the plane has been shot down near the libyan rebel stronghold of benghazi witnesses report renewed shelling despite colonel gadhafi is assurance of a ceasefire. it could be the move that sponsors question france the united states and you know inching a decisive strike on gadhafi regime under a united nations resolution to meet want to see it from the libyan capital in a few moments formal. washington if used to cherry picking where it intervenes rapidly mobilising for libya while innocent civilians die and other nations torn by internal strife. because the radiation risk rose japan struggles to save its

crippled nuclear site eight days after the nation was overwhelmed by a powerful earthquake and tsunami and. the promise signs asia new japan's nuclear power is now being called into question thanks ations safety. for. one pm in moscow i match reza good to have you with us here on our t.v. our top story there are conflicting reports from libya where fierce fighting is allegedly underway in the rebels' main stronghold the city of benghazi but libyan authorities claim khadafi troops had nothing to do with the attack for more on this we go live to tripoli and artie's paullus leader who is standing by hello so has the cease fire announcement failed to halt the fighting in libya. but as you say we also hearing conflicting reports in terms of what is the reality. on the ground at

the moment according to the gadhafi regime it is and hearing to that immediate cease fire that a call for yesterday friday afternoon it is contrary to reports that we're hearing from rebel fighters it is not attacking the rebel stronghold of benghazi in fact the gadhafi regime has gone so far as to say it is the rebels who are not here into the cease fire and that they're the ones who are on the offensive a very different story emerging from opposition leaders there insisting that the city of benghazi is under attack they say that gadhafi soldiers have taken up positions around the southern parts of the town that they firing from tanks there they're also reporting that they have been is strikes since last night and that many of the targets are civilians we're hearing from rebel leaders that many people have been injured many more have been killed and urgent call again going out now to the international community to act immediately now earlier this morning there was an opposition fighter jet that was shot down over benghazi we still don't have reports in terms of who shot it down but all these reports and comforting as they

are all concerning because they come just hours after the libyan foreign minister said that the gadhafi regime was implementing a cease fire that followed a decision by the united nations for a no fly zone to be implemented as soon as possible the situation on the ground really remains dire and certainly the scenes here the mood here is that time is running out for the international community to react if indeed it plans to do so the concern is that if these reports are true that gadhafi is men are in fact firing on the city of benghazi by the time the no fly zone is implemented it will be very hard for the foreign countries to discern and to do anything inside bin darzi because essentially it would be hard to tell the difference between civilian targets and and gadhafi targets the summer to plan action against gadhafi will start shortly in paris how close do you think we are to seeing a third side in this card for. what we certainly have heard an increase in urgent calls by opposition leaders for the international community to get involved in light of what they say is going to miss happen. on the ground caused by the gadhafi

regime this emergency summit estates to be held in paris the leaders attending have indicated that if gadhafi is in fact breaking the cease fire it will be very soon to act and then i guess we could see a no fly zone being implemented as soon as tonight saturday which one has already indicated that it's tainted typhoon a tornado hits to this part of the world they also say that they are on board to launch military strikes as soon as possible the same word coming out of funds now the american president barack obama has given an ultimatum to gadhafi he says that if in fact his forces off fighting if they are not if you're into the cease fire if in fact they're not allowing for humanitarian access within the international community will act immediately. what are you hearing from the locals about possible international engagement. there is a growing concern certainly on the ground here that the naval fields are being created so much more foreign involvement it is true that the rebels want to see the

no fly zone implemented as soon as possible but no one in this country wants this to be an excuse for foreign intervention there is growing concern that under the banner of humanitarian assistance we could see a full scale foreign intervention happening here the whole idea of a no fly zone has shortcomings we need to remember that when the no fly zone was implemented in iraq saddam hussein remained in power there for another ten years in bosnia after the no fly zone was implemented then we had this ribbon it's a massacre these kind of examples can be used to illustrate the limitations of the no fly zone and that is why people here in libya are very fearful that the international community might decide that a no fly zone is not enough and some people use it as the beginning for a full scale more military intervention in this country which nobody here one's right of course there are you going to update on developments ivan tripoli thank you. as the u.k. prepares to discuss its next move in libya british opposition m.p. jeremy corbin says the country has been very selective when deciding where military intervention is necessary. i think there's

a lot of double standards going on here because what is happening in libya is obviously terrible and obviously get off it should have heeded the views of ordinary people and come to some kind of accommodation with them all removed himself from office. there's been no condemnation worthy of anything against the rain saudi arabia yemen or amman who've also been killing large numbers of civilians totally over the last few weeks and i think the west has been very selective about this it's all about securing a future status with whatever government comes out of libya libya has always libya also has the potential a big a very big investor in the rest of the world indeed it has been for a very long time and i think this is much more about european and western influence in the new new and emerging countries of north africa and i think the west is trying to assert itself and i am also suspicious that we might end up with

a division of libya was to partition into and east by those that currently ruling the roost in the western part of the remains of his government this is a very sad and very tragic situation. revolutionary moods been spreading across the middle east and north africa for almost three months syria is the latest country where people are marching to voice their anger for them it's about the freedom to speak out five people have reportedly been killed after security forces fired on hundreds of demonstrators in the southern city of daraa the crackdown was launched after multiple protests were not defying a ban on march sixth in yemen at least forty five people died dozens of others were injured after snipers allegedly opened fire on workers from the stage to walk out in an anti-government protest in the capital the president declared a thirty day state of emergency but denies his forces were involved in the shooting in bahrain the army demolished the problem which had become a symbol of a month long shiite uprising against the sunni monarchy. but the foreign

interference in these countries is noticeably red her vehicle would be zero right now or he's lowered a lister as more of what appears to be tunnel vision when it comes to turbulent countries. god is great. the final words of this purported peaceful protesters in bahrain. before he appears to be shot allegedly by buck raney security forces since martial law was declared this week the bahraini government has crackdown on pro-democracy protesters clearing them out of pearl square where they've been demonstrating. and viral videos the details can't be confirmed have been surfacing on the internet appearing to show police shooting protesters. point blank it's reminiscent of another uprising against an autocrat i want to address the situation in libya. when images and reports of violence against protesters they could doppies hands in libya reached

the u.s. we saw the president take a stand. margaret i think has lost legitimacy to lead. early on president obama called for plans for a no fly zone over libya now here at the united nations the security council has since taken the lead on that but meanwhile the united states has already sent warships along with humanitarian aid in libya's direction it's looking tough economic sanctions on the country essentially freezing it out of the u.s. banking system and before it suggests the u.s. has also played a more cofer role in the north african conflict an opposition that the cia did for thirty years right now. according to people in direct contact with activists on the ground in bahrain and they too are begging for help from the u.s. . if you can come over to europe.

the u.s. has a military base in the island country the navy's powerful fifth fleet and six thousand troops are stationed there and in response to the brutal crackdown the u.s. president has wielded his authority to pick up the phone and call the king of bahrain the president expressed his deep concern over the violence in bahrain and stressed the need for maximum restraint words the forces on the ground now backed by one thousand saudi arabian troops who don't appear to be listening to critics say that talk doesn't amount to any help for the bahraini people it amounts to this absolutely there's a double standard in the way the u.s. deals with friend versus fellow unlike libya the brain is a strong u.s. ally in the oil rich persian gulf it's all about oil it's also all about. political military strategy the u.s.

has a lot of military assets in the persian gulf right now and we want to make sure they stay there u.s. interests coming at the cost of people's lives and at the cost of the values of human rights and democracy the u.s. claims to care so much about some of the blood is worth this and blood is more important it's just a political stand that goes it goes against everything we believe in in this country but you're looking at american. gunships you know which are on armed protesters in the capital and that is where the united states stands on the issue of tacitly behind autocrats. or against depending on the threat to u.s. interests not to lives lauren mr r.t. new york you can keep on top of developments in the world of big stories by following our team on twitter and facebook you can also find hours of video reports and coverage lined up on our youth.

japan where another earthquake has struck the country media there says it measured more than six on the richter scale but details are still coming in aftershocks rattling the already devastated areas workers at the stricken fukushima nuclear plant have managed to restore power to the cooling systems of two out of six reactors in efforts to avert a catastrophic meltdown it is in japan where people are struggling to come to terms with the destruction from last week's earthquake and tsunami and the massive loss of life. the japanese nuclear agency has now raised the alert level at the

fukushima plant from a four to a five it's on the international scale of nuclear accidents which runs from zero to seven and. being the only seven in nuclear history what a rating of five means is they will have wider consequences so now it's not just considered to be a localized problem i don't know exactly what these consequences will be yet but they raise that they upgraded it because to a five because they believe they could be could damage done to because of reactors two and three as for the attempts to call it well they're still ongoing they're trying everything they can at the well now they have all those that through power cable from the main grid but the problems they face is the massively high river levels the radiation which is really hampering their progress with that they're also still using water cannons from military fire engines spraying water into the reactors especially at reactors number three and thought because they're so the water level inside the used fuel rods of course he's believed to be dangerously low

now if it gets too low and the rods become exposed then there is a very serious danger that there could be radioactive substances leaking out as it stands at the moment the government the japanese government has moved to reassure residents outside the thirty kilometer radius of the one that there are zero risk it radiation however a number of governments foreign governments spain has now joined the u.k. and the u.s. in wanting to evacuate its citizens and also we do know that there have been ruled out as a question of one case in a whole lot sit in concrete they did it general to. minimize the risk of a radiation leak mr a diner the government spokesman and the chief cabinet secretary has said that in hindsight maybe they should have reacted faster and so they could have moved more quickly on all of this and listen some new advice from the u.s. as well another thing is now being called into question internationally by nuclear experts and that is the question of. privatization of japan's nuclear power. plant

that functional power plant is owned by the tokyo electric power company now they're the ones who whose employees that engineers are working tirelessly in a plant braving ridiculous lehigh radiation levels there to try and get the situation under control reduce the temperatures inside the reactor and to try and reconnect power to the cooling systems but the question now is could this have been averted if it wasn't in private hands and were they even equipped in the first place to deal with this sort of catastrophe. no matter how hard they try disaster still looms of fukushima attempts to cool the reactors have been applauded for bravery but it's been a week since cooling capability was lost and there's no end in sight to this crisis the implications are that really already has spread a fair distance there probably will be an area around the plant like turn or that will be uninhabitable for the foreseeable future could get far worse the nurse

the plants cooling systems may have been crippled by a natural disaster but some are now questioning the merits of the manmade decision to build reactors near the so-called ring of fire this is completely human made this aster because that should never have been located there in the first place and citizens have pointed out the fact japan's nuclear industries also in private hands has led to accusations profits were put before safety fukushima's owner already has a questionable past with a history of falsifying safety records at the site back in the eighty's i think we also have to review the idea of privatized nuclear power because private means cutting corners and i think we're watching those corners being cut today but we'd like to see is the government take over these he's he's the nuclear reactors from private corporations because private corporations need purpose for existing is to next emerged profits and by maximizing profits in the nuclear sector we're talking

about i mean in my eyes in concerns for public health and safety and last private investors may be needed to get the ball rolling it's the other way around if things go wrong i think it's we're going to be inevitable in the state will take over in order to contain these plants will probably need to be covered with concrete much like a train or was and i think the state will take over responsibility for that. i think whether the state those are private companies do it. it's very difficult for anyone to do this try to prance no stranger to nuclear tragedies this is where the second atomic bomb was dropped in one nine hundred forty five trying everything they can at fukushima to avert another disaster because nuclear watchdog is already expecting wider consequences the question is how many will be affected by the bennetts azzi micro-second. not everyone is taking japan's assessment of its

nuclear crisis or face value alex curran expert on japanese culture says the government is intentionally concealing is a very key of the situation there is a long tradition within the nuclear industry and town of trading or at least. twisting or misinterpreting the evidence one example is raising it's had five it's been for for a long time which was the level of three mile island there where there was nuclear radiation should but no nuclear material released into the environment this one is that this amounts of nuclear materials huge tree and only now all the wrenchingly is agrees to five in it of course most people believe it should be six so there is still an attempt to flee it down because of the newspaper yesterday had an article in which they looked into the term of white smoke coming out of one of the reactors and they said the government is saying it's when the lights but they really mean is

explosions i think what we can be sure of is that this mess will take weeks maybe not months to clear up it's really very serious much more than the government is letting us. have a team start fukushima it's a life risking race to head off atomic disaster randall thompson was involved in a three mile island cleanup in pennsylvania after a similar accident in one hundred seventy nine he explains what he thinks the workers are going through. what the people in japan are going right through right now is kind of hard to tell because no one has access to them as far as i can see and i fear for their safety in fact i fear for their lives sometimes the radiation is so high that a person going into a say hot room can only be inside there for maybe three minutes when they have to come out someone else has to go in to finish their job so you can imagine the intensity list trying to say trying to change of that how you go in with a welding machine let's say and. it takes you three or four minutes just to bring

that in there you haven't even plugged anything in yet when you have to leave you're done for the month we don't know the conditions inside the plant though most of us. from the industry confirm that it's very very dangerous i think pouring water in in massive amounts and they should be probably pouring work yes or boron in in massive amounts as well is the really the only country only thing they have left it's almost like a hail mary pass my only real regret is that the entire area was not affected weight of sooner as soon as the evolution started that would have been the moral thing to do and that is not an accomplishment for that i'm very disappointed or nuclear power is often billed as a clean green solution to meet our burgeoning energy demands but as the crisis unfolds it fukushima people are questioning whether they want that danger on their doorstep.

as you can see this with the nuclear crisis are you concerned about the stability of nuclear facilities near you this week let's talk about that. sellafield is coldness of nuclear plant in england but it's pretty safe if you like it safe should. we ourselves live across the river from a nuclear power plant virginia it's it's it's it's it's a concern certainly it's better than spending a lot of tax dollars on a new energy source for some people you know it's like this otoh you know you look at cell phones you know cell phones or this radio waves with if a report came out tomorrow that says cell phones cause cancer of people to put their cell phones down rather not so people take the nuclear energy if it saves even works people are really interested in you know certain way and then different kinds of alternative energies what do you think about those. two enough to put enough money into the research you know there's enough research dollars the it's not going to be a five alternative and what pays for those is tax alice right correct so if you

stop spending money and will we can start spending money on energy saving that would ever happen. hopefully my lifetime i find it amazing the amount of energy what's being used here in eric rose in light specifically here in times square so i think people are. maybe a bit too much used to use loads and loads of energy so i guess it's what's going to be quite hard to get them to use. to spend more on green energy because they're going to be more expensive these support nuclear energy we know right now will because it's a disaster i think you think it's a disaster waiting to happen absolutely so what should we do because we consume a lot of energy on idea i have no clue i go if you don't know then how can we rule out nuclear energy. why is the many people so afraid of nuclear energy i know that this is happening right now but most plants are pretty safe sure i do get sammy's

on people always thinking the worst and maybe that's the reaction from nine eleven even with people always think of the things that can get bad so i think there's that all mageddon feeling whether or not you support nuclear energy the bottom line is that with all of our energy options there comes in one form or another high price to. give us your reaction to the events that are shaping the world right now click on r.t. dot com for more analysis on today's main stories here's what you'll find a theory that's spreading faster than the radiation reader how little is living well beyond japan's shores are clearing out pharmacies hoping to avoid contamination but without proper advice they're actually putting their own health in jeopardy. gunning for a new emblem to symbolize the state utah adopts a firearm as its token image find out why it. was russian energy giant gazprom wants to get its point across to see his bird officials who threw out the

plans for their controversial new skyscraper next stop court we've got details on right. turn now to some other stories making headlines across the globe there's been heavy fighting between the army and the rebels in southern sudan leaving at least seventy day the violence started after a failure to get militias to join the southern army in the oil producing areas near what will be a new national border southern sudan becomes an independent nation in july following a mostly peaceful referendum that saw almost unanimous decision to cede the northern governments accused of arming rebel factions. so. the u.n. secretary general has condemned the increase in violence in ivory coast ban ki-moon describe the situation as the urban warfare and

a crime against humanity this after the deadly shelling by security forces in a market which at least twenty five people are thought to have died and u.n. blames forces loyal to president laurent gbagbo who refuses to leave office despite losing last year's poll sparking months of violence. and egyptians are taking part in their first fully free of votes in decades in a referendum on constitutional reform it's been organized by the military leadership which is in charge following february's uprising that toppled the presidency of hosni mubarak more than half of egypt's eighty million people are eligible to vote and people have been forming a long line since this morning there are forms while for parliamentary elections in the future. just a few minutes we'll take you to the historic russian city of aurora but first i'll be back with the headlines stay with us.

so. in canada and the u.s. that it is legal for you to use a bubble bath your baby it contains a known carcinogen something that causes cancer most of the. independent counsel and i think most of the. places a call for coffee just today an average cancer drug prescription costs nearly one thousand six hundred dollars

a month. nobody with cancer. and therefore i predict it's. because ninety five percent of cancer hurts people with health family history of the pharmaceutical industry spends about fourteen percent of their budget on research and development and about thirty one percent for marketing and administration. in fact there are more pharmaceutical industry lobbyists in washington d.c. and members of congress just six pts.

he's available in. central. full stop.