regime rather they are not taking sides they support more of an open dialogue of all parties involved russia also would like for kofi annan to engage more with the opposition and to try and change their mind so that there can be more open talks between the assad government who's already appointed a representative for talks so basically we're what we're looking for today russia here those talks underway right now as we speak and we're looking to see if there's any movement from any of the sides in this conflict resolution all right he's live in central moscow thank you. well meantime a syrian opposition fighters have taken their battle right to the neighborhoods of damascus with reports that the city has witnessed explosions and intense daylight shootouts. she's in the capital she says the real picture though desp

al assad is saying that bashar al assad the president actually supports enjoys the support of a majority of the people in his country so trying to force him out just would not be a legitimate move and that is something that russia says the west is trying to force through using the u.n. as a backdrop for that however russia does want kofi annan to work more closely with the opposition saying that syria has actually the government put forward a representative to work with the opposition it to promote dialogue with the opposition but the opposition. even coming here to moscow has said that is something that they are not willing to do they only want bashar al assad out so today the president vladimir putin expected to try and work through these sticking points to come to some sort of resolution rochelle hoping to back that peace plan. all right while we certainly will be bringing updates to you live as the day progresses with what happens in the meeting thank you for that. brian becker who is a national coordinator for the answer antiwar coalition believes that the u.s. is unlikely to give u

his father with us a butcher, bashar al-assad himself is a butcher. nobody else has more blood on his hands in the middle east than bashar al-assad. he's a well-known quantity. for some reason this current administration thought somehow he would be reasonable and peaceably step down. he hasn't, it's been 14 months and he's still killing his own citizens. bill: as we sit here today 14 months later there is no end to that. mike baker, thank you for your time. here is martha. martha: a stunning piece of information where the economy is concerned, more workers joined the federal disability ranks in june than got new jobs. that is a sorry situation. take a look at this graph. the economy created only 80,000 jobs last month, okay. but 85,000 people left the workforce entirely to enroll in the disability program. what is going on here? liz joins us now with the details. liz, you know, why are so many more people disabled than were 20 years ago, for example? >> reporter: well, maybe it's easier to say, why are so many more people disabled, martha, than since

a lot of questions as to how tenuous the grip that bashar al assad has on power remains. also, one other thing -- last week you had an stloeexplosion damascus that killed four of the top syrian officials. all those signs put together, people asking just how much power does bashar al assad hold in the country. >> speaking of damascus, we're getting conflicting reports about what exactly is happening there. can you tell us what you know about the fighting there? >> reporter: it's interesting. you know, oftentimes we see in the syrian conflict, we hear from opposition activists because we're not able to report from inside syria, the syrian government will not give us visas. but we have reports today of fierce fighting in the capital. several days that intense fighting has been going on. there's one neighborhood in particular, the passion activi t activists telling us it's been shelling by helicopter. there are heavy casualties. the syrian regime for its part on state television, they were saying that although the syrian regime was going after armed terrorist groups in the ca

no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of talks between the head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on wednesday now for with the violence in syria essentially entering its sixteenth months all sides do agree on the need for some sort of a transitional government in syria some sort of a transition in that country the divisions however are over what role if any president bashar al assad should play in this transition now for the s.n.c. again this is the main opposition group for syria there negotiating position there precondition is that assad is removed from power before any negotiations over a new government take place this kind of a demand a precondition for the removal of the syrian president for him from office goes against what was set out in the geneva talks last month which were world powers effectively decided or agreed that syrian factions the syrian people will have to negotiate this kind of process not outside powers based on wh

enjoys the support of a significant portion of the people however russia does say that bashar al assad is not in power because of russia's support of the rich regime rather because of that support of people and in fact russia has stated repeatedly that they do not support the a shot saad regime rather they are not taking sides they support more of an open dialogue of all parties involved. sean thomas reporting the syrian opposition fighters have now taken their battle to the neighborhoods of damascus where the port of the city has witnessed explosions and intense daylight shootouts are. she has the latest from inside the capital clashes between the army and rebels never stop 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 hotbeds 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 t

he said, they don't like bashar al-assad therbgbashar assad, they don't care about bashar al-assad. martha: they want the same kind relationship that they've had with syria nor all the strategic points that you have stated. what does that leave in terms of the dynamic that emerges. let's assume for the moment that bashar al-assad gets pushed aside is there an opening no or an opposition that might be more helpful. >> it's a whole lot of different groups. some of them may be islamists, extremists. some of them may be well-meaning democrats who want to establish a democracy. we don't really know, we know some of them but we don't know who emerges at the end of us. i think that's why it's important to work with the russians, not to shame or scold them but to say you have interests here, you are the only country in a position to get rid of bashar al-assad. you are the only country who can pick who comes next you can have your interests guaranteed. get rid of bashar al-assad and start the civil war and stop the killing. martha: that's the art of diplomacy that needs to be put in place. t

no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of talks between the head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on wednesday now for with the violence in syria essentially entering its sixteen months all sides do agree on the need for some sort of a transitional government in syria some sort of a transition in that country the divisions however are over what role if any president bashar al assad should play in this transition now for the s.n.c. again this is the main opposition group for syria there negotiating position there precondition is that assad is removed from power before any negotiations over a new government take place this kind of a demand a precondition for the removal of the syrian president for him from office goes against what was set out in the geneva talks last month which where world powers effectively decided or agreed that syrian factions the syrian people will have to negotiate this kind of process not outside powers based on wha

no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which is convened here on the eve of talks between the head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on wednesday now for with the violence in syria essentially entering its sixteen months all sides do agree on the need for some sort of a transitional government in syria some sort of a transition in that country the divisions however are over what role if any president bashar al assad should play in this transition now for the s.n.c. again this is the main opposition group for syria there negotiating position there precondition is that assad is removed from power before any negotiations over a new government take place this kind of a demand a precondition for the removal of the syrian president for him from office goes against what was set out in the geneva talks last month which were world powers effectively decided or agreed that syrian factions the syrian people will have to negotiate this kind of process not outside powers based on what

enjoys the support of a significant portion of the people however russia does say that bashar al assad is not in power because of russia's support of the rich regime rather because of that support of people and in fact russia has stated repeatedly that they do not support the a shot saddam regime rather they are not taking sides they support more of an open dialogue of all parties involved. sean thomas reporting while the syrian crisis fills the headlines there's a massive effort to keep unrest in another country. grains of stories are doing their best to silence the popular protests searching hospitals for wounded activists and cracking down on foreign journalists who are ultimately trying to cover the uprising. pretrial hearings are into the second day bradley manning the man the u.s. accuses of leaking a trove of intelligence documents. it is just now turning ten minutes past the hour here in moscow u.s. agents are on their way to london for the olympics reportedly to boost security at major airports the news emerged just days after a private security firm contracted by the british

no dialogue though with the government of president bashar al assad that was the main message from syria's main opposition group which was convened here on the eve of talks between the head of the syrian national council and the russian foreign minister on wednesday now for with the violence in syria essentially entering its sixteen months all sides do agree on the need for some sort of a transitional government in syria some sort of a transition in that country the divisions however are over what role if any president bashar al assad should play in this transition now for the s.n.c. again this is the main opposition group for syria there negotiating position there precondition is that assad is removed from power before any negotiations over a new government take place this kind of a demand a precondition for the removal of the syrian president for him from office goes against what was set out in the geneva talks last month which where world powers effectively decided or agreed that syrian factions the syrian people will have to negotiate this kind of process not outside powers based on wh