this week's top stories here on r t the acco of invasion western military action in north africa backfires at home with the french president already losing public trust over what's described as he's only your ambitions to. show your true more internal working you know from above the old. line you're after a major oil spill in the gulf of mexico coastal residents exposed to toxic chemicals say they've been left to deal with severe health problems all in their all. and christians around the world are united in the easter celebrations with

thousands flocking to a service at russia's main orthodox cathedral. this is our is he coming to live from moscow i'm marina joshua into the program despite more than a month of allied operations in libya the world stalemate has frequently been used to describe the situation there and for those countries involved in the action it's beginning to cause political trouble at home especially in france where the president's feeling the pinch they are bushell reports on how the country's intervention in libya and its former colony of ivory coast has backfired for nicolas sarkozy with accusations of imperialism. if nicolas sarkozy hoped intervening in libya in the oil every coast would boost his popularity is backfired he's now a boy for the most unpopular president in the history of france's fifth republic

according to the latest opinion polls the main beneficiary has been marine le pen as you head of the national front party he's expected to knock him out of next year's presidential elections sarkozy wants pledge france will never again kill people in africa and told me he's broken that promise. this past colonial reaction by france by behaving like a well it's policeman deciding who's bad and who's good at the president's policies a myriad of former colleagues by an inflexible personal style x. finance minister. lift the ruling party this month admitting they called to work together to form a human rights minister remi yet they has quit to suck as he lets colonel gadhafi use france he said as a math to wipe the blood off his feet by hosting him in paris now he's hunting the same man down sarkozy also sacked his integration advisor for disagreeing with him

at the recommend that man told r.t. the president doesn't know how to compromise. there's no place for twentieth century colonialism today but there should always be room for negotiation it's all leaves nicolas sarkozy with few friends just when he needs them it's become a lonely life inside the presidential palace for mr sarkozy not only a political opponent of pulling apart his foreign policy even for how lies like so many now talk of his period. to view pounds work with the president for over seventeen years of former premier fears libya turning into another afghanistan at deeply unpopular war with no clear deadline we cannot go. in any country without knowing when we will go out i think this is a listen that we did not come from afghanistan in its global diplomacy it's the

same problem unlist warned france is facing criticism for what some see as heavy handed intervention in the ivory coast the result is a presidency expert more ked at home and abroad for his arrogance that sounds more like a monarchical republic trailing both lopin and the socialists in his bid for reelection in twenty twelve so as he looks on likely to mellow leaked memos from advisors claim his only chance of winning is to make his policies even more extreme than usual r.t. paris meanwhile a mass of a lot of migrants from tunisia and levy is making france rethink its e.u. border free travel agreement last week where the country temporarily shut its border to trains carrying african migrants from italy because sarkozy is expected to address the issue next week when he needs where the time prime minister silvio berlusconi thousands of people have the violence was the only crimean alone has

received over twenty thousand refugees. this week great in france and italy and else they'll be dispatching military advisors are the ground in libya russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov warned against the moves saying it'll only cause more bloodshed. the latest developments in libya are not making us happy it's a clear launch of a ground conflict we consider these moves extremely risky which could lead to unpredictable consequences there's been cases in history when it all started with send a good military advisors and then it drags out for years and resulted in hundreds and thousands dead on both sides we call on everyone to respect the un resolution in solving this conflict goes with business here our assignment to staff says nato is seeking out seeking ways to go beyond the u.n. mandate while hiding behind humanitarian. i think the original demand from

the rebels inside of libya. in the cities in western libya was to the no fly zone to stop most families coming in and some humanitarian aid the red line for them was ground troops and now we're beginning to see the first steps towards a creeping. across the critical arrival of foreign or foreign forces and this is exactly what happened in vietnam and in various other conflicts and it always starts with it's about humanitarian intervention and then where is it needing to end this i think is a very very dangerous move and what we're seeing in libya unfortunately is the best way to put it is really the west hijacking this revolution and in this process they're making very very difficult for the revolution succeeded. and there are fears raging on the rest of the arab world why jeopardize the global konami recovery as we report later in the program. here one sharp away from the food room gracious. find out what's rats the world's financial system is facing

including some calming from washington just few minutes. well there was a major breakthrough in the fight against terror in russia this week the country's security forces killed two top terrorists in the north caucasus both had links to al qaida and were believed to be behind many attacks in russia. reports this week russia's north caucasus witnessed a number of successful terror over ration last sunday a key militants leader is that i believe john up was killed in an aerial strike in that russia's unteach terrorist committees the most wanted to has personally points of what is the best we had of militants in dagestan in october last year now it's also believed the believe john up was the moved in almost every terror attack that happened in the region and was also linked to the most school month so bombings last year he was among the four terrorists that were killed a week ago and that is does leave the hail be operation

a success once out that the militants only understands the language with force. because some of the militants are willing to engage and they reject us when we urge them to lay down weapons and we. haven't committed so many murders and terrorist attacks they now understand the language of force meanwhile and nothing the chorus terrorists big-o. was killed as saudi militant also known as my gun yet were so identified as a chief al qaida agent in the north caucasus he was also preceded by the militants as the absolute religious authority as well as an influential field commander now rushes on to terrorist committees that he was involved in almost every terror attack that happened even russia in recent years now despite the strength of high profile success russia's security forces still say there is no evidence that process most wanted terrorist martyr has been killed holds could be eliminated one

of the operations in english instead were shattered when d.n.a. tests found no presence of him among the that meanwhile he has claimed responsibility for a number of terror attacks that russia including the most cool natural tween suicide strikes and the goldwing of the capital's main airport still there is no clear information of just where russia's most wanted terrorist might be hiding in the north caucasus. well you know question the reporting there all go to our web site com for more food each of the special operation in dagestan and there you can also find a seat to these pictures of last week's attack on the matter in the bell russian capital that helped solve who was behind the atrocity. this week japan extended the exclusion zone around the paralyzed because she had plans to thirty kilometers a twenty kilometer zone was the clear and official no go area because of radiation risks of those who answer it could be subjected to fines or even detention

meanwhile workers at the plant continue to pump highly radioactive water from one of the reactors a key step towards easing the crisis thirty people have already been exposed to maximum radiation levels at the facility despite the ongoing crisis professor perry ragan from physics department at the university of repair has little choice but to stick with nuclear energy. it's all depended very limited natural resources which is the reason why it's because relatively low it at least a significant amount of the bits will come from. for the nuclear sector. my personal view is i think it doesn't have a choice i think it will have to continue to have nuclear power there let's not forget there are over fifty nuclear reactor is that are operational. this is the very beginning of the nuclear crisis in japan parallels how the drawing with the

trade novel disaster on tuesday go world will mark the twenty fifth anniversary of the worst nuclear accident in history. has seen for himself the legacy of the disaster in the exclusion zone. this still remains the world's biggest manmade nuclear disaster and it happened because of a failed experiment when the employees at the station tried to bring the reactor to a temporary stall and the experiment failed and resulted in an explosion the whole area around the lawns of thirty kilometer radius was contaminated some parts of belarus and everywhere across the european continent traces of radiation were felt even reaching the east because the united states now indeed this is still remains historical landmark still some people trying to draw parallels with fukushima accident nowadays but it's many experts agree that the accidents have been completely different going only in the causes of the disaster but also in the

immediate aftermath because the levels of radiation which were detected injured in the chernobyl area twenty five years ago were or still much higher than the ones that. are right now ukraine has managed to persuade several world countries to invest over five hundred million euros into building a new circle for this which would last for another hundred years it was safeguard the chernobyl reactor from imagery more radiation to the atmosphere so indeed it's twenty five years old but the legacy of chernobyl clearly lives on and the chernobyl story still making the headlines everywhere across the world but something horrifying to be in the exclusion zone i've been a regular visits of the since two thousand and five. recently went over there for weeks a film a fresh documentary which all of these us would be able to see on monday and walking through these dead empty streets always gives me a creepy feeling despite that i've been there more than a dozen times the area is completely deserted and just thinking that this was a communist paradise a role model city for those who are living and working at the chernobyl nuclear

bomb station now it's completely deserted and lifeless this feeling is of course a very frightful and horrifying indeed this area will never be inhabited again because the fall out period of many nuclear particles. can reach up to twenty thousand years and indeed we're just looking at the jets out of pretty bad and the exclusion zone in general you realize how closely how close a man's mistakes can be and that is definitely the main purpose of the exclusion zone right now to remind the world that such mistakes must be made again and exertion esky there and as he just mentioned this monday you'll be able to catch an exclusive documentary on the terrifying legacy of the turn of a blast also stay with r.t. as we'll be bringing you extensive coverage of the twenty fifth anniversary of the disaster. twenty five years of fallout. from the most devastating nuclear disaster history. culture of the century

has monthly its mistakes. legacy the future no. one party. this week saw another tragic anniversary a year since one of the worst environmental accidents admiral record of the gulf of mexico oil disaster killed eleven people and caused millions of gallons of oil poor into the ocean and i'll be piece trying to shift the blame by suing some of its contractors it's the local people who are still suffering the aftermath of the spill five million barrels of oil in combination with almost two million gallons of highly toxic chemical dispersants used to fight the oil spill a cocktail that contaminated not just the water in the gulf but found its way into people's blood a year after the disaster an environmental group tested the blood of dozens of

cleanup workers as well as residents of coastal areas they found levels of benzene thirty six times higher than normal girl. shader truly want to work in the open a bomber want to. matter and work as a boat and you near he says he was in perfect health before he was exposed to the toxic chemicals in the gulf now he's finding a bouquet of illnesses cardinal flugel got a lecture military officials from clayton is not alone in his fight george price owns a small boat yard in louisiana perfectly healthy just a year ago he has lost thirty pounds in the last few months george was diagnosed with severe anaemia plus surname and must still hold of this story and we. know you really know dr michael robbie cha who's been practicing medicine in louisiana for

forty years says he's never had such an influx of patients with respiratory and blood issues he fears the worst it's a distant stream and that's orders for calls robbie cha is one of a few doctors who is outspoken about gulf coast residents sometimes connection with the toxic chemicals that they've been exposed to many other doctors refused to recognize the cost as dr robert shaw says either because they don't have the necessary training or they don't want to be caught up in court. providers and environmental justice group polled residents in several coastal communities almost half said they had experienced health problems like coughing skin and eye irritation or headaches that are consistent with common symptoms of chemical exposure it's very very clear when you look at the ingredients both up which is considered so. it is considered as rather a hazardous material couple with the ingredients in the toxic dispersants and when

you mix those together it actually creates and holds all the times more toxic and these are exactly the types of chemicals that are turning literally in people's blood and many of the fact that gulf coast residents and those involved in the. cleanup of the gulf say they are alone in their fight with the consequences of last year disaster maureen biologists are saying it's going to take at least twenty years for the gulf ecosystem to recover president obama signed a country's environmental agency to investigate the facts of the spill but many gulf coast residents are sure the agency will do its best to sweep the findings under the rug i'm going to check on reporting from washington are today. well plenty more have this hour including the search here. we were four hours from the main russian or there's a theater on as thousands celebrate easter. and the convicted killer campaigning for release but from why not jail. global finance leaders warned of the

looming threat of a new crisis at the i.m.f. and world bank annual spring meeting and while some blamed turmoil in the middle east for standing recovery washington also came in for a fair share of the criticism its failure to tame a huge public sector there and budget deficit has triggered calls to strip us off its right to give financial advice to others as artie's marina reports. an annual spring gathering about the world economy produced a dreadful financial forecast we are one shot away from a full grown crisis critics say through the establishment of the international monetary fund and world bank america has positioned itself as an economic dr to the world using the institutions to retain global domination and fulfill the business interests of large corporations craving resources a longing to cash strapped country it's worth the do they very often pressure

governments to curb spending or raise taxes that can be very very dangerous and could slip back into making recession worse hightail all too familiar to right america the middle east. and most recently greece. where tens of thousands storm the streets protesting austerity measures public spending cuts and tax hikes. as the largest financial contributor washington also wields the largest voting power at the i.m.f. be fair to the i.m.f. it is run by the u. . treasury department with some input from the european approach that appeared tells you most of the problem this is supposed to know. something countries and it's run by just a handful or maybe just one and american has always served as president of the world bank since its creation in one nine hundred forty four but now with its own

backyard in disarray america is hardly in a position to hand out financial advice to others in two thousand and eleven america's financial management is best defined by a nonstop borrowing binge seat up to talk over there it's a running ticker of u.s. debt which has surpassed a ceiling of fourteen point three trillion dollars now the u.s. may want to consider investing in a bigger clock if you were digits on the display a problem so bad the u.s. president can't ignore it and the government can't seem to solve it we have to live within our means we have to reduce our deficit republicans have refused to support measures such as raising taxes on the rich or cutting defense spending all eyes are now on the nation that sets the bar for others to see if it clean up its own bad debts at home or enough or nine r.t. new york. into our time in our special report we reveal the difficulties and

dangers of living in black ghettos in the u.s. where rival gangs continue to side violence in the streets. i live in a country that don't understand that there's more violence in the streets of this country than there are the streets of baghdad. christian believers are united in these for celebrations and this year the van falls in the same day for all that for thousands of worshippers in moscow the

service was held in the main russian orthodox cathedral artists are first witness to the grandiose ceremony there's a big five thousand people have attended the service this year including president and prime minister putin and i had lots of families inside bringing the children it really is a family event a religious but it's not like thousands and thousands of people every year but let's look at will and celebrate not only inside but also lined the streets as well with candles take part in the ceremony. to celebrate easter it's a russian christian holiday which is always being celebrated all over russia would in moscow on a business trip and we just couldn't help but come here. is the first time you've had a chance to celebrate this festival in moscow so we came to see the service here it's a joy to be here in this movement interesting. good presently i came here straight after it's a great holiday do you. know who go to another church after we've seen it here

inside the cathedral itself absolutely beautiful lots of candles and flowers is patriarch kirill leads the service a major celebration this year a celebrated on the same day by both the orthodox church and the catholic church there are some traditional aspects to the russian celebrations people make the traditional cake he like and they also have a past it's actually the original name of the easter celebration itself that we saw the big procession from christ the savior cathedral its traditional procession that goes around the cathedral grounds with page up leading that they carry the crucifix and thousands of people joining but before they get back inside to continue the ceremony all around russia families will be celebrating a religious holiday church think it will throughout the country will be marking

with their own money this is the main one in russia and of course everyone celebrating it around the world very happy easter from us here are today. i log on to our website to read the russian betamax address in a thought way archita car you can also find more r.t. coverage of this and other top stories. now for the story of a convicted killer who wants death himself a russian prisoner whose raft was pain from illness is pleading with the authorities to be released from his misery the case has really neiers the debate over assisted suicide a practice that's illegal in a country where you can often reports. in out east forty five and he's dying

and he says the independent static has lost sixty connect in ten months now almost blind it can hardly distinguish objects in the backyard at the jail where he's serving his sentence for murder his gangrenous lance herit and doctors forecasts he won't need crutches for much longer he'll need a real chair is a good word for him or will i can't live without pain. i'm always on drugs or guess i didn't take them i'd be unable to walk at all. you're a former soldier and war veteran cannot do you no longer has the energy to fight for a life and instead he says it's really fighting for death. and that is how it has not always been so bad it deteriorated rapidly after he was put behind bars in two thousand and seven he was sentenced to eighteen years in prison in other needs specialized treatment and care something it just cannot get here. to die

our family what else do i need i used to be a man. now look at me. i'm not even half of a man and dr to help him die is officially forbidden in russia therefore. when i start going who could kill who could facilitate a suicide nobody even the most zealous euthanasia supporters villa said that they would do it themselves because they were commercials if they did know that from the point of view of russian legislation from the point of view of international law or epic norms can euthanasia be justified. there is a huge debate and whether terminal patients have the rights to and their own life to escape chronic pain there is against euthanasia and they are the majority claim among other things that even hopeless cases can sometimes be mere recklessly hailed as a voice from behind bars where miracles rarely happen may change their perspective

. if they know that the rest of their lives will be suffering but the reason to prevent them from doing that especially of those sentenced to life in prison i got many letters from these people they ask for death as life becomes unbearable conditions they are awful so why not. a straw all of those believe or euthanasia has been a hard decision and it won't be without its victims on the other side of the prison bars. and you know i will not allow him to die or i will not. enough his mother can understand what's caused her son to say that but she can't reconcile herself with the reality of that decision. if he dies i'll die with him what would i leave for home for. good ninety he's still alive but he's waiting

wishing for death by the it's natural oh. marie final shot to central russia. be that what i make out of the we start stories in just a few moments stay with us.

we have seen the damage it has done to our environment more chemicals what the poor frogs we do not want any more new g.m.o. foods. or core systems because there was a dismal experience in our district just appalled that that's allowed to go on in america. we are getting this unfortunately because we don't know what's in it there's no labeling there for it being used like and the boards we experiment could be used as guinea pig. oh now we have more questions than we have answers guards. like. hungry for the full scope we've gotten firsthand the biggest issues get the human voice face to face with the news.