rebels are closing in on colonel gadhafi as they press all the towards the libyan capital after reclaiming several key oil town in the east. but the international community now faces a whole host of new challenges as the rebels it supports begin today with offensive i'm going to sam in the capital city of tripoli join me in a few moments formal. meanwhile moscow says the foreign airstrikes are a result of gadhafi is crimes against his own people but criticizes the coalition forces for recklessness civilian casualties. also in the news this week hundreds of thousands of britons marched in london enraged over huge cuts protests also gripped

the e.u. as many were angry at austerity while just flows into the libya bombings. and in japan the operator of the fukushima nuclear plant denies reports the radiation levels may have reached ten million times the norm franks led to the immediate evacuation of the night. with a look back at the week's top stories and the latest developments this is our life in the sky libyan rebels are advancing west towards the capital tripoli off to further gains in the east of the country they claim they won back control of several strategic oil towns from the forces meanwhile nato is ready to replace the u.s. and leading the coalition's campaign. has more now from tripoli. the 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 level went up 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 bia and the brig there we've been told they could duffy's men 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 take over is also important because it is the last city that the rebels are reclaiming after 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 rebel fighters advance through the waist woods 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 and just how far back his military might has been diminished and. 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 nato members have been meeting in brussels to discuss whether or not they want to take command of the entire operation what we do understand is that from sunday night they will be in control of enforcing the no fly zone but whether or not they take control of what's been termed the no fly plus is something that is still on the table in terms of broadening the operation here we're hearing dissenting voices from countries like turkey they say it 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 nato 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're also hearing from rebel 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. what is policy reporting there from tripoli while the former british intelligence officer an american told us that the coalition is giving growing consideration to killing gadhafi despite its claim the libyan leader is not a target i think they're a tangle as soon as the whole uprising began in libya because they really didn't

know which side to back and 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 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 get up decapitation of 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 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. from iraq to afghanistan and libya the u.s. has added yet another country to its list of military campaigns with millions of dollars being spent in the operation every day it's american taxpayers who are footing the bill or list tries to find out whether the u.s. can actually afford it. one to one point five million

dollars the reported cost of this united states tomahawk missile launched into libya. it's only been a few days into operation odyssey dawn and already the costs of the been barred meant from sea and air are skyrocketing the price of day one alone. more than one hundred million dollars then the first two hours they fired one hundred ten cruise missiles so so right there thousands of teachers of course could be paid for coming at a time when teachers not to mention other public workers are fighting to keep their livelihoods close to ten percent of people are unemployed and the country faces fourteen trillion dollars of national debt the u.s. has already committed trillions to ongoing wars in afghanistan. as well as iraq.

yet despite all this has moved to the helm of this international intervention but can the country afford getting involved again the united states clearly doesn't have money for this we will end up taking money from other important programs domestically and other lawmakers locked in that constant debate over u.s. money problems are going public it's a strange time and which almost all of our congressional days are spent talking about budget deficits just problems and yet at the same time though all of this passes which is a very expensive operation this mission was led by the united nations but quickly the united states has emerged at the forefront so you have to wonder what. so many cars at stake what is justifying this role for the u.s. despite claims from the top of the humanitarian intervention people from the streets. to the pundits don't buy it the u.s.

mission is to keep dasi from having any influence on oil prices peak oil expert michael rupert says the real reason for the bloodshed all boils down to the one point five million barrels of oil a day coming from libya which the west simply cannot afford to lose you can't take any supply out and not expect the price to go up dramatically for everybody on the planet but not everyone's taking a hit in the pocket conflict is good for some of the most powerful u.s. corporations military contractors they have made literally super profits spectacular profits off of the wars in iraq and in afghanistan so it won't be any different in terms of the war in libya but arming those charges and destroying military equipment in in libya opens up markets for more american british and french arms sales in the world justifying perhaps for some who have benefited a war that adds to the toll other conflicts have taken on the u.s.

economy and reputation in the world we will spend at least a half a trillion dollars right now in afghanistan and no libyan the money we're spending and for the encouraging the pakistan the united states has to start focusing on things here at home otherwise will not only be broke but we have the rest of the world angry at us a price some believe is too high for america to pay lauren lyster r.t. new york. russia says the u.n. backed military intervention in libya is a result of colonel gadhafi as crimes against his own people but present them between medvedev also criticize the coalition bombing saying the no fly zone was meant to strengthen peace and that civilians should not be put at risk. just like 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 consultations 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 of ilion targets were damaged and according to unconfirmed reports innocent people have died shows that states taking part in the military strikes have achieved that 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 the russian prime minister vladimir putin says he's concerned by the number of civilian deaths in libya he believes foreign air forces have been too reckless in 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 it is strikes on the entire territory of the country how can it be aiming to protect civilians such means are chosing to civilian death toll actually rises. to use them the u.s. defense secretary was in moscow this week calling on the russian leadership to think about joining the military campaign in libya although moscow abstained from voting on the u.n. resolution which led to the no fly zone in force once it ruled out getting involved in the coalition bombing robert gates a short present even if that major operations in libya would scale back within a few days it wasn't the only military issue which came up they sell defense in europe was also discussed moscow wants an equal partnership in the project saying any other option will be a threat to its own security gates promised russia's concerns are being taken into account some of which. by the way our extensive online coverage helps to bring you up to date with developments there in libya twenty four hours

a day check out our regular updates from our correspondents on the spot there that's all on our twitter and facebook pages you also find all the latest videos on you tube channel. it's. a quarter of a million of protesters took to the streets of london on saturday to voice anger over the government's plan to slash public spending the demonstration against eighty billion pounds of cuts was britain's biggest in years there were hundreds of arrests as part of the rally turned violent the windows of shops and banks were smashed and dusted paint the demonstrators argued the proposed measures will

destroy essential services and jobs and this is insist that necessary chances for deficit americans out pouring of anger follows a week or so similar intense protests in brussels as artie's reports. no more layoffs no to pay cuts no retirement the message from angry demonstrators pushed back with water cannons and pepper spray by riot police the protesters tried to get through to e.u. leaders meeting in brussels to slash spending this money was made. to be used for social security. to be used for the health not drug the bank so when you are delivering that world chose to move to take brand because of the prison there goes across europe voters are saying no thirty measures portugal's prime minister quit of the paula but voted down

a fresh round of cuts because he has three months left to repay almost ten billion euro at a time when its sovereign credit rating has been caught on. the only option left is national default to toluene 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 this necessary evil. the more costly it is it's going to be at the same time military intervention in libya is costing hundreds of millions of euros many a furious so what they see as 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. with government built timing leaves growing numbers out of work the big question is now the right time to spend the money available on wars abroad the new bush forty brussels. and european parliament member nigel farrar says people across the continent have every right to feel angry over cuts at home while their governments waste 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 and 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 in all the member states involved in this a real strong level of organization and when people see 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 that 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 that to a very close but i 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 cup and money being thrown overseas in all sorts of projects that they wouldn't necessarily support. you'll find more news pictures and analysis on our website that's online

all the time r.t. dot com here's a taste of what's there the moment a candidate for mayor causes outrage in the u.s. state of florida over his past as a former grand dragon of the ku klux klan. also on the website of the moment one of the most elegant sporting contest in the world glides over to moscow russia's capital takes over the hosting of the figure skating world championships from earthquake stricken japan. and driving ambition to be first russian in the history of formula one takes his place on the podium after finishing third for to know all the details on our website and also a little later in our sports update in just thirty minutes from now with me. to japan now and the plant operator has apologized for reporting a huge radiation spike at the facility tepco said earlier claims that the radiation in the water reactor number two had soared to ten million times the normal level where actually a mistake when that news later emergency crews being immediately evacuated from the

site japan's nuclear agency slammed for making a number of mistakes in dealing with the crisis as for reactors were damaged by the massive tsunami that hit the country earlier this month which led to concerns of a nuclear catastrophe the battle to restore the facilities cooling systems the same three workers being exposed to dangerous radiation levels at each other bennett spoke to a man who knows firsthand what the consequences of a meltdown could be. lisa has borne the scars of nuclear disaster for most of his life as a resident of nagasaki you're sure your malarky 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 fears it could be his last battle. you sure are watches events unfold at fukushima fearing the true nature of the disaster is yet to show itself and you will find that the result of the contamination won't just end off 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 these 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 negative 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 customer and then something happens in our nation we call it the nation that i 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 well wherever in the same way now go psyche's 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 but nothing. people from nagasaki and hiroshima are very sensitive to the incident 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 because i can see it's not under control. this memorial represents the water craved by so many after the explosion the basin's 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 sucky. 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 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 a bad call organization it's relatively crude nuclear but there is no c threshold variation of course long lived radiation exposure increases the chances that you will develop cancer i mean one of the examples i think the particular levels they're talking about and i had this in the city 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 radioactivity but some of the reader claims 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 legal activity is a huge problem in terms of long term cancer risk but even other eyes such as

plutonium which almost certainly there are some plutonium entering the environment from these reactors that's a twenty four and a half thousand your half life so the long term health risks from this accident for the people of japan are truly horrendous. tonight have a quick look at some other international news making the headlines this hour the syrian activists are calling for a nationwide armrest with tens of thousands marching across the country troops in the port city of latakia to restore the twelve people killed during demonstrations on saturday the government blames gangs for the bloodshed the president picked to address the nation soon left an emergency meeting in place. to publish to the militants are being killed and another was injured by an israeli airstrike in gaza it happened the day after hamas said it would agree a ceasefire with israel if attacks on gaza were stopped last week was marked by increased violence with at least ten people including civilians and children killed by israeli attacks. so it's known the man widely considered to be one of the

country's disputed presidential elections has rejected the mediators chosen by the african union to steer the country away from civil war that's only what tara said the candidate has personal links to incumbent leader laurent gbagbo statement comes after thousands of supporters rallied in the capital of one million people have fled the country since violence last november's election. russian energy john says it will defend its alliance with b.p. to pursue its exploration project that's despite a swedish court ruling earlier this week that blocked the deal between the two companies that proposed b.p.'s russian based partners who said it would destroy their competitive advantage both b.p. and rosneft say they'll still be looking for ways to maintain a partnership multibillion dollar share swap was signed in january to exploit the potentially huge deposits of oil and gas in russia's. coming up to twenty seven minutes past the hour here now in the russian capital and in

a few moments we'll be discussing what's behind islamophobia in the united states but first before that i'll be back with a recap of our top stories after a short break stay with us live here in moscow.

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