live from moscow i'm kevin i when you're watching r t international it's ten pm here now and you are most welcome now our top story rebels have reportedly into tripoli from the west as fighting in libya appears to be intensifying with some claims that hundreds have been killed over the weekend it's also believed that major clashes have taken place at the capital's mitiga airbase as well to dr franklin lamb from americans for middle east peace he's in tripoli and he told me the situation is becoming increasingly volatile. and there are some gun fire eaters bombs on the top of this hotel which is twenty six floors up and you can see plumes of smoke at the marriott hotel all i seems to be on fire. or it's near my hotel i don't know if you heard but i i was out in tripoli icicle for ninety minutes that warning and when i came back walking behind it swimming pool

a good hotel i was shot and. i'm fine. but there was a suggestion that the stock rose on the minute out how about. the people preparing here people are moving around young men on first and others taking up i think the pensive position been going to have various areas where they are directed we talk to the rebels actually who want negotiations i don't want to kill the libyan brothers and sisters this is a national campaign using their people. their variable. only as you know me through the bombing. and then you know this would have been over by mid march probably a little. early to draw it is clearly needles or needles they need to stop the. out of this country. more from tripoli also spoke to lizzie failand

she is there too she was on the phone with me just last hour she said that the rebels will meet fierce resistance in the city amid fears that tripoli could become infiltrated by opportunistic terrorists. i think it probably is the most. that so far i'm reading the next few days will be crucial. for the government and they have. not really since the beginning of their car and nearly every body in tripoli is on the. point perfectly ready to fifty of the of the rebels it's clear that the market the rebels in the seat not going to have an easy time and the government comes with them but they are you have the situation and within the next few days i will leave the scene. but bill if the. days of this crisis we were hearing that the so-called rebels revolutionary i said they are

really. the night before this is becoming clearer and what what this group and libya i mean the the west is really a nightmare situation. had intelligence. that you think the west especially against the west and these forces are on the ground like i think leader abdel hakim was the is actually leading nato and calling may so to drop the bomb in every is buy them up and that they are that they can come into areas like tripoli. speaking to me and ivan eland from the institute the independent institute in washington indeed he told me he believes that much of the media is pandered to western interests in the way that they've been reporting the civil. in the western media here particularly in the united states all the western countries the media has sort of been

a cheerleader you know. on the on the retreat is almost over so maybe the reports are exaggerated but certainly the western media is hopeful because no one likes khadafi and certainly i'm not defending his human rights record but he was the leader of the country and it seemed like the western countries just took advantage of a rebellion to do get rid of him of course they haven't really done that in assad in syria they've been very slow because israel doesn't necessarily want to get rid of him. because they're scared of what could happen there but why isn't the same thing apply in libya what could happen there we don't know it's hard to say during war you get report one report on one thing and then it's contradicted by another but i think the rebels think they have the advantage at this point and they're being helped by the nato. bombing and that sort of thing so i think they think they're almost ready to take tripoli and just let you know

a little bit later in the program tonight we'll bring you more about the troubles in the region one participant of egypt's revolution he says the fight a democratic form seems simply to have given birth to another military regime perhaps even more brutal than the previous one that just the. next the cross border violence is sort of the middle east this week with israel launching airstrikes in gaza which fall back with dozens of rocket attacks however latest reports tonight suggest that egypt has managed to broker a cease fire between the two sides which could come into effect within the next few hours to the latest on this supposed to pull the slip just now who's in jerusalem she's keeping across the latest for us. the reports we're receiving indicate that her master officials say that cairo has brokered this truce which goes into effect this evening we understand there tell of the of was hesitant about making any kind of agreement with the guards are pictures and the militants put down fire first we

also understand that it will be the responsibility of her master security personnel to enforce the cease fire not only this is good news but the reality on the ground is that no one here really believes that a cease fire between the two sides will rast and will will really survive the test of time this latest violence started on thursday in a three pronged attack that left eighty's rabies did not it's all responded almost immediately with a strikes and those air strikes have been continuous since tuesday there have been more than a dozen palestinians killed if been more than eighty grad and cause some rockets that have rained down on southern israeli towns killing one israeli and injuring many more so certainly the the since on the ground is that both sides are incredibly angry both sides are incredibly distrustful of the other and one of the sentiments being expressed here in israeli circles today is that the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been preparing for a war with gaza for some time and every day what happened on thursday was just the

opportunity to carry out the assault that we've seen this ties in with the current domestic problems. of israel this very weekend we saw the marches on the streets you have more people protesting about the way that it was a lot of the government's domestic policy right now there is some cynicism isn't there about the timing of these. assaults that went on across the weekend at the same time as they were demonstrating about the problems within israel but it certainly has some cynicism here in israeli circles when you talk to demonstrators they say that they're not surprised by the latest spate of violence many believe that netanyahu was just hoping for something like this to happen because he is a prime minister that is very strong. on security issues on issues of what what is called terrorism here in israel rather than on addressing socio economic internal problems so for more than a month now you've had tens of thousands of protesters in all the major cities in israel they marched again last night and was before the slogan was

a call for social justice they added a new slogan yesterday saying a call for a cease fire now the protesters that i've been speaking to are adamant that they will not let this latest spate of violence detract the netanyahu government from addressing their concerns they plan by the first weekend in september they'll have a million man march they believe they'll get a million israeli citizens to the streets so that's almost one sixth of the population here so there certainly is a lot of disgruntled israelis about domestic issues and if anything ironically this latest spate of violence that they say has made them even more determined to make sure that netanyahu and his government addresses the concerns. of middle east correspondent there with the latest for you. britain where two young men have been handed a tough jail sentences for using facebook to encourage violent riots the jail terms were praised by prime minister david cameron but slammed by human rights groups is over the top parties are branded as mourinho the policy of zero tolerance has taken

hold of me. four years behind bars for the riot that didn't even happen jordan black sure and perry sutcliffe kenan were banged up for inciting disorder on facebook no one turned up after their invitation to riot which they later said was a drunken joke but now they face sentences even tougher than most looters and our worry is that it is an imbalance a four year sentence for example would normally be given to somebody for a previous bodily harm for holding someone up with a knife or even for. some form of sexual assault so it seems to me that that there is a danger that the courts are moving into disproportionate territory and that actually devalues our response to more serious crimes that governments encourage courts to dish out harsh sentences by using the public disturbance as an aggravating factor it's meant this man anderson fernandez could even be sent to

jail for theft of just two scoops of ice cream because like this one denying bail to most offenders and ignoring any claims of previous good character of the one thousand two hundred seventy seven people charge so far two thirds have been reminded in custody that's way up on last year's rate for serious crimes chris just ten percent some offenders even being made homeless is their punishment with local governments taking away their houses but many say it's all simply cause more harm than good i think this is very unwise the move to remove people from housing interim move benefits because actually if we are seeing that some of the crime that we saw on the streets was an expression of people not feeling part to society not feeling part of our communities then these measures are actually going to push people further away from society further away from our communities and far more likely to commit crime the facebook case is the first sign of the government's desire to crack down on social media sites like twitter were applauded by the west

to mobilize. the masses in the arab world but they were also instrumental in the u.k. riots so now the prime minister wants it to stop we are working with the police the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites or services when we know they are plotting violence disorder and criminality when social media fueled revolutions in egypt and tunisia britain called it democracy but now the shoe's on the other foot when troubles closer to home i'm very. new you know the. movement we would be the force. the authorities the country's. prime minister says this is where britain fights back but it speeds this fighting fire with fire could only fan the flames of civil disorder after bennett artsy

london. still ahead of the program with me kevin owen we bring you the knights of the sky. for the crowds on the ground this is an exciting spectacle but that's not quite the emotion that's going through my mind at the moment because i'm about to see what happens from inside the cockpit all the day's work for tom we bring you all the thrills and some spectacular stunts from the final day of the max international air show in moscow just coming in. next the collective economic government that's the latest measure proposed by top e.u. leaders in the market turmoil and reverse the stagnation across the continent but the latest ideas are found that will support among investors who say it comes as too little and too late angela merkel and nicolas sarkozy have rejected the idea of euro bonds favored by the markets and seen by many as the best way of the nation from the debt crisis political analyst and author william angle had something to say about that he believes there is little real substance to these latest measures . i think the collective economic government that merkel and sarkozy are talking

about is really. a desperate political ploy to try to create the illusion of stability where the underlined stability doesn't yet exist there is no political will not in germany nor in the rest of the eurozone countries for surrendering national sovereignty to a collective entity that has any decision power so it's simply a shimmer that's been thrown out there to try to calm the markets the alternative really is is to get steve will export market relations i think above all with russia the central asian republics china and the rest of asia in the middle east and if that is created then you can have a growth vector that leads you out of this debt impasse that the eurozone countries are in without that and so long as as the dollar system dominates international financial relations that moody's standard and poor's do the rating on sovereign debt for european union countries and that there is no independent european credit

rating agency and there isn't is no. growth perspective not only austerity but there is no out of this crisis. and yet another blow to the eurozone the block second one hundred sixty billion euro bailout for greece may be under threat after this is agreed to provide finland with collateral now in return for its contribution to the financial rescue package but that sparked indignation among the other fifteen donors some of which are now also demanding collateral to analysts however warn that greece is incapable of handing out such guarantees the commission says it will now investigate but if it is actions are appropriate. and while the world markets continue to tumble on bleak economic world news the blame game is in full swing from bickering u.s. political parties to investors and credit rating agencies few major players have escaped unscathed but as a tease there are enlisted reports some may find themselves suffering more for that

than others. breaking news the united states has just lost its top notch triple a credit rating from it was the downgrade heard around the world in a strong reaction to the rating downgrade the u.s. well it's dead standard and poor's took the u.s. from straight aaa student to one notch below for the first time ever bad marks were handed down for the nation's debt and politicians inability to agree on reigning it in a two party downgrade in a lot of it has to do with the failure of the present united states i think this is a tea party problem the greater in chief says the u.s. is becoming a bit more unpredictable in terms of. proposed to some of the other governments that were a stoic response from the downgrade or that helped to ratchet up that the yeah tricks of the debt ceiling debate with the help of the other ratings agencies of course stealing the show from bickering politicians with their eyes on the debt deal they may be missing really a larger concern because there is growing evidence today that the u.s.

credit score is going to get hit now that the u.s. has gotten hit just how much does s. and p's mark actually count well not much according to some like investor jim rogers but it's not because the country isn't broke america is going down the tubes where the largest debtor nation in the history of the world it's because of the source of these late rating agencies have been wrong about nearly everything for the past ten or fifteen years don't pay any attention to them so just how does the report card stack up for the major ratings agencies themselves they are s.n.p. moody's and fitch let's assess test one the mortgage crisis of two thousand and eight these are the same agencies that rated the toxic sub prime dead aaa so i mean how do we take them with any level of credibility after that. well let's see if they get any from tess to the too big to fail banks and insurers during the financial crisis and they've missed many of the big bankruptcies they gave her

investment. ratings to lehman to bear stearns right to the very end gee they gave a aaa rating too to almost the day of collapse good grades for firms that collapsed or were bailed out because of bad debt in fact the financial crisis inquiry commission said the three credit ratings agencies were key enablers of the financial meltdown and this brings us to test three ethics ratings agencies are paid by the investment firms they grade and moody's and s. and p. are publicly traded which means they may be more driven to increase profits for shareholders raising this debate right now you have the companies that are are being judge of paying the bill and i'm rounding a big goal of berkshire but mr buffett also pointed out the market requires it because these ratings agencies have been around forever so they're in shrine by government regulations which oh yeah they have a stake in test for objectivity frank legislation the financial reform has

restrictions on rating agencies and the rules that are yet to be written and they care a huge deal about what those rules end up looking like saw it would surprise me if they were trying to curry favor with certain politicians in fact they've spent a combined total of one point seven six million dollars this year lobbying washington over the regulations which brings us full circle to the downgrade of u.s. credit the u.s. was downgraded by s. and p. because of government debt burden member the government ran up that debt in part because they bailed out the big banks and a.i.g. back in two thousand and eight remember the one saddled with all of those bad mortgage bonds which the ratings agencies graded triple a when in reality they were a d or an f which makes you wonder if the ratings agencies themselves deserve a downgrade lauren lester r. t. washington d.c. . this week the world witnessed the second appearance of former egyptian president hosni mubarak in court mubarak and his interior minister accused of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during these uprising monday session was

accompanied by class shoes and. the cool building between pro and anti mubarak protesters who threw rocks at each other. on the boy because some people who owned tony a square for democratic reform not a fuel truck so in the interim move to rulers are no better than the old regime. so young to vote yet old enough to die for his country this boy was just seventeen when a different police killed him on the tougher square last winter today he's portrayed adorns one of. the fares there's even a talk of naming a street in his name what makes someone and more tear and i know it. well in the age of right now if the date of death those gunned down prior to mubarak's resignation celebrated its patron who lives with the brighter future of their country those killed after his ousting sometimes are free to ask criminals to undermine their country's democratic stripes it doesn't matter that they share the

same goals and they have these days just this is about power and knowing the other way around this young man also counted himself among the children of the revolution because his older brother he celebrated mubarak's departure from power or to taking youth for the and to police state three months later he was killed in what his brother believes was a government sanctioned shoot out the miserable and on the sniper shoot my brother dad went through his full hit and it came out on the right and i saw that no one here has a weapon my deuce only soldiers. like sam least of victims whose deaths are now being pinned on mubarak these people receive no monetary compensation for their loss in fact they're increasingly worried that the new military authorities may persecute them studs is became an all encompassing term for those who don't appreciate the ruling military. and i guess we expected the army to. to protect

people just took mine and spray but instead they started to kill people themselves who didn't expect. that it to the supreme council of the armed forces as an interim caretaker when mubarak stepped down brought to power by the protests the generals nevertheless don't show much liking for mass gatherings the cradle of the egyptian revolution is now cordoned off by riot police those caught protesting of public disturbance in sandton military trials in the last seven months there have been more people put on military trials than the number of people that were put under president of the. president of war so that syrian president mubarak's regime individually of course there are thousands of cases that have been put. been arrested and put on trial and sentenced within the span of two to five days

sent horrible sentences starting from three years up to twenty five years a score of his forehead still hasn't healed but these activists believes he got off lightly from he's encountered with the police a month ago a son of the former presidential contender who was jailed by the mubarak's regime nourse as the new authorities are just a brutalized version of the all and it's extremely few that there is very little difference between the people who are ruling the snow and hosting border and that many of the crimes the hosting world are committed to these people are currently being committed. to us now by the people who are ruling with the disguise of the revolution he gives these bloody t. shirt as a reminder that the egyptian revolution is far from over the former president is now on trial for his role in the mass killings but the body is still being built on the streets of cairo it's not

a work of art it's. the international market says shows finally come back to their worth and closed its doors after turning crowds near moscow or week tens of thousands of thrills taters enjoyed six days of death defying aerobatics performed by the best pilots in the skies the world's top aircraft makers rolls today to show off the latest designs but the highlight of one with least was the maiden public flight of russia's brand new fifth generation fighter jet the t. fifty. barton took a ride of his own to feel the full force of aerobatic adventure. engine check. instrument check runway check and then it's takeoff for the russian aerobatic display team. the nine first class pilots have performed over two hundred times in the past nineteen years but they all had to start somewhere. andre is training to join the team he thinks he's nearly good

enough now but still remembers his first flight as a solo pilot to get it appears there without any warning they told me i was going to do the next flight on my own i had no time to be scared there was no longer an instructor who might back it was unforgettable takeoff you're on your own controlling the plane then when you land you've done it. the as moves are always trying to hold them a new verse they practice most weekends thinking of new tricks and practicing old ones however even with years of flying and training experience between them it never becomes easy record that with the most smoke when you leave the cockpit you can squeeze a gallon of sweat from your suit what your knees are shaking because it's extremely difficult and stressful and anyone would feel that way. so with that gut wrenching fare running into my is i was told it was mine for the crowds on the ground this is

an exciting spectacle but that's not quite the emotion that's going through my mind at the moment because i'm about to see what happens from inside the cockpit. we did the loop the loop all the planes just metres apart. but when it came to the fountain i nearly blacked out. white faced but not defeated i returned to earth. but i could also see some of the strains that go through. good they're good to get

but you know the might be for the crowds but serial acrobatics aren't a shield to the pilot it's always a difficult job attached. so next time you look up at those speeding planes spirit thought for the pilot inside. tom bottom. just ahead in a few minutes time if out one your media lowers the hungry or clamping down on freedom of speech there are now we've got that story for you as a program is continue here on r t international from moscow it's kevin owen here this hour thanks for joining us this sunday evening the twenty first of august.

if if. it if. it's that. big guy if you want to order. the street still keeps its secrets to denounce time to reveal the shooting to the

soviet files on the ati. plans board. closer. to. the angle of approach. the future flights. are two types to the max air show.

this is all true for most. top stories tonight reports emerge from libya of. the city itself as the country's leaders call for. suggestions of cease fire. reports of the managed to convince both gaza and israel to. the days of heavy shelling. us that shaped the week the crackdown against english. sentences handed to those who play them in the chaos as human rights groups say judges and politicians. promise of a single economic government fails to reassure anxious investors this pressure trouble over greece once again threatens stability. hungary's new.