lism from chavez's hand picked in air for free market capitalism from the opposition candidate r t we'll keep you up to date on the latest results as they commit. guards at guantanamo bay fire rubber bullets at prisoners weakened by a two month long hunger strike as they resist attempts to move them into isolated cells. moscow banning eighteen americans from entering russia for alleged links to torture and human rights abuse the move a direct response to washington's earlier unilateral sanctioning of eighteen russians on the so-called magnitsky list. north korea continuing its verbal barrage against the u.s. and allies by threatening a nuclear strike on tokyo this as russia urges all sides against saber rattling that could have stopped catastrophic consequences.

two am in moscow i met treasure bring you today's top stories in a look back at the week's news here on r.t. venezuela's are heading to the polls to vote in a crunch election triggered by the death of former leader who go chavez last month voters have to widely contrasting candidates to choose from on the left nicolas maduro who hopes to continue with chavez era socialism on the right opposition candidate and he kept the free market divo t. urging closer ties with washington to us are still euro ports in the capital caracas and what's at stake. leading the polls throughout this campaign has been. the chosen successor of the board and many people that i've spoken to who support mother will 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 is does win this election will he be able to solve problems of crime for example and 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. this he is the opposition he's a younger guy who's coming in the polls in new ideas basically many of his supporters want to vote for him because they want change they said they've had enough of the. seeds for the past fourteen years and they want to something new and this is also. someone who is a bit more u.s. friendly so this will be interesting to see if that as well or would you change relations with the united states if he is voted into power. 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 concerns they have of being prime food shortages again. they

want to see answers fast. dr francisco domingo's head of latin american studies at middlesex university in the case thinks most one is wail and see more promise in a government that shares the wealth. 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 don't know what the difficulty 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 american they see some serious estate intervention see this government but is a patient of the call to me the intervening whenever necessary making sure that that issue is to be seen of income then letting them see these performances these are the places that i've mentioned so in that sense going to totally free economics is not going to work and they're not going to embrace it. and remember for all the latest up to the minute details on what's happening in venezuela and around the world are these tests are cilia following developments for us at polling stations

in that country you can log on to her twitter feed and find out which candidate will take the country's top job. campaign and again venezuela chooses a new president chavez choice runs against a free market poster boy for possible venezuela choose after coming down to self-styled socialism or free market model venezuela votes april fourteenth. and attempt to break up almost two month long hunger strike in guantanamo bay has ended in clashes between inmates and guards rubber bullets fired at detainees who are resisting attempts by capping ministers to isolate them in single unit cells authorities say it's merely a way for the prison staff to control the spread of the two month long strike. has more from washington. 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 they 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 so you need to go represents one of the hunger strikers in the prison says the harsh measures taken by authorities don't resolve the crisis though. michael counsel who represents a bio like 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 very weak barely i mean 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 this 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 r t has been keeping

a close eye on the strike at guantanamo gathering comments from officials lawyers and international groups see what they have to say in a special section on our website that's at r t dot com. some of the u.s. officials involved in shaping the controversial guantanamo policies now find themselves blacklisted by russia moscow released the names of eighteen americans it is sanction for allegedly used to human torture and human rights abuses well this was drawn up in response to washington so-called magnitsky list which banned eighteen russians from entering the states i would that was greeted it in moscow by

a chorus of condemnation and ickes ations along the duma members of russia phobia europe is going all has more on this latest tit for tat. what we're witnessing now is really 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 names to be put on them the american whose character was by american lawmakers at the end of last year and was named after sort of you might be an employee of the hermitage capital investment fund he was

suspected of fraud he got himself a claim 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 law 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 a need 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 cohen a professor of russian studies at n.y.u. things president obama has become a hostage of anti russian sentiment among some u.s. lawmakers obama did not want magnitsky act it was imposed on you by the american congress and a congress that included is 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 concessions on let's say missile defense to president putin because there is this adage russia doesn't deserve any concessions and i'm guessing that you president putin would like to modify his position on european missile defense is on

the table at the moment it's an important issue that there will be forces in the russian political class who will compromise is to. so it's not a sideshow. or is interested in what you think about the stories we're covering here on our t.v. today on our online poll on r t dot com what you think about this battle back and forth diplomatically in this blacklist war between the u.s. and washington that's going on so far the majority voting online think this will need to law thing more than some minor tit for tat measures from both sides about a fifth think it won't affect the country's ties at all the rest split between two less optimistic options some saying relations will be irrelevant or a severely hit others thinking the spot will bring an end to the reset and u.s. russian relations will submit your vote online dot com or use our comment section if you have some more thoughts on the story we always love to hear from you.

well stay with us here on our team this sunday still to come a legacy of destruction we take a look at how remains in turmoil ten years after the u.s. led war toppled saddam hussein's regime. and facing the music an online campaign in the u.k. to get the witch is dead to the top of the music charts and what's called a celebration of margaret thatcher's death sparking huge controversy all that and more still to come. to know the. internal silence.

in the. invisible. every day is a struggle. for our children sleep soundly at night. we are palestinian women working in the israel. we've done more for our kids than our husbands. know we are phantoms in this life. download the official publication to yourself choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorites. if you're away from your television well it just doesn't matter now with your mobile device you can watch r.t. any time. anyway.

thanks for staying with us fourteen minutes past the hour spiraling tensions on the korean peninsula taking a turn for the worse after pyongyang threatens to launch a nuclear strike on tokyo the north says it would launch a warhead at the japanese capital if any of its missiles were shot down the u.s. secretary of state now in japan the last stop on his asia tour to rally support against pyongyang nuclear program is washington tokyo and seoul all indicated talks with the north can only happen if it's ready for denuclearization the apparent deadlock is worrying not only to countries involved the dispute but moscow was well he's alexei or show skeet has more. the city with a population of around seven hundred thousand people is the closest. to the border with north korea literally two hundred kilometers is the place where the russian the chinese and the north koreans meet at the same place of 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 nuclear weapons would be involved russia would be one of the countries affected. by the possible consequences of a nuclear war if we remember the. traces of radiation were felt. all the way from here so all the latest developments in the north korean conflict in. syria. from the russian president. and for the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. because we are neighbors and if something happens there it will make. children. but of course. with the current situation on the korean peninsula the u.s.

. if it decides to hold. it no longer wants to listen to the international community the most interesting day here clearly will be monday when. north korea. some reports are suggesting that. they actually conduct. it's been ten years since the statue of saddam hussein was toppled in baghdad symbolizing to many of the fall of his regime but for many iraq is the promise of a new and better life has turned into a nightmare a decade of instability violence and terror attacks has claimed thousands of lives as are reports fear of the late dictator has been replaced by the horror of the unknown.

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 into your kook. this oil rich city has been described as a fault line a symbol for the country's most intractable woes 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 house they're also frequent target of attacks for us it was a blatant visual reminder of a country still very much at war but kirkuk 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 their business as normal vendors seemed busy families did their shopping

and beneath the surface there are scars today kirkuk continues to be an incredibly dangerous place shortly 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. we don't know who the enemy is or when the next bomb will go off but it's a daily for years we've gotten used to it 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 fellow mahmoud who says that a decade of war has ruined iraq he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and a bomb blast went off injuring his leg for him daily life has become

a painful struggle. is what benefit did the war 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 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 fall they simply want the peace of mind of knowing they can go out and return to their loved ones alive lucy caffein of r.t. kirkuk iraq. u.s. led mission is also have deep scars on the country and some of the worst affected being the young use of unconventional weapons reportedly caused unprecedented

levels of birth defects and cancer cases among children dr omari by sees things the u.s. won't be able to fully compensate for this damage. it's clear that though the u.s. spoke of their help provided to iraq after the invasion notably reconstruction education and investments their so-called help resulted in the use of weapons banned by article fifty three of the geneva convention it prohibits any kind of weapon which if used where there is war can affect the area's environment climate and water resources things that occurred in one nine hundred ninety one and then in two thousand and three are true catastrophe that all types of munitions were used including dispenser weapons bosphorus ammunitions depleted uranium and chemical weapons all these types of weapons were used intentionally and on a mass scale in. bins had disastrous effects in terms of environmental contamination not to be compared even with hiroshima this is by no means an

exaggeration this is not my opinion you can look up human rights watch and world health organization reports on the internet radiological monitoring held on the international level points out radioactive contamination of southern central and even northern areas of iraq and despite repeated calls and all the reports published by iraqi scientists the us turned a blind eye on the issue. the death of former prime minister margaret thatcher who died monday j g seven has reopened some old divisions among the british people while some grieved her passing socialist students and anticapitalist were joined by former miners are the ones for a founder a square a saturday to be a not so fond farewell demonstrator said they stood against the legacy of fatter who during her time during her time at the top of mackay politics trevanion and

privatized services for detractors are finding creative evocative ways to show their anger at the market they say she laughed and online campaign has rocketed the wizard of oz song ding dong the witch is dead to the top of the music charts but b.b.c. radio show they play out the weekly hit list aired own five seconds of the song as part of a new story for fear of offending people author and journalist toby young though thinks the whole song should have been played out of principle. i think it is very cool but i don't think that's a reason not to play it i think is 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 much more protection i absolutely stand falls to the principle that something shouldn't be banned so 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 to say in future which the b.b.c. made bad decisions that she actually always took some satisfaction when her opponents attacked her personally and stooped to low tactics like this because it meant that they had no other humans left they were reduced to this because she had effectively beaten them in open debate but i. to say that those of us. and loved have made it and we have billing this so i'm in love with. the sense of it we're hoping that will. be said to the netherlands. let's take a look now at some other stories making headlines across the globe in belgium five people have been killed when the bus they were traveling on crashed through

a guardrail and into a ravine five others hospitalized in critical condition it's unclear what caused the accident but police say the driver could have fallen asleep at the wheel group was heading to paris with mostly young russians on board. at least nineteen people have been killed in a series of attacks in the somali capital mogadishu unclear how many civilians are among the victims of violence started when a group of armed men opened fire inside the city's main courthouse also reports of at least two car bombings used them as a group al shabaab has already claimed responsibility for the attacks. thousands of spaniards rallied in the capital madrid in an empty monarchy protests to mark the anniversary of the second republic marchers called for the king to be replaced with a democratically elected leader among the ongoing debt crisis of the country the royal family's come in for harsh criticism the latest scandal has seen the youngest daughter of came one carlos linked to a corruption case in israel military prosecutors say the deaths of

a dozen palestinian civilians and the airstrike in gaza during last year's eight day war doesn't warrant a criminal investigation it was decided that the killings were merely unfortunate it was found the attacker that left a family of ten in two neighbors dead was the result of a targeting error is ala schmidt martin from the palestinian center for human rights though says it's part of a wider issue of how the country can act with impunity. there 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 during 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 weren't 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 that 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. up next white nights takes a look at the palestinian women from refugee camps trying to make a living any way they can it's coming up in a few minutes stay with us. oh

no who lazy bureaucratic and trivial censorship strikes again but this time in russia a bill has been signed into law that will put fines on individuals and legal and to these for using vulgar already in the media one major flaw of many with this is that they really don't know which words are going to be considered vulgar i guess these words are so awful that they cannot even write them down i'm not naïve there has always been and will always be censorship but this where word list is just silly there is a common expression on the russian internet that russian mainstream media connects up more and i is ation of society russian t.v. does have all the bloody violent action movies as well as scandalous talk shows which are kind of more like freak shows and plenty of reality t.v. where young people pretty much act like subhuman animals in a cage they've got all that so the government is basically saying that if some guy

on t.v. comes down twenty people blooded limbs flying that that is totally ok for television unless they come out for bid swear while doing it you can show brainless materialistic dimwits sleeping and fighting with everything that moves on a reality show but if they say that one magic three letter russian word then it is over the line this is not a logical way to conduct censorship but that's just my opinion.

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