it's nine pm in moscow. good to have you with us here on our team our top story the united states government and the country's entertainment industry have come under attack from a group of computer hackers known as anonymous they took down web sites belonging to the f.b.i. the department of justice and the universal music group the group says its largest ever attack is in response to the shutdown of a major file sharing service and mega upload which is affected about fifty million daily users the sites of bosses have been arrested now facing prison sentences for copyright infringement u.s. lawmakers are currently debating new bills aimed at curbing illegal downloading which have been attacked as an attempt to censor the internet thousands of sites including wiki pedia went black in protest this week patrick hayes a reporter for online magazine spiked thinks the proposed us legislation might make night and make the web as we know it seems to be. we could see much more regular

occurrence. if these acts are put through also i think we could see the u.s. government designating of a science is science that he doesn't like and pursuing them internationally it could mean that they could effectively have jurisdiction to close down sites worldwide is actually far more easy a way then they would make or upload the web as we know it's web two point zero which is defined by user generated content where people put up their own material could effectively disappear it could mean that what you have is a much more tightly regulated internet which could have massive implications for freedom of speech file sharing for the sharing of information worldwide so i think it's really important that we don't take this now for granted and we resist all of these attempts to regulate the web and to say hey a lot of these pirates a lot of people putting out web sites are actually doing something really quite innovative and dynamic that's why they getting a real audience. for it's nice work with these people let's put develop

a more dynamic web in collaboration with people rather than just trying to shut it down strangle it's an stifle what is one of the most democratic initiatives of the last decade or two the us said it's postponed a test vote on the controversial web control bills in the wake of the online protest campaign barrett brown who's worked with a hacker group anonymous on various operations told r.t. earlier that if the u.s. decides to push through the legislation it could start a huge cyber war. the problem is that the track record and all governments. in such that have been empowered to do one thing is almost always interpreted by themselves as a means of giving them power. so and the way that you know the raid on megaupload cards in this opens it shows that even without sopa already in place here they are already arresting and resting megaupload and shutting it down so i imagine when. in

the meantime my group project you know. if you need an operation dark heart which is the latest effort. to ensure the in the those who support so are around and some of. these things don't happen in the very very near future and you'll see there will be a number of other groups that will pop up using more more military not goods and situation it's worse in the grass and smells of war and the notable civil war and the kurds and coming up just after serving seven thirty pm g.m.t. r.t. cross talk host peter lavelle debates with his guest the reason behind the proposed u.s. legislation. this is what we're trying to do is enforce u.s. copyright laws on foreign companies whose copyright laws may be different from ours and what we're saying is if you don't follow u.s. law in terms of copyrights then we have the right to shut you down. the other part

of the problem is affectively is let's go through the division of it is that. you're objecting to the fact that people are trying to stop sites that are pirating american american intellectual property and it's not always just movies and music it's also physical goods that are carol you know these are counterfeit drugs there are also if you look at written material including my you know harm in france harm children harm adults there's a serious there are serious consequences. and the u.s. isn't the only ones facing accusations of censorship britain is under fire after the country's media regulator revoke the license of press t.v. the iranian english language broadcaster watchdog says the channel is in breach of regulations because it doesn't control its content press t v says it's being silenced for more on this let's talk with hillary so you can based media analyst

and author thanks for your time so press t.v. has claimed for months that british authorities were planning to shut down the station what do you make of their decision. but obviously press t.v. failed to comply with one or two matters i mean they said they didn't pay the fine and they refused to accept that overall control should lie in london whereas in fact it is a an arm of state t.v. so there were issues there i was sitting on a technical level you know this process has been unfolding for a while i mean there's been that they've been at loggerheads for a while of course it was so many things so many of the programs have been sanctioned because they have a very different world view to all call but i suppose at the end of the day i think they were unwilling to oblige as to what ofcom required them to do which they felt would be maybe going on they knees but as a result of this process means that they're off the british platform if you think the violations cited by britain's. if you watched over

a serious enough for it to be taken off the air. well i think what happened to the iranian journalist. was was wrong and i think that this was in the midst of the turmoil after the iranian presidential election in two thousand and nine but my view is that if this had been separated from geopolitics then you know this would not have happened some other kind of sanction would have been would have been made and the deal would have been struck so i think the press t.v. has been viewed through geopolitical terms of that is the breakdown of relations between britain and iran. the watchdog says it's apparent that editorial control of the channel actually writes in tehran how crucial do you think is that fact in the decision to take press t.v. off the air in the u.k. . well i don't think it's crucial i think it's been used by off and i think the theory. authorities have been unwilling to abide by what i

asked them to do there is the leaders of the people who run press t.v. so you know look at the end of the day i think that most of the criticisms of press t.v. ad been due to its coverage because you know it sees the middle east very differently for example than the mainstream media in britain this repeatedly comes up pro israeli groups repeatedly complain about it so there's been you know they've been at loggerheads for so long that i think that we know by the way from wiki leaks we know very well that the british government at the very highest level was discussing with the american ambassador here how to limit press t.v.'s output in britain so we certainly know that press t.v.'s journalism is not viewed purely in terms of its journalism but it's viewed in terms of british arraigning relations and finally given the current significant plunge in political ties between the u.k. and iran how significant do you think is the timing of this move. well one

sincerely hopes that there isn't any link between the timing of this and any potential military action and it's something that would be my view i also think it's very sad because i think that if diplomatic relations break down other avenues need to be in place for countries to discuss matters so i think this is hugely counterproductive because to some extent press t.v. was a window on an alternative view it was a window on what the iranian government felt but also a legitimate view or a view for example of the palestinians and the israelis not as equals in the sense that the british media considers you know the occupied and the occupier is as equals and deserving of the same kind of press attention and press t.v. took a very different view as to american policy in the middle east so now what we've got is we've got a real limiting of dialogue in the me in the british media and i think that's a tragedy and certainly a tragedy at a time when british relations are at their lowest and for a long long period all right we have to leave it there phil aris u.k.

based media analyst and author thanks for a perspective. will stay with us here on r t lots more to come this hour including scotland making its push for independence but london vows to make any split from the u.k. a costly move for the modern day very parts looking to go it alone. and with less than fifty days to go we take a look at the current political climate in russia head of the march presidential vote. but first to syria where the opposition is holding rallies across the country supporting prisoners held since the start of the anti-government unarrest this despite a general amnesty granted by president assad earlier this week that seen almost two hundred detainees released parties where if an ocean a looks at who's calling the shots in the protest movement. people taking to the streets we look like a real food of power and indeed be one. but in syria protest

has apparently failed to prove that months of bloodshed with no sign is going to stop anytime soon. holly told jeff from the syrian national council the country's main official opposition body says making the people's voice louder and bring an end to the violence is what the s. and c. was created for our main goal is to help the syrian people there present them and their two national committee in order to reach this syrian people's freedom and although it's been run by paris based exile but how can you in the ass and see has been recognized as the country's lee determined government by the new libyan authorities a coup and supported by some easy and nato countries which has made some doubt the council's innocent intentions and with regards to libya the promise that nato made to the national transitional council perspective leaders was that they be given

a major seat at the table in a new libya so there is power broking going on behind the scenes and i absolutely wager that the same thing is happening with syria they've either been bought off financially or they've been promised a major role in a new syrian regime the national congress and there are clear is national transitional council and the syrian national council and it's not just their names they have in common supported and sponsored from abroad think he writes opposition forces and their major goal is to overthrow the regime but there is a difference to the absences huts courters are not in damascus but here in istanbul we are not talking about democratic regime if i go to syria now we have. you know we have to be executed there howlett says he spent fifteen years in jail in the one nine hundred seventy s. and eighty's just because his father says. the opposition he claims nothing has

changed since then and the oppression has to stop the town is another matter. his dictatorial regime cannot be most of it without any pressure claiming they're only going to rely on political and diplomatic pressure the asson see to is now copper region with the free syrian army fighters who have defected from a star's military in was a clear shift from the essences initial entirely known armed peaceful stance. the cowsills to seize humanitarian corridors and buffer zones as options to protect civilians in syria even though these might mean foreign troops arriving this isn't a top istanbul paris operation where the syrian national council is being used to activists and gender need to look at that because they don't want they want to destabilize syria because they want syria to be part of the day to at least lead to

lead the opposition claims is just a matter of time before the joint after is sooner or later it will force president assad out on his attorneys to stay but the question remains exactly how long should these people have to wait for the bloodshed to stop and how many of them will actually see the end of it brief an ocean r.t. turkey. where the syrian national council is on his way to cairo to lobby arab league officials ahead of the group's meeting sunday he wants the observer mission in syria handed over to the u.n. security council where the opposition ultimately hopes to establish a buffer in a no fly zone in the country some experts believe there are arab league members leaning toward military involvement as well. so we're expecting now that the arab league will request extend that stay here which the syrian government has already said it would welcome back to the point of view of a country like qatar and others who are really being pushing for regime change in syria that the arab. the mission here hasn't been exactly as they would have liked

it so we have seen in the last week that the prince of qatar openly called for arab treat occupy syria as a common invade and occupy say we are so i really. believe that shows that the arab league has seen playing a little bit more of an objective arab countries aren't too happy with it so we can expect. the purse for their objectives are very changed in other ways. already is correspondent is also in syria at the moment following all the developments there keeping you up to date you can check out sara first twitter feed for all the latest that's at r.t. underscore com. a multi-billion pound london court door between a russian tycoon and chelsea football club owner roman abramovich and fugitive russian billionaire boris berezovsky is close to conclusion the judge is considering her verdict in the financial showdown after all ramees of expensive lawyers went to battle for their clients exposing some juicy details along the way

our correspondent in london ivor bennett has more. it's been dubbed the trial of the century for two reasons really firstly because of the sheer money involved there's six and a half billion dollars at stake here making it the most expensive civil lawsuit in u.k. legal history and more importantly perhaps is the subject matter really laid bare all the dodgy dealings of ninety's russia in the wild east reaffirming all those stereotypes there are that i don't think anyone actually thought because could possibly be true but it turns out they are and what makes it even more unbelievable is that they've come from two of the main players in those turbulent times remand over move it. to former friends now arch enemies and juicy details will some of the really big believe. the recent claims we've heard all of that actually turned up to meetings wearing nothing but a dressing gown that he frittered away millions in the flash of a private jets and then that even signed off threatening tape. messages to his

rivals with the words i'm watching you i'm dr evil which well he's been accused of every dirty tax dodging trick there is in the book and we also know that he was involved in the murderous alamy new wars of the ninety's where you now know the shaw through his own admission that one person was killed every three days in that kind of grab for wealth but what this really boils down to is the relationship between the two main areas also he claims that they were business partners and that he was blackmailed by a remote village forced to sell his stakes. in. there for a fraction of their true worse. he dismisses that payment as purely protection money paid to his political godfather of the banks for his mentor ship a severance package now i know it's up to the judge to decide whether if anything all of this is true regardless of which actually survives this battle i think it's safe to say the real winner here is the british court system because believe me

raking in as a result of this trial eighteen dollars a second. london has another conflict to settle with russia after a former senior official admitted the u.k. was caught snooping find out how moscow uncovered the secret of the spying stone on our website r.t. dot com please complete with pictures and video. the battle over scotland split from the union is splitting opinion on an increasingly disunited united kingdom scots have been told that they can hold a referendum on independence always a london gives its blessing party's laura smith more. britain a three hundred year old union that once ruled the waves and tar the known world but on. the country's closer than ever to a messy divorce. this is the man who want scotland to go it alone nationalist party leader alex salmond's promising scots will get a say on being single but london wants to call the shots and get it done and dusted

. they don't want to talk about the substance i sometimes feel when i listen to them it's not a referendum they want it's a never ending question let's have the debate and that's keep our country together but why would scotland want to separate itself from a britain that still among the world's richest economies scotland always retained its own distinct national identity and the s.n.p. feels it's almost time to take that one step further and hope for a yes vote from the scottish people would mean scotland would gain control over its own north sea oil and gas and represent itself on the international stage but it doesn't want to hold a referendum until two thousand and fourteen and that delay is letting london ramp up the scare stories telling scotland it'll have to pay the price such as the billions of pounds british taxpayers spent keeping scottish banks

a life that it would have to find its own currency and. thousands of jobs when the navy heads south not that it seems to pull the scots who see that country as having been strangled for long enough i don't think it's any of his business if we present a strong enough case to be independent then he can argue against. his shock i think a shock i don't think you seventy see it that miers is a. school civil never taken kindly to hearings stern words from the mother of all parliaments down in london but for the nationalists it's a boost to the lackluster thirty percent support for a split this to come in. the but it's completely but. he's actually been the best with two things. i think is a. moderate but. in the last seven days we could. say nope to now the u.k.

and scotland's key players will continue to cross swords at stake alex salmond is a reputation built on restoring a proud scotland the prime minister cameron is the potential to become the man who let the united kingdom come apart norris made to. take a look now at some other stories making headlines across the globe french president nicolas sarkozy says his nation suspending military training operations in afghanistan after four soldiers were killed in a gunfight a rogue afghan soldier has since been detained he was behind the attack that also injured a dozen more soldiers attacks by afghan troops and police on their foreign partners have become increasingly common some things are closing he says is unacceptable so far into french soldiers have been killed in afghanistan since two thousand and one . rescue operations of the site of a coaster concordia cruise liner disaster have been suspended after the ship shifted again overnight twenty one people remain missing eleven work killed when

the cruise line. ran aground a week ago the ship's captain captain is currently under house arrest a new audiotape appears to show the crew downplayed the extent of the disaster only reporting electrical problems for a half hour after the vessel struck there in. hialeah most news blockers russia's presidential candidates are busy wrapping up their campaigns ahead of the march vote some members of the public are stepping up their efforts to ensure a transparent election but in the light of the massive rallies against the parliamentary ballot in russia last month both authorities and protesters and made the needed to stop to talk to talk and discuss more arena the loucheux gauge the temperature of russia's political life. with just under fifty days before the march presidential election and major complaints still simmering in the candidate's headquarters mr putin decided to unleash his powers of persuasion on the electorate and nonpublic speaker for a change he's decided to be more scholarly picking up the pen for the first in

a series of articles outlining his vision for the future of russia what he's calling economy built. the gravitation away from dependence on oil high standing welcoming political dialogue and the strengthening of civil society in russia putin however said people should concentrate on just what candidates are promising to do rather than the theater of personalities we need extended dialogue about priorities about long term choices national perspective and development this article is an invitation to such dialogue it's important to say that prime minister has never denied the possibility of establishing such a dialogue and they just become friends his ravenous and this is what is making people take the initiative into their own hands this week some of the most prominent participants on december's post-election protests pulled together to form

of constituents where should the new public. just blossomed people are showing a desire to make an educated vote to know where their votes are going on the understanding that the country needs competitive politics those behind the new group are quick to point out they're not going to turn into a political party but do become a major support group for anyone wanting to make a difference with their vote i didn't have the political activists are nothing without this type of newly found public support there to help them are the key to public support is the media and not recruiting found himself in the card criticizing one of russia's most popular radio stations and called moscow for me to promo store in its coverage the prime minister told its editor in chief who noted you could sense of those words saying you don't get mad when you cover me with liquid crap from dawn till dusk the government the opposition and the electorate all seem to realize they have to think fast and act quickly in order to get the

ball rolling with the presidential elections just around the corner so after house down which some say lasted for years the political life in russia and roaring in wealth go in goes go our team. green americans up next with the business news stay with us. and i welcome to our business update us all thanks for joining me another twist has emerged in the gas dispute between ukraine and russia over supply deliveries kiev has come up with a blueprint of what it sees as a way out of the deadlock it wants as gas transportation pipeline to be jointly operated by russia ukraine and the european authorities this will help keep a neutral position in talks and attract funds to overhaul the pipelines russia had earlier pushed to sell a gas pipeline in exchange for cheaper prices ukraine would be happy to keep it that claims high gas prices may do well it's a card. that russia is pushing to fast track construction of its southern energy

link to europe. stream pipeline the green light for the neutral gas link from the black sea to central europe will be given in december this year the head of the gas export monopoly aleksei miller says the company has all the sources to meet deadlines and to remind you the self in pipeline is a project developed jointly by gazprom italy's any france's e.d.f. germany's going to stall. you have been coming passenger jets the airbus three hundred twenty neil will soon boast rushes to tail the countries they tell you monopoly business sealed a deal with air bus to deliver a trial shipment of its production if the quality of the product meets the standard of the european plane maker a large order will be placed however there is no report on the value of the contract. let's have a look at the markets now in europe close in the red on worries about debt swap talks in greece chinese manufacturing activity that showed signs of contraction was

also a focus for three and a quarter of a percent lower while the dax and below that and here in moscow stocks closed lower on friday with a drop in oil prices in my six last point eight percent the r.t.s. nearly half a percent and now that see the biggest movies on the markets lower every flag think the sentiments in the euro zone coal miner response guy was among the main losers. was also on the downturn the company says it plans to cut production to adapt to a slowing global to about equity strategist peter weston from capital wraps up today's trade. so we seem to be in a mode now with negative news doesn't really matter and people cling on to the positives. and the back to russia has been quite positive so russia's close up on the week we've seen good movement some good interesting gas prom the dividend story which might not get as much attention as it probably should haven't come back from london this world is increasing interest in. i will say for the first time. in

about a year's time and the other thing as you know we feel now is that the conviction now from the bull and the bear camp the not that convinced and the more it all of course hinges on what happened globally but i think russia is that actually in a sweet spot for the first time in a long time and i think that could potentially continuous long as we don't see any major major negative news item that's the business news but don't forget you can always find wall stories on our website r.t. dot com slash presence.

wealthy british style sun it's time to.

market. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines to cons are reports. nine thirty pm in moscow the zero r.t. headlights packer strike back and cripples major u.s. government and corporate websites in response to a crackdown on a file sharing service and pending anti-piracy legislation. syrian opposition holds more mass protests demanding more prisoners be released despite a general amnesty granted by president assad earlier this week. and a multi-billion pound battle between a russian tycoon roman on.