rebels. as they move closer to the libyan capital to. retake a several key oil town. the international community now faces a whole host of new challenges as the rebels it supports. in the capital city of tripoli join me in a few moments. meanwhile of moscow's foreign intervention as a result of crimes against his own people but criticizes the coalition for recklessness reports of more civilian deaths coming. also in the news this week hundreds of thousands marched on the streets of london in protest of massive

demonstrations also gripping the heart of the e.u. while many angry at austerity measures of home and of money all the time being offended for the libya intervention. and in japan of the fukushima nuclear plant the ever the radiation levels that reached million times the norm the claims that led to the immediate evacuation of emergency workers. as we highlight the week stories that made headlines libyan rebels are advancing west towards the capital tripoli after further gains in the east of the country they claim they have regained control of several strategic oil towns from the forces meanwhile nato is ready to replace the u.s. leading the coalition's campaign. reports from.

latest word is that rebel fighters have taken over the strategically oil important port city of ras lanuf now there is a major oil refinery there as well as a whole lebaran of oil pipelines what we are hearing is that the rebel fighters are combing the streets looking for gadhafi as man this one comes off to earlier wins in the towns of. the brig are there we've been told that gadhafi is meant abandoned their military vehicles and escaped in civilian cars there has almost been a hundred eighty degree turnaround in the fighting in the last few days and both the coalition powers as well as the rebel leaders themselves are the first to admit that this is because of the a strikes and by the international community now the takeover is also important because it is the last city that the rebels are reclaiming asked to this point they will essentially be on the offensive and what we're hearing from the rebels is that they now advancing towards the capital city

of tripoli the next major city on the map is the city of sept this is some six hundred kilometers away from tripoli it is the hometown of the libyan leader moammar gadhafi and it is very much his strong support base so the questions that the international community now needs to grapple with is as the fighters at vons through the waste words and as they clearly are on the offensive and as they clearly need those airstrikes is the international community going to come to their rescue and continue with their involvement this raises very real concerns as we're hearing from the libyan government they are accusing the coalition powers of not actually being independent they say they taking sides and that they prolonging the action on the ground essentially they're accusing the coalition colors of bringing this country to the brink of civil war there are also questions being asked in london for example in terms of whether or not gadhafi is not going to do some kind of revenge tactics and we've been and we're hearing that he might go so far as to duplicate something like the lockerbie incident it's not clear on the ground just how far back his forces have been pushed in just how far back his military might

has been diminished. this is why people here are suspecting that they could still be counterattacks by his forces in fact we're hearing by some of the residents in some of these towns that the rebel fighters have reclaimed that they are still very much afraid that they could be renewed fighting they also say that they don't trust these rebel fighters that much amongst the libyans who support the death it certainly is not winning support they would much rather the international community remain out of what they say is their own internal affairs among the opposition fighters they are very much aware of the tension between these nato leaders that are currently meeting in brussels the meeting that's underway at the moment is really to discuss whether or not nato will take full control of the whole operation but what we have been told is that from tonight sunday nato will be in command of inforcing the no fly zone and that this will be in place for around three months in terms of broadening the operation here we're hearing dissenting voices from countries like turkey they say that they want a very limited interpretation in terms of that u.n.

resolution one nine seven three the resolution speaks about protecting civilians and nothing more and that is why native leaders are having to grapple with the question of just how far they've prepared to go militarily in terms of protecting civilians and opposing gadhafi and his might we are also hearing from able leaders that they've been promised weapons from a number of western countries they're not telling us exactly who promised these weapons and whether or not they've been delivered but certainly it is raising alarm bells in the international community because the rebel fighters themselves besides being inexperienced and loosely organized have also shown that in the face of chaos they frequently and there is the very real threat that these weapons could land up in the hands of gadhafi as men so a lot of challenges to the international community at the moment a lot of questions being asked just what is its tactics moving forward certainly as we see that the rebel fighters are making advantages with words. ati's pulis live reporting there well former british intelligence officer an emotional told us here about see that the coalition is giving

a growing consideration to killing could definitely but despite its claim the libyan leader is not a target. i think there are a tangle as soon as the whole uprising began in libya because they really didn't know which side to back in which way to jump of course there colonel gadhafi had been a historic enemy of the west for many many decades and suddenly he'd been brought back into the international fold and there were lots of nice juicy oil contracts and business contracts flowing out of libya towards places like the u.s. the u.k. and france and italy so i think they're very torn for a long time and it's only really over the last weekend that they did a bit of a rush job to take the violence to the next stage and protect the rebels that they had been backing secretly for a couple of decades in the east of libya so i think the different aims from different countries different vested interests within libya of the different countries and also different histories are all playing a part in this in this model and it is interesting as we're looking at the sort of conflicting reports coming out of the u.k. particularly about the endgame where the military chief of defense is saying

absolutely not we're not going to tap decapitate the libyan state we're not going to try to assassinate gadhafi and yet the government is trying to sort of hedge its bets on that front i think the temptation is going to get stronger and stronger certainly for the west the u.k. and france to try and get rid of gadhafi in an accident a bomb that goes off in the wrong place or something because of course they've made such a problem for themselves now even if they end up with a stalemate a war of attrition and particularly a partition situation between the east in the west of libya then we have a situation where gadhafi still has power now gadhafi is going to feel very betrayed by his ex best allies in the west of course because it's up to him over the last decade and gadhafi has experience and a track record and also his stated intentions of carrying out terrorist attacks in the future if he stays in power so i think the west really is in a position where it has to go for the end game of getting rid of gadhafi for regime change but of course that is highly illegal under all sorts of international laws and is specifically excluded from the u.n. resolution. meantime president here says that the u.n. backed military intervention in libya is

a result of colonel gadhafi as crimes against his own citizens but he was also critical of the bombing saying the no fly zone was meant to strengthen peace and that civilians should not be put at risk. that everything that's happening in libya is a result of the shameful behavior of its government and the crimes against their own people we shouldn't forget that everything else is just a consequence of that we supported one of the un security council resolutions and allowed the other resolution to go through this was done consciously to prevent the escalation of violence but still the events that followed showed that any decisions of this kind should be accompanied by thorough consultation and as well as remembering that the use of force should be proportionate to what is happening the fact that as a result of these actions a billion targets were damaged and according to unconfirmed reports innocent people have died shows that states taking part in the military strikes have achieved i hope that as a result of coordinated actions by the international community there will be peace on libyan soil and full measures will be taken to prevent the conflict from

spreading into africa and other states. and russian prime minister vladimir putin he says that he's concerned by the number of civilian deaths in libya he believes foreign air forces have been rather reckless and their actions. there's a civil war going on in libya the proposal of a no fly zone was aimed at preventing gadhafi from firing at his opponents and so protect civilians such a decision applied to a sovereign state is a difficult one but the aim was well intentioned but what are we seeing now that airstrikes on the entire territory of the country how can it be you know well aiming to protect civilians such means are chosen to civilian death toll actually rises. and u.s. defense secretary was in moscow this week calling on the russian leadership to think about joining the military campaign in libya well there moscow abstained from voting on the u.n. resolution which led to the no fly zone enforcement it ruled out getting involved

in the coalition bombing robert gates assured president if that major operations in libya would scale back within a few days it wasn't the only military issue which came up missile defense in europe was also discussed moscow wants an equal partnership in the project saying any other option would be a threat to its own security gates promised that russia's concerns are being taken into account. well our extensive online coverage helps to bring you up to date with developments in libya twenty four hours a day you can check out our regular updates from our correspondents on the spot it's all on our twitter and facebook pages and also find all of the latest videos on our very own you tube channel. it's.

just minutes past the hour now a quarter of a million protesters took to the streets of london on saturday voice anger over the government's plan to slash public spending the demonstration against eighty billion pounds of cuts was britain's biggest. there were hundreds of arrests as parts of the rally turned violent some of the windows of shops and banks were smashed and doused with paint the demonstrators argued the proposed measures will destroy essential services and. still some say that is necessary to reduce britain's shoot for said the u.k.'s outpouring of anger follows a week which saw similar intense protests in brussels. daniel bushell reports.

no more layoffs to pay cuts no retirement the message from angry demonstrators pushed back with water cannon and pepper sprayed by riot police the protesters tried to get through to e.u. leaders meeting in brussels to slash spending this war there was made. to be used for social security. not the bank so when you heard. that words was to take ground because of the present day goes across europe voters are saying no. measures portugal's prime minister quit of the poll but voted down a fresh round of cuts. because he has three months left to repay almost ten billion euros at a time when its sovereign credit rating has been caught and the only option left is national default tolin does the country called pay back its loans or accept an e.u.

bailout similar to greece and ireland it hasn't happened in the west since the second world war but the longer you postpone this necessary evil. the more costly it is is going to be at the same time military intervention in libya is costing hundreds of millions of euros many a few areas so what they see is an unnecessary and expensive campaign somebody asked the chancellor of the finance minister about the financing of this and i think the overwhelming sense that you got from among the public in britain with skepticism with millions unemployed across europe people losing patience with politicians who seem out of touch with reality increasingly familiar sides on the streets of the e.u. was government built tiny leaves growing numbers well to work big the question is now the right time to spend the money available on wars abroad don't you. brussels

and european parliament member nigel says that people across the continent have every right to feel angry over cuts at home when they governments are wasting vast amounts of money abroad. we've had british troops on the ground in afghanistan now for over ten years i don't think there's any appetite for us getting involved in foreign wars where we cannot directly see our own national interest being threatened where frankly if we go in to support the rebels we don't even know who they are or what they stand for or what they want i don't think anybody has thought this through and if they are going to put ground troops in that i think they're going to find all the member states involved in this real strong level of opposition when people say. cuts in front line services for whatever reasons when people see their retirement age is going up when people see the taxes both direct and indirect they're paying going up they have a right to question what on earth are we doing getting involved in an open ended

commitment in terms of war with libya that could cost us goodness knows what else i do think but to a very close you can also feel as portugal is about to topple over as the next eurozone country rich requiring a bailout that that is actually going to cost each british taxpayer about four hundred pounds and that actually the biggest effect on our pockets this week wasn't the chance of this budget but it was the fact that the portuguese government fell and they're about to be bailed out so i think people have every reason to be pretty angry that they see their own costs at home going up their services being up and money being thrown overseas in all sorts of projects that they wouldn't necessarily support. you are with r t and bear in mind you'll find more news features and analysis on our website that's a. taste of what's waiting for you on line right now and a candidate for mayor causes outrage in the u.s. state of florida over its past as a former grand dragon of the ku klux klan. and one of the most

elegant sporting contest in the world glides over russia's capital takes over the hosting of the figure skating world championship earthquake stricken japan. and the driving. the first russian in the history of formula one takes its place on the podium after finishing third for team rhino all the details on our website and in our sports bulletin that's coming your way and just about thirty minutes time. or in japan the fukushima plant operator has apologized for reporting of radiation spike at the facility tepco said earlier claims that radiation in the water at reactor number two would soar to ten million times the normal level a mistake news led to emergency crews being immediately evacuated from the site japan's nuclear agency slammed tepco for making a number of mistakes in dealing with the crisis fukushima four reactors were

damaged by the massive tsunami that hit the country earlier this month which of course led to concerns of a nuclear catastrophe in the making the battle to restore the facilities cooling systems seen three workers being exposed to dangerous radiation levels. spoke to a man who knows firsthand what the consequences of a meltdown could be. this man has borne the scars of nuclear disaster for most of his life as a resident of nuggets sucky your shiria milwaukee has had liver and kidney problems since he was thirty five and he's already beaten cancer twice every time he falls ill now he feels it could be his last battle your shooter watches events unfold at fukushima fearing the true nature of the disaster is yet to show itself so you are saying that the result of the contamination won't just end of the event it will be handed down from generation to generation i have four daughters the first to have

leukemia another has breast cancer the results of a disaster will be shown in generations to come. you should know was just eleven when the bomb was dropped he survived the blast but was exposed to lethal levels of radiation on his two trips to the hypocenter first to find his father then to bury him despite everything he's pro nuclear power but still thinks fleeing from fukushima is the wise thing to do so then the i don't think the public or the government are overreacting in this situation i think people must take all precautionary measures they can to avoid the worst for the rest of the nygard psyche the stands today had to be built from scratch eleven square kilometers were jews to dust the cloud of its tragic past still hangs over the city its residents though know what it means to suffer and are willing to help those in need members

of the international volunteer organization the lion's club here collecting for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami everyone's desperate to give with donations already ten times higher than normal. we have a custom and something happens in our nation will collect donations and would help each other especially the people and i guess i am very very sensitive to atomic power so we are very worried about what happened here and we want to help more than money every way it sounded like a sack it is a memorial to the seventy five thousand died when the atomic bomb was dropped here this one marks that exact moment now the city will forever serve as a reminder of the destructive potential of nuclear power and there is here now praying that focus shaimaa wherever in the same way nagasaki transformation has been remarkable ground zero is unrecognizable the city would escape any radiation

from a meltdown at fukushima but there is a nuclear plant close by and the incident has left residents living in fear. of the but. people from nagasaki and hiroshima are very sensitive to the incident in fukushima we've never experienced such a devastating nuclear accident before and i think everyone is now free this could happen again i wasn't afraid of nuclear accidents before but now i am because i can see it's not under control. this memorial represents the water crave by so many after the explosion the basins tranquility a far cry from the destruction wrought by the tsunami once that has done its damage this place reminds us the ripples from a radioactive disaster extend for generations after bennett's r.t. and a something or japan's authorities are trying to calm the nation's nuclear crisis saying the levels of radioactive materials pose no immediate danger to health but experts say there's no such thing as an harmful radiation. unfortunately there is

no safe level of artificial radiation in terms of its risk to humans if exposed to that radiation the international commission for a lot of protection declares as much now that's not prophetical organization it's relatively crude nuclear but there is no c threshold for radiation of course longlived radiation exposure increases the chances that you will develop cancer in one of the examples i think the particular levels they're talking about and i had seen the sea water and else was found in tap water in tokyo that has a relatively short half life so within about eight days you're losing half of the your activity but some of the redo nuclides that have been being talked about will be being released into the environment we've heard of cesium one three seven that's around thirty years before it loses half its reader activity is a huge problem in terms of long term cancer risk but even other eyes such as plutonium which almost certainly there's some plutonium entering the environment

from these reactors that's a twenty four and a half thousand your flight so the long term health risks from this accident for the people of japan are truly horrendous. all right you are with you let's check out some other international news making headlines around the world this hour and syrian activists are calling for nationwide unrest with tens of thousands marching across the country troops are being deployed to the city to restore calm but this comes after twelve people were killed during demonstrations on saturday government blames gangs for the bloodshed the president is expected to address the nation and emergency law in place for almost fifty years. and militants have been killed another one injured by an israeli air strike in gaza it happened a day after hamas said it would agree to a cease fire with israel if attacks on gaza it was stopped last week was marked by

increased violence with at least ten people including civilians and children killed by israeli attacks. and in ivory coast of the man why do you consider to have won the country's disputed presidential elections has rejected the media chosen by the african union to steer the country away from civil war. said the candidate had personal links to incumbent leader. the statement comes after thousands of black both supporters are rallied in the capital and over one million people have fled the country since violence following last november's election. a u.s. soldier is seeking political asylum in germany after dessert ing an american a military base. could be jailed for life if he's extradited back home. went to meet him to ask what he misses most by living a life on the run the american cuisine. for example.

was really good for me a personal favorite was the rollercoasters i can't. even come schools that. but for andre chaperonage he's alive has become one john rollercoaster four years ago he deserted the u.s. army causing all the way to his native cleveland for rather his mom cried with pride when he volunteered for the army but after a six month tour of duty in iraq andre walked talked a u.s. base in germany and never returned anything that anyone could possibly imagine in terms of war crimes that were committed throughout world history. the american forces have done this and are continuing to do this on a daily basis and were being attacked from somewhere but they didn't know where so they just shot off randomly in a different direction after hiding out for more than a year andre shepherd so faced he merited german security and self-support from a number of human rights organizations and is now officially seeking asylum tucked

away on the border of germany and austria lake cames it has long been popular with holiday makers but now the ideal exports may also go down in history as the whole of the post u.s. iraq war veteran granted political asylum to become this first is not going to be easy though germany is the main staging post for the u.s. military with around sixty thousand u.s. troops stationed there each year some of those soldiers though a while and get picked up by the police the pressure is very high on germany and i'm very often said in his speeches he's so sorry about that you know into putting so much pressure on the german government also we really love this country so much andre will argue in court the war in iraq was a complete fraud but lawyers say he has little chance of winning the siegal war

with the u.s. it's particularly. more difficult if it is a war such as the war in afghanistan for example will be a well ocky war where it was not a popular war and if we just started having the rows of soldiers deciding on the road that they were no longer going to become a member of the united states military apparatus we have a problem and so there are very harsh penalties to wife. including the possibility of their mainstream media in the so-called coalition countries are not in a hurry to give andriy a say either the major corporations like the b.b.c. c.n.n. what would happen is they could buy say anything that was controversial or would go against the government line it would be completely censored andras says he's ready for the battle of his life claiming there was no just

a few cation for the war in iraq but he had meets he's on a slippery slope exceeding aggression of r r t but now i'm keen germany you're with us here live from moscow and russian energy john says it will defend its alliance with b.p. to pursue its arctic exploration project that's despite a swedish court ruling earlier this week that block the deal between the two oil companies the proposed share swap and go to b.p. is russian and based partners who said it would destroy their competitive advantage but both b.p. and say they will still be looking for ways to maintain a partnership the multi-billion dollar share swap was signed in january to exploit the potentially huge deposits of oil and gas in russia's partic shelf. well in just a few moments here as he will be discussing what's behind islamophobia in the united states but i'll be back with the headlines a recap of the week's top stories as well after a short break. first

tree removal called the clear cut. second explosives are used to blast to go deeper than the fears. heard the remains are removed by machinery.

finally easy from mortgage soil is deposited in vallecito. on a. morning news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. china corporations are the day. so.