visit our big gold teeth. starving to death versus languishing in cages the choice for guantanamo inmates is a detainee's lawyer exclusively tells r t the weeks long hunger strike is fueled by prisoners having been robbed of legal process and the right to defend themselves. biggest ever cyber attack of its kind disrupting internet access across the planet with a clash between a spam filtering company and a hosting firm rippling across the web. banks finally open their doors in cyprus but little relief for citizens with empty wallets with strict cash limits set to avoid a run on savings. noon

in moscow i matter as a good having you with us here on r t our top story the hunger strike in guantanamo prison going from bad to worse detainees who've been refusing water check that refusing. sorry refusing food over mistreatment for weeks now claim they're being denied drinking water by the guards amid growing concerns the strike may turn deadly with several inmates already hospitalized already spoke with u.s. air force lieutenant colonel barry when garda military attorney in guantanamo now he told us about his client's desperate condition. i've never seen anything in all my five years coming one kind of. more than the kind i mean. talk about you know you forget whole. part of folk playing this week he went from one forty seven down to one hundred seven i mean he was only one third of body weight and he continued. i can you know if you want whether or not

he's prepared to die but i can tell you that after eleven years of the region charge in an opportunity to defend himself it's a very low point here and one out of the. movement performed think of one hundred sixty six individuals out here even the cleared individual. will weigh in in the process of getting released from here but i think that you know when you're on hundred thirty and only cleared not cleared from from countries we support. the radio. the people of all of that meet their of their own if it turns out that people begin to die here they don't want to make a difference but i can't help that it didn't come to the people. or we've been robbed probably we were told if we get military commissions well you know we don't even have trouble let alone an opportunity to get him out represent

him only because the former. minister has been willing to give him a trial or try but now he has no courage and for me to defend that i can't go to try to keep hold of a department complete complete story. concept and then will. for the rest of their lives without ever having an opportunity to defend him now when a leader of a country indefinite detention will be applied to guantanamo bay well that's when you die will happen. pretty. here's for the lies of hunger striking prisoners or prompted the red cross to send a delegation to check conditions at the facility earlier than planned cap officials say more than thirty detainees are refusing food lawyers and activists claim though the number exceeds one hundred thirty at this point speaking with r t a spokesman for the international committee of the red cross in north america simon shore no says poor legal regulation in guantanamo was to blame from our observations it

would be those tensions and and this anguish that they need or experience and he's clearly related to the lack of a clear legal framework in guantanamo and this is now a real impact and as an impact forty three days for some time on their mental health on their emotional for us would be the issue beyond just what you know we are seeing right now going on tunnel is this issues that lawyers are talking about the issue of the legal framework that regiments the detention at guantanamo and this is that you should the administration must address meanwhile the white house has broken its silence commenting for the first time since the strike broke out almost seven weeks ago a spokesman saying the obama administration is closely monitoring the situation and remains committed to closing the facility former u.s. assistant secretary of state for public affairs under this administration p.j. crowley tells our t. that in this case the president's hands are tied. having worked for president obama

i thought that president obama had the right policy approach when he came into office in two thousand and nine to close guantanamo within one year the united states civilian justice system has for decades been able to handle terrorism cases we've had a number of them in recent months and years however as the president had had signed an executive order pledging he had to close guantanamo congress has prevented him from doing that there was a secondary effort through the state department for those. detainees who were judged to belong to no longer pose a threat or have been mistakenly brought to judge quantum in the first place to transport those back to home countries third countries and that has simply had tried and it over time made the challenge smaller unfortunately the state department has been forced because of funding issues to close that office down so it really is the u.s. is congress that has basically frozen you know the situation in place the president

is right now unable to move forward to reduce the population close to population and obviously that's having an effect you can find our timeline r.t. dot com for more a spawn's to the situation in guantanamo plus we're of course interested in what you think about the issue in our online poll we're asking what do you think the result will be of the ongoing protests let's take a look at the results right now opinion is stacking up this way more than half of those voting and believe deaths among hunger strikers are eminent and that only token policy changes will happen one fifth more optimistic saying conditions for prisoners will improve as a result of the protests a little less than the u.s. will close guantanamo to save face but carry on with the indefinite detention just six percent claim bad press generated from the story will put an end to the policy of indefinite detention but what do you think click on our common cast your vote.

a cyber war raging across the internet millions around the world fought to be affected by disruption and loss of speed to popular web services and what security experts are calling the biggest denial of service attack in history interruptions come after a spat between a major europe based spam fighting group and a dutch web hosting company our producer andrew blake explains how the battle turned digital global. this is actually just a fight among two companies one geneva based spamhaus which is a nonprofit but has bases all over the world they actually provide security services to keep bad things from going through the internet than the other side we

have cyber bunker a company a dutch company who is very open about being able to do whatever they want on the internet they can host lots of material and they don't like being told what they can and can't do online and what has erupted is a battle on the web that has in some instances actually crippled internet traffic internationally we spoke to someone from from cyber bunker who you know defended it and said it was a stance that was existing. and to be. effect ok or censorship we're going to say which were the job into position where they can just go to the website and it would show up and do it on a regular basis if people do not comply to go to demand they just young guy or internet provider if to which all the groups start to blend of the gun owners and i think we're seeing something that's a little childish it's between two groups who just don't don't quite get along

what's happening as a result of this is the whole internet is slowing down and so it could have some pretty dangerous repercussions a super happening for an entire week now and is you know under investigation and as we saw earlier when we were talking to cyber bunker it seems like that that group isn't exactly ready to just sit back and go ahead and throw in the towel here. well there maybe a little better place on the internet for a minimal damage to turn into epic disaster given how much crucial data is stored these days on the web joining me now to talk about all this artie's alexei are a show of ski thanks very much for joining us here today so given the nature of these cyber attacks it's possible isn't it that one person acting by themselves could cause a lot of damage isn't it tell us more well absolutely you know cyber attacks viruses do not kill people as effectively as cluster bombs do for instance but certainly in terms of the infrastructural damage cyber attacks are now as effective as the weapons of mass destruction only with one exception of course they're cheaper and they're impossible to trace where they coming from take for instance

the recent stuxnet virus which all but disrupted the iranian nuclear program imagine if something went wrong and that's a nuclear facility started exploding it would have caused massive damage or the ongoing attack by an unknown islamist organization on. u.s. banks it's not directly killing people it's not causing any huge damage but certainly people are being affected by what is already described as the longest standing cyber attack on the industrial sector bank loans are being frozen and accounts are being counseled so definitely this is a huge damage to the general population and what specific damage you think you could have according to the latest reports on governmental institutions well this latest attack would you just mentioned experts said that if this attack was carried out on downing street ten the u.k. government's websites would have been down in the matter of seconds so this is how serious it is. mostly cyber attacks have been about vandalism about asserting

themselves on the web for instance the attack by the anonymous hacker group on the cia website it didn't cause any huge damage didn't kill anyone but definitely the reputation of the intelligence agency was seriously undermined by that attack or say the. the talk of a conversation between scotland yard officials and the f.b.i. which was made public by. the same hacker group anonymous also huge reputation blow . so definitely we're now living in an era where cyber attacks can get to be serious threat and serious damage and what potential is there do you think given the latest reports that fight that these attacks could move from a new front basically you from the real world into the digital well if for instance any hypothetical global warfare starts cyber warfare will be an integral part and you dimension of this war and something we've never seen in the second world war before simply for the lack of technology. especially given that most of the navigation systems of weapons are being controlled by computers imagine someone

hacks into those computers gets access and what could be the outcome of that already some frozen ongoing conflicts are being influenced by the cyber warfare and for instance the dispute between south korea and north korea south koreans are already claiming they witnessed thirty two thousand cyber attacks in the last year coming from presumably north korea in the special unit which they which seoul believes only one created to fight against the neighbors so in a nutshell. the u.s. defense officials recently said that they rate cyber attacks higher than terrorism threat coming from al qaeda for the first time since nine eleven this speaks volumes as to how serious the cyber attack threat is and how seriously is being considered by the defense officials worldwide brave new world isn't it thanks very much for the update. well the cyber attacks again proving the perils of the internet but don't fear you can safely surf on to our t.

dot com we've got plenty more stories lined up for you from across the world wide web including this google successfully pushing the swedish government to remove the term google apple from its dictionary the phrase means something now the user can't find using the giant search engine plus. saving snow for next winter anything possible in the rushes the government's going to stockpile tons of the stuff for an extra sochi olympics using a breakthrough technique the full story online at r.t. dot com. the world's biggest emerging economies have agreed in principle to set up a new development bank that could rival established financial institutions brics countries brazil russia india china south africa calling for reforms to the world bank and the i.m.f. to saying they don't reflect the new balance of world power archie contributor option aton see thinks though the brics project is yet to be finalised it could pose a challenge to how the global economies government. the i.m.f.

and world bank for decades have acted as bad cop good cop as it were we mustn't forget how historic day which is being said the potential for this is in fit for decades the world bank would offer money to developing nations and the i.m.f. would threaten those nations we just have to speak dog what are modern or a argentinian or an african to know how the world bank and operated for so many decades and killed so many millions tens of millions of people losing their policies in giving aid only dependent on their particular brand of washington consensus according to people like former i.m.f. a man who wrote i think the book as a man was a real economic hit man but the fact that right wing people like david frum in foreign policy can be so quick to deal brix the axis of asymmetry shows how behind the times people in washington really are back with more international

news shortly stay with us here on r.t. .

today violence is once again flared up. these are the images. from the streets of canada. for racial to rule the day. thanks for staying with us sixteen minutes past the hour now a nail biting time for europe with cyprus banks due to reopen after being paralyzed for nearly two weeks little relief though for cash strapped citizens of a severe restrictions imposed on how much money they can withdraw limits are set to prevent a bank run making cyprus the first year as one country to introduce capital controls or reports on anger and despair in the streets as cypriots try to adapt to the new reality. like many in cyprus labor leaders agreed this is simply stunned

at the speed and manner with which the banking crisis in his country seems to be spiraling out of control he shows us his wallet yo cash a lean lottery tickets a single parent unemployed and caring for a sick mother in raveling of cyprus's financial woes couldn't have come at a worse time and i feel shame that i live with a pension of my mom all of your life is coming up so i don't you make a plan for the future for the people in the young and. suddenly you hear that the economy of your country in the park system is. corrupt so. you standing with an empty hands. a sentiment echoed throughout the tiny island nation.

scenes like these becoming a daily occurrence another day in nicosia cyprus another protest though this one in particular is a gathering of black appointees of the country's largest lender the bank of cyprus but they worry that the company is headed for collapse and they may eventually lose their jobs the many cypriots told me that they are well aware that this is just the beginning of a long hard road i believe that. europe. germany strolled because we're a small economy they felt that the consequences would be minimal what they don't know is that the president has been said and what happened today in cyprus could easily happen tomorrow to italy to front choose to spain we just want to be left alone to pick up the pieces and get on with our lives cyprus is part of your peer european union system falls and for. paying the money through the european union to have. the other two contras you may embarrass like doesn't mean

you know. no but is that cyprus have a problem or it's because you know economy or something as economic drama continues with politicians and bankers drawing a painful measures to execute the years old ira back to the bailout plan it's all too clear to ordinary cypriots who is going to be very forthright need us as mother for example have a monthly pension cut from one thousand one hundred eighty nine euros to just over one thousand a month ago why they cut from people who have special needs they cut from the people for his part allies question all cypriots would like answered as well. yes or sylvia our team make a c.s.i. course. cyprus protests intensify by the day and often people from all walks of life something that may spill over into violence. it is financial governance over

europe i don't think they care what the citizens of europe the five hundred million people of the european continent feel about how this crisis or these crises are being handled it is governed by crisis to the extent extreme you know they were polite and said we're going to get you early on in this crisis four or five years ago now they're making a very bold statement they're not asking any more they're just going to take it if someone's trying to rob you then it would make sense that it could certainly lead to violence i mean that is the ultimate outcome if somebody is trying to get access what is theirs you know their money so they can put food on their table and they're being told no you can only take out three in a time or you can transfer around the to your friends or family around the world if you go on vacation you know take three thousand dollars i could certainly see an tempers flare. next hour max kaiser and stacy herbert turned their attention to the cyprus crisis that they described as nothing but a full fledged war. in greece and papa dr stole money from the greek people put in

his mom's account to suddenly showed up in switzerland how did that get there who now are saying it with the leadership in cyprus stealing money from people we've seen this story before there's a war going on there's two sides there's the corrupt banking bank stirs and then there's people who are trying to hold on to what they have and i think if i'm not mistaken a bomb went off a couple of days ago in cyprus look for more of those types of things happening because this is a bloody war. maxes latest gloomy prediction there seems to be becoming a reality in greece a bomb exploded in athens near a famous tourist spot of the acropolis apparently targeting the home of a shipping magnate who also used to sit on the board of the cyprus bank this is the latest in a series of bomb attacks have been plaguing the country since the economy sunk into recession it reflecting people's growing outrage ortiz tom barton has more. the

bomb planted in a backpack exploded just hundreds of meters away from athens is i conic across two lists the police did manage to evacuate people from the area because of a tip off given to a greek newspaper just twenty minutes before a bomb was planted outside the house of nicholas sack os a rich figure owning a greek shipping company he is also the recently reportedly been on the board of governors for the bank of cyprus greece has seen numerous small bomb attacks in previous years but there is a fear that there could be growing political violence linked to the effects of austerity and people's reaction against that a bomb was set off in cyprus on sunday there have also been bomb attacks in greece in january one of those a shocking sent another targeting the houses of five journalists and now this we've also seen violent protests over the past couple of years has greece's politicians

have tried to struggle with their financial crisis and the ensuing need for austerity many people here are looking at the road ahead as a bleak one and it's feared that there may be people turning to more desperate means to express their frustration with the current situation. turning now to some other stories making international headlines clashes broke out in dresden germany where hundreds of national democratic party activists gathered calling for the deportation of foreigners who commit crimes in the country trouble started as an opposing left wing group reached the protesters police used tear gas to disperse the crowd the location of the rally was significant next to a spot where a german man was attacked by a foreigner just last week. hundreds of people marched through the streets of chicago protesting the closure of more than fifty schools because of budget cuts protests was organized by the chicago teachers union more than one hundred

demonstrators were handed fines after staging a sit in on one of the city's main streets local authorities claim they'll save more than a billion dollars over ten years but the move forces more than thirty thousand students to find new schools. britain's home secretary has lost the latest bid to deport abu qatada the alleged al qaeda linked cleric wanted in jordan over terra charges the court of appeals rejected an attempted deportation citing human rights saying he wouldn't get a fair trial in jordan the u.k. has been trying to deport the radical preacher earlier described as osama bin laden's right hand man for five years he remains in the u.k. prison for an alleged breach of bail conditions but could walk free if no charges are filed. florida when this news block less than a day before the soyuz spacecraft embarks on a record breaking mission it will be the first ever six hour flight taking the new russian american teamed up to the international space station and artie's into farmers and by can err looking at the ups and downs of the latest developments and

what it means for the critter. rolling at what will be and historic mission the iconic soyuz rocket will set another record from baikonur this week taking three crew to the international space station in the fastest time ever it was slashed the journey from two days to just six hours and will achieve it by a whizzing earth just four times instead of thirty before docking that after cosmonauts decided they needed less time to adjust to weightlessness. one of the bandages will be to reduce weightlessness you can operate quite normally if you're aware it was in the first few hours another advantage is that you can take biological experience for the patient very quickly also it means we're going to bring ice cream to the space station before it melts the russian in good spirits as he spoke behind glass and in quarantine at the crew's last press conference but they also admit the new express route will bring extra challenges less laps of the earth means less room for error the rocket must take off just as the space station

passes overhead within ten minutes the soyuz will begin its first orbit and we're five boosters to catch up and dock with the i assess a few hours later this work course of a spacecraft is ready for yet another loan from the step of kazakstan and when it does dock with the space station each tree will begin one hundred sixty eight days in orbit now there is nothing particularly new for the experience part of in a get out of or chris cassidy they have been on previous missions and so know all about the hectic shadow of scientific experiments in space walks but it is new territory for alexander will be making his debut in space what can i expect of the most exciting journey not just in my life but the life of any individual it is difficult to put into words i hope the excitement will remain through the six months of the voyage and the hard work will not prevent me from feeling the thrill of such an epic adventure despite the thrill there are obvious dangers and the crew

have prepared for every venture ality simulating a crash landing in a forest for three days was part of their training but there's also a monday inside to being a spaceman on a six month mission they also have time time and need waste affiliate current i assess commander chris hadfield took that to a new level by releasing a single in space last month or though that's not something this next mission is likely to repeat fortunately all the musical talent left earth. december i only sing in the shower and we don't have a shower it was so. good humor and a photo cool ending months of preparation for a mission that aims to beat a new fast track to this and open up a new highway to the international space station andrey fama. kazakstan. coming up more on the life of man who spent three decades behind bars and is now lending a helping hand to those who are just like him stay with us. plans

to create a war medal for cyber warfare have been put on hold by the new defense secretary chuck hagel but should they have been put on hold i mean hackers a drone operators do play a real important role in modern militaries and there are already u.s. military medals for things that don't involve people shooting at you the antarctic a service medals given by the department of defense for service between fifteen and thirty consecutive days in antarctica although the cold down there is potentially deadly no penguins are going to storm the base with kalashnikovs the homeland security distinguished service medal has also never been issued to anyone on the battlefield because thankfully for america there haven't been any invading armies

in the homeland so is there precedent for a medal like cyber warfare medals i mean yes just there is but when you think about it giving someone a medal for using a mouse to blow up blips on a monitor really seems to devalue the medals of the guys who are brave enough to storm the beaches on d.-day or slog through disease and sneak field swaps and vietnam so maybe for the sake of the prestige of the other medals let's just let the cybersecurity one go but that's just my opinion.