the. u.n. does impose sanctions on libya as the violence continues in that country and we did see more protests across the arab world and also in this week's top stories europe the fears turmoil in the arab world will lead to a surge in uncontrolled immigration from the region which is only the first to feel the effects of an influx of refugees. plus as a u.k. court rules julia salinger must be extradited to sweden over sex crime allegations the wiki leaks founder says it's a step towards prosecution in the u.s. and in. spades is no longer a place for comfortable for it's now a ground operation but the question remains good several more here in the west

ready to pull the accept that. americans are split over the terminations of the u.s. space shuttle program and future reliance on russian rockets to get crews to the international space station. it is not yemen the russian capital you're watching r t with me joshua welcome to the program the u.n. has imposed sanctions on libyan leader colonel gadhafi and his inner circle freezing assets and restricting international travel it comes as violence continues to ravage the divided country in what's been the bloodiest of the uprisings in the arab world our correspondent in the region peter all over it has the latest developments. well over the past seven days we've seen violence flared across libya now the protesters the get out the forces if you will are in control of the

majority of the country now they have their main foretold their base was the city of benghazi in the east of libya that from there they because this way the cross the country toppling the forces in all major cities apart from the capital tripoli now we're hearing that inside the capital tripoli that gadhafi forces proca duffey forces have been handing out weapons to civilians and that the majority of the citizens of. old tripoli are remaining indoors inside their homes in order to avoid gangs of old civilians that have been armed who have been setting up checkpoints there so there's a lot of violence continuing in the country we've also heard some some troubling audio commentary that came out of tripoli from. a lady who is inside the city now this came after friday prayers where gadhafi delivered a message to his supporters in the country the protest is the one to be tough the

protesters then took to the streets they were fired out by gadhafi forces killing many people there the number of days to be well over a thousand in libya the most troubling or as you described protesters fleeing to their homes being pursued by gunmen to sort of they could be killed inside their own homes also stories coming out that we can't exactly confirm just yet but we are hearing from protesters that the forties of the days are being very very very quickly to cover up the atrocities that have been taking place in the country now prime minister russian prime minister vladimir putin made a comment on the situation there on the cross the whole of the arab world suggesting that these countries that have had revolutions must be allowed to determine their own future. to do. so you were concerned about things happening in libya please know the following the north african cell of al qaeda is also concerned about what is happening in libya do you think this is

a coincidence i'd like to go back in history a little bit the former leader of the iranian revolution where did he live he lived in paris and there's a whole he was supported by the western community now the entire western community fights against the iranian nuclear program i remember just recently our partners were very active in supporting democratic elections in the palestinian autonomy and how much one and immediately they declared how much a terrorist organization and started fighting against it we need to give people a chance to determine their future themselves we need to give them an opportunity to take a natural way without any foreign interference to build their future we have seen some violent protests across the region in a rock on friday though is extremely violent demonstrations taking place in many cities across the country against the current regime the current government there. in fact it is continued as well together and also suffering problems with with violence on the streets in protest but to get back to the most violent that you

have seen appears to be. if you course was one of the the first wealthy arab states first north african state to just go off their dictator their leader followed by egypt now into this year we've seen many many people taking to the streets to protest against what they see as the incompletion of. the revolution if they wanted not just the figurehead of the dictator out they wanted the rest of the government out here in cairo a similar scene i must protest on friday here at the here square which was the epicenter of the revolution that toppled fonzie bardic no protesters were back out there on friday to call for the resignation the standing down of key members of the cabinet who were. former members of the mubarak regime. now we've been gathering a wide range of perspectives on the crisis unfolding in north africa and the middle east political journalist anthony wilde told r.t. that western countries are advocating the spread of democracy across the region to

control the politics of the arab or up western style democracy in its current state is far from what i would consider to be something that we should want in any of the structures i think i think it is going to be democracy it should be democracy with a real change and a change that reflects democracy that actually benefits the peoples today's democracy is nothing more than a mainstream control mechanism through which the best majority of the public do not think are are emotionally engaged in in situations that they don't even really realize what it is that they're voting for or approving and if you think that democracy which is supposedly what the u.s. is out there pushing and driving home for these people who need so much the philosophy of what they've developed and put together in in the u.s. for example take a look at look at what they're doing in a building bases in hundreds of well over a hundred different countries you know basically putting at the end of a gun the word democracy and shoving it down their throats to me this is not democracy this is abuse this is nothing more than

a system that is doomed to failure and as long as central banks continue to stand side by side in a democratic system like we have printing endless amounts of money which is devalued by devaluing by the minute we're not going to have anything more here than chaos that is used to mask that evaluation process and hopefully distract people from the overall fraud that's from perpetrated on western societies if that's democracy who'd want it the turmoil in libya has sparked fears of oil prices jumping to new highs with the cost of a barrel reaching one hundred nineteen u.s. dollars this week analysts have warned of a dire consequences further rises might have for food prices transport costs as well as national economies steve eleven from foreign policy magazine says that oil might reach an all time peak if the unrest in libya spreads to other countries in the region. the markets have been calm down over the last twenty four hours saudi arabia has gone around and rightly assured everyone we not only can add more volume

to the market but we have added these following the difference that would create a situation in which prices would really skyrocket if another country once you've lost a million barrels a day it is offline from libya if algeria which is also having trouble if it goes up front that would bring saudi arabia right up to lead a pack of the two two substances of ali and then you would see i'm not sure two hundred twenty i think that's probably an analyst trying to get headline but but maybe one hundred fifty that that which is still pretty high. it while there are fears in italy of could buckle under the pressure of a possible influx of immigrants fleeing the trouble in libya and elsewhere thousands of people from unstable countries have already reached its shores and the last few weeks alone the government has us estimated a possible one of the half million could try and seek refuge there as well as

recently with the r.t.c. orvis going off has a story. at eighty miles off the coast of north africa the tiny italian island of lampedusa has relied on fishing and tourism for its main sources of income for the first time in years the bolts or evan that are drawing. the best of us are killed there always are here we haven't gone out to sea for twenty days now since the recent uprising in tunisia the island has been flooded with fiji's over five and a half thousand arrived in just two weeks sometimes up to three hundred refugees would grab on just one tiny fishing boat to make a perilous journey to the mediterranean. doesn't have all of you brown many of those who need it have nothing to lose. if you're on its head with no money and no jobs they have already been cases of vandalism that you know nothing to me was

started leaving the lights on at night they always wonder around and none of the locals ever used to lock their doors now that this people i'm here with alone comfortable due to its location like it was for me only with refugees but remember so many in such a short period of time and with many voicing strong beliefs official say defying doing what he says is one of the biggest problems. that. we are historically a free nation and we want freedom of his life that we want to live like a prophet told us in holy books to live in an islamic state. most are housed at this refugee center where they are provided with food water clothes and medical aid all financed from the state budget is designed to house only around eight hundred people so under tight security hundreds of refugees are flown to the mainland they are going to go off and we sent four planes yesterday but on average two planes

with refugees leave every day. and. italy and tunisia used to have an agreement under which most with the keys were intercepted before even reaching the island but now that the government has been overthrown the floodgates have opened i once did to spread in both north africa and the middle east issues already wards other states up to three hundred barrels and with. a little four decades managed to remain a tiny isolated world of its old world the locals with all the supplies and no one was afraid to leave their doors all the time so she said the biggest wave of refugees may still be out there the police nor in this tiny island but the entire continent you were still on board you want to italy. or try to live from moscow

still have for you this hour three of a kind a trio of characters are chosen asked mascots for the sochi twenty fourteen winter olympics after the results of a live t.v. vote across russia to learn more about them and why they were picked in a few minutes. and on thursday a london court roll julian assange on should be extradited to sweden over sex abuse allegations that weeks founder has to appeal says the court had failed to even consider the details of the allegations against him describing it as a rubber stamping process hard to scale and ford looks into the background of the case. when julian assange emerged less than a year ago with this video. showing u.s. troops cutting down unarmed civilians into reuters journalist video games he was

lighted as a hero of transparency. and anti war ally a human rights defender r.t. america interview just such on the day of collateral murders release what keeps people and more people in management of civilization growing as you understand how the world actually works. in the for thirty years to get information out of the real world and so you can comment on it and think about it but you need sources who can get. through to the public and nomadic computer expert with the cache of two hundred fifty thousand classified cables assigned catapults ages the front page of virtually every newspaper in the country with a week's wiki leaks wiki leaks wiki leaks which leads to his photos julius is a cyber terrorist in wartime he's guilty of sabotage espionage crimes against

humanity he should be killed but to his fans a soft spoken as the first with the potential to radically reshape the geo political landscape voted by the people as time's man of the year but our commitment to our sources is not just to protect. it's not just the populace that used to get the maximum. possible but it's our city it's the political impact of the leaker and not the leaks that has gripped headlines. allegations of sexual misconduct by two swedish women infighting within wiki leaks frozen bank accounts stalled donations particularly in the obama administration and the cia they want to start with the leaks they're doing. all sorts of extraordinary actions start being paid. pay pal master card and other private corporations to to allow donations to be made to wiki leaks the once heroic figure now hawking bumper stickers and t.

shirts to pay his legal bills who profits from. it meaning. obviously it's the u.s. government which is really to get him makes no bones about it through under the basket with a newspaper that once eagerly uses the initial impressions that you're going to. read some in a list say signed and wiki leaks have been effectively neutralized consumed by litigation rather than leaks i think with the american government wants us to have mr science in custody so that ultimately he can be extradited to the united states to face charges for the release of those documents now you can't court rule that julian assange should be extradited to sweden but his attorneys say the next stop for the thirty nine year old computer programmer could be here in the united states where science could face espionage charges and even the death penalty as a sign spaces jail time the future of wiki leaks hangs in the balance and its ability to be a place for whistleblowers and it became of transparency in fort r.t.

washington d.c. all the extradition decision has drawn criticism towards the u.k. justice system and not only from a songe of supporters foreign policy expert william spring says a car a virtual verdant has an exposed the country park received when dealing with requests to hand over citizens to foreign governments. the basic tradition relating to asylum is that anybody can come here provided they are loaded provided they've got lots of money we will let them in because we want them in with their money and therefore it's not particularly that russian magnets and or legal so welcome here powered shakes. who may have a judicious criminal record as it were of torture yet they were allowed to fly around london. bridge water wherever and no problem whatsoever. now jared biden a member of the european parliament for the u.k. to paris party says the decision to send a sarge to sweden is symptomatic of

a flawed system. what mr science price does is illustrates the fundamental problems with the european restaurant which i've been talking about no innocence was introduced in two thousand and four he's an australian citizen i want to actually go to sweden but this effects over british citizen and anyone who's a guest in our country and what it does it removes the fundamental rights of the english courts to protect its own citizens interests in our country because they are not simply not allowed to look at the problem of facia evidence in a cold case like this and take it into account it's what the lawyer called to justice and i would now so i've been signed now for some time that extradition which is now called judicial surrender has been reduced to a bureaucratic formality and now i'm saying that it's actually nothing better than legalized kidnap how long it's been going on that's been going on for months and i haven't figured out what the charges are you an interest if i can say about what's going to happen in sweden they don't use a very very rarely used mechanism here to try this case in secret so we won't even

be able to hear what's being said what you know what the charges are and all the full evidence because that's it's going to be done in a secret hearing which is absolutely astounding. and we've got more on this story on our website r.t. dark car but there is also plenty of other news and features available there is now take a look at what's there right now. ambitious project to find out what the price tag is on the plan upgrade of the russian army as a budget for the next ten years is unveiled plus. we'll look at have wide media continues to function and twenty years after its initial anime ceased to exist. america's longest serving space shuttle discovery has docked at the international space station it's said to be the ship's last trip to space as the u.s.

retires its choir of a dead. old fleet the shuttle delivered ten tons of cargo and scientific equipment to the i assess it's also presented a rare a photo opportunity as six different spacecraft are docked at the i assess upon its return to earth it will be ferried off to a museum where it will soon be joined by sister ships endeavor atlantis and i will effectively and a manned us space flight and as our team is going to count found out the loss isn't sitting too well with many americans. by the end of this year nasa will no longer be able to send humans into space according to obama's plan responsibility will go to private companies which are expected to come up with cheaper ways to ferry astronauts to low earth orbit they know that they have a big step to take when they if they're thinking about putting humans into space and that's going to take a you know the next phase of their development so i have. a pretty good estimate

exactly no one can say for sure when the private american companies will come up with a new spaceship for years to come it will be the russians so use that's going to be the only means for people to reach the international space station which is perfectly fine with the leaders of russia and the u.s. but doesn't sit well with many americans how could this how. we could make it to the moon person build this wonderful equipment and then. and now we're we're reduced to being passengers on a russian ship and that's that's sort of it's zero zero wounded pride being wounded pride revealed itself in comments by some american lawmakers astronaut scientists and former nasa official comedians in the u.s. there's not me poking fun at american sense of pride so reporting the cash but have to rely on the hope of the back seat belt take the wheel. yes you know you

got to let us touch three. you know they want to eat snacks or stop to use the bathroom should have gone before we left i used to but those the nasa who now actually work with the russians like astronaut sunny williams have different sentiments i couldn't imagine when i was growing up walking through red square or going to a russian company and working hand in hand with my russian colleagues or going through their families homes and having dinner with them and likewise when they come to the u.s. and so i think. maybe we're not competing but we're working together i think it's more of a time of joint cooperation and learning from one another that's just as healthy as the competition we had in the past it's not the first time americans have to rely on the russians to take their crew from space they depended on russian rockets during the two year grounding of u.s. space craft after the two thousand and three space shuttle columbia disaster

columbia exploded during re-entry into the earth's atmosphere all seven crew members died shuttles track record includes another tragedy in one thousand nine hundred six the space shuttle challenger broke apart seventy three seconds into its right it was the russians so use proved to be the safest way to deliver people to space and now with the shuttle retiring it will be the only way we're no longer racing against an adversary we're no longer competing to achieve a singular goal like reaching the moon. in fact what was once a global competition is long since become a global collaboration the leaders of both russia and the us are saying space is no longer a place for competition it's now a grounds for cooperation to remains is everyone here in the words ready to fully accept it i'm going to take our. russia's volatile north caucasus has been in the spotlight all we as a spike in militant activity raged in the republic of coverage

a noble caria group of up to twelve militants attacked several locations in the republic's capital and on friday a few hours later several gunmen shelled a gas station but an explosion was averted thanks to the fire crews quick arrival the incident caused some damage but no fatalities a turnaround from last week's dramatic attack on a tourist bus that left three people that local authorities say the plots were an attempt to distract and tera forces from special operations in the mountains of the republic they say the situation is now fully under control. now for a look at some other stories from around the world they have the confirmed death toll from the earthquake in new zealand has risen to one hundred forty six with more than two hundred still missing residents across the country have said prayers for the dead and missing the merchant services in christchurch are working to we are wreckage from the city as officials warned that many buildings may have to be demolished the earthquake was new zealand's deadliest natural disaster in eighty

years as likely to become its worst ever. ireland's opposition party has claimed victory in the country's general election counting is still ongoing but exit polls suggest the ruling party have been dominant for decades is heading for a crushing defeat it's been widely criticised for wage cuts tax hikes and loss of financial solvency after last year's sixty seven billion euro bailout from the e.u. and i.m.f. viewed as a national humiliation. others usually just one but russians have chosen three characters to be mass products for so cheese twenty fourteen winter olympics accu polar bear a snow leopard and a figure skating body overcame some intense competition to win a live t.v. vote search danceable asked records is just the beginning of a breathtaking take off for twenty fourteen. these are the first winners of the still chillin pics from now are nowhere for the polar bear and hare one through to

become the official baskets of the two thousand and fourteen winter games a ray of light and a snowflake would represent the terrilyn pigs he is the mr on the prize winning of places in the east would have been a second and third and the main model will be olympics is not it's not a victory lap but it's a patient that is unfortunately a leopard and the champ there strong who are in the start that's why i think creating a team was a smart choice or the winners were selected by members of the public from across russia in a phone booth televised on saturday become petition to devise them was also the public afford the creations are the result of a nationwide competition launched last year with ideas submitted to a special website and brochures artists amateurs and professionals a white rush to the challenge the election of the olympic mascot started with hundreds of ideas and you can see some of these drawings here in sochi olympic information center eventually hurricanes out of this stuff celebrate here these are

the methods that made it into the finals and on the entries are two bears snarly acquired father frost and the mayor of sochi his personal favorite of the often on ski despite their commonly appearance the competition between the mascot's was almost as implants as for olympic gold traditional russian characters like father crossed melted to them because you don't battle and didn't make the final cut not even a make over with the raiders' winter sports where fashion was enough to sweep a rather hip set of russians mature shuttles to victory will be a limp example rewound winter the competition organizers for the mascot circles gone three will go with the night two commercial possibilities to see who should do it the breathtaking journey is ahead for all the symbols chosen for the games they're just making their for. steps in the passages peak of her popularity and she doesn't fourteen going of course we're counting on commercial success and since these mascots have been elected by

a general vote yes and they were counting on everyone to be willing to buy souvenirs and other licensed products in which they are included which will help finance the games to show three years left on still be olympics sochi will now have to get used to three a new theory an honorary citizen of this one of them is no stranger to the southern russian city but for real snow leopards have recently found a new home i too will call wildlife preserve the three winning best gets have a hard act to follow in matching the worldwide fame one by me shot their counterpart in the 1980's most grueling picks but still she will be hoping to become just just love will know that this will also keep our team so she. only update now remember white always turns out well said i teed up cob i'll be back with our date of the week's top stories shortly.

good some. excellent professional. good to travel much possessing an extra ordinary car. the dock. who helped many people in his country. criminal responsible for thousands of deaths. was it an attempt to repent. or just escape

a fair trial. the other life forms around among children aren't you. know an. hour of creeps into a. the family of the.