backed by coalition airstrikes rebel forces in libya claim they've made more ground against colonel gadhafi forces. tripoli accuses the international community of taking sides and says let's cross coalition partners go from protecting civilians there harming them in the capital city join me in a few moments from all. russia's top general says the coalition's air strikes on libya have brought no results and it's likely the ground troops will soon be deploying. hundreds of thousands of people have converged on london to cry out against government cuts in the largest demonstration the country's experienced in the is.

this is r.t. live from our studios here in central moscow it's now ten pm and nine pm in libya where rebels are claiming they've made further advances on the east of the country they say they've retaken another oil town after regaining control of the strategic oil hub of from colonel gadhafi forces it comes as the country's officials claim over one hundred people were killed in the opening days of the coalition strikes which have now lost it a week when ati's poorness has the latest now from the capital tripoli. the rebels have taken the town of which is a strategically oil important town in eastern libya it is some one hundred and sixty kilometers from benghazi benghazi of course being the heartbeat of this rebel revolution the word coming through now though is that they were advancing beyond edge ws and that they were around the perimeter of brit ago which is some forty

kilometers or so the on that much closer to the capital city of tripoli inside edge wu there are massive celebrations as can well be expected this is an important town because it is the gateway to the oil reserves in the eastern half of this country now we're hearing though from the libyan government from the deputy foreign minister that the international community far from being neutral is taking sides in this conflict he went so far as to accuse them of siding with the rebels in the sense that there is strikes are actually causing this advancement and these claims have been backed up by the rebels themselves he is also warning that the longer the coalition powers remain involved the longer this operation will be torn out so essentially what he is saying is that the international community argued that it started this operation because it wanted to protect civilian lives but for the more time that this operation continues the more civilians are likely to be killed and we will be know that some one hundred fourteen people were killed and more than four hundred fifty five in just the first four days of

a strike so no doubt that figure is set to climb a very different picture emerging from the western part of this country around the town of misrata now there that this town has been held onto by the rebels for some time now it was the last town in the waste of this country that the rebels actually still maintain some kind of control we have now good that the gadhafi forces have entered on the buses snipers of into the city from the western side and we've been hearing for days now that gadhafi has been operating in the city in plain clothes using civilian cars we're hearing increasingly more and more reports like this now the american president barack obama says that he is satisfied with. this operation he said that it has saved many civilian lives but a very different would coming out of tripoli the libyan leader moammar gadhafi saying that he is promoting those of his soldiers who have been involved in this fight for their heroic efforts against the crusader enemies among the rebels themselves there is growing concern because the understanding is that as soon as you have the twenty eight member alliance calling the shots it's an awkward

difficult to have a robust stringent action on the ground so we are hearing the stirrings of concern that as the rebels call for more weapons as they call for more air strikes which is indeed what they are calling for and again that is why many here are starting to wonder just how long this operation is going to go on for if indeed the international community responds to those kind of cause the rebels themselves also miss the old denies they have a very lightweight can reach compared to the weaponry that gadhafi forces are using so people here very much suspecting that if the international community is going to remain involved in this conflict and what might need to be on the weapons and there's even the stirrings of the first suggestions here in tripoli that despite the fact that that u.n. resolution one ninety seven three clearly stated that they would be no ground forces it also said that they would be the use of the witness a series of measures which is why some people here in tripoli are beginning to suggest that that might mean the eventual deployment of ground forces now the african union is one of the latest bodies to come to the party they were against

a military intervention from the start but they're now calling to facilitate peace talks between both sides the libyan delegation to the african union has said that the deaf ears prepared to make some concessions he might even go so far as to call for but opposition leaders are rejecting this outright they do not believe the libyan leader and also they say that they will have nothing to do with him short of him actually stepping out of the political climate so they really want moammar gadhafi gone from the political atmosphere but if indeed these claims are correct in terms of the concessions he's prepared to make the international community again faces a whole host of questions how then can it on cue. continuing with its operation if indeed it did meet is put paid to meet some of the concessions that have been demanded of him. reporting from tripoli well as colonel gadhafi troops exchanged far with rebels and the coalition forces continue their strikes many libyans are fleeing their homes hundreds of thousands of already become refugees in the ongoing violence and more are expected to join them as of now reports from the libyan

egyptian border. so far the humanitarian situation hasn't really improved much thousands of people are continuing to flee libya each day looking for safety and better living conditions the main flow of refugees is on the western border with tunisia but many people are going to egypt as well with this family we were from. they said that the humanitarian situation in the city is critical at the moment they were saying how they're not actually fleeing because their home has been destroyed the zone feel safe there anymore and said that they were going to wait out here in egypt as he was going on there maybe come back when things settle down when it comes to egypt actually many towns and cities in the egyptian libyan border security has been strengthened there also there have been changes on

the egyptian will be in voter itself if we hear of just several weeks ago it was patrolled basically only by egyptian border guards or people who are letting people in and out of the country now it's being patrolled by both sides there are representatives of the so-called national police in the libya hole so checking documents of the people that are going through the border so maybe the opposition is gaining some more. some more control over the situation and perhaps just simply discipline them but judging by these figures thousands of refugees each day and in total according to the u.n. over three hundred thousand people have already fled libya the situation hasn't improved much and all of the whole military operation by the alliance which was to improve the lives of ordinary people and make it safer for ordinary people to live there at the moment in libya that still has not been changed unfortunately.

by the way if i. our correspondents first hand accounts on libya on our twitter feed and facebook page well t's'pol is eager to pick an offer you saw there just a moment ago are keeping us updated with all the latest developments from where they are just search for the underscore common to follow breaking news from correspondents and also you can find us on facebook you can still take it on our page there it is our team it's. for but it doesn't ari from the danish institute for international studies says this operation in libya is proving to be another key test for the e.u. and nato and there's no sign of how it will conclude. it is fair to say that definitely there is no clear understanding of what the endgame of this mission is supposed to be clearly all the big bold aspirations about the e.u. playing a foreign and security policy role here are really being discredited i mean if

there was one sealed and one a battleground where the e.u. should have proven its ambitions because this is precisely its backyard and clearly you are seeing that this is not working and then of course the other issue is that who is left to do the job and then we are back at the old cold war style alliance and that is the nato option if the idea of ground troops becomes actual their objective would become regime change rather than protecting the civilian population if ground troops are not considered the only other option by enforcing the no fly zone is really to try and give the opposition a fair chance to or thrown gadhafi by their own means so there we are in a whole different ball game as to looking at various options for supporting the opposition but clearly ground troops is not one of them and i think the libyan opposition or whoever is speaking for them at the moment has been quite clear about

that they don't want western ground troops on the ground. well russia's top general says the coalition's aerial operation in libya has brought no results might not be long before ground troops are sent in russia's envoy to nato meanwhile believes the alliance could find itself involved in another major war along with afghanistan and iraq. has this report. the head of russia's chief of staff general in the climate of did say that in his opinion the operation conducted by the coalition forces in libya is failing and that most most likely they will have to resort to use of ground troops in libya and if that happens that will be a direct violation of the u.n. security council resolution which does not permit that sort of involvement in libya general makarios sentiments were echoed by the opinion of russia's envoy to nato meter goes in who did say that by what he's hearing and observing in brussels it does look like nato officials are also thinking in terms of the ground

a very soon as the most likely result of the ongoing situation in libya there also there's also information coming from the united states navy that around four thousand sailors and marines have been shipped off to the mediterranean in order to assist the ongoing operation in libya at the moment at the same time a state department also made a statement on saturday saying that the united states is not going to participate in ground operation in libya mr goes into rushes to nato is saying that the operation nevertheless will take place on the ground and that is because the coalition and nato are caving in under the pressure from the united states and if that actually will have a result on the situation in libya if forces will be on the ground that that will. mean or goes in is opinion that will put the united states into a third losing war that's alongside iraq and afghanistan also the

the the heads of the opposition as they out their position forces in libya themselves have thanks the coalition for. the airstrikes which they believe are helping to undermine the conduct his regime but they have asked the coalition and made it you're afraid from putting troops on the ground so we have to see if that call will actually go unheeded by the coalition and nato or whether they will listen and comply with their is aleutian and with a request from the libyan opposition. america's present position at the helm of the campaign has already led to a rise in antiwar sentiment on home soil the highest recorded in decades that's according to a new gallup poll and as if he's going to take on reports the title of the operation could spot a long and painful conflict for the u.s. coalition is calling this operation odyssey dawn odyssey dawn odyssey dawn what's in a name the names that the u.s. previously gave to its campaigns kind of make more sense like desert storm in the gulf war or operation enduring freedom mean of gametes then or iraqi freedom but

obviously gone on top of making no sense as a combination of words in itself if we interpret it actually mean something really lengthy in time or the word beyond could it possibly why that what we have now is just the beginning we talked to the u.s. command in africa that was tasked to come up with two words and they say the title does not mean anything what happened is there is a group of planning officers led by a lieutenant colonel the sit down in the early days of planning it came up and looked at the list and they decided to call it odyssey just because they like the sound of odyssey. the second part of the word or the second part of the nickname is basically chosen at random but amid the growing confusion that americans have over the all time a goal that their government pursues in the oil rich north african country the title suggests different interpretations of title is confused and so is the operation and so is the public understanding of the operation so i think it's all

it's all very confusing what's really unhappy is that if you think about the odyssey it's the story about these people wandering around the mediterranean for ten years not able to find their way and that seems exactly the wrong metaphor for what what they want to convey about this president obama said the u.s. will be in and out of libya in no time. the name odyssey dawn seems to be an entree ways for a quick operation considering a this is his ten year journey to return home after a ten year war it in some ways represents the lack of clarity as to what the objective of the mission is if americans in their own hearts could call it something it would be operation here today gone tomorrow for many in the u.s. odyssey dawn has become a joke following odyssey dawn. nearly name a combat operation after a yes album i want to see don't one. that's not a military operation that's

a carnival cruise ship i don't want and i was thinking oh i know her but not only do most of us comedians poke fun at the name of the operation they also best express the growing public prostration over the u.s. involvement poll showing the last four decades americans disapproval of a military action has never been as high as it is now with the levy and convention the pentagon saying that the activities in libya that we're only going to be in for a short time and then we're pulling out and they are many times where that our ladies were at war. oh yes. many fear like homer's odysseus it may take us years to finish the journey. we're. going to check out our t. washington d.c. . well as the debate over the operations name continues we're gauging opinions on the legitimacy of the intervention in libya and later this hour here on r.t.

for you we had to new york where web journalist nora health minister has been out on the streets to find out what people think. we didn't choose sides we don't know what the opposition forces we don't know if they're communists we don't know if they are democratic or saying is don't bomb them with heavy duty weapons when they have just pistols when the other countries freed us from the from the nazi party but it was ok. but the modern was always with. it with economic reasons. i don't think it's ok. there's views from new york coming away very soon here in the meantime hundreds of thousands of people from across the u.k. have gathered in london to voice their anger over the government's proposed massive slashes to public spending the protest against the eighty billion pound austerity cuts become britain's largest in years and all those. reports not from the heart of

the ready. it became towards the end of a day as we'd seen lights demonstration with out to five hundred thousand people on the streets of london demonstrating against what they see as when she cuts that the government is going to make the public sector over the next week it is a very short period of time well it was a lot she still here in hyde park in other areas of the city means she eight thousand people in our village street with the police trying to use the controversial technique of kettling to contain them the police telling larry riot gear they smashed windows of shops alone on the streets in regions street london's main shopping areas and we've seen more than fourteen people injured in the protective trade. and police notices a huge dust babies are gentiles and most serious given that they've thrown a mania that police officers which could potentially blind. this demonstration had

been in the planning stages for a long time since december there's a whole new dimension to it now that the u.k. is a little vignettes another war in a war in country this military intervention in libya i wish to make is that the u.k. is spending foreign home million dollars a day on the military intervention in libya against the backdrop of these cuts and that inflicting on that country now is going to chill priests from the start of the whole coalition and he told me why it was so important to him to show up today if we were to stop the wars in afghanistan and the attack on libya we would have a very very last portion of the british government steps it dealt with a single blow. very for snorts of the attack on libya over one hundred cruise missiles were for those cruise missiles one hundred million dollars worth of resources blowed up every day with every single weapon that the take

a lot of fights over much of patients or people. to calculate how many places at universities that would mean how many libraries that would be pretty hospitals with me so i think it's very very graphic brought home to people here what the financial cost of this is these demonstrations have been taking place at the beginning of the winter and yet the u.k. government came out with. a fleet lease doesn't it need to take in people. into account that they remain to be seen by the government if it's made up by the huge turnout that people that we've seen on the streets of london today. japan's government has criticized the operator of the radiation leaking focus shima nuclear plant for its efforts to control the crisis it comes amid reports of research as warnings two years earlier of the danger a tsunami posed to the plant were ignored it's been over two weeks since the devastating earthquake and tsunami which caused the accident at the facility if the death toll from the disaster stands at over ten thousand people with many more

missing or homeless emergency teams are still struggling to control the situation at the stricken fukushima nuclear plant several workers sustained radiation burns while installing cables as part of efforts to restore the critical cooling systems nuclear energy experts say the damage to the site is having a dangerous effect on the environment and people's health. i think it's catastrophic i think that the narrative that we've had for the last week or so which is that we're trying to fix the problem or get it under control is misleading i think that there's evidence of radiation having entered the environment in large amounts it's turning up in lots of places in water and food it's even being detected far away what this could mean is that there is really a significant entry of radiation going on into the environment right now and that there doesn't appear to be any any any halt to it in the near future so that's very catastrophic this is not something that is a situation that may get out of control this is a situation that is having

a catastrophic impact. currently already out since significantly dangerous there's been high levels of radiation detected out of the twenty kilometer limit already and what you have it when you have radiation levels of that of that level is that in a week or two you'll have people that are experiencing the radiation exposure of nuclear plant workers you know over the course of their career and these are people in a situation where there's been an earthquake there's been a tsunami there's a shortage of food there's a shortage of water so their health is already stressed their bodies are already stressed they may not be in heated homes and night they may not be getting electricity so the impact of these exposures will be even larger. so they. do receive in the course of a week or two the exposures the nuclear plant workers receive in their entire lives is rather dire and these people should not be allowed to remain in such an exposure area. and that was nuclear energy expert dr robert jacobs by the way there are

always more stories and in-depth analysis on our website that's called including the way back home a u.s. soldier could face the death penalty for desert unless he gets political asylum in germany also on the website at the moment. russian lawmakers upholster new rule for themselves so now there's to be no mini skirts no low cut tops and even no smoking in the state duma. let's have a quick look at some other international news making headlines this hour and first to yemen the country's foreign minister says he hopes for a deal on the transfer of power on saturday it comes after president solly announced he's ready to policies grow into trustworthy hands and lead to offer to step down by the year's end after elections the country's seen two months of anti-government protest with fifty two demonstrating last week. a syrian human rights activist says over two hundred political prisoners have been

released in the country this is pressure increases on president bashar al assad in the southern city of thousands of protesters are out in the street and a party headquarters is being burnt. there are hundreds of be demanding the president step down on friday at least twenty three protesters were killed in the city during a crackdown on demonstrations. seven civilians including three children have been killed in a nato air strike in southern afghanistan five others were injured a car believed to be carrying a taliban leader along with other militants was targeted however it exploded next to another car carrying the civilians earlier this month nine children were killed by nato forces during strike. and the number of people killed by a strong earthquake has increased to seventy five with more than one hundred injured many of the victims died when their homes were buried in a landslide triggered by thursday night's tram hundreds of houses buddhist. streets and government buildings we. felt in thailand. and vietnam.

when no more on our top story this hour on our t.v. it's been a week since coalition forces intervene in libya and there's growing international concern over whether the action is justified well joining us now our health minister also known as the resident collected a snapshot of opinion from the streets of new york. as the situation in libya heats up foreign militaries are starting to get more involved should they be this week let's talk about that do you think we could ever know what it's like for the libyans there but we didn't choose sides we don't know what the opposition forces we don't know if they're communists we don't know if they are democratic or saying is don't bomb them with heavy duty weapons when they have just pistols i think it's ok to send troops to leave. i don't want it to become a second iraq or something or. thirty you support your country decision to stay out

of it i understand germany's decision because of course with our history with three difficult for us to send our troops to other countries how would you feel about another country coming into your country depends on the motive when the other countries. freed us from the from the nazi party that it was ok. but the modern was always with. it with economic reasons then i don't think it's ok there's so many uprisings going on in the middle east why are foreign countries getting involved in libya. yeah that's a good question. i mean i think it's really important that the united nations backs war like this or in a turk and perhaps we should get involved in more countries do you think the world has a plan for what comes next in libya probably not. probably not though you think they

should if they're going to go in there and try to oust the leader i think we have to if it's going to be a democracy obviously and that's what we're going towards have to have to put in put in place elections and exact nature but other than that it at the time it's a tough question to answer because you see what's going on over there and. it's kind of hard not to want to help whether or not you think foreign military intervention in libya is right the bottom line is that at this point world leaders seem determined to get involved. when in just a few minutes from now we explore the long running love affair between russian and french culture but first it's time for recap our top stories that will be after a short break stay with us life here in moscow.

it's the secret incursion into the country. it's the invasion by means of. tradition which the language is relieved from this the best the copied could be done. and culture. the thing is that the had the

dems are still unaware of what's going on in the land of the still asking them for more idea much like machinations which i don't know anything about them alaska the great deal on our cheap. there is not enough space for them on the ground. down to. get things nonexistent under the sun. fill the gap of adrenaline. discover deeply hidden secrets. they are seeking to. find. and even. talking to god. from. under the ground.

welcome to the. fifty years after man's first flight the flames of space race are again alike brand new rockets meet a new launch site private companies now enter the flight to explore the cosmos skin their own right spaces the place on technology a. week on the future covered. in russia would be so much brighter if you knew about sun from finest impressions. please princetown totty dot com. fifty.