on the good. video. and. on the do you want. to. call. the week's top stories here on our t.v. a british special forces soldiers released by libyan opposition as fears grow of a minute foreign military intervention in a country. yet think we'd be in iraq if that major export there was broccoli experts say calls for military action in libya are being driven by skyrocketing fuel prices in the u.s. . we are in an information war and we are losing that war winning hearts and minds of broad hillary clinton asked for more funding to spread the u.s. message overseas as more people turn to alternative sources for news. and

russian law enforcement gets a make over in a bid to regain public trust major reforms see the force renamed and officers retrain. regarding the top stories of the week if this is in the weekly on our t.v. we're glad to have you with us first to libya where british soldiers were released after being seized by the forces as more western warships and planes move closer to the country at least six special air service soldiers were in the eastern part of the country as courting a diplomat who was supposed to negotiate with the rebels the opposition leadership said they were outraged by the incident seeing it as a foreign intervention into libya's internal affairs this comes as the country slips closer to civil war with fighting intensifying with reports of airstrikes and heavy weaponry are please. 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 a ports 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 waste to support the rebels and attack gadhafi the latest we're hearing is that the western media is trying to portray it his 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 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 it says of 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 it's 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. as we are reporting there however political expert. says foreign intervention has already begun and will only 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 your 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 a deep sack same scenario as iraq in fact is starting to talk about chemical weapons in libya it was in two thousand and three that the united states and britain want to fight someone who gave up his weapons of mass destruction now they're doing that out face and claiming that colonel gadhafi has chemical weapons no this is another book even created 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 homburg based peace activist dr young wagner thanks western leaders who supported gadhafi in recent years 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 or 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 element of globalization. and your liberal agenda should happen next words. be nice to see some western leaders we have been in close alliance with colonel gadhafi for the last ten years or at least should be brought to trial. trends forecaster gerald solenn

day says it's not support for the libyan people interest in the country's vast oil fields that's driving us rhetoric and action. the only reason you're interested in libya is about that you oil you hear anybody screaming and yelling about all those people last week that were killed in the ivory coast or the sudan i guess cocoa was that that you know if let's have a national priority if they don't 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 talk to you about no fly zones and the hypocrisy is just beyond the police i mean for example they did has anybody called for war criminal trials against mubarak as they are for gadhafi and you know in all of the the world is the the west in world of calling for his head but the other heads in bahrain and in yamin and in

egypt there are you know they're ok tunisia leave them alone but they're calling for gadhafi said why because its soil you know i think we'd be in iraq if their major export there was broccoli and as the arab world continues to sink into chaos the cost of oil is jumping to new heights experts claim that skyrocketing prices in the u.s. are threatening the country's economy and as archie's lauren lyster discovered the hike in energy costs could see the obama administration come under fire. tunisia. egypt. the hurricane. algeria. libya protest in country seeming to fuel one another unrest spreading like wildfire through the middle east and north africa only raging in all year for your bridge

countries that helped fuel the world's use of more than eighty four million barrels of crude a day. uncertainty over production has said prices soaring mean a 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 in and from 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 after some predict there would be a high political price to pay for the obama administration's yeah yeah sareen prices go up and march and for a very long period if. you're. your political impact if 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 and was calling for an end to the status quo which means a ride and uncertainty and only 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 waiting back up trying to push their back against an avalanche and i don't think we're going to have a lot of success 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. profits 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 not laura mr r.t. new york. still ahead for you this hour the man who changed the course of history

for the u.s.s.r. . he's proved to be beautiful but if you need i don't agree with people see the palace like you failed it didn't fail it was destructive party looks into the legacy of the soviet union's the first and only president mikhail gorbachev celebrated his eighty fifth birthday this week. and we explore why the british are wary of an outcoming nationwide census over fears their personal information might end up in the hands of u.s. authorities. 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 protesters directed their anger at the u.s. occupation and afghan government the demonstrations follow the country's president karzai as condemnation of the time those protests are continuing despite the u.s. leader and military officials apologies for the incident civilian casualties is a sensitive issue in afghanistan for over one hundred innocent afghans are killed

in worked in the military operations in recent weeks political and political activist daoud sultanzoy explains why the alliance can't cope with its anti terror and genda making matters only worse for africa. 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 nato civilian casualties and the terrorists who come with two side bombings and with. the targeting of civilian areas and the people of afghanistan are tired of both the hearts of the people of afghanistan or in the hands of two incompetent players one player is the need for national. immunity 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 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 what the afghan government and the international community are held responsible in their eyes and and in the eyes of the people of up on islam political adult scuse me political activist sultanzoy in kabul talking to r.t. earlier on. hillary clinton says the us is losing an information war to foreign media outlets including our t.v. this week the secretary of state asked congress for more cash to step up america's efforts to get its message across that he's going to check our ports 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 means stream 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 c.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 we can no longer monopolize not only the terms of you know the soroti in these countries but also the terms of the b.

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 roached the news you know there's no real commitment to the kind of freedom of tell you versed speech that we really indeed if we're going to be in a democracy at home and in a you know a community of nations overseas and now the administration is seeking more funding to step up 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 u.s. government who are in international broadcasting asked for more money for his department we care allow ourselves to be out communicated by our enemy. police the phantom is included russia china iran and venezuela walter isaacson the head of the agency which runs with american on the other media outlets later backtracked on this statement isaacson speech 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 don't r t iran's trustee and venezuela's tell us we're combining 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 secretary clinton's statement may be the first the us is fighting a global information war and i'm going to check our reporting from washington r.t.

and you could have your say on all of the stories we're covering so why not log on to our team dot com and share your view on the new order and online right now for you. russians are celebrating the last day of last week and it's a pancake be filling up before fasting for lent. and see russia's latest fighter jet put through its paces on its maiden flight. the last leader of the soviet union go to a show of celebrated his eighty of bursting birthday this week known as a diehard advocate for peace his name has become symbolic with a view of the cold war president dmitry medvedev marked a day with 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 the scrapping of the berlin wall and the reunification of germany in one thousand nine hundred his efforts were. awarded with the nobel peace prize barely a year later the soviet union collapsed some critics blame 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 desperate need of change. because i don't agree with people through the telestrator failed it didn't fail it was disrupted the rails stopped but still perestroika achieved a lot people realized they had finally got some freedom an opportunity to act inside russia we had democracy free elections 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 states where they were it wasn't always easy and many things did not work out the way we planned after 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 of the full interview with me which of 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 their privacy could be violated our reports . it's census 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 manufacturers lockheed martin and campaigners ranging from religious groups to peace activists to data protection lobbyists are really against it on ethical grounds they are going under of oppressive regimes they also. for us heavily in the wars they fought in iraq and afghanistan are opposed by the majority of people in here and 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'd makes land mines and nuclear weapons and contracts out interrogation kuantan 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 any company on systems in the us to be made available to government intelligence the office for national statistics which in gauged lockheed martin maintains it's taken measures to make sure u.s. authorities can't access the data. old dancer process will be carried out in the u.k. so will leave will be held at any point outside the u.k. no lockheed martin staff will have access to any census data all data is the property of you and only u.k. e.u. and companies will have any access to personal census data but it's 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 only use it on the any statute. only

use by the security intelligence services for national security purposes any use for the pursuit of crime any use in pursuit of an e.u. community obligations so any e.u. rules that information can be passed over so it's essentially any government use whatsoever of his being a polish 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 secrets 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 data from the steps this is used by the government grants to local councils and recognize new groups in society a census run by lockheed martin raises grave concerns in britain about ethics and

its national security if a lot of people boycott this that says it will make it effective and a waste of money but the two hundred forty million dollar contracts amount will go into looking at martins pockets anyway you're an authority that. some other major headlines from around the world. several people have been injured after clashes between police and students in the capital of bangladesh officers armed with tear gas and baton charge the rounds after they began to smash the vehicles the unrest began over the death of a twenty five year old student in a road accident. japan's that foreign minister has resigned after opposition uproar over a political donation he got from a foreign national. admitted accepting almost two thousand five hundred dollars from a south korean citizen or resident in japan the sum is small but japanese law bans politicians from accepting money from outsiders to protect the country from foreign

influence his resignation strikes a blow to the current prime minister now to con who saw mr mayor as his successor. russian law enforcement was given a much needed make over this week with public trust in the force sinking to an all time low it's a whole new reforms and name change will return it to credibility and as our company knows are the 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 meats they're in favor of the world be 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 any society amongst officers and outrage

from knows they're supposed to protect incidents like the supermarket rampage by officer you've seen cough who opened fire on 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 that there were so many accidents with police officers behaving illegally in russia. as yours. this very fact is not going to be changed by the change of the law because these illegal practices were concrete of the previous legislation as well as cauldron of the current work the big question is whether there is the political will. they get it under control the police themselves though are preparing for the can just to come up with a huge part of our ratings will depend on the people of this country how they

evaluate out in full and. this colonel is already grasping the essence of modernizing the force her 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 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 redesigning the uniforms a little changes will take a lot of time to be fully implemented but one of the first things to change or be

signs like these which soon will feature internationally recognizable policing catchin as our moscow. and i'll be back with a recap of the week's headlines in just a few moments. to . the.

wealthy british science. is not on the type of. car. market finance come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with much stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report on r g a face to this is not a pro magician but a warning that. the forces that he should step should you should support your tree speaks they have no idea about the hardships the face to. face one is the says it is open to new sins for in the army the life of

using them is the most precious thing in the world. the years of self-sacrifice and heroism of those who understand it fully but you have to live a. real life stories from world meet some six. to nine hundred forty five dollars archie talk come. hungry for the full story we've got it first hand the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers on r t. c three sixty.