between the late leader's closest ally and an opposition leader aims to completely change direction. clashes at guantanamo bay camp. hunger striking prisoners resisting being taken to isolated cells. the lists russia bans eighteen americans it suspects of links to torture from entering its territory in response to a similar move by washington. and concerns over the escalating korean crisis spread further afield as the north threatens to strike japan if it intercepts its missiles russia has warned. the military and top stories this hour.

with a look back at the past seven days top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly on r.t. venezuelans are deciding today whether they want to continue the legacy left by late leader heading to the polls for a snap presidential election triggered by his death from cancer last month pitched against each other. apparent nicolas maduro and opposition candidate and the cake a pretty free market devoted. reports now from caracas on what is at stake. leading the polls throughout this campaign has been. the chosen successor of and many people that i've spoken to. say that out of loyalty for thomas. for also want to see continuity in all the social programs that are already in place in the country however venezuela is plagued with a lot of problems and the big question there is it does win this election will he

be able to solve problems of crime for example shortages inflation of the economy which people have already been bringing up and these are large shoes to fill for him and he is being watched and scrutinized very closely now second to him is. the opposition he's a younger guy who is coming in the polls in new ideas many of his supporters want to vote for him because they want to. see for the past fourteen years and they want to something new this is also. someone who is a bit more u.s. friendly so this will be interesting to see if that is really would be change relations with the united states if he is voted into power the good let's not forget the venezuela sitting on the world's largest oil reserves of the world is watching closely how this vast wealth is going to be managed to moving forward but also people tell me that they want answers to all the problems that they see on the ground the biggest concern being prime food shortages again. they want to

see answers fast. as the head of american studies at middlesex university in britain i spoke to he explained to me why he thinks most venezuelans all leaning towards continuing the course has set. if you are in their shoes and you look around and you see the crisis in the united states you don't want to go down that road if you look at what the difficult and free market economics have done to europe i'm sure they don't want to go that road he has to look around the latin america and they see some serious estate intervention serious government participation in the gonna make god the intervening whenever necessary making sure that their issue is to vision of income then latin america out of these performances pretty impressive compared to these other places that i've mentioned so in that sense going bad to totally freakonomics is not going to work and they're not going to brazen. just remind you are following developments at the polling

stations in that as well as vote and all the latest updates are available on her twitter feed and one of the most recent posts there says that the majority of votes are expected to be counted by one thirty am g.m.t. the campaign endgame. chooses a new president chavez choice runs against a free market poster boy for possible venezuela choose after commandante self-styled socialism or free market model venezuela votes open fourteenth on r.t. . the first attempt to break an on going hunger strike at guantanamo prison camp has led to clashes between guards and detainees inmates tried to resist being forcibly moved from communal living quarters to single man cells and officers responded by firing non lethal bullets camp officials say they were trying to prevent hunger strikers from persuading other inmates to join the protest has got a church can has more for us now. this was apparently

a pre-dawn operation that took place hours after the delegates of the international committee of the red cross left the island left guantanamo a statement released by the u.s. military says the guards at guantanamo have fired four rounds at prisoners from non-lethal weapons they say the detainees covered surveillance cameras windows and partitions to prevent the guards from observing them during the ongoing hunger strike the guards allegedly clashed with the detainees which military officials say led them to move the captives from communal to single cells the military says the detainees used improvised weapons to resist the transfer they say that's when the guards started shooting at the captives one hundred prisoners have been starving for more than two months now trying to bring public attention to their plight because they sense did mr would rather forget about them the state department closed the office that was working to transfer the remaining captives half of them have been cleared for release their attorneys are saying that the president has been doing all possible to stop the hunger strike they've been force feeding the

strikers there were claims that they brought down the temperature in the cells to make it harder to endure the strike and now we hear that they put them in solitary confinement and shots of being fired on to a lawyer for one of the hunger striking prisoners some of the newco she told us that measures like sort of tree confinement the group of eight the situation. michael counsel who represents obeidallah derek poteat visited him just two days ago at guantanamo and obeidallah described camp six as looking like a village which had been decimated by some sort of attack with men just walking around very feebly very weak barely unable to have any energy to even communicate with each other it's a very very sad difficult situation and the reaction of the u.s. is the opposite of what it should be this strike the protests could have been

resolved with not violence but by simply agree to allow the men to return the qur'an says the u.s. government to surrender them so that they did not have to watch them continue to be desecrated and searched welty has been keeping a close eye on the hunger strike at guantanamo we've been gathering comments from officials lawyers and international organizations to see what they have to say and a special section on our website. dot com. it's a. number of former u.s. officials linked to the legalization application of torture of guantanamo feature

on the blacklist that russia put together this week moscow to release names of alleged human rights violators it was placing on the travel economic sanctions or to a similar move by the u.s. or to europe is going to takes a closer look at the tit for tat action threatening ties between the two countries . what we're witnessing now is really a game of political pingpong first washington published a part of its so-called kill list eighteen russian official suspected there of being connected to human rights violations they have been subjected to various economic and travel sanctions including the ban for them to enter the united states and shortly after this list was published a symmetric reaction came from moscow which published a part of its blacklist of eighteen american officials linked to human rights violations at the guantanamo bay detention center and the violations of the rights of russian citizens outside the center but since both lists have been published

only partially we may expect more nene's to be put on them the american his character was asked by american lawmakers at the end of last year and was named after city my good ski and employee of the hermitage capital investment fund he was suspected of fraud he got himself claimed that he had uncovered a massive corruption scheme but he died in prison in two thousand and nine before a court could make a decision on his case moscow has been accusing washington of using his unfortunate death as a political tool to apply pressure on russia or the foreign ministry's called the mike needs to act in unfriendly use of four week a lot we've heard from prime minister dmitry medvedev saying that u.s. authorities have the full right to deny entry visas to anyone without even having to explain why not to mention passing any controversial laws or black lists and many or most russian lawmakers believe that the magnitsky act harms america's own interests is like shooting oneself in the leg so i don't really see the rational

for this from the point of your bum administration which claims to be an administrator that is paying attention to multilateralism to international partnerships it was definitely a blow to the relations between moscow and washington and now this is happening ahead of a visit by a senior u.s. foreign advisor to moscow on monday for talks and these lists are definitely not going to make his job any easier. stephen of cohen he's a professor russian studies and history at new york university he believes that president obama has become hostage to anti russian moods among u.s. lawmakers obama did not want the magnitsky act it was imposed on him by the american congress congress one that included is our own political party the democratic party it's changed and poison the atmosphere it's going to make it harder for example. president obama to make concession to let's say.

the president. because there is this added. concession and i'm guessing president putin would like to modify his position on. the fence and i mention that because it's on the table. that there will be forces in the russian political. system so it's not a sideshow. and as always we want to know what you think about the stories we cover each day here on our team today on our web site on the home page r.t. dot com we've got our online poll last can you where do you think this spat between washington and moscow will lead to well the results so far the majority think that it's not going to be a major crisis that may lead to some tit for tat measures in the future a little less right about a fifth say this will not affect the major cooperation between the two countries and then the rest a slightly less optimistic we can see that nineteen percent believe that this could

actually be the death knell for the so-called reset of diplomatic ties between the two while eighteen percent think that this could escalate and severely mean an impact on the relations between the two so that's how we're looking at the moment dot com be good to hear from you. israel's military prosecutors have decided the deaths of a dozen palestinian civilians and strikes from gaza during an eight day war last year don't warrant a criminal investigation it was decided the killings were merely unfortunate it was found that one attack that killed nine family members was the result of

a targeting era. malton from the palestinian center for human rights has told me that international law is being disrespected. were two cases which were closed in this way and we received notifications of those cases on the eleventh of april just three days ago the one case is the case of the family which is one of the most enduring images of the offensive in november where there were twelve civilians killed and a further six were wounded there were five children of the family that the second cases of the show a family home which was targeted and it's located on baghdad streets and you're in that target saying four civilians were killed and another six were wounded very spend very little explanation as to why these cases have been closed israel has made merely stated that they no prosecutions it's part of a wider problem and in fact already this year since january or thirteen civil cases

which p.c. hate the basij on behalf of victims of operation cast lead have also been dismissed and of course operation cast lead happened four years ago so we're facing ongoing impunity for both about offensive and the offensive in november there's been a number of changes to the israeli legal system which have made it practically impossible for palestinian victims to achieve any form of justice. i had feed the nation in despair a decade since the fall of baghdad look at iraq has called for the uncertainty war brought and that is for the future. and the death of controversial former british prime minister margaret thatcher has provoked scandal in the u.k. the song ding dong the witch is dead rockets up the music charts as parts of the population share that anger and have political legacy that is coming your way after a short break along with plenty of other stories.

old. son its technology innovation all the least of elements from around russia we've dumped the future covered.

about international airport in the very heart of moscow. these continues here in r.t. this week tensions around north korea's nuclear threats reached a new high with pyongyang putting tokyo on its potential hit list japan was threatened after it said it was preparing to shoot down any missiles the north might launch u.s. secretary of state is in japan now the last stop of his asian tour to rally support against pyongyang's nuclear program washington tokyo and seoul indicated talks with the north can happen only if it is ready for the nuclearization apparent deadlock is worrying not only the countries involved in the dispute but moscow too as artie's alexy reports. the city with

a population of around seven hundred thousand people is the closest. to the border with north korea literally two hundred kilometers the place where the russian the chinese and the north koreans meet at the same course the escalation of tensions on the korean peninsula has led to some serious. in moscow as well because should anything happen between the two koreas especially if the nuclear weapons would be involved russia would be one of the first countries affected. by the consequences of nuclear war if we remember the. traces of radiation. which is also just a stone's throw away from here so all the latest developments in the north korean conflict in the escalating tensions. serious.

and if something happens there. but of course not only russia is concerned with the current situation on the korean peninsula the u.s. secretary john kerry said that. if it decides to hold. to the international community the most interesting day here clearly will be monday when. north korea. some reports are suggesting. actually conduct. troops became the symbol of the regime's for the beginning of

a new war. terrorist attacks. reports fear of the dictator has been replaced by hora of the. that. the iraq war is supposed to be over but these pictures tell a different story chaos and confusion the aftermath of yet another deadly blast here intercooler. this oil rich city has been described as a long line a symbol of the country's most intractable escalating violence the conflict among ethnic and religious groups and the fight over iraq's resources roadblocks and concrete barriers to find the new iraq checkpoints like this one are a dominant feature of life and they are everywhere aside from the household they're also frequent target of attacks for us is a blatant visual reminder of

a country still very much at your. but has been a flashpoint for years now and in the city center it's clear that life doesn't stop just because of the threats we were expecting empty streets but people continued to go about the business as normal vendors seemed busy families diverse shopping beneath the surface there are scars today kirkuk continues to be an incredibly dangerous place even after the city without the help of a military escort residents here say that a toxic happen at any time in any place in fact it's not really safe to stay here for too long so let's get inside. we need car want to his family there kurds who say they're happy that saddam is gone but their fear of political repression has been replaced by fear of the unknown and. you know. we don't know who the enemy is or when the next bombing but it's a daily fears we've got used to it you know i do small things to feel safer like driving with all the car windows down that way if there's

a blast at least the glass won't hurt us. such precautions didn't help sixty year old mahmoud who says that a decade of war has ruined iraq he happened to be in the wrong place at the long time. a bomb blast went off injuring his leg. daily life has become a painful struggle just about the only. benefit did the your bring democracy only explosions shootings and kidnappings people should feel free to go out and come back safely where is that i can leave but there's no guarantee i'll come back alive but sergeant you. know it's not about the sectarian differences unfortunately it's book the black the oil and behind this oil is the hidden interests of politicians pawns in a political game playing with their livelihoods and lives for conflicts not of their own making the iraqis we met didn't hate their neighbors or care about who

controls the oil just like they simply want the peace of mind of knowing they can go out and return to their loved ones alive. r.t. . the death of former prime minister margaret thatcher this week reopened all divisions among the british people while some grieved her passing socialist students and anti capitalist were joined by ex miners in london's trafalgar square on saturday to bid a not so fond farewell demonstrators said they stand against the legacy of fancher who during her time at the top of british politics took on the unions and privatized state services that attract is a funny creative and provocative ways to show the anger the mark she left an online campaign has rocketed the wizard of all song being dong the witch is dead to the top of the music charts the b.b.c. radio show that plays out the weekly hit list has said it will only air five seconds of the song as part of

a new story for fear of offending people or their own journalist toby young believes the full song should be played out of principle. i think it is important it's very cool but i don't think that's a reason not to play it i think that we should hold people's rights to free speech and that includes the right to offend people as a conservative and as someone who greet lee at night margaret thatcher i absolutely stand fast to the principle that something shouldn't be banned some shouldn't be not played because some people find it offensive if conservatives want this song banned on grounds of taste and decency on the grounds that they're offended it will be a hostage to fortune because there are plenty of things which conservatives will want to say in future which the b.b.c. made bad decided that she actually always took some satisfaction when her opponents

attacked her personally and stooped to low vulgar tactics like this because it meant that they had no other or comments left they reduced of this because she had a actively beaten them in open debate but i have to say that those of us who are mired and loved margaret thatcher have made a counterattack and we're buying a song called i'm in love with margaret thatcher by the not sensible and we're hoping that will pick up on that which is said to a number one spot the reason margaret thatcher was so controversial is she turned the u.k. into a totally different country than r.t. dot com you can read the interview with artie's contributor afshin rattansi on the lessons the iconic leader help britain and the world to learn. and hero sentiment is going mainstream in germany with the launch of a new party dedicated to pulling the plug on the struggling single currency a group called alternative for germany says it has already received thousands of

membership requests and the political establishment is concerned about the newcomers popularity our correspondent peter oliver was at the party's first official convention. germany's political new kids on the block alternative for deutschland claim to be able to provide the german people with just not an alternative to the current political status quo the main item on their agenda though regards the euro something which they say is being kept alive artificially for too long it's coming time to pull the plug the euro is dead actually the euro is dead what we do right now is we put in and it's pressured surgery we give them. such things but actually it's already dead but i'll put it to should have directed nice that yet despite current personal popularity here in germany alternative the deutschland say that mrs merkel isn't handling the european financial crisis the right way that what she's trying to do is trying to tell people in greece and in

italy and in spain that they should act more like germans we find it ridiculous that our federal chaunced tries to turn the lovely people of greece italy and french into prussians she will never manage to do that it will not work i need to bring disunity instead of unity in europe alternative for germany is certainly a small party but they will be hoping to try and push the political big guns when it comes to the general election here on the twenty second of september they may also be facing a few challenges from other stop alicia political parties that want to pull germany out of the euro to want to see the euro go by the wayside the m.p. they have said that they are the real. policy and that they going to challenge alternative they're going to have a lot of work on their hands but they'll be hoping to try and pick up a few votes for people disillusioned with the way things are going when germans go

to the polls on the twenty second of september. you've been watching the weekly her knowledge but with the news team with morphine about half an hour from now in the meantime a report on the death of russia's tycoon in exile. starts here in just a couple of minutes after the break. you know i always try to stay clear of falling into the trap of fake outrage on this program people love to come on t.v. and be angry over this angry over that just to fill air time but trust me saying obama signing into law with that wacky lobster like way he has of writing the bill marked the month santo protection act well it does not put a smile on my face that's for sure not only does this bill effectively bar federal courts from being able to halt the sale or planting of g.m.o. seeds and crops no matter what the health concerns are according to ib times but

the bill was also written by senator roy blunt who's gotten sixty four thousand dollars for his political campaign pain from the g o giant monsanto itself so that's what it costs to allow companies to possibly poison millions if not all americans with risky and proven g.m.o. technology sixty four thousand dollars that's not even enough to buy a decent house sixty four thousand dollars is chump change well citizens of america now you know how much your lives are worth in washington but that's just my opinion . download the official application to yourself choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorites. if you're away from your television just doesn't matter

now with your mobile device you can watch on t.v. anytime anywhere. they called him the face of business and government. he was a gambler so money came second heading the russian mafia inside the kremlin it was enough for boris just raises eyebrows to make gangsters appear which he was a great cardinal of russian politics he was a big time political adventurer some even called him up today rest putin the embodiment of evil in boris yeltsin's presidential court am i supposed to put on a grieving face and talk about people across the country mourning his demise on the contrary i moderates that his death has attracted so much attention. figure in russian business exemplified.