the waging wars congress has generally been supportive they're not the most anti-war people that's for sure they're right. bill you want the ok despite the house voting against a funding cut of course it did as we've just been talking about pass that motion to deny obama the authority to continue with that operation in libya but the question is how much of affording out does this really represent between congress and the president. but we see the resolution that they adopted earlier was a way for the congress to sort of show their frustration over the white house refusal to come to the lawmakers to seek authorization for the military actions on that the us constitution only congress can declare war except the obama administration doesn't call it a war although it lasts more than three months in evolves many civilian deaths by the way earlier this month they had a better chance to send an even stronger message the house debated a resolution from congressman dennis kucinich that called for an immediate end to

the u.s. involvement in libya and a majority again brought it no to that proposal nevertheless the they don't like being ignored but even those who truly want to stand up against the military actions in libya there's little they can do as one congressman here said you can do resolutions until you're blue in the face but still be ignored by the white house. but it seems it's not just the resolutions that can be ignored it's also the voices of the american people the majority of whom are against the u.s. involvement didn't leave yet there is also one interesting point that some experts have made with regards to the public perception of the war in libya it is off the headlines now american news channels have been focused on congressman wiener squad tried for weeks now and those fears that certain. inertia develops in the public perception with regards to the war in libya inertia which some say could be very dangerous. thanks very much indeed learn from the u.s.

capitol that was our correspondent guy in a chicken well for more now on this so i'm joined by voice of russia radio host and analyst recalled young he's also joining me from the united states from washington d.c. ricardo well here we go on the one hand the lower house is saying obama can't have the authority to carry on in libya but on the other it's saying that they called me and the funding cut to the campaign now us none of this how do you read the message coming out of the house he doesn't even know what it really wants doesn't. well that's a good it's a good way of saying it in one way the house says we're not going to cut off funds for this hostility and of course president barack obama is saying that this is not really a war. doesn't require you know boots on the ground combat troops and also as i spoke to one analyst today he says the bigger issue here though is that seventy democrats join the republicans in this so this is a very fluid situation and as you say it's almost as if we want

a little bit of this but we don't want another part of this i think the big issue here is as one analyst told me earlier today he said the issue is time how long are we going to be we being the united states being in this war so we've got an issue here of a timetable and the issue of the issue of are we going to stay in libya the united states staying in libya or is united states going to set a timetable for this and i think that's not clear of president barack obama has not made that clear to the house or the senate what about that technical definition of a war you just said above and saying this isn't the war is he saying this because he's actually saying the u.s. forces are actually supporting nato and really fully hands on with what's going on there and there's a good argument. again as you know he has been accused of overreaching the nine hundred seventy three war powers act by committing american forces not solely on the ground but through nato with this conflict so there is still an issue of criticism that he's overreaching but again he's i think attempting to walk

a very fine line in this situation that we need to bring stability to libya to the united states that is bringing stability to that region and also letting. you know the u.s. is not supporting him in any way and the united states is supporting the the protesters but that's interesting i mean this indecision from the u.s. and the lack of support for obama isn't actually playing him to get his hands. another good question but we have to understand too that there's been no secret as they say the probable main aim of nato has been to quite frankly get rid of moammar gadhafi the bombing that's gone on of course the civilian deaths that have gone on very controversial but the aim has been to get rid of this dictator a symbolic message and from the house so obama will just carry on can you just ignore what's happening after all the claims of it being illegal or whatever just brush that aside. i think so i had

a chance to speak with congressman dennis kucinich last week about his he's one of the authors of this bill one of the sponsors of this bill and he was adamant about the fact that he being a democrat that his democratic president was not following the law and that congress should have been informed much for fully about this operation but again we get into the situation of the united states sort of having one foot in this in this conflict another foot out which i think the president barack obama is depending on that kind of thinking that kind of logic to justify the presence of of american influence in these nato strikes is that decision by the lower house. not exactly representing what the american people are thinking at the moment because obviously they're saying about we can't have the authority but they are saying let's carry on with the funding is the american taxpayer getting a little fed up now with the funding of overseas conflicts. well again that's a great question because in this country a lot of talk shows american talk shows that many people are saying

a very quite frankly sick of america putting its foot in other countries now obviously there's national security concerns there's issues of terrorism the united states has to deal with overseas to make sure it doesn't come here but a lot of people are saying we have money already on the boards committed we as americans have money committed to rebuild iraq rebuild afghanistan obviously we're now to rebuild certain portions of libya once this thing is resolved what about bringing some of that money back here to build rebuild american cities or build its infrastructure for instance a resolution was passed by the u.s. conference of mayors just recently asking president obama to bring more funds to the table hopefully from the money that we will retrieve from the afghanistan drawdown and the iraq drawdown bring that money back to american cities and rebuild here. great to hear what you have to say thanks very much indeed live from the u.s. capital voice of russia radio host and nic ricardo young good to have you on r.t.

thank you. other news now the u.k. failed to track detainees handed over to the u.s. neglecting to protect them from possible torture in america's secret prisons the one that's been revealed often in agreement between the two states and the treatment of terror suspects captured in iraq was declassified twenty eight year old pakistani eunice from atlanta is one of the victims of this deal he was seized by british soldiers in iraq in two thousand and four as a suspected insurgent and secretly sent to a u.s. detention camp in afghanistan a process dubbed extraordinary rendition and that is known as a calling on the u.k. to help free him as britain was the detaining authority british labor party m.p. and peace campaigner jeremy corbyn has told us earlier that despite the close ties between the two countries the u.k. had no excuse for allowing prisoners to be sent to the us for torture. there is an extraordinarily close military security and foreign policy relationship between britain and the united states we have sharing of security

information and so. i suspect it was quite willingly done by members of the security services in britain who see themselves as being very close to the united states my view is that every country should have its right to its own independent foreign policy and that means that if you believe your partner in a foreign policy relationship is doing something wrong imprisoning people illegally torturing them taking them illegally to guantanamo bay as was done by the usa then you should say so and i think it's quite appalling waterboarding and torture completely illegal in britain and the completely legal within the terms of the united nations convention on torture they're not illegal within the u.s. jurisdiction in the same way george bush specifically authorized waterboarding on what they term as robust interrogation techniques my suspicion is that the british security services were happy to keep quiet about extraordinary rendition happy that

these poor people should end up in u.s. jurisdiction where they were being tortured and so this is an issue that is going to come up again i'm sure in parliament next week it will be further inquiries into this because it's quite extraordinary that apparently there are people who allowed prisoners to be taken out of any jurisdiction that covered the convention on torture to the u.s. where the waterboarding took place. jeremy corbin talking to us from london the euro is dead and buried quite literally according to skeptics who held a mock funeral for the single currency in brussels they argue that attempts to bail out greece are too little too late and athens economic failure will leave the euro zone dream in tatters members have agreed on the terms of the press and the greek authorities to tighten their purse strings once again if the money is to be handed over the government will vote on a proposed twenty eight billion euro but you can't have a five years next week and if approved it will mean another twelve billion euros and rescue money. could join those mourning the euro's economic woes this is

a funeral procession in the center of brussels where the european leaders are meeting to discuss the future of the greek debts and of the eurozone itself they believe the euro can be salvaged but most people including euro skeptics believe that it is impossible and there will be no resurrection of the euro well to me and i think a lot of people it's beginning to collapse around the really seeing bailouts billions of pounds of taxpayers' money especially from the germans putting a lot of this bill and i think the public about enough of it and i've had enough of it if the leaders of the european union have presented greece with draconian conditions in order for the country to receive the remainder of its bailout unfortunately for greece they will have to take extreme measures which are incredibly unpopular in the country and that presents a major challenge for the greek government right immediately after it has just been shuffled the leaders are unanimously wrong again. maybe i'm wrong about greece from

the very start she should never have been allowed to join the euro in the first place she wasn't suited to it they were wrong to bail her out first time they're wrong drawn by the second time and if the greek parliament on tuesday accept this package then this time next year i'll be talking to you. so while the european leaders are extremely excited about the fact that the future of the euro could still be resurrected most of the people in europe. believe so and unfortunately for the european leaders the common europeans believe that the end of the euro is near . and in a political reporting there from brussels well as far as the future of the euro is concerned roll an economist with the open europe group told me earlier that he thinks that by bailing greece out now the e.u. is merely buying itself a few more years existence. this sort of system of bailouts has been going through has been proven to fail you know greece. well with the first bailout and the

austerity conditions which are imposed and island in portugal are doing much better now that they're looking a second greek bailout that won't really change anything in my body greece a few years but in the long run it looks never saw that they will default but the most important part of the second bailout is that it is essentially bailing out private bond holders and transferring the debt burden from the probable holders onto the taxpayer backed institutions such as the e.u. and the i.m.f. so that when the eventual default does come and there are write downs and losses on these on this debt and these loans will be the taxpayers footing a lot of the bill i mean if you look at it in the long term the sort of restrictions which are going to have to be put on the greek economy they have to make them survive in the euro and make them avoid having to need sort of permanent fiscal transfers from the likes of germany are going to be so stringent there's not really any scope for fiscal policy or economic growth they're going to be limited in their spending their deficit and you know where they can really allocate their money now is that that may not be the way the degree economy wants to go and so you

really need to consider whether they would be better off outside the euro zone. block of sanctions by the european union over syria have come into force the new round of measures targets syrian companies but also members of iran's revolutionary guard and the four high ranking syrian officials have put on the black list which includes thirty people the syrian president and brother top that list as international pressure on the current regime grows violence still continues in the country at least twelve people have been killed the security forces opened fire and used tear gas on crowds of protesters a three month crackdown against those opposing president bashar assad has left more than a thousand people dead but journalist nabila ramdani has told me that she believes the u.s. and its allies are opposed to any shift of power in the country. any further economic sanctions on syria will have almost no impact whatsoever on the current situation in syria and on the current crackdown let's not forget that series already subject to american sanctions including age restrictions and export bans.

as recent. economic sanctions on the contrary as well i think syria has exposed in fact the double standard in the international community's approach to all these revolutions sweeping across the arab world in the middle east let's not forget that the nato went to war against libya because here there would be a potential killing of innocent civilians in benghazi now we are witnessing an actual massacre taking place in syria and yet the international community has been rather cautious in its reaction towards syria because of its crucial strategic position in the middle east israel is of course one of its near neighbors and close friends include countries like iran and iran is said to her be playing a role in in the crackdown in syria. more stories for you online of course just go

to our website dot com here's some of what we have for you today addition of what you see here on the screen we got a story concerning russian surgeons giving hope to thousands of patients around the world suffering from an irregular heartbeat and successfully carrying out a break through surgery. what's going to national film festival is at full throttle now bringing cultures and languages together on the silver screen you can log onto the website r.t. dot com for the full read all cases you see green carpet experience and also online all t's new twenty four seven documentary channel has received a top launching presidential one learn more about it on. t.v. dot com. the former prime minister of ukraine is going on trial for abusing power during her

term in office in two thousand and nine unit a mission to secure the gas deal with russia which is claimed to have robbed the ukrainian economy of millions of dollars she's dismissed the cases fabricated but faces up to ten years in jail if convicted and next year she is in kiev for us. the atmosphere inside the courtroom and around the court building is absolutely elektra firing around fifteen hundred supporters of you to much i could as you can see here gathered in central kiev to protest what they describe as a farcical hearing of the farcical case against their leader against you too much angle now the i really give you credit politics herself started this child with a little bit of controversy she refused to stand up when the judge entered the room and then she said that this judge was completely unqualified for the case and that it needed to be dismissed clearly the tension is rising as this case and as its final stage you to assemble has been summoned to the prosecutor's office for months now for questioning now this case has been taking tools to the courtroom and we

will be hearing some developments in the next several weeks or so the cranes former prime minister yulia timoshenko is being charged with many different financial crimes including the amateur professional as described by the prosecution's gas deal with russia in two thousand and nine the prosecution claims that due to those deals ukraine lost more than four hundred million u.s. dollars and this is clearly the main charge against the country's former prime minister it is something of a fall from grace for the woman who was once one of the most powerful and prominent politicians in the world several magazines describe you to much and class as one of the most important female politicians on the planet now she she could become a convict and if convicted she could face up to ten years in prison even if this sent this would be suspended for her then still she would be unable to run for president for the next presidential election in twenty fifteen this according to

tomasz and co makes this case political and she describes it as the one being orchestrated personally by president viktor you have a quote which it is not the first time that you have to a shadow is. on the trial in two thousand and one she. charged with smuggling the russian gas into your brain clearly a lot of the supporters of you it was so go are rated to besiege the court building until they hear any news coming from inside and will clearly be seeing more public under wraps due to this in the next several weeks or maybe even months but we'll be following all the details and bringing you the latest details as soon as we get it . reporting there from ukraine and now to some international news in brief before you leave joins us with the latest business news tens of thousands of gathered in the yemeni capital after friday prayers calling for president ali abdullah saleh to go the country been stuck in a political impasse since february which has claimed one hundred sixty seven lives currently still recovering in saudi arabia from injuries sustained in an attack on

his compound earlier this month meanwhile in the southern port city of aden at least one person was killed when security forces opened fire on a funeral procession that turned into a mass government protest. a former rwandan minister has been sentenced to life for genocide rape and crimes against humanity poorly near a muster the country's former minister for families and women's affairs and her son an ex militia leader were both found guilty of ordering and assisting massacres some eight hundred thousand people were killed during the nine hundred ninety four slaughter most of them ethnic to its muscle who is the first woman to be convicted by the un backed tribunals a series of nearly simultaneous blasts of two cities in miramar injuring several people the first device went off in the country's i should say in the country's ministry of capital tall as zoon housing most of its hotels soon afterwards a car laden with explosives detonated near a man delay's main market it's not yet clear who was behind the attacks bombings

have become increasingly frequent there were pro-democracy activists and ethnic groups odds with the military backed regime but as promised time now to check out all the highlights from the world of business with she's next. it's time for a local business story as an oil prices have stabilized off a drop of almost five percent on thursday that was on the back of a surprise announcement by the international energy agency that sixty minute barrels of oil would be released from strategic reserves so all of that time in history the. sanction the release of reserves the moves intended to offset the loss of production from levy are currently engulfed in civil war meanwhile some opec members warn of possible countermeasures to prop up the oil price christine says corrino from standard and poor's explains why she thinks the i.a.e.a. has taken the unusual action. i think it's three things one it is trying to ensure

that when the northern hemisphere is going to the driving season there will be enough supply now a lot of the opec member countries have said their recent of supply and that is correct but what you need is to make sure that prices don't spiral up the second is to ensure that there is a soft landing for the economy what they are trying to ensure is that the world economy there's not going to a double recession and thirdly there has been a lot of frustration from oil barrels that have been taking out of the market on speculation so what the saying is listen guys we are going to dump oil in the market so don't try to get prices up because you're going to lose money so this should put a barrier to oil prices a cap which should hopefully ensure that the world continues to soft land and recover from the recession. let's have a look at the price of oil light sweet just traded just under ninety one dollars per barrel while brandi's that over one hundred six dollars. a quick look at the

markets your stocks are low of us despite a slight out for derision the first quarter g.d.p. figures on the corporate front micro technology was a disappointing results for its quarter so you chip sales well we. european markets were mixed up the close the food scenario did so well it gave us investors confidence and banks were shaken by a suspension of trading and some lenders neutrally under pressure from europe's debt crisis the tax was on the right point five percent and finally here in march the markets have rebounded after a sharp losses both are just in my six finished up one point five one point six percent respectively let's now have a look at some of the individual moves on the my six energy may just worm on the main gainers with gas from one point seven percent natural one cable slower dragged down by metal prices and that's just by the company positive net profit of one hundred thirty four million dollars in the past. water of the year beating previous

forecasts banks were up but was raised in your bank thinnish lower that's after eve b.r.g. said it's considering buying into the bank. now russia's global ports has raised tough billion dollars at its i.p.o. in london the port operator was surprised at the bottom of the intendant range the group sold twenty five percent of its shares for a company to list in london this year. the world's largest private equity firm blackstone group is coming to russia the company maaco invest in a new state backed investment fund set up by president out of the c.e.o. blackstone stephen schwarzman says a good local partner is essential in russia as a main interest lies in the consumer sector as the risks associated with mortgages are relatively high. russia's biggest social networks come back to dot ru is going to hold an initial public offering in new york the company hopes to get the listing completed during twenty twelve analysts say the company could be worth up

to three billion dollars given the high demand for tech stocks come back to his role as sixty million users worldwide but half of those in russia last month russia search engine again that successfully listed on the nasdaq raising one point we've been in davos. that's it from me you're up to date for news on our web site r.t. dot com slash business.

culture is that so much different and there's a huge music issue on top of the front takes it strategy bombers long awaited plan to start drawing down troops levels in afghanistan is in play but is that a real drawdown or just a rich. free

. free. free. free. free.

free. to the u.s. . since jurisdiction hundreds ended up being tortured and abused without a trial. mourning the euro the fate of the common currency is in serious doubt

as europe agrees on another bailout to greece but urges the country to get behind savage spending cuts some experts argue it's too late as the euro already has both feet in the grave. plus the former prime minister of ukraine goes on trial for abuse of power that's alleged to have cost the country millions of dollars to get to the shank of faces up to ten years behind bars if convicted in kenya. back with more news for you in less than thirty minutes from now in the meantime peter lavelle and his cross talk as discussed why president obama's announcement to withdraw thirty three thousand u.s. troops from afghanistan wasn't welcome by either antiwar activists or military officials. and.

welcome to crossfire computor all about exit strategy obama's long awaited plan to start drawing down troops levels in afghanistan is in play but is it a real drawdown or just a reduction of the so-called surge of eighteen months ago did obama capitulate to public opinion over military needs and will american and nato troops ever completely leave afghanistan to afghans. to cross-talk u.s. afghan strategy i'm joined by gareth porter in washington he's an investigative historian and journalist also in washington we have sam side by he is senior director of iran programs at nonviolence international and in london we crossed the alexis crow she's a research fellow in the international security program at chapman house all right folks this is cross talk and that means cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want gareth i'd like to go to you first in washington detail.