we've got the future covered. in the. no it's an artsy report that the u.n. appears powerless to prevent the threat of violence on serbia's border with breakaway kosovo as the self declared republic sets up customs controls despite local serbs protesting against the move. in the wake of the british and french leaders visit to libya in a show of support for the new authority tonight we look at how the u.k. still invites repressive regimes on a shopping spree for military hardware. the much anticipated sell street gas pipeline moves a step closer to reality as russia signs landmark agreements with talkie repeat energy giants. and russia's ghost town on soil artie's close

of series take shoot of war used to be the westernmost softly at settlement and an embodiment at the time of communism. welcome to you watching r t it's just after ten pm now here in moscow this friday evening my name's kevin know it and first tonight kosovo's prime minister has announced that the breakaway region has introduced customs control on its border with serbia that's a move strongly opposed by belgrade local serbs have been trying to prevent it by blocking roads leading to the two border posts and hundreds of them to protest against the move in the northern city of metro our correspondent sara firth is they'll be catching up with her just a little bit later on in the program meantime political analyst alexander private says the nato led mission in kosovo assisting the breakaway republic in installing customs controls is violating the original un mandate. ok for meeting

nato have absolutely overstepped their man being their un mandate is clear they're supposed to be neutral down there they're supposed to be keeping the peace they're not supposed to be taking anyone's side they're clearly taking the albanian side the secessionist government increased tonight the capital of kosovo and so this is bound to stir up trouble and they openly sided with them together with the western countries the western powers that are sitting in the security council so caution toci has a lot to thank for as far as they're concerned we have the security council were we have five states each with veto power we have three western states and two non western states in the security council with veto power so really if the west decides to support any unilateral action. you can't stop it and you can't give a mandate to the un to do anything about it because either the united states great

britain and france will put a veto veto to it so it's not surprising they've been sponsoring kosovo independence for years now and they're actually thinking that they're entering the endgame now and they are actually doing a hard push for it right now. it was still trying to establish the connection with sarah furthur emitter of it so when we get it we will bring it to you and get some more coming from. your comments your thoughts on the story on our website at c dot consular the question is what do you think belgrade should do about costs of a now this is what you're telling us the majority of you think the best way out is to simply take it back from the albanians but ten percent of you suggesting tonight that recognizing kosovo or joining the e.u. is the way forward. others have in their thinking belgrade should reply treat all serbs and simply just forget about it and i'm going to hear so it's good to get your views saying serbia should just build a concrete wall at the border what's your take on the story log on to r.t.

dot com and have your say. was to know the libya suicide bombing there the latest and the latest is that fierce fighting is underway for the few remaining strongholds of his loyalists rebel forces claim of launched offensive and bani walid but by tanks and heavy weapons as well as a major way shield. is in libya for us with the latest for you. we're hearing from the national transitional council here in the capital tripoli that its troops have apparently entered the city of sirte some five hundred meters east of tripoli duffy's hometown and one of the colonel's last strongholds the n.c.c. report that at least four of its fighters eleven and other reports have been killed during this offensive seven others wounded and also there is information that forty could have loyalists have been captured and see if there is to be reports that this information chief. would have been one of them but this information is very hard to

verify a novice until gadhafi is supported by anybody some two hundred kilometers south of the capital tripoli continues while concerns rose over security safety of civilians trapped in the cities and the areas where the clashes between the rebels and the laugh is low and so containing meanwhile the u.n. is expected to ease sanctions against libya visiting the country on thursday british prime minister david cameron and french president nicolas sarkozy have started they would introduce a u.n. security council draft resolution which expects to abolish international arms embargo and freeze libyan ass's that. had been frozen as part of sanctions against gadhafi also starvation mission u.n. mission here in the country leaders of the two native countries but played a prominent a key role in the libyan revolution has also said that nature mission here on the ground will continue for as long as it is necessary to protect civilians here in

libya meanwhile some are skeptical about the real aims. this mission as it's more loot right now like backing the rabble and helping them take control of the rest of the country rather than for attacks on civilians so it's now a little bit far from its initial. reflection our correspondent in libya well as the british prime minister departs there after celebrating the end of gadhafi is forty two year rule anger is growing in the u.k. over the arms fair that once hosted the colonel when he was stocking up with new military hardware critics say it's one of the world's biggest weapon sales force in fact and that it provided libya's ousted leader with the means to launch his deadly crackdown on the opposition and as of his other bennett's been investigating some prominent dictators have been shopping around for arms in london to. selling weapons could be a moral minefield but not here this is the world's biggest arms fair and a massive earner for the british economy the government's putting its conscience

aside as international delegates shop for tanks rocket launchers and missiles and so long as business is being done here it doesn't seem to matter who's buying this is this list includes countries like saudi arabia and bahrain both regimes that violently suppressed demonstrations earlier this year bahrain was accused of opening fire on its own armed citizens in february saudi arabia scented snatch guard in to help driving arment vehicles made by be a system's the u.k.'s largest defense company its products on this play here would be at home in any bond film this tank can alter its temperature changes infrared appearance but like the british government the company can't change its spots it says there are countries it won't sell to but that doesn't include any here if a country's been invited by the british government here it's it's probably going to

be on the list of countries where it still to. make sense of. these rights sells as a reason regimes like bahrain that have repressed democratic process. that will tear the records of. these protesters from the stop the arms fair coalition they're angry it's going ahead despite the recent crackdowns in libya and egypt both former customers of britain using their purchases against their own people we're paying the price there and a bit israelian because we sold weapons deny all the countries that it out here is in the arab spring i think it shortsighted it's bad for this country it doesn't make money it makes wars lives here and this year's shoppers include fourteen countries. he's branded all thora tarion by human rights groups and fact the government came clean on just one day before trade began i'm sure they're very embarrassed because of the one china did figuring. david cameron was going to be

walking or out areas where replacing his belief if you had rights and freedom and democracy and the next stop was kuwait and it turned out he was travelling with eight obstinately executives but the whole purpose of the trip this trade what the big traits are trying to make was weapons straits the middle east the government says it's tightening restrictions on who can buy weapons that could be used for oppression and it claims an invite here doesn't guarantee an export license for defense is big business for britain it generated twenty two billion pounds for the economy last year and the case now the second biggest weapons exporter in the world . with money like that up for grabs turning customers away empty handed me proved difficult i've been it r.t. london. syria's regular demonstrations after friday prayers have turned into violent clashes with police local activists say around twenty protesters have been

killed the bloodshed hasn't stopped thousands from pouring out of the streets across the country though taking the uprising against present the south seventh month the real story behind the syrian rage is the subject of our debate show cross-talk coming up very shortly tonight just one hours time in fact is a taster of what's in store for. consumers the government has pointed out that the opposition suddenly elements within the opposition have been armed by outside forces particularly the united states as well as israel they claim that they have a confession from a former our general on syria who defected. he's going to be featured on syrian television are very soon i don't know anyone who believes the syrian government now if the syrians now play the syrian government i don't know any nation in the world who takes serious word to syria the syrian government said if they are telling the truth they don't love the media to syria allow the media into the squares loving myriad media to see their troops moving down innocent people like pacifist people

and our role is to soldiers if they don't allow the media in because they know they can massacre and torture and brutalize a lot more people if they don't allow the media in nobody believes the syrian government not even in fact the people the syrian government. taking. more on our top story the promise to just to recap the story again if you just today in kosovo's problem is that the breakaway region has introduced customs control its borders serbia that moved in strongly opposed by belgrade local serbs been trying to stop it by blocking roads leading to the two border posts hundreds of the protest and indeed against the move in the northern city of neutral that's where our correspondent sort of firth is tonight so good to get the connection with eventually people in protesting as i just mentioned there in meter reads of the day

what is the mood now tonight that these controversial customs controls as i've reported have been installed. twelve days two disputed border crossings remain bloke's tonight as the ethnic sides have barricaded the raids leading up to them protesting of course the cause of the government's me to take a view. and now we're here in which of it which is the as neatly divided town and the bridge head it divides the north and study in parts of the town and the southern out they knew in part it's a day that barricade had around three thousand serbs turned out to man that barricade and we saw a very similar thing happening both with the teacher points no one would try being in earlier we were one of the checkpoints and from the other side we could see straight the case all forces on the ground but now what we've heard earlier today. had a full force is and your legs were airlifted by helicopter to these checkpoints also

the albanian cause the police they've only actually got to. each of the checkpoints at the moment and that for the time being in an observatory role now of course the plan is for them to eventually take a the control and that's what much of this to speak best still and now amid concerns of a repeat of what we saw in july when violent clashes over the course think of a making of me to try and take this place resulted in the death of a policeman is actually relatively quiet here today what we've seen is a huge number of. i think said it's heading out at these barricades to what we thought at the moment is a standoff situation is in court a war of nerves because what you could hear image of it at the barricades i don't hate the checkpoints at the barricades is the serbian protest is and then the capel forces at the actual crossing themselves ok no one wants to make me take a full force if they want to take me to break up the barricades to their spot in violence and the serbian protest is for exactly the same reasons they don't want

a key side of preventing violence i remain to be seen really what happened. meeting forward from here of course everyone very very keen to avoid the situation of what happened in july. the united nations security council holding yesterday an emergency meeting at the request of belgrade and russia no final decisions were really made from that there were a lot of countries that were unwilling really to make a statement russia and belgrade warning that this needs to take a this is a wish you could really perfect further bloodshed there's a lot of concern about that now what is very very clear. as belgrade still consider the course of a breakaway. part of serbia independence in two thousand and eight but this is still a very very controversial issue he'd be putting a lot of pressure on belgrade to normalize ties with course of a what we've seen from my in the situation here today and over the past couple of

months is that this is really a very complex very divisive issue and certainly it's a long wait for it's going to be resolved he returns times where your sort of first were of course the station with your help to bring the best coverage on this story how to serve first reporting from intervention in kosovo thank you very much. energy news now european energy joins from signed up to bring the long planned south stream gas pipeline a step closer to reality the pipeline would run under the black sea and be another means of pumping russian gas directly into europe just like the nord stream network that was opened earlier this month i teased to be travelling has got the latest on this from such. the fact that gazprom has signed the shareholder agreement with the european partners companies from france italy and germany means that russia is indeed one step closer to realizing the transportation of gas from russia underneath the black sea to bulgaria and then eventually to austria and italy so directly to european consumers and this one step gives it an extreme advantage over

a rival of project in the nobuko pipeline which is outlined to deliver gas from central asia to europe and this has spurred concerns from europe for european or thora theories about the security of energy in europe and we have heard a comment from. the year european energy commissioner saying that this makes europe more reliant on russian gas and therefore this is jeopardizing energy security in europe on the other hand actually the fact that russia will be delivering gas starting from zero to twenty fifteen directly to european consumers means that actually energy security will be fortified as energy delivered rees will be secured and russia won't have to deal with transit countries like ukraine which have created problems with deliveries to europe in the past also we have heard

north of from here. in the college the president has said that suggested having the south stream go not underneath the black sea but through ukraine's territory making it cheap gas promise that there's no point in doing that because the whole goal of the pipeline is to bypass transit countries we don't know about that story on our website and i doubt also a business bulletin coming up in about five minutes time. no we're not going to give this story we're going to do something else who already talked about kosovo let's talk about taiwan oh sure that's right president obama's approve the new. arms package for taiwan in a move expected to anger china the estimated four point two billion dollars deal reportedly include weapons and equipment to upgrade the breakaway arlen's f. sixteen jets let's talk more about that and go to london and talk to dependant arms trade expert part of the pace of the place very good evening to you thanks for being on r.t. international the big debate about selling arms to taiwan has been going on for

a couple of years now in the u.s. what do you think influenced this latest decision in favor of that step and you know legal assistance even at the end of the day. well i think the decision is a product partly of the u.s. as for imports in east asia obviously and its relationship with china but in the u.s. to message policy a great deal of inside of influence has come from companies and what might be broadly talk cause the military industrial complex in the u.s. that level of influence from private arms companies and let's face it this is a private arms deal that is only benefiting arms manufacturers and their profit margins is highly concerning for any u.s. nor indeed anyone else in the world when it's determining u.s. foreign policy. the u.s. is not over selling weapons to countries does not equate to taking sides in conflicts across the world often even aggravating the. this could be argued certainly yes i mean our. exports from the us should be done with respect to human

rights for not aggravating all provoking conflicts and not prolonging conflicts unfortunately as you say the real. the real objective view on the matter is that the us does routinely arm repressive regimes tensions across the world in fact it's surprising that we're talking about taiwan today where as indeed there's a lot more grievous examples of this arguably happen all the time with massive arms deals to saudi arabia to qatar and indeed the us isn't the only culprit when it comes to this the u.k. russia france china. nearly equally bad in in arming repressive regimes and stoking international tensions the fact is that more arms in the world doesn't help many people but it does the profits from arms manufacturers you say this is a private deal and that is a lot of pressure put on because it's worth so so much the american economy but what's it going to do for relations between america and china really above

administrator has often said that close the military ties with china were a high priority and now the u.s. arms package is going to be sent to war i was going to go down to china. well presumably it's not great out very well my understanding is that this is a compromise deal and i'm no expert on the chinese domestic politics but i doubt it will go down well with what you were saying actually about the the arms deal benefic this in the us has come to such a great deal probably actually isn't the case the us arms trade is heavily subsidized by the germans and i said it was a private doing its benefiting private companies but it is most likely done with a very heavy government involvement probably through your government's government deal probably through government backed loans and in any case these arms manufacturers receive very heavy government subsidy and so in fact the jobs and the economic argument that's used in putting forward arms deals like this will cross first world tend to be very. heavily skewed in favor of the arms deal where is as

the real economic benefits don't tend to be anywhere near as large as the promised to be really good to get your take in your insight on this story explaining it for a spot of the place in the credit arms trade expert on the line from london thank you thank you. the larger community we want for nothing life is easy work is plentiful one such place did exist in remote russian outpost but not anymore it's not even indeed within russian borders anymore it's actually on the norwegian archipelago called spitsbergen one body of the soviet dream a system where everyone's needs were provided for but in a series of special reports this week for the exam the boy visited what was meant to be communism's example of a bright future. it's one of the busiest sea gull colonies in the arctic. restless there's the northern sun the bird it's called the island in search of food for their young new easy and is only like old big families the sequels of the last

reminder of a one family atmosphere that once permeated is arctic island this apartment block was built to house families and while adults were out working he is reluctant out own devices running down hallways and banging doors local residents usually refer to his building as the crazy house across the street was a dormitory for single female workers between kerry's gear and russian women's ondine infatuation with everything french and it for their way was a male dormitory also known as london supposedly for the gentle mentors of its inhabitants during its best years the settlement housed more than a thousand people to date it's a ghost town with a spirit of communism lurks in bandon buildings. this settlement was called pyramid because of become like mountains surrounding you thirty years ago it had the highest living standards soviet people could dream all salaries three times higher

than in the mainland free food around why bread social life in many ways it was a task for the bride of the soviet people were trying to build. the world's northernmost of man in steel piers into the near breakaway sure most of the pyramids residents were critical mind it was never really profitable have maintained for the sake of keeping the soviet presence at base dziedzic when placed archipelago half way between north america and western europe. only an outpost this westernmost soviet settlement was also an ideological showcase for capitalist rivals and no resources were spared. a concert hall a library a rock band and even these hostiles olympic pool people here are reliving the true soviet dream you have the best hopes almost overnight when the soviet union fell apart all of

a sudden people of pyramids realized that their perfect life was just bad jew political pyramid based on faulty economy and shaky ideology in a few years the former arctic paradise churned into an island nightmare people who were used to eating caviar for breakfast had to turn to hunting and good food on the table one of the family stepped out and laughed at dandenong pyramid in all its grandstanding glory this pillar was erected here with march palm on the settlements thirty of their fortieth anniversary only to become a grave stone decades later when the last batch of coal was extracted from the local mine worker just laugh and here it was their way of breaking over the coals for the lives that always. could be true. are it's the pyramid spitzbergen archipelago. from zero to morrow's world is twenty five minutes away

tonight from the latest forty minutes or so. so that's culture with the business next. hello and welcome to business here on r.t. our top story today is of course russia's international investment forum and soften where the money starting to roll in as deals get struck representatives from thirty five countries are in the black sea resort looking for investment opportunities but more putin this speech at the forum and i teased him as example has the wrong points for us. well indeed the highlight of the day at the sochi international investment forum was of but in a putin's view on the macroeconomic situation and what's interesting is that despite the ongoing turmoil on the markets and sovereign debt woes in europe and the united states this year it was a pretty upbeat that in a person says that russia's economy will come back to pre-crisis state in twenty

twelve that is next year russia will see inflation of no more than seven percent this year according to the central bank inflation will actually gradually decrease by around half a percentage point over the next three years and that russia will see a gross domestic product increase four percent on average in the next three years when it comes to investments coming into russia limited specified but there's a certain type of investment that russia needs let's listen to what he said to say . that he must strive not only to grow the economy but to improve economic efficiency and the development of production and innovation we need to change the structure of the economy our common goal is not to be a safe haven for speculative capital russia should create all the conditions for so-called smart investments into creating and producing high tech. and surprisingly enough political person also said that russia will most likely meet its budget to have a balanced budget by the end of the year so we have a zero budget and next year the deficit might be one and

a half percent but if the macroeconomic situation changes for example well prices grow we might see a balanced budget next year too well apart from the most important deal and that is of course the widely discussed shareholder agree with three gazprom and its european partners italy's any prances e.t.f. and germany's which the soul has also been a wide range of deals are connected with the cross and our region where sochi is located but also the sochi investment forum is a perfect platform for companies to present themselves as developing and expanding and earlier business started talking. to the head of lukoil that you very good of you said that coral is planning to expand its operations purchasing upstream businesses in the united states and in asia and will also increase production overseas refutes your move in the next ten years will concentrate on projects like west could not to iraq but will significantly change the structure and volume of oil production in twenty fifteen we're implementing

a project in the north of the caspian sea which will also increase in production we think that in ten years our company will increase hydrocarbon production by twenty to thirty percent. so indeed such investment form has so once again proven to be a perfect platform to talk about the macroeconomic situation in russia but also sign major deals and make new contacts and share ideas. and here's a look at the markets european stocks closed higher for a fourth day of that speculation coordinated action by policymakers who would be able to ease the region's that crisis banking shares let the games on the foot see . the markets and of the trading session in the red analysts say investors were hesitant to make big moves as the finance ministers summit in poland and let's take a look at some of the in the movers on the my sites that are two majors who are under pressure with gas from just under one percent in the red financial stocks were also down with bits of news in point six percent and bucking the trend back

after reports this privatized they should still possible this year. not so business looks the sour pie for now. the.