this reached top stories a lot seeing as a foreign intervention in libya british special forces soldiers have reportedly been seized by protesters. think we'd be in iraq if their major export here was roughly experts say it's no concern for libya's people but interests in the oil gets food in some of which the reactions to the unrest with the u.s. economy are already suffering from soaring prices at the pump. we are in an information war and we are losing now more clinton offer extra funds to spread the us media message abroad as a growing number of people turn to other countries news outlets to get a fresh view on the world's events. and russia's militias consigned to history as

a major overhaul of the country's norn force the sculls with brendan question of whether the much trumpeted reform will go beyond take a ride and cosmetics. with a look back at the week's main stories and the latest developments this is r.t. here in moscow. to our top story this week libya where there are reports that british soldiers have been seized by anti gadhafi forces is more western warships and planes move closer to the country the eight special air service offices said to be involved in the eastern part of the country escorting a diplomat who was supposed to negotiate with the rebels the protesters said they were outraged by the incident saying it as a foreign intervention into libya's internal affairs this comes as the country slips closer to civil war with fighting intensified with reports of air strikes and

heavy weaponry. has moved. on saturday the libyan leader moammar gadhafi launched a fresh military offensive he's trying to retake some of the towns he's lost in the past eighteen days of fighting there were some seventy people killed those are the latest reports we're receiving and more than three hundred people injured with reports of strikes and live ammunition and growing fears that libya is descending into civil war now many of the media in europe and in the united states has been supporting the rebels there have been editorials in major american and european newspapers actually calling on the waist to support the rebels and ebtekar gadhafi the latest word we hearing is that the western media is trying to portray could refuse forces as losing and the opposition forces as winning but as you can see from these pictures it certainly is not clear who has the upper hand there also analysts who are pushing forward the opinion that the western media is so anti

could afy because he has taken such a strong stand in the past against western interference in developing countries relations word from the british government is that it is confirming that it is considering and is on standby to deploy its forces within twenty four hours of says that these forces will be used for humanitarian and evacuation purposes and not for any kind of military intervention the latest word we have from the u.s. is that its two warships have a lift chris and according to a statement they issued they are part of the military buildup around libya now we also know that france to the united kingdom are putting pressure on the united nations security council to make a decision on a no fly zone. well for more on this i'm joined live from. the executive director of conflicts analysis center transform thanks very much indeed for joining us here a lot so you know. these reports concerning british soldiers captured in libya does

it suggest that foreign intervention is artificially underway now there. i'm not sure sixty three special forces units are complaining a british diplomat apparently in a mission to establish contact. some of the rebel groups. we don't know the british government has the common. who is the one who are good what are we doing these soldiers and who exactly capture them. what was going to be the topic of conversation between this british diplomat and the us so. they would speculate this is the preliminary steps to some kind of a three matter and i was talking yesterday to a journalist in the u.s. regarding military intervention not now but in the past two or three weeks suggesting that this isn't people pirate work this is the inference solve the u.s.

and other western countries behind this uprising what do you make of this. who is claiming this the american journalist us and us and cause are behind this it was and then i understand analyst who was i was talking to yesterday who suggesting that all of this reporting today that much of what we see in libya has been orchestrated by foreign influences. i guess this is maybe wishful thinking on behalf of many people in the west the events in the arab world have taken the worst course of price. if there is anything has been a credible intelligence failure on behalf of the worst in predicting such events. the west may in the wrong on the bandwagon and try to ride the wave and make best use of events that are unfolding now in libya and elsewhere but i strongly. that the west had neither the capacity nor before so we have to actually.

position itself. will be taken personally but we know that u.s. and u.k. forces are on standby close to libya what would the consequences be if we do see them going into action and if we're on an official basis. if i may borrow the words of the french foreign minister. any such international military intervention in libya. and i caught the negative effects. and i don't i think the west will have to think very carefully before committing to such a course of action the u.s. the secretary of defense he said the u.s. couldn't afford another intractable war in the middle east and even nor fly zone would be according to him risky and complex because it would mean that western

forces would have to destroy libyan air defense capabilities. but ironically of course these capabilities that were built. by the west so why are you saying sorry if there is military intervention from the u.s. what we can see what we've seen what we are seeing at the moment in iraq and afghanistan where the u.s. will be pulled into yet another very long conflict and indeed what everybody is now saying possibly prolonged civil war. if there is going to be a prolonged civil war. and if there is any kind of ground forces deployed in libya. looking in a very complex situation and who knows maybe it would be another quagmire as what is happening in iraq and even more so in afghanistan is the international

story we have got a lot of time but i just also want to ask you all this concern from the international community is it about the people there really in libya or is it about oil. is never there is never a purely humanitarian motive in international relations i'm sure a lot of it has to do with oil and not just oil but also been a massive investment in libya over the last four or five years there's a lot of money at stake you could get that cling on to power and if it does what could the consequences be. a good laugh you could cling to power the cost would be massive loss of life and this is of course so they limit for the worst on the one hand the intervention is so costly and so complex but on the other hand. gadhafi will go to any extreme in order to cling on to coal or. the consequences would be first of all it would be

a measure of law the tide of popular protests that have been sweeping across the world there is so much at stake here if gadhafi manages to hold on to. that would be very unfortunate for those who are looking forward to some kind of a domino effect. the problem all these regimes in the arab world consequences for the worst probably will be business as usual ok if he doesn't stay on and he is removed what happens because obviously after a dictatorship or something like over forty years i know coordinated opposition has been able to. actually constructed self so there are concerns from the u.s. and other western powers that this could use lead to a political vacuum and the chance that islamic fundamentalists could come to power is that a valid argument. there is

a session in the west about islamic fundamentalism and i think that western policymakers and policy advisers would really do themselves and everybody else a favor to try to see the reality of what is happening in these societies especially in these days all these popular uprisings they are motivated by people are fed up and not just islamists everybody. now regarding the first part of your question whether there would be a political vacuum or not most probably. that could i'm not saying the is not a danger of islamic fundamentalists jumping on this and taking over. it's a bit far fetched but i wouldn't rule it out completely but see also will be positive aspect of this. it would be a beautiful experiment in people getting together without. institutions in place to channel the energies. libya has been sending

a lot of people to study abroad. the population is not large and who knows maybe some very interesting models of governance would emerge in this part of the world so yes there is of course the danger that some chaos would follow maybe fundamentalists islamic fundamentalists or otherwise would take over but there's also the positive possibility that something very interesting might be innovated in this part of the maybe you should also try to put some of our energy into trying to harness this and support for the benefit of the people of this region embroiled in a co-founder and executive director of conflict analysis center transform thanks very much for sharing your thoughts on this matter here live on r.t. thank you. well as the arab world continues to sink into chaos the cost of oil is jumping to new heights and experts claim that skyrocketing prices in the u.s. are threatening the country's economy and as artie's lauren lister discovered the

hike in energy costs could see the above administration come under fire. ok tunisia. egypt. and bahrain. algeria. and libya protest in countries seeming to a few one another unrest spreading like wildfire through the middle east and north africa only raging in or near the oil rich countries that helped fuel the world's use of more than eighty four million barrels of crude a day. uncertainty over production has sent prices soaring i mean the shock waves from the middle east turmoil are being felt worldwide now the mideast crisis is hitting home for outrage americans as oil prices have skyrocketed so too have the prices people pay for gasoline and now the price americans pay at the pump

is threatening to derail the u.s. economic recovery a surge in oil. prices will be the end of the u.s. economy not just an end to the recovery there's no more bailouts what a reality peak oil expert michael c. rupert sees happening in oriel hits one hundred fifty dollars a barrel which he believes is inevitable this year others predicted going to two hundred twenty dollars it's so devastating because oil. fuels more than just cars. it fuels the entire global economy. though there's no doubt that if gas goes to five dollars a gallon for americans asked some predict there would be a high political price to pay for the obama administration's gasoline prices go up to much and for a very long period it could. be your or. your political

impact here there is no denying the u.s. has played a role in the events that have transpired in the middle east. every time u.s. president barack obama went to the podium calling for this that there must be reform political social and economic reforms that meet the aspirations of the egyptian people and calling for egyptian president hosni mubarak's resignation he was calling for an end to the status quo which means a rise in uncertainty in bridge region so did leaders weigh the toll it could take on their own economy some argue they don't have the power to kind of waning back up trying to push their back against an avalanche and i don't think we're going to hear a lot of success and that may not stop the u.s. from trying to take control some observers believe the u.s. may intervene militarily in libya or oil reserves are massive under false pretenses of helping protesting people has nothing to do with interest. it has everything to

do with the interest of the u.s. corporate oil corporations. profits either way analysts say the price of fuel going uk will simply fuel public rage and the government is largely helpless the american people are going for a very nasty ride and there's no way out of it now but i can tell you the government understands that it's time lauren mr r.t. new york. comes you live from the russian capital this is still ahead for you this hour the man who changed the course of history for the u.s.s.r. . he told me i don't agree with people to the fullest like you failed it didn't fail it was destructed. looks into the legacy of the soviet union's first and only president because celebrated his eightieth birthday this week. the first hundreds of people flooded the streets of afghanistan's capital to

protest over the deaths of nine children killed in a nato air raid last week protests directed their anger at the u.s. occupation and afghan government the demonstrations follow the country's president hamid karzai his condemnation of the killings continue despite the u.s. leader and military officials apologies for the incidents civilian casualties is a sensitive issue in afghanistan where over one hundred innocent afghans were killed in nato military operations in recent weeks political activist. explains why the annoyance can't cope with its anteater edge in the making that is only worse for afghans. it's very difficult to translate these apologies. into really meaningful. things to victims' families these are casualties that have been happening for too many years and there are too many civilian casualties the people of afghanistan civilians are the victims of both nato civilian casualties and need terrorists who come with bombings and with industry

targeting of civilian areas and the people of volatile are tired of both the hearts of the people of afghanistan or at the hands of two incompetent players one player then international community and one player is the afghan government and both players are incompetent and ignorant about the true meaning of hearts and minds the intention of this war was to fight terror but the people are gonna start. have become the victim of terror the united states and coalition forces have to do much better and they have to also hold the afghan side also at a higher standard in this case both the afghan government and the international community are held responsible in their eyes and and in the eyes of the people up on the spot. political activist in kabul talking to r.t. a little. hillary clinton says the us is losing an information war to foreign media

outlets including r.t. this week the secretary of state asked congress for more cash to step up america's efforts to get its message across what is going to come on has this report war declared the u.s. is now officially in an information battle with foreign media which provide alternative views on world news views which often running contrast to the coverage of events by the us mainstream media we are in an information war and we are losing that war i'll be very blunt in my assessment al-jazeera is winning. the chinese have opened up a global english language and multi language television network the russians have opened up an english language network i've seen it in a few countries and it's quite instructive we are cutting back the b.b.c. is cutting back some five years ago western media outlets including b.b.c. and c.n.n. had a near monopoly in the coverage of world news things have changed since then more

and more viewers across the world tuning in to various foreign media to get a fresh take on events clearly the united states feels on the defensive in part because it can no longer monopolize not only the terms of you know the soroti in these countries but also the terms of the big there's other information out there there are other points of view and those points of view are profoundly damaging to a country that believes that its point of view is the only point of view or should be the only point of view r.t. presence on you tube is one example almost three hundred million views as opposed to c.n.n. that has around three million archy's constantly growing audience is already an indication to many that the days of media monopoly are over and people demand a multi-polar approach to news in the real commitment to the kind of freedom of the universe speech that we really need if we're going to be in a democracy at home and in a you know

a community of nations overseas by now the administration is seeking more funding to step out u.s. propaganda efforts abroad during the cold war we did a great job in getting america's message out after the berlin wall fell we said ok fine enough of that you know we've done it we're done and unfortunately we are paying a big price for it last year the head of the agency that manages the us government who are an international broadcasting asked for more money for his department we care allow ourselves to be out communicated by. police the phantom is included by sham china iran and venezuela walter isaacson the head of the sea which runs worth of american and other media outlets later backtracked on this statement isaacson speech for more funding seemed even more unconvincing considering he has a budget of seven hundred fifty million dollars and it's way more than the budget of r t iran's press t.v. and then as well as tell us we're combining probably money alone can't provide

global media clouds water isaac says speech last year sent quite a hostile message to foreign media exposing shortcomings in the us mainstream but their current thinking statements made it will push the us is fighting a global information war and it's also going to strike our reporting from washington our two. by the way can have your say and all the stories we're covering so one log on to our seat dot com and share your view on the media war debate. the last leader of the soviet union mikhail gorbachev celebrated his eightieth birthday this week and known as a die hard advocate for peace his name is become symbolic with the end of the cold war present in between a bit of not gorbachev story by awarding him one of russia's highest honors seeking to create a more open and prosperous u.s.s.r.

his initiatives range from introducing free speech to a massive overhaul of the state's economy is also famed for his leading role in scrapping the berlin wall and the reunification of germany in nine hundred ninety s. efforts were awarded with the nobel peace prize but barely a year later the soviet union collapsed some pretty explain his finished reforms for the disorder and turmoil in the code russia and the one nine hundred ninety s. while others resent him for destroying the powerhouse that was the u.s.s.r. but despite the criticism the former leader still says russia was in desperate need of change. i don't agree when people say that perestroika failed it didn't fail it was disrupted derailed stocks but still perestroika achieved a lot of people realized they had finally got some freedom and opportunity to act inside russia we had democracy free elections and freedom of conscience private property freedom to travel abroad everything in foreign affairs we put an end to the cold war we normalized our relationship with the u.s.

we reunited germany we didn't send our tanks our troops there all our units in eastern europe stayed where they were it wasn't always easy and many things did not work out the way we planned and at the beginning when we made our first mistakes we didn't really explain to people what was going on and didn't get them involved in all those processes we were self-confident. and you can catch the full interview with mikhail gorbachev along with many others on our web site at all etsy dot com and after a look at some of the major headlines from around the world at this stage of the dental world update several people have been injured in clashes between police and students in the capital of bangladesh north force went on with tear gas and patents chards the self that they began to smash because. of the death of a twenty five year old student in a road accident. as foreign minister has resigned after opposition uproar over

a political the nation he got from a foreign national is asian my her admitted accepting about six hundred dollars from a south korean citizen residence in japan on a small but japanese law bans politician this week setting money from outsiders to protect the country from foreign influence his resignation strikes the growth of the current prime minister he says. as his who actually saw mr my horror as his successor. russian law enforcement was given a much needed make over this week with public trust in the for sinking to an all time it's hoped that new reforms and the name change will return it to credibility and as r.t.d. katrina czar of reports there's a lot riding on the overhaul beyond paperwork and cosmetics. a change of title and hopefully a change in attitudes these law enforcement officers are abandoning their soviet era name of needs here in favor of the more worldly recognizable police for the government it's a first step down

a long road towards modernizing the service and arresting a sharp decline in public perception would be lost trust of the boys in blue has been dealt a huge blow in recent years it's led to any society amongst officers and outrage from those they're supposed to protect dissidents like a supermarket rampage by officers of open fire and innocent shoppers killing two and wounding seven it was the final straw that fueled calls for reform but can changing their name bring about a change in behavior while some insist that any change as long overdue for others it's purely cosmetic verbeck where there were so many accidents with police officers we're hearing illegally in russia during the previous years. this very fact is not going to be changed by the change of the law because these illegal practices were contra to the previous legislation as well as called root of the current work the big question is whether there is the political will. to get

it under control and police themselves though are preparing for the changes to come up with a huge part of our ratings will depend on the people of this country how they evaluate our performance this kernel is already grasping the essence of modernizing the force her students seemed eager to absorb as much information before their upcoming exams so there it was that everyone will be tested physical ability and knowledge of new civic duties all those are included in new exams there will be no jordan says for anyone either past interest or leave to force other changes are a mixed blessing there. b. a twenty percent cut in personnel but the remaining officers will get a pay rise there will be better screening of new recruits with every detail of an applicant's background put under the microscope but until all that takes effect officers have to knuckle down to the job in hand restoring honor to russia's police

is a tough task and the public are no pushover judges but the force is determined to turn that around reexamining staff redesigning uniforms all those changes will take a lot of time to be fully implemented one of the first things that change will be signs like these which soon will feature internationally recognizable policing casuarinas r t moscow. a recap of this week's top stories followed by all chinese exclusive interview in just a few moments stay with us hand on. all .

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leukemia. five hundred although they muses that. you don't have to have a college degree going to have template for an education under stand they just read radioactive materials all over somebody's backyard that you've got a problem. exists nature and the. coverage b.c. . the communicate with the wild. test yourself and become free. to. see what nature can give you an aussie. wealthy british style. that's not right. and.