in libya reports these troops are targeting civilians in rebel held areas and cast doubts on the success of allied military operations. gadhafi loyalists kept up a fight against the insurgency attempting to recapture the with the rebel stronghold of misrata i'm points here in the capital city of company join me in a few moments and i'll bring you will. japanese officials predict months of leaks from the fukushima power plant thousand workers struggle to plug the damaged reactor of radiation levels in seawater and groundwater the surrounding the plant after each many thousand times the legal limit. at other news this week

a major anti terror operation russian security forces pill seventeen militants in the north caucasus this comes as moscow marks one year since the metro suicide bombings that left dozens dead and more than one hundred injured. five am in the russian capital i'm mad treasure bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on r t we start off in libya where rebel forces are engaged in heavy fighting with appropriate off you forces in or around the key oil town of brega meanwhile cut off these troops are keeping up pressure on his iraq to libya's third largest city and the last major rebel stronghold in the western part of the country our correspondent paula sleeper has the latest from the capital tripoli. but word of bloodshed is increasingly been used to describe the

situation in the last rebel held city in the west of this country the city of misrata now according to doctors on the scene they say that one person was killed and several people were wounded in the early hours of sunday morning when the government forces renewed shelling on a building in the city and we understand from the doctors that and turn a few days ago there were a number of civilians being housed inside that building they had been injured in recent clashes between pro and anti gadhafi forces but fortunately there have been evacuated before the shelling began we are also hearing from doctors that in the last week alone hundred and sixty people have been killed in misrata itself from these battles are being told by doctors that in a month of fighting between six hundred and a thousand civilians have been killed in the city so here the rebels have been in control of it for more than a month now but what we are seeing increasingly is that the government troops are intensifying michigan and more and more looks likely that the city wolf or to the hands of gadhafi is man ever since the united states handed over command of the

military operations here in libya to nato the u.s. has been decreasing the number of combat missions it carries out here we are hearing from top american military officials that they are also going to begin withdrawing the fighter jets they submarines and they were missile ships now this does come across does come against the background of a stalemate in terms of fighting on the ground between those pro and thank you forces around the city of brega in the east of the country it also comes against the backdrop of increasing criticism from within the american president barack obama's own administration over questions in terms of the representation and the capability of those opposition fighters as far as the tripoli government goes that they continue to call this a crusader route they say that these actions are illegal and immoral and they are not very simply moving concerns that in the future they will be the supplying of weapons to these rebel fighters this will soon be followed by training and ultimately end in the deployment of the soldiers. washington is considering

training and arming the libyan rebels despite claims that al qaida may have infiltrated their ranks or has been talking with opposition supporters in benghazi solving the recent nato air strike nearby that left thirteen dead the general feeling here in the rebel stronghold is confusion a lot of confusion around that incident because according to some reports of the time of need of planes on the rebel was caused by the troops who. are the rebels that opened fire at the planes but other reports suggest that the rebels were celebrating and began shooting into the air just confusing the pilots and also true. to react back but i can tell you that judging by the pool level of organization and training off the rebel fighters both versions are

possible because the rebels had been seen arguing and even fighting among themselves and al gore on the ground meenie are teenagers who don't have any experience in combat and there is even speculation and lots of rumors that egypt and the united states and we see we training the rebels there on the front and also rumors that the cia secret agents and maybe operating there as well trying to organize the rebels soon so when it comes to. the forces there are much better trained they're much better equipped and apparently there is much more of them according to some biggers the a ratio of forces at the moment is around the one to ten meaning one rebel fighter against then the soldiers so the general understanding here in bin guys here is that the only way the rebels could be successful is with this air support from nato

. colonel this pepe escobar says the coalition doesn't have as much support for its actions in libya as it's making out don't forget germany the most important country in europe russia india and china the bric countries kayo abstained from voting and this week i managed to talk to two high grade king diplomats at the united nations they'd all said and this was independently confirm another u.s. scholar had his own investigation legal said independently debts the greek countries and germany did not sold for the resolution because they knew there was a dirty deal in the background checks out the barack obama administration so you can attach force through tester's a legitimate throat best and you give us the green light so what that gaddafi. america league no fly zone resolution which was not diluted by the whole arab

league only nine countries in twenty two in the arab league voted for the no fly zone so this whole seat to sum it all up is a farce. as coalition forces continue their operations of libya there are concerns that the intervention may soon backfire on europe security experts fear libyan islamic groups may be plotting terror attacks in the e.u. as revenge for allied airstrikes or he daniel bushell has more. e.u. countries have taken a leading role in forcing the u.n. resolution but their efforts all the way over in libya now threaten to bring conflict right to their very own back doors lists claim colonel gadhafi now has little other weapons left in his armory an overseas terror he's faced repeated accusations that he ordered lockerbie bombing that killed two hundred seventy mostly westerners experts say some countries are particularly in the firing line

three leading countries of the offensive operation that means france in. the states of course the only option the us really is to use carol so i think. it's a clear cut in prison then drop today in the. coming weeks but e.u. backing for and to get a few rubles could backfire further rebel leaders include the libyan islamic fighting group and associates of al qaida and the casualties mounting every day from a live bombing make fertile recruiting ground for and she western forces there are agents of it and working now. that at last the scales at art i am full. e.u. muslims protest against mates as bombing of libya as you organize

a says people should prepare for the worst and that's the only desert right strong like you would think would be out of it of the ability of the muslim somebody would attack they were to be sure. the invasion of iraq cliffs was in terror attacks in the e.u. almost two hundred people died in the madrid train bombings in two thousand and four while suicide bombers killed fifty two people in london in two thousand and five officials no drips similar results in the wake of this campaign with an intelligence report chris thanks to see among suspected terrorist cells indicating with threats over time is one of the total t. and e.u. terrorist strike is now just a question of time the new bush will see brussels. stay with us here on our summer ahead including this snatched off the train in the middle of the night about how a palestinian engineer who disappeared in ukraine has resurfaced in israel and why

security services may be involved. because it's been almost fifty years since mankind's first foray into space we'll bring you all the latest on preparations for a special anniversary. but first japan faces the grim prospect of several months of uncontrolled radiation leakage recording to officials radioactive water continues escaping into the ocean from a crack in the fukushima plant second reactor despite all efforts to stem the flow the bodies of two workers killed by the devastating tsunami have been recovered from the wrecked facility and massive wave that hit the country has now claimed the lives of more than twelve thousand people more than two hundred thousand are still living in shelters your thirty's have given assurances they are doing everything possible to help displaced communities but are. discovering that. many of our government has let them down. this is the first time many residents of haitian

a marquis have seen their houses since the tsunami the search through them but in most little of value remains but subtle shinji is not trying to salvage material possessions. my house was totally destroyed and my husband died in the tsunami and now i'm honoring him by getting his personal things out i just wish everything could go back to how it was. has been housed at the local school with several hundred others people here have been taking turns to volunteer as cooks and cleaners. but the cramped conditions mean that after nearly three weeks the communal spirit is fraying and. we are dissatisfied with your forty's we know there are temporary houses that will be put up but who will get them some areas are being favored over others. the government admits that not a single temporary house has been constructed so far but even when they do finally

go up they won't solve the far greater problem. the government excavators are removing the rubble as fast as they can but for the victims of that as us even those lucky enough to get the temporary housing it will be years before they can come here rebuild the house and call of their home many of the stricken japanese coastal towns relied for generations on dwindling fishing and shipping industries livelihoods which no longer exist and there is little hope of ever getting them back sort of would appear the government is good at solving big problems but not the ones of the small people i do not think this town will ever be a rebuild as it was even if i restore what i have and no one will build anything next to my house. for the government providing food and turn breech shelter was the relatively straightforward part in helping victims cope with the disaster making sure people have a place and a community to return to will be much more difficult either or no r.t.

. japan. and adding to those problems are the fears of radioactive contamination that looms over the country independent nuclear power consultant john large says japan was caught off guard when the tsunami struck and not properly prepared for the chain of events that thyroid problem is really the fundamental nuclear safety culture in japan and generally in the rest of the developed world is flawed what happened here is that the japanese considered this cascade from earthquake food to tsunami could never happen or would happen so infrequently but they didn't have to take account of it and as a result they never practice is never rehearsed for this type of accident and we can see affectively that the japanese for the first two weeks have been running around to coin an old english phrase like headless chickens not knowing what to do the real problem is this if they take a measure like flood in and quench in the reactors we water that may well lead to

serious consequences later on when they have all that accumulated water on site which is highly radioactive then they have to make a decision of how to do with the water whether to keep it in site in bond trenches or to actually discharge it to sea with the consequences on the marine environment so whichever way they've turned they've been ill prepared and they poorly planned for the consequences of this succeed in action. commentary from john large an independent nuclear power consultant speaking with us from london. one of the biggest counter terror operations in his left seventeen militants dead in russia's southern republic of the english out here on monday it was thought that russia's most wanted terrorist open tomorrow would be among those killed authorities are waiting on the results of forensic tests that verify this information during the raid security forces also destroyed a militant cab where terrorists were being trained the operation happened on the eve of the first anniversary of the twin suicide bombings that rocked the moscow

metro claiming dozens of lives are being a coach you know over caught up with some of the survivors of those deadly attacks . it started off as just an ordinary monday morning food meet the people of sri lanka many others had a certain string in his step knowing the harsh moscow winter was over but little did he realize the nightmare he would be through mean to just a few minutes later the suddenly there was this horrible sound as if something huge had formed. and i walk out and there was a small a haze. people were sheltering in the rushing out of the car would need to be had her it was the start of the worst terrorist attack in the russian capital in six years just before eight am the first of two explosions hit the moscow subway killing twenty four people at the crowded lubyanka station which lies beneath they

had quarters of the federal security service forty minutes later the territorial move south targeting a station at a crucial city intersection killing twelve from all of. these not even funny base it came at eight thirty eight right in the middle of the rush hour work its truck out the back of the trade house commune. try to get on board it was dark there was no like you and i just saw a heap of bodies and whatever remained of them some of them were thresh on the floor near the metal train and the sight was horrible it was the people what just before your eyes there was nothing that could save them with each million commuters after a day moscow subways one of the busiest in the world that's made it a terrorist target in the past and a year ago it was to be a talking point once again a twenty year old student leader so the horrors for herself the true fuses to live

in she and shooting sometimes i feel something like this i think about this but in general i think that we have safe safety now. a year ago tires broad moscow to a standstill by bringing horo to everyday life but if they wanted to destroy people's spirits those goal was certainly know what a chance says a live go zone and while occur throughout to millions worth than must go on across the globe remains it's something people have blown to live with muslim question i'll see moscow. a palestinian engineers and is or is there is in an israeli jail after allegedly being kidnapped by israel secret services there are you see was snatched from a train in ukraine and disappeared for weeks that was reload mit's is holding the man accuses him of having links with hamas but ukraine is perplexed over why its

authorities were not alerted authorities alexei air traffic and reports. several months ago and hugo and her husband palestinian engineer did i will see she fled from gaza to her native ukraine they were looking for a peaceful life far from the constant hostilities of the middle east you are even childes to leave behind a very good job with a portal and my husband was deputy director of the only power station in gaza he's a very highly qualified in junior and received an immensely high salary by local standards but they're relieved did not last long one evening up with c.c. boarded an overnight train from quite a few key here to meet his brother i will see if he was sound asleep in the middle of the night two men walked into his compartment and asked him to provide his id the man refused to do so and the next moment they handcuffed the palestinian and removed him from the train journey because says she has no doubt it was a kidnapping plotted by israel's intelligence service i must start with mobile and

i received a text message from him the next day he said and that he needs to lie low and is going to saudi arabia i knew it wasn't his style he never uses words like. many called you don't you crazy in the following few weeks while her husband's whereabouts were unknown until israel's prime minister confirmed all this time the man had been behind bars in an israeli prison. for years for months and months and rearrested him for accordance with world leaders. but one question arises if the arrest was indeed legitimate why had ukrainian special services been left in the dark about the operation of schools are. not a single intelligence service turned to us to assist wresting a criminal received no notification of any special operation either. experts say in special operations between the intelligence of two countries

a suspect is routinely arrested and then deported otherwise the procedure breaches a country solvency in the present case nobody can even say how exactly the man was taking out of ukraine but imagine in there. this man was not put on a wanted list by any country and there had been no extradition claims it's unclear how he left ukrainian territory. this would not be the first case when my side has struck without warning last year i suspect that hamas militant was assassinated in dubai and guess what the emirates special forces say they had no idea about the planned move as i will see see always charges against him to be brought next week that any good says she will spare no effort to put an end to this campaign against an ordinary engineer alexy rush ascii r.t. reporting from kiev ukraine. well you can always find more on the stories we're covering at our website our team dot com and here are some lighter stories online

for you right now. sounds like a hit to me russia's president promises to invite barack obama to experience an authentic throat singing session plus. planet probe find out what nasa is messenger a spacecraft is doing near mercury record all its exploits and more on archie dot com. president dmitry medvedev has banned top government officials from running or even helping run companies in which the state owns a stake the movie is aimed at creating a better climate for investors in russia president medvedev has ordered ministers to leave any corporate post that they hold it was july or said to be replaced by non-government figures officials say that the move only applies to big headed of corporations such as the country's major energy defense companies and its. eggs it polls suggest kazakhstan's incumbent president nursultan nazarbayev will secure

another term in office he said to have won more than ninety percent of the ballots cast in the early presidential vote those are by it has been in power since one thousand nine hundred ninety one and enjoys the exclusive right to be elected for a limitless number of terms something the constitution will no longer allow any other president this now vote was called after the leader after the leader rejected the idea of a referendum about prolonging his term in office told to twenty twenty three candidates are challenging him on the ballot but none have publicly opposed his policies more than a thousand international observers are overseeing the election which has already come under criticism for a perceived lack of fairness the first official results are expected for a younger. turnout of some other stories making headlines across the globe hundreds of french troops are being sent to ivory. coast is the power struggle in the country heats up there reported to have taken over the airport in the main city

abidjan around a thousand people have been killed in violent clashes in the west of the country over the last few days forces loyal to the un recognized leader al assad a ouattara are battling supporters of incumbent president laurent gbagbo who so far refuses to step down. at least forty two people have been killed dozens injured in twin explosions at a sufi shrine in pakistan leavers were gathering for a three day festival at the building in the punjab province of a blast went off sufi shrines have come under attack in the country before as many muslim hardliners consider this mystical branch of islam to be heresy. and hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets in afghanistan renewed protests over the burning of the qur'an by a pastor in the u.s. last month demonstrators in kandahar attacked cars and shops in a riot that left at least two policemen dead the protests had also spread to other

cities this comes after more than twenty people including some un staff members were killed in similar demonstrations in recent days. wrapping up this news block in the fiftieth anniversary year of the first manned flight in space russia is preparing to honor that everything she meant a crew is set to brush off aboard the soyuz spacecraft monday night on their latest mission to the stars are she stressed or so you has more. bullets just before the launch of these so used to maybe at twenty one and to the international space station of course the crew they're going through the final preparations the spacecraft itself it's already set in its vertical position but they're putting the final touches but what's most interesting is the process the traditions that the crew have to go through following the footsteps of the men and women that came before that they were the most interesting thing happening today is the blessing of the russian orthodox priest these he's giving his blessing to the crew before they go off on their mission of course this was a practice to be

a soviet era it actually began when cosmonauts started victor and co requests it for this before he went on his mission to the mir space station and this was the t m a twenty so used to twenty mission another interesting tidbit we found out is that the russian orthodox priest himself he actually wanted to. cosmonaut but he did manage to achieve a close as he could get to bad dream is to working with the cosmonauts themselves so he's there giving his blessing to so that's what we've been watching for today and another tradition that they had to go through is having a haircut before the actual launch into space anyway aside from the journalists who are here from nasa the people. side yet quite this space program we also have a lot of people coming here just to witness what's going on as tourists are there here is tourist i'm joined now by admiration he's actually a tourist here at baikonur oh thank you very much for joining us just tell us briefly why are you here i know you were tourists but what is it that drew you to

this place well i'm actually a fulbright scholar in moscow this year and i'm interested in the russian space program in the history of the russian space program as well as the cooperation between the u.s. and american space program what was the most interesting thing as so far that you've seen that you can share with people who can make it here over here if i can or. it's almost seems like it's in the middle you know it's in the middle of nowhere it seems like a desert there's and yet there are launching space ships every six months actually much more frequently than that but it's just it's it's in the middle of nowhere and it's a really a small town atmosphere and at the same time a big spaceport thank you very much. so there you have it you have a lot of tourists here going to the different monuments he'll be going to the launch pad as well to have a closer look at the rocket which of course there's the symbol the space actually if you got it for the fiftieth anniversary of his first space flight another interesting thing is that we've been talking to the wives of the a cosmonauts

especially the two russian cosmonauts alexandr some of the end of people he said will be this is their first time in space i mean when you get when you talk to their wives they're actually the ones who are very very nervous about the making of their husbands making this trip so you get a very interesting atmosphere here what you don't see. maybe in front of a camera it's all the conversations that go on between baster hasa people visiting just a very informative a very exciting atmosphere that we are experiencing here at baikonur in force everybody looking forward to the launch marking be a fiftieth anniversary of you got its first space flight. and coming up shortly our special report on a lot via and how it's changed in its twenty years of independence first i'll be back with a recap of our top stories stay with us. the

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for the full stop we've got. the biggest issues get a human voice ceased to face with the news makers. twenty years ago the largest country. club in. the genitor. where did it take the. wealthy british.