a very good evening for me kevin owen you're watching r.t. it's now eleven pm here in moscow and firsts kosovo's prime minister's 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 have protested against the move the northern city of metro it's correspondent sara firth has the latest from there. those two disputed border crossings remain blogs tonight as the ethnic serbs have barricaded the roads leading up to them protesting of course the cost the government the take place and now we're here in mitch of it which is the ethnic lee divided town and the bridge head that divides the north and south in parts of the town and the southern albanian parts 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 to the teacher at points that one would driving in we were one of the checkpoints and from the other side we could see smoke and the case full force is on the ground and what we've heard is that earlier today. ok full forces 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 but only to 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 speed west zone now amid concerns of a repeat of what we saw in july when violent clashes over the course think of a making a move to try and take these posts resulted in the death of a policeman is actually being relatively quiet here today what we've seen is a huge number of the serbian i think said it's heading out at these barricades but

what we've got at the moment is a standoff situation is being called a war of nerves because what you could hear image of in the barricades at both the checkpoints at the barricades is the serbian processed is and then make a full force is at the actual crossing themselves at the no one wants to make me the case full force if they want to take me to break up the barricades that they're sparking violence and to set a protest is for exactly the same reasons they don't want to be a key side of preventing violence the united nations security council holding yesterday and i'm. urgency meeting notes at the request of belgrade 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 need to take away the sort of thing we should really provoke further bloodshed as a co-sponsor a first for sports political analyst alexander pavin she told me the nato led mission in kosovo assisting the breakaway republic installing customs controls is

a far violating the un mandate. ok for meeting nato have absolutely overstepped their mandate 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 in the capital of course of all this is bound to stir trouble and they openly sided with them together with the western countries the western powers that are sitting in the security council so. tachi has a lot to thank for as far as they're concerned we have the security council 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 u.n. 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 course the independents for years now and they're actually thinking that they're entering the endgame now and they're actually doing a hard push for it right now we're asking you tonight few thoughts on the story on our web site called the question there is what should belgrade do about kosovo what do you think this is what you're telling us thanks taken part if you have them so far tonight by far and away the majority of those you see seventy eight percent think the best way out is to simply take it back from the albanians around ten percent of you again that's been hovering around that number all night suggesting recognizing kosovo and joining the e.u. similar amount if you think belgrade should repent still that small minority telling us that be a should build a concrete wall at the border you're welcome she views we'd like to hear them r.t. dot com very much like to hear what you've got to say about the story tonight.

libyan rebel forces attacking the key gadhafi stronghold of bani walid retreated after facing fierce resistance from the colonel's loyalists who rebel units are no regrouping on the outskirts of the turn of the repelled by mortar and rocket fire tonight moammar gadhafi is home term so there's another focal point of the latest fighting on his roof and as the latest. we're hearing from the national transitional council here in the capital tripoli that its troops have apparently entered the city of sip some five hundred kilometers east of tripoli that off his hometown and one of the colonels last strongholds the m.t.c. report that at least four of its fighters eleven and other reports have been killed during these offensive seven others wounded and also there is information that forty could offer loyalists have been captured and see if there are several reports that this information chief dr muesli brigade would have been one of them but this information is very hard to verify fighting over another cent of gadhafi support

bani walid some two hundred kilometers south of the capital tripoli continues while concerns over security safety of civilians trapped in the cities and the areas where the clashes between the rebels and gadhafi loyalists still continue and 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 said that they would introduce a u.n. security council draft resolution which expects to abolish international arms embargo and freeze libyan asses that. had been frozen as part of sanctions against gadhafi also stylish mission u.n. mission here in the country leaders of the two nato countries that played a prominent a key role in the libyan revolution they also say that nato mission here on the ground will continue for as long as it is necessary to protect civilians here in

libya meanwhile some must have to. about the real aims of this mission as it's more loose right now like backing the rabble and helping them take control of the rest of the country rather than attack since it in so it's now a little bit far from its initial. of course what it refers to the british prime minister proposed to libya after he's gone celebrate 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 stalking it with the military hardware critics say is indeed one of the world's biggest weapon resells flaws in the provided libya's ousted leader with the means to launch his deadly crackdown on the opposition as are his other bennett reports next some prominent dictators have been shopping around for 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 so long as business is being done here it doesn't seem to matter who's buying this is guess 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 sent its national guard in to help driving arm and vehicles made by be a systems the u.k.'s largest defense company its products on display here would be a home in any bond film this tank can alter its temperature to changes infrared appearance but like the british government the gump and he 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 your list of countries who are able to sell tickets and. make sense of.

these right to cells as a result regimes like bahrain that have repressed democratic process. that will try because all. these protesters from the stop the arms fair coalition they're angry it's going ahead despite the recent crackdowns in libya in egypt both former customers of britain using their purchases against their own people we're paying the price now in the mediterranean because we sold weapons deny all the countries that out experience in the arab spring i think it shortsighted it's bad for this country it doesn't make money it makes walls. at this year's shoppers include fourteen countries. ended all thora tarion by human rights groups a fact the government came clean on just one day before trade began i'm sure they're very a barest because of the one child did figure

e. david cameron was going to egypt walking around terrier square proclaiming his belief in human rights and freedom and democracy and the next stop was kuwait and it turned out he was traveling with eight arms company executives but the whole purpose of the trip the strayed one of the big traits or tried to make was weapons straight to 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 but 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 may prove difficult after bennett r.t. london. syria's regular demonstrations after friday prayers have turned into violent clashes tonight with police local activists say that around twenty

protesters were killed the bloodshed has to stop thousands though from pouring on to the streets across the country taking the uprising against president assad with its seven month the real story behind the syrian rage is the subject of a great show crosstalk told we have very short it's not just about twenty minutes time here's a quick preview of what's in store for. the syrian government has pointed out that the opposition sudden 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 general from syria who defected and he's going to be featured on syrian television are very soon i don't know anyone who believes the syrian government not only the syrians not by 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 then allow the media to syria allow the media into the squares allow the myriad media to see the troops moving down innocent people like pacifist people and

our role is to soldiers if they don't allow the media because they know they can massacre and torture and brutalize a lot more people if they don't allow the media and nobody believes the syrian government not even in fact the people the syrian government. any. more that very shortly than tonight small news before that the european energy giants have 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 to regularly into europe just like the nordstrom network that opened earlier on this month to be to have a tank has got the latest from sochi for. the fact that gazprom has signed the shareholder agreement with. 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 bucco pipeline which is outlined to deliver gas from central asia to europe and this has spurred concerns from europe for european and of dorothy's about the security of energy in europe and we have heard a comment from. the 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 twenty fifteen directly to european consumers means that actually energy security will be fortified as energy deliveries 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 an offer of from kiev victory in the college the president has said suggested having the south stream go not underneath the black sea but through ukraine's territory making it cheap by gazprom a said there's no point in doing that because the whole goal of the pipeline is to bypass transit countries. and you find out more about our stories we're in our business bulletin can we have to spend ten minutes time. next imagine a community where you want for nothing life is easy and work is a plenty well one such place did once exist in a remote russian outpost but not anymore it's not even indeed a place within russia's borders here it is on the map we're talking about the norwegian archipelago. go called spitsbergen it once embody the soviet dream in its day a system where everyone's needs were provided for well a son a boy for r.t.

is a special series of reports all this week and she's visited what was meant to be communism as example of a bright future. it's one of the busiest sea gull colonies in the arctic. restless there's the old and sun the birds called the island in search of food for their young noisy and designer like old because families siegel's of the last reminder of the one family atmosphere that once permeated this arctic island this apartment block was built specifically to house families and while adults were out working kids were left to their own devices running down hallways and banging doors local residents usually referred to this building as the crazy house across the street was a dormitory for single female workers nicknamed paris given russian women's ondine infatuation with everything french a bit further weight was

a male dormitory also known as london supposedly for the gentle manners of its inhabitants during its best years the settlement housed more than a thousand people today it's a ghost town with a spirit of communism lurks in the band and buildings. this settlement was called pyramid because of the cone like mountains surrounding it thirty years ago it had the highest living standards soviet people could dream off salaries two to three times higher than in the mainland free food around vibrant social life in many ways it was a task for the brighter future that soviet people were trying to build. snowdon most statue of man in steel piers into the nearby glacier most of the pyramids residents worked at a coal mine that was never really profitable he had maintained for the sake of keeping the soviet presence at this place archipelago halfway between north america and western europe. not only an outpost this western most soviet settlement was

also an ideological showcase for capitalist rivals and no resources were spared to come. a dash a concert hall a library a rock band and even this half size olympic pool people here are reliving the true salvi a dream you have that best hopes tanked almost overnight when the soviet union fell apart all of a sudden the people of pyramid realized that their perfect life was just that a jew political pyramid based on faulty economy and shaky ideology in a few years the film arctic paradise turned into an island nightmare people who were used to eating caviar for breakfast had to turn to hunting to put food on the table one of the family specked up and left abandoning pyramid in all its grandstanding glory this pillar was erected here with much pomp on the settlements thirtieth or fortieth anniversary only to become its gravestone decades later when

the last batch of coal was extracted from the local mine workers just laughed and here it was their way of raking over the coals for the life that always seemed too good to be true. artsy pyramid spitzbergen archipelago. and if you enjoy a series of reports second reminds me that we've got more special coverage from spitzbergen tomorrow saturday where we discover how and i will solve your dream provides a means of survival today is also more about the service as well online a call. back in. one thousand miles from the north pole. the ark is taking you on a trip to spitzbergen archipelago. where twenty years after the collapse. life is still going strong. with the world's most statue of lenin presides

over and goes. to so it. has become a tourist site for those overcome by the cold war in the style of. the close up special edition. america's missile defense plans and europe exaggerated over the last few days on thursday was sort of washington announced parts of the shield will be deployed on polish soil was only has twenty eight earlier this week the u.s. sealed the deal with romania under which land based and deceptive missiles and over one hundred military personnel will be based on and that was followed by another deal with turkey one is american radio station in the country's east but the shield is said to be designed to counter possible attacks from a randall north korea but as mark rose of international affairs expert at the stop nato movement told r.t. those threats not what the shield is really for. but we know that last november at the nato summit there has been words ago that the military alliance indoors the

american missile shield plan for europe whether we're talking about as a potential adjunct to a first strike meaning that in the event that the united states and its nato allies would launch but they were destroyed as a preemptive that in fact the first strike against a nation like russia the intercalary that missile defense system is going to be in place to ensure that any missile surviving that in their sort could be knocked out going to get a receptor missile this is the real danger of the system it is not their friends you know talk about north korea posing a missile threat to europe and having to place twenty four of us or three of their suckers in full and so just the sense of geography interject or you that is you know beyond my ability it's. let me take you through some of the top stories in brief this friday evening palestinian president mahmoud abbas says he'll ask me and security council for full membership next week that's despite washington's earlier promise to use its veto power to block the creation of

a palestinian state meanwhile palestinians and international activists have held a protest rally in the west bank scuffles also broke out there were two people injured the fighting between israelis and palestinians took place in a village where vandal set fire to a mosque and this morning. multiple bombings in the south of thailand of left. at least three dead and dozens wounded three near simultaneous blasts targeted a hotel a police station and a cultural center on the country's border with malaysia muslim majority provinces in that part of thailand have witnessed seven years of rebellion that have claimed almost five thousand lives but this attack is one of the biggest since the country's new government came to power although it doesn't much like the first female prime minister telephoning schmidt's victory ends the decade long leadership of the storage the anti immigrant popular party campaign focused on the country struggling economy stirring public anger at the previous government it was a close run election though she now faces the tough task of forming an effective

government with a very slim majority. it's exactly twenty three minutes past eleven o'clock at night here in moscow our debate show crosstalk coming your way very shortly tonight the crisis as mentioned earlier syria will be debated shortly there but let's get across the latest business news now marina's here. hello and welcome to business here on r.t. our top story today is of course russia's international investment forum and saw see where the money is starting to roll in as deals get struck representatives from thirty five countries are in the black sea resort looking for investment opportunities ludmer putin made a speech at the forum and i teased him as agenda has the main points for us. well indeed the highlight of the day at the sochi international investment forum was of a thing of 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 if a person said that russia's economy will come back to pre-crisis state in the twenty twelve that is next year that 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 of four percent on average in the next three years when it comes to investments coming into russia vladimir putin specified that 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 through 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 world 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 group of three gazprom and its european partners italy's any france's e.d.f. and germany's winter there's 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 r.t. talked. to the head of lukoil that you have you said that oil is planning to expand its operations purchasing upstream businesses in the united states and in asia and will also increase production overseas. in the next ten years will concentrate on

projects like west to iraq that 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 that's for russia the markets ended the trading session in the red analysts say investors were hesitant to make big moves as the finance minister summit in poland

and let's take a look at some of the in the movers on the y. sacks and originators were under pressure with gas from just under one percent then they were at financial stocks were also down with losing point six percent and bucking the trend was burbank after reports this privatization is still possible this year. and that's how business looks the sour buy for now.

the limited. to just say. it's. just so. and. if. if. if. wealthy british scientists think

it's time to it's crisis money. markets why not scan them if you find out what's really happening to the global economy in these kinds of reports on r g.

fly for central moscow this is news for you twenty four seven these are all top stories tonight kosovo's prime minister says the breakaway republic sets up customs control of its border with the us despite protests by local serbs and warnings that the move might spark new violence. has been more fierce fighting in libya tonight former rebels launched two offensives on to the few remaining gadhafi strongholds. leads reportedly been repelled by the ousted leader's loyalists but the battle for sirte they. still raging and. also the much anticipated south stream gas pipeline moves a step closer to reality is russia signs a landmark agreement with top european energy giants the projects aimed at delivering russian gas to.