and online for the globally minded audience. >> this is rt. this morning, the olympic flame is lit in greece before setting off on an epic four-month journey leading up to such a 2014. -- sochi 2014. 70 dead in nigeria as islamist insurgents target universities, churches and civilian infrastructure. british governments health care cuts, tens and thousands on the streets of manchester.

the u.n. general assembly wraps up with a return to hope and diplomacy. world powers agree on a serial resolution and there could be light at the end of the tunnel over iran thousand four crisis. -- iran's nuclear crisis. good morning. first of all, the elliptic flame for the 2014 sochi winter games has been let in olympia, the birthplace of the event. it is from there that the torch will travel thousands of kilometers to next year's host city here in russia. we spoke to our k's -- rt in greece. >> the alleged claim has been let. you will be able to see it just behind my left shoulder there. we will see here at olympia, the

birthplace of the games, the longest torch relay in opaque history. a few moments ago, the lighting of the flame ceremony took place. it was basically a step back in time, winding back the clock perhaps 2.5 thousand years. we saw an actress dressed as a high priestess lit the flame using the powers of the sun and a parabolic mirror which is basically what happened in 700 bc that flame was brought here to the ancient stadium which is where i am standing and it is now being used or just was used to light the torch, the first torchbearer. he runs off now to my right. by tradition, he is always a greek. on this occasion, he was an 18- year-old skier. he hopes to compete for his country in sochi next year. he will hand this torch to the first russian torchbearer, the ice hockey star. he himself -- 48 hours to carry

out this honor. he flies back to the states this evening. he says this event was one of the highlights of his career. the torch will go on a tour of greece for the next seveys athet weekend before it flies to moscow for the russian leg. it all has started here. olympia, the birthplace of the olympic. >> the host city for the 2014 olympics, how this torch will get to sochi? >> it will be a torch that will break many records. here is why, it is going to take around 100 days for that torch to go through russia. it is going to take 65,000 kilometers and 14,000 torchbearers to bring it right here to the host city. is going to go through nine time zones in russia, 83 regions,

2900 cities and settlements across russia. it will also visit the north pole. it will go to the top of europe's highest mountain in the north caucasus. it will make a trip outside of earth to the iss where cosmonauts will take it on a spacewalk. this has never happened before in the history of the olympics. in terms of traveling the torch around russia, it is going to have a conventional way such as trains, planes as well as on fud. it is also going to go through unconventional ways, reindeer slays, hot air balloons. russia highlights its culture. this emerging new young russia that we are seeing being developed here at the host city in sochi. >> the olympic torch is on its epic journey to sochi.

123 days through 2900 towns and cities of russia, relayed by 14,000 people for 65,000, letters -- kilometers. land, air, sea and outer space. olympic torch relay. special coverage on rt. >> we will be following its journey for you. much more sobering news next. islamist militants in nigeria reportedly went room to room at night executing students as they slept in an attack on a university that has killed up to 50 people. " over 70 died over the weekend in three attacks. they are increasingly targeting vulnerable civilian infrastructure. we spoke to the founder of the viewpoint africa website. he told us the cell is directed by al qaeda. >> i know these groups are all

joined together. al-shabaab in some of you or others across west africa. these jihadist cells are all under al qaeda. their ideology is the same. they want to do the spectacular in terms of both attacks and they are always keen on grabbing the headlines. they are very strict in trying to drive away the religious divide, especially christians and muslims. in countries like nigeria which is already split on that religious ground, it makes it that much easier for muslims to be pushed to the edge. many of them don't have anything to do with this. they themselves become recruiting elements for these troops because they are already on the fringes of society. >> some of the back story, the

nigerian army has been waging a campaign against him, pushing his fighters into hiding. that has not stopped militants. there is just some of the attacks carried out this year. in march, suicide bombers detonated a car bomb at a bus station killing 65 people. two months later, he organized a complex raid on an army base in a jail. 55 were killed. nearly 100 prisoners were set free. in july, militants attacked a boarding school. that time, 42 were slaughtered. more bodies were found. they were so charred they can be identified. in august, an attack left five dead including soldiers and militants. these are just some of the attacks. they show the willingness to kill. coming up, and bahrain, the opposition founder speaking out.

the main force behind the antigovernment protest movement is jailed with numbers of one opposition group behind bars. supposedly with militants. what a week the last seven days work. no one expected it to weeks ago but the u.n. general assembly proved that there is enough space for consensus between world powers. that historic phone call that roast hopes that a deadlock could be broken in iran's nuclear crisis. a show of unity peak when the u.n. security council voted on the syrian resolution. it seemed to be so elusive. reporting next from new york. >> progress on two fronts at the united nations. a new tone in policy towards iran and the security council resolution on chemical weapons in syria. >> we have been hearing increasingly often the argument that the threatf or use of force which is directly prohibited by the u.n. charter might be the

most efficient way to solve international problems. >> the united states of america is prepared to use all elements of our power including military force to secure our core interests in the region. >> consensus that the u.n. emerged after years of deadlock over how to deal with the syrian crisis. the un security council unanimously passed a resolution to secure and eliminate syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons according to the geneva agreement put forward by russia and the u.s.. the mandate outlines compliance but no threat of automatic sanctions or military action. >> it shows that we are trending towards a diplomatic solution at least on the issue of chemical weapons. the other issue that still remains outstanding is, what will happen outside of the issue? will diplomacy be pursued by the united states or will they continue to fund, as they have, the opposition and facilitate that happening and try to deepen the conflict?

>> it is u.s. policy that you run's new president says has no place in the region. hassan rouhani reached out but also defended tehran from political attacks. >> iran is an anchor of stability in an unstable region. uranium threat is imaginary and used as an excuse for the misdeeds of others. iran pledges no threat to the region or the world. >> rouhani medically or that iran does not want nuclear weapons. it wants peace and also to be treated as an equal. uranium and u.s. officials praise high-level meetings. the president spoke over the phone for the first time in over three decades. what would it take for a would- be photo op to become a new u.s. approach towards iran? >> his hands are tied. there are people and lobby groups in the united states that don't want to see the united states and iran to have

relations. >> the u.s. is in a tough spot. >> it has to keep some relations in the middle east. now that the alienation of the arabs and muslims against the u.s. is mostly due to the commitment and the double standard that the u.s. chose in its relations with israel. >> is a -- obama is set to meet with the israeli prime minister in monday. now is the real test, will the u.s. be able to move forward with diplomacy in the middle east? both with iran and syria. the first week of the human general assembly has opened the door to rethink a failed policy. the question is, will the obama administration shut it the first chance they get? >> also this last week, u.n. inspectors return to syria to probe several more cases of

alleged chemical weapons use. they face sharp criticism of their earlier investigation of the august 21 gas poisoning in damascus. according to moscow, it was not or will not. a former commander told me he is not optimistic either about this latest mission. >> it doesn't last for very long. it can remain in soil and other samples for some time but, i would be surprised if they find sarin in places like that. three months after the event. hopefully what they will find is certain things that lead us to find out what happened in those bases. morton greatly, to discover if proliferation has happened to terrorist groups. apart from destroying syrian chemical weapons, the russian federation and the u.s. have

agreed that we must push ahead to ensure the proliferation of those chemical weapons doesn't happen. >> we have more reaction on the syrian crisis. one of britain's biggest cities has been witnessing one of its largest ever protest as health cuts drew tens of thousands to the streets. it is time to trust -- earlier, i talked to one of the protesters to ask what has got the marchers so fired up. >> this government is in real trouble. it has for a much to do with the national health service, it is facing 20 billion of cuts by 2015. it is also crystallizing many issues where the government is unpopular. mass surveillance to threatened action in syria, the fact that

so many people are willing to speak out and stand up for the nhs and a better britain puts pressure on this government. we are seeing how the austerity agenda is damaging the country. it is also clear that a new network, a new movement is beginning to forge itself. what is going to really put pressure on the tories is the fact that people are talking together. it is not like left wing in one corner. this is a much bigger movement. time to rethink, david cameron. >> getting a large slice of the voting pie in the austrian election this weekend. early results suggest the centrist coalition will make it back into power. we report on that after this break.

>> the russian court has now denied bail to greenpeace activists who were arrested in the arctic. 30 people remained in custody for two months as the investigation continues. the polar region gears up for significant changes come reporting on that. >> the pictures that stormed international media, greenpeace activists trying to come -- climb onto a floating oil pump form -- platform arrested. all 30 activists remaking countries were detained and are now awaiting whether they will be officially charged.

greenpeace claims their actions were peaceful. authorities say they could have in danger the lives of the workers and the environment itself. >> it is obvious they are not pirates. they tried to storm the platform. these people violated international law by coming dangerously close. >> the president's comments came at an international conference organized by russia. >> the only city located exactly on the arctic circle line where the presidents of russia, finland, iceland, other officials have gathered. the environment is what this forum is all about. >> average temperatures warm up, and the arctic is opening up new opportunities for trade routes. moscow says only companies with experience working in the tough region and enough funds to do it properly and without harming nature must be allowed access. cleaning up the heritage of the cold war era is another issue.

>> i know a map program has been involved. russia has been working on its own. we have a ways to go. they are not alone. there are places around the planet where similar things have happened when people do recognize that something they did have long-term negative consequences for the environment. >> the arctic nations seem to be on the same page. looking after the north pole is a front -- response ability they must take together. their every move is under such intense scrutiny. rt in the arctic circle. >> stories from our website, big money, big problems. the u.s. navy suspends a top commander who is second in charge of all nuclear weapons of forces. allegations of counterfeit ships used for -- chips used for

gambling in casinos. thousands of troops and hundreds of armed vehicles take part in joint army maneuvers. spectacular pictures there. eye-catching footage. a bahraini court sensed 50 shiites for authorizing a clandestine route. the coalition was formed in 2011 and was a major driving force in the uprising. the chair of the rehabilitation and anti-violence ordination spent two months in prison there. she says the whole trial is a well-known top-level tactic in demonization. >> it is quite old propaganda. the whole process of demonization of the pro- democracy groups is quite an old-fashioned thing that the

authorities have been using for a while. it is not working anymore. until this moment, they failed, absolutely failed to provide any evidence that these groups are involved in any terror attacks or terroristic movements. two years ago, a convicted d octor was sentenced up to 15 years. >> suicide attackers struck a mosque in baghdad. 40 dead. the blast caused the roof to collapse into the congregation below. they were mourning a man killed by militants on saturday. dozens of people are energy, -- injured, many more trapped. deadly violence erupted in a normally peaceful kurdistan province. explosions killed for local

security force members in the kurdish capital. further shootings injured 46. the attacks come a day after local elections. prisoners enjoy luxury conditions behind bars, leaving these protesters seeing red. the facility holds agents of the former military dictator for crimes against humanity, but they have access to the internet, cable tv, tennis courts, even a barbecue area. the inmates moved to another jail. the centrist coalition government appears to have scraped back into power in austria. preliminary results suggest right-wing parties have also done particularly well scooping up more than a quarter of the vote. peter oliver reports. >> what it shows is that the social democrats and the people's party who went into

these elections of the coalition government will come out as the coalition government. they picked up around 50% of the vote there over the coming days. they will continue their coalition. what is most interesting about these elections is that over one quarter of austrians have voted for parties that wanted to do away with bailouts for eurozone countries and see real changes to the structure of the single currency. to talk more about this and what it means, i am joined by the director of the austrian economic center. why have austrians voted in this way and why are they upset with the current eurozone system? >> they don't trust the politicians in brussels anymore. they don't trust our decision- makers. they don't believe they find the right solutions. after all, it is just a redistribution of the supernational level.

it is austria tax euros that go to other countries and are washed it down the drain. >> austria is one of the four eurozone economies that underpins bailouts. what would this boat -- vote mean for the future of the single currency? >> it set a couple of politicians thinking. it has only prolonged the problems. this is definitely what the people say. it has not come to any solutions. the debts have gotten bigger and higher. the next generations will suffer and this is what those 25% have in mind. >> austrians voting in increasing numbers for parties that want changes to the eurozone and also voting for white ring -- right-wing parties. >> the political right is on the rise in europe and it is drawing surprising support. >> a lot of people from the

working class, blue-collar workers, lower educated people are voting for the radical right. they put forward policies like immigration, corruption and such. these are the topics they are voting for. >> across europe, there is a tide that is turning right. alternative for germany just missed out on a place in the bundestag. in sweden and finland, there has also been gains. here in austria, eurosceptic and right-wing parties are gaining support from people who believe that the main issues appurtenant to them -- important to them aren't being addressed. >> we need to slow down immigration. i have nothing against foreigners but enough is enough.

>> the eu is saying where the money should go to. it should stay in their own country and the eu shouldn't be like, shouldn't dictate everything. >> it used to be that all parties put austria's interest first. now, it is different. >> the freedom party in austria made significant gains. critics call it xenophobic. its leader begs to differ. >> i love austria. i don't hate foreigners. >> even so, the party adopted a different campaign tactic that it had in previous elections. >> the message about religious values, the sense of talking about them a lot your neighbors. that is a very catholic way of talking about issues. the hidden message --

>> also, flying the anti-euro flag is the billionaire who condemns the single currency. >> we need to stop creating debt. every housewife knows that if she spends more money than she earned, they will all land in the poor house. >> most of europe's recent elections have been nailbiter's for politicians desperate to keep their jobs in limping economies. austria is different. it is doing relatively fine. what is happening here is brussels assistance with bailouts and encroachments on sovereignty has given the far right a convincing rod to beat them with. >> from xt kenny's two human rights defenders, we look at the lives that have been changed by guantanamo bay. for me, good night.

hello there and welcome to "newsline." it is monday, september 30th. i'm catherine kobayashi in toke yes. north korean leaders are considering shutting down a diplomatic program that has helped people in japan connect with their past. a foreign ministry official told nhk the country may stop visits by japanese whose relatives died on the korean peninsula toward the end of world war ii. au