it's eleven pm in moscow i'm at très a good to have you with us here on r t our top story this hour the united states government and the country's entertainment industry came under attack from a group of computer hackers known as anonymous they took down the web sites belonging to the f.b.i. the department of justice and universal music among others the group says its largest ever attack is in response to the shutdown of a major file sharing service mega upload which is affected around fifty million daily users the web site's bosses have been arrested and are now facing prison sentences for copyright infringement u.s. lawmakers are currently debating new bills to curb illegal downloading which have been attacked as an attempt to censor the internet thousands of websites including we keep pedia went black in protest this week at the legislation we're joined now by peter broadwell a campaigner from the open rights group thanks for your time so why should your

group can't be concerned about the end type piracy bills are being discussed in the u.s. congress. well i think there's a number of reasons why people all around the world that got so concerned about these two bills firstly the bills and selves seem to be so vague and broadly worded that they they risk giving power to broader power to take down information and content all around the world and that's a concern for stifle innovation or restrict the free flow of information but also many countries around the world in their own policymaking around copyright foresman face many similar issues around how they deal with process and redress when things go wrong and how they define exactly what the nature of this infringement problem is. how tell you could this control being do you think it could affect the average web users like you and me. i think if you look at a case like make or upload and the story that broke over the last twenty four hours

i think it's important to recognize that those kind of sites file can often be really legitimate and important services there are rules about how they are supposed to respond quickly to reports of copyright infringement and we should be judging how good or bad these services are according to how how quickly they respond to those things i think we need to be really careful to throw the baby out with the bathwater with this and disincentive vii's people from running legitimate and useful services like. the internet is clearly awash with pirate material it's easy to go on a click away to a number of websites i know what off the top of my head and find pirated material copyrighted material how do you think you could stop the stealing while keeping the web free from unnecessary or personal was controls. i think there's two things that the policy makers should be doing now and they should be taking this opportunity to engage with constructive dialogue with with the people who have spoken out about this firstly they need to look again at the evidence around the nature of the problem and they spent far too little time really

analyzing what this problem looks like and understanding who's involved and who's causing real damage secondly i still think there's a lot to do from. content industries to keep providing better service is legal tentative especially with movies for example the legal movie offer online still woefully short of where it should do not only as an incentive or or a reason why people pirates not necessarily excuse but if those films that were t.v. shows that they want to watch aren't available legally and they can get them. from from an infringing source then odds on they're going to double the legislation is still up for debate in congress do you think the authorities will continue raids against popular resources that they think are guilty of piracy considering the protests that followed. i think it could be a really important and watershed moment for people interested in and care about copyright enforcement i don't think it's going to be any denying anymore that there is a range of voices from human rights campaigners through to the innovation community

through to creators and artists that deserve a stake in this debate in a way they haven't necessarily had before previously this policy debate has been much more narrowly focused between rights holders and the policymakers and hopefully that's change for good. peter broadwell a campaigner from the u.k. based open rights group thanks for your perspective. well the u.s. senate has postponed a test vote on one of the controversial web control bills in the wake of the online protest campaign barrett brown who's worked with the hacker group anonymous on various operations told r.t. 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 of the us and all governments. is such that giving them power to do one thing is almost always interpreted by themselves as a means of giving them power for many other things so and the way that you know

this that this raid on mega upload cards in this opens it shows that even without sopa already in place here they are already arresting and resting the owners megaupload and shutting it down so imagine when some post. in the meantime my group project. initiated operation dog park which is the latest effort. to ensure that soap is the one that those who support so are around and intimidated and otherwise to make sure that these things don't happen again and in the future of the very near future as you'll see there will be a number of other groups that will pop up using more more military not goods and situation gets worse and things will escalate until such point as the notable civil war in the us occurs. coming up in about twenty five minutes our teams cross talk host piro of el speaks with his guess about the reason behind the proposed legislation here's a preview. the fact 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 us in terms of copyrights then we have the right to shut you down the other part of the problem is actively use that excuse to do some of it is. your objection 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 carried you know these are counterfeit drugs there are also if you look at the written material including i you know harm infants harm children harm adults there's a serious there are serious consequences. and us is the only ones facing accusations of censorship on line and over the airwaves britain is under fire after the country's media regulator revoke the

license of press t.v. via ronnie in english language broadcaster the watchdog says the channels in breach of regulations because it does not control its content but press t.v. says it's being silenced for more reaction and we're joined with you yvonne ridley a journalist thanks very much for joining us here on r t press t.v. claims that the british watchdog has long been waging a controversial campaign against the station what do you make of these accusations of a biased approach toward that. well it's quite true and it's very much linked actually to your lead story about america. through we discovered that america the american government was putting pressure on the british government to pull the plug on press t.v. they've obviously passed that pressure on to off. today press t.v. pulled off the sky satellite platform. but we need to get this in perspective it would be like the b.b.c. been pulled off broadcasting to the isle of man. press t.v.

has more than a dozen satellites around the world it will continue and of course it's streamed live on the internet w w w dot press t.v. dot so it will continue but it again it shows how the so-called free world free democracy don't like the truth and they will go to extraordinary levels of censorship to stop what they see as criticism of the way that they run the governments but i don't see the argument you're making there you're saying that the us is pressuring britain to shut down press t v they probably know full well that it's available twenty four hours a day anywhere on europe over the internet i mean what's what's the argument there . well this was this this was revealed last year in the wiki leaks cables that they wanted to close down press t.v.

i think that they've learned from the al-jazeera experience when al-jazeera first launched its arabic. t.v. station there were moves in the end to try and curb zero because of its phenomenal success but it was too late by the time that they they couldn't do anything to the arabic station and they just said you know if you close us down we will continue on our satellites i did work without. to help launch their english web site in doha and the pressure that we came under from the u.s. government was extraordinary from. total editorial interference demanding that stories were removed and you know i took calls from the west. doing of the white house asking for those stories to be removed so. america wasn't at that point

criticizing the accuracy or fact. touched a story so they just didn't like being criticized in print online or in any media well it appears that al-jazeera since changed its policy but referring back to press t.v. the watchdog says that the editorial decisions on the channel were being controlled by the offices in tehran instead of the offices in new k. do you think this should really be enough of a violation to merit taking them off the air. well that was an absolute nonsense wasn't it russia today has a bureau in london sure that. you know must be some concern in moscow that if i can do this to press t.v. to do it to russia today the same with voice of america the same with france twenty four in fact any overseas station that has bureaus in london must be thinking what on earth is going on here all right we have to leave it there

journalist yvonne ridley thanks for your time. will stay with us here on our t.v. still to come this hour. with less than fifty days to go we take a look at the current political climate in russia and head of the march presidential election. turning to syria where the opposition is holding rallies across the country in support of prisoners held since the start of anti-government don't arrest this despite a general amnesty granted by president assad earlier this week that seen almost two hundred detainees released or summary of the notion it takes a look at who's calling the shots in the protest movement. people taking to the streets may look like a real force of power and indeed be one but not in syria protest has apparently failed to prove that months of bloodshed with no sign is going to stop anytime soon. how it hodor from the syrian national council the country's main

official opposition body says making the people's voice louder and bring in an end to the violence is what the essence he was created for our main goal is to help the syrian people there present them and their two national community in order to reach this syrian people freedom although it's been run by a paris based exile. in the ass and see has been recognized as the country's legitimate government by the new libyan authorities and supported by some easy and nato countries which has made some doubt the council's innocent intentions with regards to libya the promise that nato made to the national transitional council prospective leaders was that they be given a major seat at the table in a new libya so there's 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 well it's not just their names they have in common supported and sponsored from abroad i think he likes 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 supported the opposition he claims nothing has changed since then and the oppression has to stop the town is another matter. his addicted terrorism 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 age and with the free syrian army fighters who have defected from assad's military in was a clear shift from the essences initial entirely known armed peaceful stance. the cows who also sees humanitarian corridors and buffer zones as options to protect civilians in syria even though these might mean foreign troops arriving this is a top is the ball carriers operation where there's syria that the gas is being used to at us and that jeddah they need to look at that because they don't want they want to destabilize syria because they want syria to be part of nato at least lead to label the opposition claims is just a matter of time before the joint efforts sooner or later will force president assad out while his determined 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 or if notion r.t. turkey. head of the syrian national council is on his way to cairo to lobby arab league officials ahead of the group's meeting on sunday he wants a observer mission in syria headed over to the u.n. security council where the opposition ultimately wants to establish a buffer zone and no fly zone in the country some experts think there are arab league members leaning toward military intervention as well. we're expecting now that the arab league will request they extend it which the syrian government has already said it would welcome to the point of view of. those who have really been pushing for regime change in syria that the mission here hasn't been exactly as they would have liked is that we have seen in the last week that the prince of. cool. i would treat. syria as

a common invade and occupy say we. really. believe that the arab league has seen a little bit more of an objective. to happy with it so we can expect. full of our objectives of regime change in other ways a correspondent in syria is also following the developments keep you updated by her twitter feed you can check out sara first tweets that are to underscore com. a multi-billion pound london court duel between a russian tycoon and chelsea football club owner. and fugitive russian billionaire boris berezovsky is close to conclusion the judge is considering her verdict in the financial showdown after armies of expensive lawyers went to battle for their clients exposing some juicy details along the way artie's london correspondent 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 it's 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 every moment. to former friends now arch enemies as for juicy details will some of the really big believe the recent claims we've heard are that he actually turned up to meetings wearing nothing but a dressing gown that he frittered away millions in the flash of a private jet that even signed off threatening text messages to his rivals with the words i'm watching you i'm dr evil as 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

murderous alamy wars in the ninety's where we now know for sure through his own admission that one person was killed every three days in that kind of grab for wealth but what this dispute really boils down to is the relationship between the two men there is also he claims that they were business partners and that he was blackmailed by a remote which forced to sell his stakes and shares in in their oil companies for a fraction of the true worth. he dismisses that payment 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 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 eighty dollars a second. london has another conflict or is. with russia after a former senior official admitted britain was caught snooping find out how moscow uncovered the secret of the spying stone on our website r.t.

dot com complete with pictures and video. check out some other stories now making headlines across the globe french president nicolas sarkozy says his nation is suspending military training operation in afghanistan after four of its soldiers were killed in a gunfight a rogue afghan soldier who has since been detained was behind the attack that also injured a dozen more troops attacks by afghan troops and police on their foreign partners have become increasingly common something cozy calls unacceptable so far eighty two french soldiers have been killed in afghanistan since two thousand and one. the search for twenty one people still missing after the coast of concordia cruise liner disaster has resumed it's been halted it had been halted after the ship started to move eleven people were killed when the cruise liner ran aground a week ago in the ship's captain is currently under house arrest a new audiotape appears to show the crew downplayed the extent of the catastrophe only reporting electrical problems for half an hour after the vessel hit the reef.

as russia's presidential candidates are busy gearing up for their campaigns ahead of the march elections some members of the public are increasing their efforts to ensure a transparent vote in light of the massive rallies against the parliamentary ballot in russia last month both authorities and protesters admit they need to talk more. gauges the temperature of russia's political life. but just under fifty days before the march presidential election and major campaign was still simmering in the candidate's headquarters mr putin decided to unleash his powers of persuasion on the electorate and nonpublic speaker for 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 for its new economy to be 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 but it's important to say that prime minister has never denied the possibility of establishing such a day 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 of december's post-election protest pulled together to form the league of constituents more action for the new public mood has 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 in your group are quick to point out they're not going to turn into a political party but do hope to 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 boost them the key to public support is the media and that's with him put in found himself touring the card while criticizing one of russia's most popular radio stations and go from being to pro western in its coverage. the prime minister told its editor in chief not to take offense at his words since 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 realise they have to think fast and act quickly in order to get the ball rolling with the presidential elections just around the corner. which some say lasted for years the political life in russia and roaring in go go r t. green americans up next with our latest business news stay with us.

and welcome to a business update this 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 he wants as gas transportation pipeline to be jointly operated by russia ukraine and the european authorities this will help it keep a neutral position in talks and attract funds to overhaul the pipelines russia had earlier pushed. pipeline in exchange for cheaper prices ukraine would be happy to keep it but claims high gas prices may do whale its economy. and russia is pushing to fast track construction of its southern energy link to europe the south stream pipeline the green light for the neutral gas link from the black sea to central europe will be given in december this year ahead of the gas export monopoly aleksei miller says the company has all the sources to meet deadlines to remind you the

self in pipeline is a project developed jointly by gazprom italy's any france's e.d.f. and germany's plan for all. you have been coming passenger jets the airbus three hundred twenty neil will soon boast rushes to tell you the countries they tell you monopoly be a simple 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's no report on the value because. 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 focused on the foot 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. see the biggest move

a satellite fix the lower every flag the sentiments in the eurozone coal miner 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 bad equity strategist peter weston capital wraps up today's trade. so we seem to be in a mode now where negative news doesn't really matter and people cling on to the positives. and the backdrop for that russia has been quite positive so russia has caught up on the week we've seen good movements and good interesting gas prom the dividend story which might not get as much attention i suppose we should have having 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 you know we feel now is that the conviction now from the bull and the bear camp the not convinced anymore it all of course in just what's happened globally but i think russia is actually in a sweet spot for the first time in

a long time and i think that could pose potentially continuous long as we don't see any major major negative news item. of business news but don't forget you can always find more stories on our website r.t. dot com slash tests. when an uncomfortable question leads to a grave accusation the world should sue is more is you know far. the president who

isn't supposed to hide anything. where it's someone asking him why do you make a secret out that when the powers to be suppress the voice of those who think different. when you go experiencing very serious problems off of the saakashvili government came to power in two thousand and three but. that was when the problems began piling up. interviews were now off limits to our journalists they were all from beason up and humiliated in public and one of the attempt to protect property puts life in real danger is that we have been deprived of the only means of earning a living and i have gone to the original soup all the papers this stuff beyond the liberalized the ownership rights on the basis of companies freedom becomes just a stage prop. culture is that so much about the taxpayers' money maintaining ization it means a lot of people at area supporters of the stop online piracy act claim they are

losing billions of dollars a year to step on the internet opponents of social worry the engine. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture. mission free accreditation free. for chargers free arrangement

free. three stooges free. old free broadcast clothing videos for your media projects a free media. time. eleven thirty pm in moscow the zero r.t. headlines hackers strike back and not the most cripples major us government and corporate websites in response to a crackdown on a file sharing service and pending anti-piracy law. the syrian opposition holds more mass protests demanding more prisoners be released despite a general amnesty granted earlier this week by president assad. lead a multi-billion pound battle between russian tycoon roman operable bichon fugitive mogul boris becker.