more lethal the casualties of war are no longer confined to combatants nor to your ration of armed conflict one example is the cluster bomb a hollow shell with ajax multiple smaller missions called be used or bomb lives. up to a third of these bombs can fail to detonate on impact affectively becoming landmines . that. not all unexploded ordinance is accidental eighty two nations are contaminated with landmines landmines that kill or maim fifteen to twenty thousand civilians per year in afghanistan there are ten to twelve landmine casualties each day the issue of landmines is a critical one in afghanistan and there are two ways you can tell if they are they

are present the first is of course if the grass hasn't been grazed the grass is tall and standing and there's no evidence that it's eaten there are probably landmines in the shepherds are keeping their animals away but the second when the local people find land mines they tend to paint rocks and they paint them red on one side and white on the other and on the red side is where the land mines are located. ok. ok. the problem is when you have a landslide or a flood which washes through a landmine area first of all the land mines are actually picked up and distributed across other areas and second the rocks become obviously mixed in general not so we've been in a situation before we were driving down a road we came across a creek bed where flashflood actually washed landmines across the road so it was a major security risk and we couldn't actually move be on the road until we got some mine clearance people to come in. don't touch the

boy seeing these children innocence of them so it's part of an awareness program run by the british team of good haven for their low cost and longevity land mines were laid heavily by both sides during the cambodian vietnamese war today the un estimates that ten million mines remain in cambodian soil. i had occasion to visit a non-parent a few years ago and it was probably the most depressing scene. that i've ever encountered but there were countless cambodian men with their legs blown off above the knee who were scooting through the dirt begging in the marketplace. and they were for the most part mine victims.

war is not healthy for anybody the combatants or the people who are caught up in it recent studies in iraq and mortality come up with the range of excess mortality in the tens of thousands. children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of poor in a number of free space. one of the most disturbing studies city and can't see impact for own children was a chain of expats from have it which mention rock in the right kids and on call for the study team estimated that the war and the sanctions that followed resulted in existence of fifty to seventy thousand iraqi children as children were dying in large numbers from simple infectious disease such as china for its cholera

hepatitis etc and the reason for that was such a literate decision that was taken in the non-genetic one war chicha stroy iraq's electricity generating capacity on the out electricity sanitation water purification can happen says children were crying of epic a mix of infectious to say. it would not take very long just a matter of weeks for washington d.c. or new york city to become pretty unlivable and if we didn't have electricity for water purification if we didn't have gasoline for our sanitation trucks to remove the garbage we would be overrun by rats other vermin our water would be contaminated we would develop cholera and dysentery typhus we would have plague and we have forgotten all of this especially when we go out and destroy the infrastructure of other countries.

wealthy british scientists i. sometimes. market finance come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mikes concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report on our cheap.

the news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada after. trying to cook for nations around the day.

u.s. and romania signed a missile as part of washington's plans to build a wider nato defense shield in europe. the agreement will formally authorize the deployment of american ballistic missile interceptors on the romanian soil i'll be back with more from washington in just a few moments. libyan rebels continue to attack the few remaining strongholds of colonel gadhafi under a shield of nature where strikes and countries transitional forces have given residents of the besieged areas today still leave before a threatened onslaught. stormy seas in europe over its shaky economy germany attempts to calm fears over greece's potential default by urging members of the eurozone to stick together as italy turns to the audience for help.

and business international stock markets this spike europe's that problems i have more on that and business in twenty minutes. international news and comment live from my headquarters here in central moscow this is r.t. good to have you with us this hour so the u.s. and remaining have signed a joint missile defense pact in washington the cream and authorizes the deployment of a listing missile interceptors in romania and it's part of an american project to build a broader nato defense shield in europe and r.t. is going to has more from washington. what they signed is part of america's revamped plan to build a missile shield in europe with elements of it deployed in different countries in eastern europe romania will host america's land base this m three interceptors the

shield will be unfolding fairly close to russian borders needless to say it's always been an irritant in the relations between washington and moscow the new u.s. missile defense plan that we're talking about is a four stage plans of the first two stages invision these salacious and three interceptors of lower capability and the last two or higher capability is the last through that especially by the russians the more advanced ones because russians have a different analysis of the weapons that the so-called rogue states happen what they don't have to in moscow doesn't want the system to be eventually directed against russia the war of words on missile defense has been going on for quite some time with washington saying we need powerful missile interceptors against a possible attack from some dangerous state they usually do you ran and more screen in moscow saying why would you need interceptors for weapons and those ropes they don't have what russia does the russians have been quite consistent a few years you know saying ok if it's not against us let's build

a missile shield in europe together and the response they get is always a no a polite no no they say yes we will cooperate but not on equal terms that russians say then give us legally binding guarantees that the defense system will not be used against us it's the size of earth it's the mere effectiveness of the shield is now in question last thursday for the first time the u.s. tested its advance to send three blunt one interceptor missile and fields to hit a target by the way the federation of american scientists has recently come up with a record that calls for a review of america's missile defense plan based on the distances that they see between schools and the report touched upon two very interesting points a the fact of most of those interest after it is arguable from a scientific point of view and b. that he could push the russians and possibly the chinese to try and restore some kind of balance by arming themselves more. kind of contouring to be learned from washington with more on this let's talk to brian becker he's from the coalition

he's also in washington brian could see here on r t l though president obama promised to review bush's anti missile defense plans for europe as much changed. but not so much i think we have to also help the general public understand what a missile defense shield really is it's not about defense against incoming missiles it's a first strike weapon it's designed to take out other people's missiles so that there will be no reciprocity if there is some sort of military conflict so a sense ronald reagan developed the missile defense shield concept in the mid one nine hundred eighty star wars as it was termed euphemistically at that time the soviets the then warsaw pact countries and everyone else understood that the united states was trying to do away with the old system of mutually assured destruction in the event of nuclear war and gain a kind of primary advantage by having a system that would catch some missiles which would allow the u.s. to carry out first rate weapon attacks so the russians the chinese the other major

nuclear power certainly understand that it is of course worth ron to go simply just . brought out of course defensive systems could be used as offensive systems and that's one of moscow's major concerns why is it that the u.s. is reluctant to give a legally binding guarantee that those missile defense systems will not be turning into offensive systems and targeting russia. right because it's part of a coordinated first strike weapon system when there was mutually assured destruction when both sides knew that they would be destroyed in the event of a thermonuclear exchange or even a somewhat limited nuclear exchange that became a deterrent setting up a missile defense shield the united states holds that they will gain a military strategic military advantage over the russians and the chinese not right now for instance but in the in the period of condors lots of areas of contention is

the south asian area there's the arctic there's central and eastern europe these are all points of potential conflict the u.s. won't give that guarantee because the u.s. indeed intends the u.s. missile defense shield as part of a first rate capability against russia and china in the future and that to simply doesn't sit in the background doesn't have the resetting of relations and the last start treaty agreement of the reduction of nuclear weapons between the two countries but surely all these tensions could be dispelled by simply compromising russia and america having a joint chill but you seem to think that in the long term that would help the u.s. interests. well i think it would be in the interest of the american people because the american people don't want nuclear war they don't want international tension when when the cold war ended when the warsaw pact was disbanded one would rationally think a visit to the time of compromise of peace of would be escalation of tension but instead i think the united states military not the people but the military saw this

as an opportunity to gain unilateral power over the former soviet bloc countries and russia in particular and i think underlying all of it is as a basic strategic calculation those who have the greatest number of weapons and those who can do the most damage will ultimately be able to force their on the others to accept the terms of whatever political contest is going on later in the future you could see this is empty rhetoric because the u.s. has some three interceptor has actually failed to hit its target on a recent testimony and admittedly the u.s. can't even guarantee that they will work when needed so why deploy them in that case and why spend all that money on a system that they don't even know if it's going to work on. well i think there's two reasons one is that every weapon system even one that is failing now could be perfected later it could have a greater efficacy later the second is the united states is using the terms of these agreements with romania and other eastern and central european countries as

a way of integrating them into nato integrating them into what really is an american sphere of influence so that they look at eastern and central europe in the post soviet era as an attempt to expand the american sphere of influence right up to russia's borders incorporating the former soviet allies now as american allies that's the second part of this calculation and that's exactly what is going to ask you next obviously romania part of nato probably feels it's going to be obliged to take part in this plan but you talking about the other agenda do you think the remaining people really would want that and accept that this americanization and this american influence over that country. well i think clearly not i mean romanian society like all societies is provided between classes and sectors and and regions so there is not necessarily a home of public opinion in romania but i think the romanian people want jobs they want to get out of poverty they want if there's integration into western economies it's for the purpose of trade not for the purpose of using romania as a as

a pawn in somebody else's big geo strategic chessboard threaten its neighbors and i think the romanian people won't be happy with this and in fact become greater victims of it because they are endangered they're being used manipulated treated as pawns as part of this bigger contest broad great structure as always thank you for joining us live from the answer coalition in washington. to libya now the transitional authority has given residents of the siege gadhafi stronghold two days to evacuate or face a full scale attack that's as nato airstrikes help the rebels to secure a key oil town in the east the leader of the m.t.c. in his first speech since a kind of was ousted urged libyans to strive for a civil democratic state based on not it is now clear while amnesty international is called on the country's new leaders to prevent human rights abuses accusing both sides of a conflict of violence concern grows over the humanitarian situation in libya seen over two thousand six hundred killed since the uprising began parties where if an

ocean has been talking to the people of tripoli about the outcome of their own revolution. if we tripoli just can't stop chanting to celebrate the birth of you leave without . all reminders of recently overthrown dictatorship are suppressed but used to bring nightmares to some for decades is now a cause for laughter because of those shift shoes for his show earlier we called him because his hair is so long and he doesn't cut it it's ugly actually but some out smiling believe in that posed a darfur freedom is nothing but the mirage a crime has been the arrest of three times in the last two weeks rebels interrogated him and took his documents the reason the twenty seven year old copilot says is his family's ties with the dark his regime we cover his face and

change his name in supposedly free libya the man is afraid of being thrown to jail again or even killed you can see a budweiser logographic but you can see a bug was about to approach and about libyan national council but they are talking about democracy this is not the work of akram says libya didn't get rid of a dictatorship it only fell into another one of the rebels who. pains in a city where the gun has become a common accessory just like a cell phone and where one can only cross the town's numerous checkpoints with an obligatory a large part of the winners this is a reality not hard to believe. you know everybody we are happy we are a freedom that feels good run away this is not true believe me because they are free from all it gave birth returned back to tripoli you see the same people same people same person and think they are supporting a revolution can bring much hope it was comes after news is often different.

to those who drove egypt's revolt this year were still on the streets this weekend seven months after toppling president mubarak angry at the light of progress on reforms the peace future too is still far from clear posed a gaffe a libyan capital has been the scene of euphoria with celebrate three gunfire and singing heard here around the clock for more than a fortnight already like all parties however some believe they could be serious hangover after wards and the form of retribution and uncertainty as to how the future country will be governed. r.t. tripoli libya. the latest on the developing story in afghanistan now where at least nine people have been killed and twenty three wounded in an ongoing taliban attack in the government district that's according to reports coming out of the capital the american embassy and nato led coalition headquarters in kabul have come under

heavy fire several other sites in the city were also attacked including police posts and the office of iran's press t.v. news channel insurgents stormed an occupied an empty high rise building from there firing guns and rocket propelled grenades afghan and nato forces have surrounded the block and several insurgents are reported killed at least one remains inside the building this comes just weeks after twelve people died in an attack on the british counsel's office in the same district let's cross live now to neighboring pakistan and get more on this story from local lobbyist. through much of the joining us live there yet another deadly attack i'm not supposed to be what the most fortified part of afghanistan the taliban still showing considerable staying power despite the ten year long nature walk in patients also manage to do that. i tell you as soon as this attack again and even before it ended the first thing

that was on our minds here is that this is a devastating blow to the morale of the u.s. military in afghanistan i was really thinking about the u.s. soldiers on the ground there and this is a huge blow and you just marked the tenth anniversary of nine eleven some of the light and has merely needed in me and now we have this another reminder of the fact that despite ten years despite all the military might that has been used in the understanding of law is as a matter of fact not fully under the control of the united states and its allies in kabul whether the allies during government or those from send forces to on it's not so this is a tremendous blow and the reason i mention this in an underlining it is that we have stories about desertions and you don't seem to support is being covered in the media but smaller newspapers in towns in the states where soldiers come from cover stories about soldiers who are really good moral is that we have a very famous story of

a human soldier who actually ran away from his campaign understand and joined the any means by an accord and had gone later on in the story as a case of a really kidnapping a u.s. soldier and just earlier this year that particular soldier was actually promoted so as not to actually have gone to that deserted so you have a really terrible situation there tenth anniversary of nine eleven and you have an attack and even the u.s. embassy in need of writers are not safe. there you are talking about this attack in the heart of kabul would bring in pictures all of the situation there at the moment what does that tell us about the rest of the country the state of security if they can keep it secure one of the most prestigious and of course supposedly the strength safest part of afghanistan so what does it tell us about the security for the rest. let's be very boring i mean this is no longer of just old.

colored man or just some terrorists it's a tremendous support from people on the ground to these kind of attacks i mean this particular attack for example would not have been possible without people in your neighborhood people who have. these attackers the terrorists carry out this attack and this would not have been possible when of course we have the attack on the british council and many more before that so obviously upon a time is not stable and i think we are we will see more and more of these attacks . as more and more u.s. troops actually be brought down and this is a very devastating situation really for the afghan government but also for the neighbors and understand all of them because this would have a very bad impact on all of us and i'm surprised that the world celebrated in march actually. respect to all the people who died ten years ago and after that during the two wars in iraq and afghanistan

nobody actually. talked about the fact that accountability what the united states has been doing in afghanistan. ok let me just. ask you this quickly then you're talking about i think our ability of what they've been doing what should they be doing now in the future what with over one hundred thousand foreign troops there at the moment you talked a little earlier about yes the plans to withdraw those troops but surely this is a message from the taliban saying you can't hand over power to the afghan forces they won't be able to you can't cope at the moment what you've got that is this is a message against that transition and to challenge the security forces and that you say you just will never be able to leave this country. i think they're just i think a lot of resistance fighters in groups already know that the american forces are really on the defeat and i don't think they're really sending a particular message right now they're just continuing their attacks whatever

they've been doing over the past two years and i think the americans have really. been really one of those people who believe that the americans committed a huge blunder by isolating and sidelining. blame the americans what about let me quickly also you want to talk a kabul government is a failing of the government at the moment and what's happening it is obviously i mean you have a huge segment of the population almost fifty percent. and you just pushed him to the wall and now you're pushing every individual every one of them frankly who cooperate with the people who are mounting these attacks so how can you really stop these attacks if you if you have a huge segment of your population really sightline nicely and actually punished has eight nine years ten years you know ok we'll have to leave it there thanks very much indeed for joining us live from islamabad. thank you very much. so that people continue to abide by its peace treaty with egypt despite an attack

on its embassy in cairo that's according to israel's prime minister he spoke from the assault in which three people died in clashes with security forces on friday thank you crowd stormed the compound in response to five teaching officers being killed by israeli troops and a political question meanwhile the turkish prime minister is on a three day visit and how everyone is israel it's facing growing isolation turkish research fellow tashi told me he says the two countries want to pressure tel aviv into abiding by international rule. turkey and egypt is in the process of creating mutual understanding all regional issues and israel for sure is one part of peace mutual understanding what they want to do is just to drag israel into international law or in this to school of the international law of the problem with the israeli government is they don't abide with international laws and they interpret interpret international law just for their sake for their interests that

is the point. both countries at this moment want the once the israeli government to revise their policies we are not in the process of diligent demise ing israel instead we are in the process of finding vase for israel to push israel back to the international community. germany is called on euro zone members to stick together in an attempt to settle nerves over the potential greek default johnson says that greece missed the all the block to avoid causing a domino effect the statement came off the fears of greece declaring bankruptcy calls short for the global markets on monday it was triggered by reports that germany was preparing for greece to leave the euro zone now things has been struggling to bring its debt crisis under control despite stringent start images financial journalists in italy cough and says there is no easy way out so. there are different ways that. the european central bank and the e.u.

could go about dealing with a default in greece or an exit of greece portugal or some of the peripheral countries they could break the euro into two different types of euro apply the fact that no one is willing to talk about that option openly and kind of admit that that's where we are with an unsustainable debt like greece has and now the fact that the size of italy which is no longer really able to access the markets the way that they're actually saying that for the markets but the e.c.b. isn't there buying italian spanish back so the fact that you have these countries able to issue their paper on their own is frightening for the european union for the eurozone there is no real exit mechanism from the euro if you're part of the new you're part of it supposedly for life ok and so we saw how chaotic it was when argentina. default on its debt and exit of the dollar peg in the case of greece it's not even a peg they've given up their currency their french banks that are better because actually on the hook with a lot of who was exposed to those french.