she's available in. the. really cool. cool. holiday inn. hotels. in the region so sure to come this piece of the first. close knit hold built in.

greece crimes to a halt as a forty eight hour general strike takes hold. and violence while protesters voice anger at proposed cuts to secure. 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. . probably much. as libya rejects the international criminal court's demands for colonel gadhafi is arrested r.t. reports from the oil port of the scene of nato's latest bombing campaign. six am in moscow i matras are good to have you with us here on r t our top story of 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 riot or is in the center of the greek capital hiring tear gas using rubber baton is to tell stone throwers at least eighteen people were detained four policemen hospitalized the e.u. is demanding twenty eight billion euros worth of cuts before releasing yet more cash to greece its concern. the country's last resort to avoid becoming the first euro zone nation to default but both the cuts and the high interest ballot are extremely unpopular financial journalist dimitri kovtun says an incompetent government was left has left people with no way out. 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 it strongly violent they tear gassed all the

people in the in this document those in the square even people that are in there in the private sector who don't stand to lose pacific from the authority measures there are not a fan of these measures because it's not just about cutting the public sector it's also about privatizing liquidating the nation liquidating the national assets selling off. public companies that liquidation prices and collateralize ing national assets national resources so of course i'm not going to stand for it there's it doesn't offer any want to kind of future here the assertive measures are unpopular widely unpopular amongst everyone in this in this country. amid the 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 believes the bailout package is a catastrophic solution back 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 at the present from the european union is three men who. made a law against that we could go over them because they say that on legacy you pulled four of these outrages to morrow 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 agrees to goes before then. i guess that. will be a disaster for european union. and unfortunately our government has not the nerve to go to them and this is the difficult part of the story because you see the memorandum send those thirty packages result is the key. goal that exports development and this is unsustainable. as the eurozone struggles under the

weight of 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 sixty trip to europe which took in hungary the u.k. and germany the chinese premier says beijing could buy the sovereign debt of some troubled euro zone countries he's also offered intensive trade deals worth billions of dollars to european nations later this hour financial pundit max kaiser and coasties and herbert delve into the reasoning behind what they call greece inspired blame game. the 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's 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 in greece for your sins.

as the international monetary fund sets the bar for the greek bailout it's also pointed its first female head french finance minute french finance minister christine lagarde will now lead the organization she won the overwhelming support of europe the us russia and china making her the clear favorite or washington correspondent has more christine lagarde appointment keeps a 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. 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. bias there could be some conflict of interest i mean up in those a bit they know the main borel's institution would 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 see who will score and always suggest i am have bias 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 europe and they would use their monopoly over credit. to force certain policies. on 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 and first 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 it is really

in charge of monitoring these kinds of things just missed 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 at the i.m.f. 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 favor giants like boeing and lockheed martin helping them to seal multi-billion dollar deals the u.s.

and europe found christine lagarde the best fit for the job so that several emerging markets including russia and china but she faces the difficult task of appearing independent despite her past lies and will struggle 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 lots more stories coming your way including this. activists say claims that a flotilla heading for gaza is carrying chemical weapons to use against soldiers are just israel's attempt to undermine the aid mission plus. their ex trying to export democracy for around the world that when they're trying to suppress the citizens of this country we speak to the residents of one u.s. state is they get some unconstitutional treatment from the government. purse though libya says the international criminal court is just

a cover for nato attempts to kill colonel gadhafi and refuses to recognize its legitimacy this came in response to the issue of an r.s.s. warrant for qaddafi in two of his confidants including his eldest son by the hague tribunal the chief i.c.c. prosecutor has admitted that nato forces have no mandate to arrest gadhafi and called on his inner circle to assist however many libyans believe nato leaders should also be held to account for their actions. the road from the capital tripoli to bragg is lined with the aftermath of war towns abandoned as the population fled the bombardment. this is what's left of the civilian airport in the city of but also 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 hardly hitting the targets of military value well call say these telecommunications towers so thick to stop it. has been destroyed in the entire time now this is

a site they've been to strikes and they've also accidentally burned two cars and killed two civilians since then there is no t.v. in this area and as we can see phone light has also been disrupted. there is no water and no. what used to be heaven this man says has become hell towards home now suzanne familiare. 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. from the small poor not far from bright gas used to flow to europe. we used to produce fuel to send it to them and now see they destroy it all this is terrible and ridiculous at the same time. the closer you get to the front line the more you feel it you can hear the war and you can even read it on

a tuesday for jobs just before the bombs arrive. this runs has as you can see the reason sign here in arabic but nato is here in libya to enforce and i'll fly zone 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. this any time happened three times over several hours while we were filming. regular is made to all parties where the front line lies dividing the country into two parts into to swear one side is going to put one flashpoint between the rebels and gadhafi forces it's a very important point as to take the quotation it's in a firm hand on this town would mean taking control over the country's economy. all facilities seem to be a red target that nato bombs never land on while it looks like the civilian population can hardly skate. they were like my family not just going to the shop

to buy some foods and this happened six of them died i couldn't believe it and this used to be a restaurant or old company 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 tried to help those who was trapped 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 the stories are repeated brick and so by our problem i live. in. there's a madam every day every day bombing a big killed our civilians. from this country this is from libya well those voices become more and more frequent as the sound of exploding bombs and warplanes the drowns them. out t.

tripoli. joran from a washington based think tank says the international criminal court indictment may bring the libyan conflict to an even deeper standoff. 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 me only 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 have been some moves forward some moves backward it appears that 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 it now makes it a little bit more difficult for khadafy 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 meanwhile anti-war activists have taken to the streets of london demonstrating against nato military intervention in libya the protest comes amid reports of growing civilian casualties escalating costs and no end in sight to the bloody conflict according to officials the u.k. has already poured more than two hundred million dollars into the campaign and risks doubling that if the opposition drags on further demonstrators say it's time nato was brought to book. right now three times as many as strikes in afghanistan in the a year and nobody's been held to account for this nobody even questions it is not be raised in the british parliament or anywhere else so this goes on yet gadhafi crimes whatever they may well might not be a change is a very different one i think most people around the globe do regard it as double standards in due regard to islamic sceptical chaucer's says that he is sets of limits it's pale into insignificance beside george bush but it's in

iraq and afghanistan and elsewhere. turn out some other stories making headlines across the globe at least seven people are dead eight wounded in a suicide and gun attack on the internet intercontinental hotel in the afghan capital kabul authorities say there were foreign and afghan gas at the hotel at the time but they are all safe and nato helicopters killed three of the attackers that had taken position on the roof the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. dozens have been injured in clashes between security forces and protesters in cairo's tahrir square security forces blocked roads in the egyptian capital and responded with tear gas to rocks and firebombs thrown from a crowd thousands gathered to vent frustrations over what they claim is the interim government's inaction they are angry that those responsible for killing protesters during the popular uprising that led to ousting of president hosni mubarak in february have not so far been brought to justice. israel says an international aid

flotilla headed for gaza is carrying chemical weapons that could be used against its soldiers activists planning to take part in the mission claim the allegations are an attempt to justify future israeli defense force violence this comes as the i.d.f. is ordered to prevent the ten vessel from making it to the palestinian autonomy the jewish state warned it will thwart any attempts to breach its blockade of gaza but has withdrawn threats to ban journalists traveling with the flotilla. that aid flotilla is the source of some heated debate coming up later and with peter lavelle and his cross talk team here's a short preview. israel has said it cannot allow for ships to sail freely to gaza because they will carry weapons for hamas which will use them to attack israeli cities and therefore if you really care for the palestinians use either egypt or israeli ports and land crossings to bring in humanitarian goods why you do it through the sea when israel says it won't allow it to happen because of its

security unless you really are seeking the provocation israel controls the land sea . space of effective control means let's not be patient but if i could address something which mr katz said earlier about why not bring things in through rougher i'm afraid this is yet another example of his evidence free mode of journalism completely lacking any acquaintance with the situation on the ground i've actually been through the rough across it's one small road going north it's one small road going south if you like need to feed seven hundred fifty thousand people each day it is hopelessly inadequate that is why we say to israel allow us to do our humanitarian work. critics say the u.s. state of michigan is sacrificing democracy to find a way out of its current economic woes an elected financial managers have taken the

place of elected officials and given a free hand to make decisions our teams were in a port takes over. the american state known for its great lakes has seen the middle class fade and automotive industry crumble in michigan's poor 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 pressure the united states and that have that authority in the face of massive public opposition michigan lawmakers recently reshaped democracy by giving 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 oligarchies and all that sort of thing i mean that's that's what it already is i think that 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 governor to oversee school districts and cities like benton 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 elect their hypocritic to you know their ex trying to export democracy for around the world but at home they're trying to suppress the citizens of this country at least for 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 while dr martin luther king. said injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. so is harbor today but it could be mill york tomorrow or it couldn't be chicago next week then said harbor is one of roughly one hundred cities or towns in michigan reportedly on the verge of 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 us has always claimed to stand for. marina port ny r.t. michigan. for more on this and other stories you can check out our dot com here's what's online right now. lifting the ban rush opens its borders for fruit and

vegetable imports from some e.u. countries but only if they're proven deadly e. coli bacteria. plus japanese authorities struggled to regain public confidence after the fukushima nuclear crisis i made newly diagnosed cases of radiation sickness although so much more a click away. booming opium production in afghanistan due to high international demand in years of war and destruction according to the afghan anti-narcotics minister that interview coming your way in a few moments stay with us here on r.t. . thank you.

we would like to start of course with. the statistics of the production of poppies in afghanistan i guess that is always being. at the point of the blame for the community that afghanistan is products at producing a huge amount of drugs and exporting it today to the word 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 that forced afghan people to turn to poppy growing this is the source of most problems afghanistan faces today the afghan government has pledged 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 here we learned that about two hundred fifteen hectares of farmland contain poppy crops but thanks to the efforts of the democratic afghan government which i consider to be quite successful we've managed to cut out the area to one hundred thirty hector's this year the government intends to further reduce the earlier song with 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 to 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 cultivated 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 dance 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 but some interview 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 president of the international forces in afghanistan with the drug trade. there is a talk that there is a possible withdrawal of the international troops for afghanistan when they see of next year. do you think after the withdrawal the situations of drug fighting would improve. if we look at these things objectively will see that the situation after the war has improved however the afghans don't feel that 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 that 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 money drug traffickers this year money 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 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. thank you very much for being with us from russia today and we wish of a star the prosperity and peace and. the trucks thank you the oyster.