it starts on t.v. dot com. this week's top stories on t.v. fears of foreign intervention and violence toward libya where the earlier capture of british soldiers sparked outrage at a foreign presence in the region. think we'd be in iraq if their major export their broccoli. experts say it's not a concern for libya's people but interest in oil that's fueling some western reactions to the unrest with u.s. economy already suffering from soaring prices at the pump. we are in an information war and we are losing that war hillary clinton asked for 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 world events. and russia's more important is about to get a major overhaul starting with a dramatic rebranding of the service strives to improve its reputation any question however whether the much trumpeted reform will go beyond the paper work and cosmetics. with a look back at the week's main stories in the latest developments this is r t in moscow first to libya where british soldiers were released after being seized by and you could actually forces as more western warships and planes move closer to the country at least six special air service officers said to be involved in the eastern part of the country scorching a diplomat who was supposed to negotiate with the rebels the protests to said they were outraged by the incident seeing it as a foreign intervention into libya's internal affairs this comes as the country

steps closer to civil war with the fighting intensifying with reports of airstrikes and heavy weaponry. 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 our ports of it 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 west to support the rebels and attack gadhafi the latest word we hearing is that the western media is trying to portray gadhafi forces as losing and the opposition forces as winning that 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 gadhafi because he has taken such a strong stand in the past against western interference in developing countries the latest 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 and 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 crease and according to a statement they issued they are part of the military buildup around libya now they 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. or of a political expert wasn't royal for intervention has already begun. the situation in libya. foreign intervention can only exasperate the problem in libya it cannot

help in any way and as a matter of fact foreign intervention has already begun the french the united states and the british have already said so-called humanitarian aid to benghazi but they've also sent military advisors and special forces this means that the operations have already begun we are seeing a similar scenario of what happened to iraq we're seeing talks about sanctions false reports that have been used to justify the no fly zones about aerial strikes on protesters and civilians this is the deep sack same scenario as iraq in fact they're starting to talk about chemical weapons in libya it was in two thousand and three get the united states and britain want to fight it out here someone who gave up his weapons of mass destruction now they're doing that out face in claiming that colonel gadhafi has chemical weapons you know this is another bogeyman they're creating to justify their foreign policy in regards to libya in fact it's very

ironic that the united states called on protesters in egypt and the regime to talk things out but in libya you have a whole different story because of oil interests or black gold as some may call it . peace activists things western leaders who. should be brought to justice. the new liberal agenda that has been followed by many countries and which has led in the end to a kind of civil war war situation new liberal agenda means selling oil resources to foreign investors and basically. cutting down the spending on any kind of social program that's all part of the logic of all of globalization. and your liberal agenda what should happen next. be nice to see some western leaders who have been in close alliance with colonel gadhafi for the last ten years or at least should be brought to trial. trends forecaster gerald celente

says it's not support for the libyan people but interest in the country's vast oil fields as driving us rhetoric and action. the only reason they're interested in libya is about the you oil you hear anybody screaming and yelling about all those people last week that were killed in the ivory coast and i guess cocoa was that that you know if much of a national priority they'll try anything but we already heard hillary clinton say that they're willing to do anything for anybody in libya that needs aid so they appear pretty good out there already to be about no fly zones and they have popular sea is just beyond the belief i mean for example they it has anybody called for a war criminal trials against mubarak as they are for the you know in all of the world is the western world of calling for his head but the other heads in bahrain

and in yamin and in egypt or are you know they're ok chimneys you're leave them alone what they're calling for gadhafi said why because it's so loyal yet think we'd be in iraq if that major export there was broccoli. as the arab world continues to sink into chaos the cost of oil is jumping to new heights expense claims it's going rocketing prices in the us of threatening the country's economy there's a list of discover the hiking and the g. coast could see the bone administration coming to fun. ok. egypt. the hurricane. algeria. and libya protest in countries seeming to fuel one another unrest spreading like wildfire through the middle east and north africa all raging in or near 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 you 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 like a reality peak oil expert michael c. rupert sees happening it will hit 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 yeah yeah serena price and go out and march 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 rich 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 or keep it has everything to do with the interest of the u.s. corporate oil corporations. profit either way analysts say the price of fuel going up 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. well still ahead for you the man who changed the course of history for

the u.s.s.r. . i don't agree with people to tell a story you failed it didn't fail it was destructive looked into the legacy of the soviet union's first and only president mikhail gorbachev he celebrated his eightieth birthday this week. also still to come explore why the british are wary of an upcoming nationwide census of affairs their personal information might end up in the hands of u.s. authorities. first hundreds of people flooded the streets of afghanistan's capital to protest over the deaths of nine children killed in a nature last week protesters directed their anger at the u.s. occupation and afghan government demonstrations part of the country's president hamid karzai has called the motion of the killings continue despite the u.s. military officials apologies the incident 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 now explains why the alliance can't cope with its anti terror agenda making that it's only worse. 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 the civilian casualties and the terrorists who come with bombings and with. targeting of civilian areas and the people of afghanistan are tired of both the hearts of the people of afghanistan or at the hands of two incompetent players one player is the international community and one player is the afghan government and both players are incompetent and ignorant about that. meaning of hearts and minds the intention

of this war was to fight terror but the people of afghanistan 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 was the afghan government and the international community were held responsible in their eyes and in the eyes of the people of up on islam. political activist. in kabul talking to r.t. earlier in returns and says the us is losing an information war to foreign media outlets including r.t. this week the secretary of state ask congress for more cash to step up america's efforts to get its message across what is going to china has this report war declared the us 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 debate 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 who 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 you know there's no real commitment to the kind of freedom of the you versed speech that we really need if we're going to be in a democracy at home and in you know a community of nations overseas and 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. and i mean the list of enemies included russia china iran and venezuela walter isaacson the head of the agency which runs voice of america among other media outlets later backtracked on this statement isaacson's pitch for more funding seemed even more unconvincing considering his agency has a budget of seven hundred fifty million dollars and it's way more than the budget of r t iran's trust t.v. and venezuela's tell us your combined probably money alone can't provide global media clout walter isaacson's speech last year sent quite a hostile message to foreign media exposing shortcomings in the us mainstream but accurate clinton statement made it official the u.s. is fighting a global information war and it's also i'm going to check our reporting from washington are two. by the way you can have your say and all the stories we're covering and i mean here on the screen one of them to an article common share your

view on the media war debate. the last leader of the soviet union mikhail gorbachev celebrated his eightieth birthday this week and then as a diehard advocate for peace his name has become symbolic of the end of the cold war present in which an inventive not gorbachev awarding him one of russia's highest honors seeking to create a more open and prosperous u.s.s.r. his initiatives ranged from introducing free speech to a massive overhaul of the state's economy is also famed for his leading role in scrapping the burning war and the unification of germany one thousand nine hundred f. its were awarded with the nobel peace prize but barely a year later the soviet union collapsed some could explain his unfinished reforms

for the disorder and turmoil that plagued russia in 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 with people feasibility of failed it didn't fail it was disrupted derailed stocks but still perestroika achieved a lot 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 normalize our relationship with the u.s. we reunited germany we didn't send our tanks our troops there all our units in eastern europe state where they work and it wasn't always easy and many things did not work out the way we planned to add to 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-confidence. and you can catch the full interview with mikhail gorbachev along with many others on our website at r.t. dot com. the u.k. is preparing for a nationwide census to take place later this month the government says it will help provide the services and resources people need but involvement of a controversial u.s. defense corporation leaves many fearing a previously could be violated his law in its reports. it senses time in the u.k. when every household in the country is asked to provide detailed information about their lives to the government so they can keep track of what's going on and who will be in charge of this sensitive data. yes it's controversial u.s. arms manufacturer a lot he'd martin and campaigners ranging from religious groups to peace activists

to data protection lobbyists are really against it on ethical grounds they are the number of oppressive regimes they also. the us heavily in the wars they fought in iraq and afghanistan opposed by the majority of people in britain even if supported by the british government hill vows to boycott the census despite the risk of prosecution he says he won't be alone look he makes land mines and nuclear weapons and contracts out interrogation ikhwan tell of a bay although it will be the u.k. arm that carries out the survey there's still a worry that the information could fall under the auspices of the us patriot act which compels personal data held by every company on systems in the us to be made available to government intelligence the office for national statistics which gauged lockheed martin maintains its taken measures to make sure u.s. authorities can't access the data. all dancer process will be carried out in the

u.k. no dancer will leave will be held any point outside the u.k. no lockheed martin staff will have access to any personal census data all data is the property of the. only u.k. e.u. owned companies will have any access to data is it that last point that's raise red flags for data protection lobbyists who say that all the private information collected during the census will be available to practically any organization that requests it pay me use around any statute. only use by the security intelligence services for national security purposes any use for the pursuit is croyde any use in pursuit of an e.u. community organization so any e.u. rules that information can be passed over so it's essentially any government use whatsoever the competition has been abolished and u.k. government agencies don't exactly have

a great track record when it comes to safeguarding information three years ago a file containing secret terror related documents was left on a train more recently the national health service lost the medical records of tens of thousands of people thanks to lockheed martin's involvement in the census it would be hard for the u.s. authorities to lay their hands on that information if they wanted a tip in the stead says it's used by the government towards grants to local councils and recognize new groups in society a sense is run by lockheed martin raises grave concerns in britain about ethics and international security if a lot of people boycott that says it'll make it ineffective and a waste of money but the two hundred forty million dollar contracts amount will go into looking at martins pocket any way your emmett's artsy young did. for a look at some other major headlines from around the world at this stage of the world. several people injured after clashes between police and students in the

capital of bangladesh offices on the tear gas and batons chants the angry crowds after the to smash vehicles in the u.s. began the death of a twenty five year old student in a road accident. to japan on the foreign minister's resigned after opposition uproar over political the nation he got from a foreign national stage my heart a little accepting almost two hundred thousand dollars from a south korean citizen resident in japan and his son is small but the japanese are all bands politicians from accepting money from outsiders to protect the country from foreign influence is resignation strikes a blow to the current prime minister. who sought mr as his successor. russian law enforcements was given a much needed make over this week with public trust in the force sinking to an all time low and so put new reforms in a name change will return it to credibility because of his capture in a survey reports there's a lot riding on the overhaul beyond the paperwork the cosmetics. a change of

title and hopefully a change in attitudes these lines for some officers are abandoning their soviet era name of meats they're 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 the people stressed of the boys in blue has been dealt a huge blow in recent years it's led to anxiety amongst officers and outrage from knows they're supposed to protect dissidents like a supermarket rampage by officer you've seen off who opened fire an 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 is long overdue for others it's purely cosmetic of the earth fact that there were so many accidents with police officers behaving illegally in russia during the crew is

yours. this very fact is not going to be changed by the change of the law because these illegal practices were concret of the previous legislation as well as cultural the current work the big question is whether there is the political will to really. take it under control the 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 and our students seem eager to absorb as much information before their upcoming exams so. everyone will be tested physical ability knowledge of new law civic duties all those are included in the new exams there will be no indulgences for anyone either pass the test or leave the force other changes are made. blessing

there will be 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 redesigning uniforms a little changes will take a lot of time to be fully implemented but one of the first things to change all the signs like these which soon will feature internationally recognizable policing casuarinas r t moscow. well now all get out with a recap of the week's headlines in about three or four minutes from now in the meantime stay with us this is r.t. comes you live from. if you.

come out how are you feeling. now.

on. more news today violence is once again flared up flow from these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of china that. china operations are on the day. they faced this is not a provocation but warning that. the forces of the shittiest

steppers are you sure it's a pretty tree speaks they have no idea about the hardships to face. plate one is this this is it all of them to this and for any army the life level you see them as is the most precious thing in the world. is of self-sacrifice and heroism of those who understand it fully but you have to live a. real life stories from world war six. to try nine hundred forty five dollars on t.v. dot com. it's.