for the full story we've gone to. the biggest issues get a human voice ceased to face with the news makers.

greece grinds to a halt as a forty eight hour general strike takes hold while i things are rocks and violence where protesters voiced their anger at proposed cuts to secure e.u. bailout. french finance minister christine legarde becomes the first female head of the international monetary fund winning overwhelming support from europe russia china and the u.s. . really concerned about a problem oh we don't need a new food as libya rejects the international criminal court's demands for colonel gadhafi is arrested or to reports from the oil port of breda scene of nato's latest bombing campaign. two am in moscow i match president good to have you with us here on r t our top

story violent clashes have broken out in athens on the first day of a general strike by workers hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are protesting ahead of a parliamentary vote on a harsh set of tax hikes and spending cuts riot police clashed with rioters in the center of the greek capital firing tear gas and using rubber buttons to repel stone throwers at least eighteen people have been detained four policemen have been hospitalized the e.u. is demanding twenty eight billion euros worth of cuts before releasing any more cash to greece its consider the country as a last resort to avoid becoming the first euro zone nation to default both the cuts and the high interest. water extremely unpopular french journalist financial journalist writer dimitri kovtun a says an incompetent government has left people with no way out. it's got a pretty bad and i wouldn't say that all these protesters represent anywhere near the greek population they're much worse than they were on the fifteenth of june and as far as i've seen they're much worse than anything we've seen before the police

got a truly violent they tear gas all the people in the in the blood this document those in the in custody and squares even people that are in there in the private sector who don't stand to lose specifically authority measures they're not a fan of these these measures because it's not just about cutting the public sector it's also about privatizing liquidating the the nation liquidating the national assets selling off. public companies at liquidation prices and stand collateralize ing national assets national resources so of course i'm not going to stand for theirs it doesn't offer any want to kind of future here ok well if they're not going to accept it then the government seems to be keen on still pushing for getting a bailout what's the deciding factor here where is it tipping towards at this point . unfortunately the government isn't giving anyone any real options and that's the problem the a certain measure unpopular widely unpopular amongst everyone in this in this country but at the same time they're not giving us any real solution they're just getting threats you have our v.p.

who came out yesterday he was this bill good morning bill and he said that. we have a call to return to the drachma would be chaos you have tanks in the street and he may be he may be right but that's only because this government isn't providing a real solution so the way i see it as it stands right now default is inevitable option and i think i think that people are fed up with do you hear in general that's the major the major feeling and they want a return to something some sort of national economy where they can implement a policy that benefits them because right now they understand they're under financial occupation which is what this is and they're not going to be able to get out of it as long as the e.u. . the you see the and the troika are working together to bankrupt this country. amid unrest on the streets of the capital lawmakers in the greek parliament are debating the austerity cuts the e.u. has repeated its warning that there is no plan b. for athens the vote itself is scheduled for wednesday petros papa constantino a columnist for an athens newspaper thinks the belo package is a catastrophic solution backed only by a desperate e.u.

leadership. up on that who has lost legitimacy and agrees and as a prime minister he is a dead man walking at the moment they present from the european union is tremendous . talk about the bloc made a law against that we could go over men because they say that on the list. of these outrageous below the moral enough and there will be no more. greece who will be left before. anyone is the this is a bluff from you will be on the union because if we agree that goes before then it will have a domino effect i guess the euro that will be a disaster for european union. but unfortunately our government has not been there one of them and this is the difficult part of the story because you see the memorandums and those that are the result tool is the. gold that

eggs of development and this is unsustainable. as the eurozone struggles under the weight of the financial bailouts china's prime minister wen jiabao has offered a helping hand to the union's ailing economies the offer came during the premier's six day trip to europe that took in hungary the u.k. and germany he also offered intensive trade deals worth billions of dollars. and in the next hour financial pundit max keiser and coast e.c. herbert delve into the reasoning behind what they call the greece inspired blame game take a look. problems of greece ultimately come from bernanke is a loose monetary policies and corrupt monetary policies the problems of china as america perceives them that they are quote unquote currency manipulators is also the result of america's loose monetary policies america as the world reserve currency and there are huge benefits when having the world reserve currency if your economy starts to collapse because you'd be use your privileges as for having the world reserve currency don't blame people like john and greece for your sins.

as the international monetary fund sets the bar for the greek bailout it has also appointed this first female leader french finance minister christine lagarde will now head up the organization she won the overwhelming support of europe the u.s. russia and china making her the clear favorite our washington correspondent has more. christine lagarde appointment keeps the european at the head of the world's top lender keeping the long held tradition intact and in a debt crisis having one of its own chairing the international monetary fund could be more important than ever for europe i think that's more. intimate knowledge of those mechanisms. of the european community and the eurozone of its many leaders can help lead guards main competitor was augustine carstens from mexico who argued

her appointment would only add to the perception of i.m.f. by its there could be some conflict of interest i mean up in those that have it they know the main borel's institution will be europe so we'll have a situation where they will roll or stormin eighteen to create thirty institutional emerging economies the engine of global growth in recent years are vastly under represented in the organization with the u.s. and europe holding half of the votes and veto power carson said he knew he had lost even before he announced he was running the fooling myself i mean it's like starting a soccer game with the five to seattle score and only suggest i am have by as has had a negative effect on the world's economy if you look back at the way that rescue packages and other loans have been made in the history of i.m.f. lending it is very clear that decisions are primarily bullet

a goal based on the interests of the united states or or europe they would use their monopoly over credit. to force certain policies. and countries in policies there were not in their national interest the i.m.f. lends money monitors the global economy and in theory at least prevents crises its credibility has been shattered by the financial collapse in the advanced economies which it definitely did not spot they missed the two big or biggest asset bubbles in the history of the world first the stock market bubble in the us in the late ninety's and then of course the housing bubble. states which from two presenter of course there were many other housing bubbles as well. this is like the u.k. and spain that have contributed to the mess that we see today and the i.m.f.

you know which publishes its world economic outlook every six months and is really in charge of monitoring these kinds of things just completely i think they didn't want to go against all their friends on wall street and others there were making a fortune at the time some experts see the intimacy between the i.m.f. and u.s. corporations as a matter of concern there's always been a long healthy relationship between the big banks in the financial sector on wall street and the u.s. treasury department and thus by extension the i.m.f. all of the big decisions that are made by the u.s. treasury department then you had of the i.m.f. is more than familiar with the u.s. corporate world for years she worked at a major american law firm representing the interests of big business and is a member of the u.s. poland defense industry working group advanced the interests of favored nation giants like boeing and lockheed martin helping them to seal multi-billion dollar

deals the u.s. and europe found christine legarde the best fit for the job so did several emerging markets including russia and china but she faces the difficult task of appearing independent despite her past lies animal spambot not to cement even further the perception that the i.m.f. exists only for the benefit of its creditors i'm gonna check our reporting from washington hard to. stay with us here on our team got lots more headed your way including this. activists say claims that a flotilla headed for gaza is carrying chemical weapons to use against soldiers are just israel's attempt to undermine the aid mission plus. they're trying to export democracy for around the world but at home they're trying to suppress the citizens of this. we talk to the residents of one u.s. state as they say they get some unconstitutional treatment from the government.

first though libya says the international criminal court is just a cover for nato's attempts to kill colonel gadhafi and refuses to recognize its legitimacy this came in response to the issuing of an arrest warrant for gadhafi and two of his confidants including his eldest son by the hague tribunal the chief i.c.c. prosecutor has admitted that nato forces had no mandate to arrest gadhafi and called on his inner circle to assist but many libyans believe nato leaders should also be held to account for their actions. the roads from the capital tripoli to bragg he's lined with the aftermath of war towns abandoned as the population fled the bombardment. this is what's left of the airport in the. home to one of the country's key oil refineries the last plane took off from this runway just hours before it was hate. to say so it's only heating the targets of military value let's call say these telecommunications towers so take two minutes west of the town of.

troy in a time tighe barry this is a sight to strikes and they've also accidentally burned two cars and killed two civilians and there is no t.v. in this area as we can see phone lot has also been disrupted. there is no water and no electricity what used to be have been this man says has become hell what was home now. i have nine children and i send them all to my relatives abroad i don't want them to see their mother who is in such a condition that we from the small pool not far from break even gas used to flow to europe. we used to produce fuel to send it to them no see they destroy it all this is terrible and. because at the same time. the closer you get to the frontline the more you feel it you can hear the war and you can even read it

on the. jobs just before the bombs arrive. this one so as if you can see there is a sign here in arabic that nato is here in libya to enforce and also is own over the country to protect civilians on the other side there is another sign also in arabic saying that nato can attack any place at any time. any time happened three times over several hours while we were filming. regulators major parties whether from sunrise dividing the country into two parts into to swear one side is going to put one flashpoint within the rebels and gadhafi forces it's a very important point to take location in a firm hand on this town would mean taking control over the country's economy. all facilities seem to be a rare target that nato bombs never land on while it looks like the civilian population can hardly skate but they were like my family not just going to the shop

to buy some food and this happened six of them died i couldn't believe it and this used to be a restaurant for all companies staff where friends gathered after work we were eating with my colleagues then there was a boom we knew what that was we run we try to help those who are strapped then the helicopters came to and still to shoot us as if they didn't want us to save our friends. from one street to another and stories of a key change reconsider our problem either. isn't that an every day every day bombing of big games that were civilians there's been nothing from this country this is probably of you well those voices become more and more frequent the sound of. planes drowns them.

cheaply. joe ruben from a washington based think tank says the international criminal court indictment may bring the libyan conflict to an even deeper deadlock. in practical matters this does make it a little more difficult in the short run because what we want to see is a peaceful resolution a diplomatic solution where all to merely as the obama administration said they want to see khadafi go i think that that is the recipe for the cause occurring in libya but that will require some negotiation there's been some moves forward some moves backward it appears khadafi is dug in tripoli and he does not want to leave but clearly the way out from this conflict is for gadhafi to leave power and to remove himself the problem of course is that with the i.c.c. indictment now makes it a little bit more difficult for gadhafi to go this doesn't make it easier to negotiate his departure unless he goes to a country where the i.c.c.

will not get him. israel says an international aid flotilla bringing headed to gaza is carrying chemical weapons that could be used on soldiers israeli defense force has been ordered to prevent the ten ships from making it to the palestinian autonomy the jewish state warned it will support any attempts to breach its blockade of gaza gaza but has withdrawn threats to ban any journalist traveling with the fleet palestinian peace activist as he says the aim of the flotilla is to raise awareness about the blockade. claiming that there is chemical weapons on those ships well in case of invading those ships which is what the israeli army is planning to do and having any people killed it will help the image of israel in saying we thought that there is something like a weapons but it is really unlikely specially considering that the greeks have the authority which is where the ships leaving from to go and check those ships and nothing have been found the people who are going to this of little are more about creating awareness of what's happening in gaza and they and israel actually

stopping the flotilla helps the mission of this group. is a humanitarian thing and there are different people and there are different groups part of it so some of them are there for humanitarian reasons some of them are probably there for provocation and some of them are there to raise awareness of the reality of life in gaza and the one and a half million people who have been for a few years now and able to receive what they need to be able to live. but you can always find more stories on our website r.t. dot com here's what's a click away right now lifting the ban a rush opens its borders for fruit and vegetable imports from sunny you countries but only if they're proven free of deadly e. coli bacteria. plus japanese authorities struggle to regain public confidence after the fukushima nuclear disaster i made newly diagnosed cases of radiation sickness all this and much more at r.t. dot com. critics say the u.s.

state of michigan is sacrificing democracy to find a way out of its current economic woes unelected financial managers have taken the place of some elected officials and given a free hand to make decisions on checked artie's maria portman takes a look. the american state known for its great lakes has seen the middle class seat and automotive industry crumble in michigan's poorest city benton harbor more than a quarter citizens are unemployed and elected officials have lost all authority to govern as an unprecedented democratic collapse plays out we believe that it's illegal immoral and unconstitutional no one person in this country have all that authority to preserve the united states and that have that authority in the face of massive public opposition michigan lawmakers recently democracy by giving the unilateral authority to officials known as emergency financial managers e.m.f.'s have independent authority to fire elected officials close schools void union

contracts sell public property and privatized assets residents like scott elliott say his city could be the start of a changing landscape in american politics people throw around words like oligarch and all that sort of thing i mean that's that's what it already is i think the average citizen is going to have less and less to say about what is done with public assets these decision makers are appointed by the gun. to oversee school districts and cities like the edge of harbor facing financial distress in april benton harbor z.m. out stripped the elected city council of its democratic power leaving a city of eleven thousand struggling americans under the rule of a man they didn't allow their hypocritical you know their ex try to export democracy for around the world but at home they're trying to suppress the citizens of this country at least four other cities including detroit have an emergency

manager in the motor city the e.m.f. laid off some six thousand teachers and it's pioneering plans for corporations to privately run schools funded by public tax dollars well dr martin luther king. said the injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. so is benton harbor today but it could be in new york tomorrow or it couldn't be chicago next week benton harbor is one of roughly one hundred cities or towns in michigan reportedly on the verge of fiscal collapse and economic desperation that could lead the way for financial martial law to spread throughout the state critics say that would lead to a deepening demise of democratic rights the u.s. has always claimed to stand for. marina port ny r.t.

michigan. bombing opium production afghanistan is due to high international demand and years of war and a structure in according to the afghan anti-narcotics minister in an interview coming up next stay with us here on r.t. . we would like to start of course with. the statistics of the production of poppies that are. going to start as always being. at the point of the blame for the

community that afghanistan is producing a huge amount of drugs and exporting it. to the words but can you just from your point of view what do you think i mean how to tackle these problems there's no doubt that the area of plantation song with narcotic crops has increased since military hostilities started in afghanistan i believe that the war was the root cause look for staff turn people to turn to poppy growing this is the source of most problems afghanistan faces today the afghan government has plans to put an end to all be in production in the country if we study the history of drug production how it spread in afghanistan and what degree it has reached you we learned a little two hundred fifteen hectares of prominent contain poppy crops thanks to the efforts of the democratic afghan government which i consider to be quite successful we've managed to cut through the area two hundred thirty hector's this year the government intends to further reduce the earlier poppies. so as to fully

meet its commitment to destroy poppy cultivation but we will be unable to solve this problem once and for all on our own we will need people support in other words we should not be focused only on the question of poppy cultivation it's an international problem and not just the problem of growing poppies in afghanistan for example we realize the poppies are could've aided in afghanistan but then the question arises in what way about thirteen hundred tons of chemical substances necessary for processing opium into her own illegally get into afghanistan via other countries another example is that the world consumes ninety five percent of afghan produced opium by contraband while opium consumption in afghanistan accounts for just five percent this proves that not only afghanistan but the whole world should declare war on these narcotic substances. over the past six years the afghan government has managed to reduce areas of poppy crops to forty three percent in

doing that we almost stopped sowing poppies and seven afghan provinces more than twenty other provinces are fighting to destroy them i would also add that we've worked out a plan to put an end to sowing poppies in several provinces this year as part of efforts to implement this plan we intend to further reduce areas of poppy fields it doesn't mean that we don't have difficulty as afghanistan doesn't have enough ability to treat drug addicts we can help only one percent of all drug related patients the total profits from the drugs trade amount to about sixty five billion dollars a year all of them go to the international drugs mafia local drug smugglers barely get three percent from votes on a view of the expenses for poppy cultivation in afghanistan we see the properties from this trade are miserable the international drugs mafia gets the bulk of the profits. there is one concept that connects somehow the presence of international forces in afghanistan with the drug trade. there is

a talk that there is a possible with all of the international troops who are going to start with exterior. do you think after the withdrawal the situation of drug fighting what improve. if we look at these things objectively will see that the situation after the war has improved however the afghans don't feel a great deal of preparatory work has to be done it's necessary to train the afghan police and army to fight drug trafficking now but we are going to the post war period but i assume that everything we can do in this area brings positive results every day i can claim that in recent years the anti drugs ministry has achieved concrete positive results we've detained many drug traffickers this year many more than in previous years the professional training of afghan police and army personnel has also improved if things continue this way i'm sure that by twenty

fourteen we will be able to control the entire territory of afghanistan foreign aid has turned out to be pernicious for money afghans a considerable part of the country's infrastructure has been destroyed it should be other than the sharp change in the specialization of agriculturist closely linked to foreign factors perhaps you can see it for yourself the drugs production flourished in the period of the most intensive military hostilities which led to serious destruction security as well as law and order as a result the illegal sowing of poppy crops increased that's why we count on the cooperation of the world community in the struggle against this evil and we won't lay the blame solely on afghans the afghans are people who want to live in compliance with the law but today they want to use the benefits of peace in the first place we are now facing the most terrible consequences of the war against terror we witnessed the destruction of all some of bin laden that took place near a military base in pakistan all this should be subject to

a more profound analysis such issues. shouldn't be tackled superficially. a couple of months back there was a joint operation between the russian forces of. americans and the. forces of fighting do you think such operations could be. could be more in future as. joint operations especially from the russian forces. at this moment we're trying to strengthen our law enforcement primarily the afghan police which is predominantly in charge of destroying poppy crops as i said earlier i assume that we've made great progress in this field but more importantly we exchange reconnaissance information we discussed this question with russia and are ready to build up cooperation with moscow in this field jointly we've worked out several mechanisms and are applying them and cheering special information this

information could help us catch smugglers in and outside afghanistan in this we rely on help from countries which have experience in this field and your excellency thank you very much for being with us from russia to the wish of bystander prosperity and peace. talks thank you there always think it. is today violence is once again flared up. these are the images. from the streets of kenya that. operation.