from all of us here would be back with more first on comments on the ones going on in and outside russia. and take.

southern sudan's upcoming vote on whether to become independent from the north gives hope to millions displaced by conflict but they'll be able to go home. and we know. our weather could cause five thousand black birds to be liquefied inside what could pull out of the sky dead fish oil washed ashore around the world we look at whether it's an apocalypse in the making or just costs and. these young

recruits go through fire and water to protect their country rushers a special forces in training gets an exclusive look at. your source your twenty four hour source for global news this is a lie from moscow millions of sudanese are preparing to vote in a referendum could see one of africa's poorest and most troubled nations split into two countries in the vote that takes place on sunday the christian dominated south is widely expected to choose independence from the mainly muslim north the week long ballot is being held as part of a peace deal which ended decades of civil war in two thousand and five the conflict claimed two million lives and displaced about four million people thousands of

those refuge in israel a place considered an enemy state by the sudanese government. that some of the refugees found their hopes for the upcoming his. but. the road to freedom is long and it's all wasn't their first choice egypt was but as the thousands of refugees fleeing sudan found themselves under assault in cairo by a police force trying to clean up the streets the decision to cross over into israel seemed a logical one. is near from here in israel. and they do scan. and question but the journey was long sometimes on foot sometimes penguins to drive them you have to cross the border and coming to the israeli border with the. measure of the sort of not to see you otherwise you would be something shooting and to me

a marshal made actually three years ago with his wife and four children he watched friends and family die along the way some were shot some died of hunger. but it's all doesn't really know what to do with these refugees last year alone eighteen thousand arrived just from sudan and eritrea is all this party to the convention on the status of refugees which means it constantly fiji's back home if this would risk their lives but keeping them here is becoming more and more difficult. benjamin korean works as a cleaner in a hotel and struggles to make ends meet. i didn't go to my unit. and thousands of sudanese share his story poor homes no jobs little money and it's too dangerous to go back to sudan.

is again is. going to northern sudan you. and sudanese leaders have said as much if the authorities. really the northern government of sudan finds out that the person has sought asylum in israel this person would be in serious risk. of persecution in january two thousand and eleven southern sudan is holding a referendum on whether to separate from the north and become an independent state it's the final stage in a peace agreement that ended twenty two years of war many of them have has the spurred from being in israel for such a long time with no rights whatsoever the people realize that they don't really have a future here and people are also homesick and benjamin moore not sure what to do

home beckons despite the risks. of those who don't it is pretty. i will decide the world. policy or r.t. southern israel when thousands of turtle doves fell from the sky in italy it became one of the latest examples of a series of unexplained mass animal deaths around the world some of the more outlandish speculation who suggested it could be the first signs of the end of the world. takes a look to see if there really is something fishy going on or if it's just media hype. sing a song of suspense one where the end is nigh as thousands of black birds fell out of the sky and when the birds were found the news began to sing the end of days conspiracy does have a catchy ring. at first it was just arkansas grabbing the world's attention then whose iana followed suit and your prophet some feathers with mysterious avian ticks

in sweden experts attempted to calm the public by suggesting the birds got scared of fireworks or flew into trees and cars because of bad weather and we know is that fireworks or weather could not cause five thousand black birds to have a liquefied insides that's what the fish and wildlife veterinarian sad they've never seen anything like it now we're seeing the same polarization of the insides of black birds they are dad when they hit the ground they are dying in the night while there were trees but then one hundred thousand dead fish turned up on u.s. shores and that seemed to have opened the floodgates i think. by and large not a portion or actually under us meaning how serious it is so i believe there are multiple causes but basically. the entire planet there was an uproar that we have.

release of gases and changes in the oceanic currents that the entire well current system is no destructive for those not very impressed with the scientific explanation there's always the religious one fanatical bloggers have once again started flooding the world wide web with end of days posts and the international media storm for news during the slow post christmas month of january is having a field day and you are asked to call sooner rather than later context. so far you could not easily get down the road without running over hundreds it was that bad with more and more mr. around the world fish in brazil australia and new zealand crabs in the u.k. the frenzy is growing and the headlines scream lips these fishy stories look set to continue stealing the media spotlight at least until scientists about a chance to examine the dead animals or you know the world comes to an end

whichever of course happens first. catherine is our of our team moscow well. done and schecter says media sensationalism is taking the focus away from finding the real scientific courses behind the widespread deaths. when one set of incidents happens followed by another set followed by a third said suddenly it becomes a trend then it becomes a much bigger story in the media but it's still sort of a mystery it may be that each example is actually specific to a particular local set of circumstances we don't know they're calling it. you know for a flock of birds coming up with new catchy words new ad lives and the like obviously it's it's a something that intrigues audiences even if there isn't a lot of explanation it seems to be a pattern of this sort of thing where you know alarmist headlines followed by a few examples which then you know lead to sober conclusions about the dramatic

events and then there's no follow up for it so you know if we really never find out what really happened and this is me in attention of the media maybe even the amnesia of the media the refusal to speak to the people who are most in the know because all of this is sort of tittle ation for the public and yet it could be a very serious. this is r.t. live from moscow and coming up for you in a few minutes time the communist bogeyman get a new lease on life. as of socialism attracting new admirers in financially crisis hit america. and we gain access to the training of russia's elite special forces to see just what they have to go through in just a few minutes. more than three hundred people stranded on board a ship and the icy waters of russia's far eastern coast are still awaiting rescue

there aboard the last of three vessels that became struck stuck rather more than a week ago and they do remain trapped extreme weather conditions have been hampering the operation officials say the people on board are in no immediate danger they have enough supplies and more powerful icebreaker is expected to arrive within several hours to help them with the rescue of the still stranded ship which needs a bigger path through the ice to get out the second vessel is currently being towed to safety by the icebreaker admiral got off the captain of the ship now being taken out says the going is still tough. though we are following the icebreaker admiral which is clearing our way through the ice we're moving slowly so to speak it's a long difficult route and the ice may be up to two meters thick it's like a slice of pie consisting of many layers one on top of the other. all right now let's get to some other international news in brief this hour. has called the u.s. and u.k. and israel common enemies of iraq this being said during his first speech since

returning from four years of self-imposed exile thousands of supporters gathered here in the rejection of what he called the u.s. occupation of return from iran comes a month after his movement won thirty nine seats in iraq's newly formed parliament he gained a widespread popularity among shias after the two thousand and three u.s. led invasion. he says he wants to reopen talks with soul as soon as possible to settle the situation on the korean peninsula the north offered to start negotiations without preconditions within this month it's the second such proposal from pyongyang this week the south dismissed the first one as insincere relations between two careers abruptly deteriorated after the shelling of a south korean island in november that left four people dead each side blames the other for firing first. australia's prime minister has warned that the city of st

george could still face major flooding most floodwaters in the northeast of the country have started to recede the repair of roads and damaged houses have now become main priority for the government hundreds of homes are still underwater with more than two hundred thousand people affected at least ten people have been killed in floods in queensland since november. and the company at the center of germany's animal food contamination may face criminal charges tests found traces of the talks in chemical dioxin at seventy seven times above the legal limit nearly five thousand farms have been closed after the chemical was found in produced in the north west of the country some infected eggs have reportedly been exported to britain via the net. well in times of rising unemployment and poverty in the united states the idea of social of quality is beginning to seem appealing to some so much so that the work of marx engels and even lenin is going through something of

a resurgence lauren lyster went to meet some of america's socialists. the very first sentence of the commons manifesto in the. specter hangs over europe the spark of communism. in modern day us the specter of communism hangs over the bottom floor of a brick building on the west side of downtown new york city the wrexham started out actually as the new york marks of school in one nine hundred seventy five here communism is certainly no bogeyman and its poster a philosopher so to speak is revered. and i wanted to be around other more and and just to talk with a more in the u.s. that may sound a little taboo even unpatriotic to the average joe but these days amid rising poverty and inequality in the country more and more people are joining in the discussion certainly since the kind of the economic crisis where the financial

crisis kind of hit home and a lot of people realized you know there are some systemic problems we saw a huge increase in influx of traffic here people opening their eyes to a different view here people's histories poster project wherever you look you can see a chapter of events not found in history books they don't realize that that haiti was the first free black republic in the western hemisphere you know and historically they've been punished because of it. choose a door and behind it you may find any number of leftist social movements left out of mainstream news here are. these carolers are urging a boycott of israel because of its policies towards palestine and the building of illegal settlements in the west bank. only a. right here. behind another door you could hear the discourse left out of many american colleges

that failed that it was just an amazing world the knowledge that i had never been exposed to. people also just play poker with a side of political analysis you don't hear on cable the whole struggle. you know the immigration story. is cause. kept a stranglehold. though we're at the marxist school the people we've spoken to here are calling for any kind of proletariat revolution no violent political uprising but everywhere you look at the history in the philosophy of communism is here you can see all of the works of marx engels over here is lenin even here the writings of joseph stalin and the version of monopoly that they play is called class struggle to prepare for life in a capitalist america where the object is to win the revolution of workers when it socialism

a capitalist when it's barbarism talking to people around the bric forum it seems many are trying to implement the change they're studying without uttering the s. or c. is in communism word now it's become more positive to say progressive or less whatever you want to call it they are actively trying to solve the problems and inequality they see in the country which is an attempt to make change but maybe right now it's not in terms of a revolution but of working from within which you can call any number of things but probably not unpatriotic lauren lyster r.t. new york. you can always check out dot com for more news and analysis and here's some of what we've got lined up for you right now at all website you of the spike in the number of arrested terror suspects raising questions whether background checks among asylum seekers are to blame. and find out about it rich so-called messengers between humans. and traditional sharman is lives on in some remote parts

of russia from or just head over to all we want to come. down to you. i pod touch from the still. life on the. video. feeds now in the palm of your. question on the dot com. this is all t. live from moscow now russia's special forces are on the front line of protecting their country from terrorism home and abroad only the fittest the strongest on the best and the right so where the spetznaz crimson barry. and i went to meet the latest recruits hoping to receive that ana. it may look

like a scene from a hollywood blockbuster but the army's special forces are very real. these young soldiers part of the country's internal forces are preparing to meet and his friends their country may face the history of special units or spetznaz in the russian army goes back centuries but tactics and techniques have evolved dependent on the key challenges of the time but these guys have always been the lead and in the twenty first century they are on the front line of the fight against terror as siege hostage taking for these youngsters these are life like scenarios from training. none have yet taken part in a real operation. day by day they learn how to act effectively face to face with an enemy that is exhausting both physically and mentally but for many facing their own fears remains the hardest thing with my. arm said to belong to the elite but of

course i am human and i do my fears to cope with them is a resolder is number one most challenging. left turn and colonel and dre for ryan face here to healthy young boys deal with that oh no the order of courage was serious in chechnya and the crimson berry that tops prisoners on a similar term erika's greenberry he knows how to take control of a human nature was many sportsmen come to us and fail only twenty percent manage to prove they deserve it as a true spitz not soldier is a fusion of physical insurance and what may be even more important emotional maturity. countering terrorism is pat's not speciality but they could be sent to any kind of emergency if it threatens the country's security in mid december when the russian capital was hit by a wave. violent nationalist riots spetznaz soldiers were on standby close by.

sword some may say that's no job for special forces but for the police we don't agree there is the order and we have to carry it out as well as we can that's it was almost. all of these young soldiers a conscripts it means to be in the army for a year at least. many say they'll stay for longer sign a contract and continue as professionals in the. race notion r t. if you're thinking of hitting the winter sales in moscow this year let r.t. show you how to get the latest must have trends for less here in the russian capital. now although the stores in cuba are generally expensive january is the best time to come shopping here five terrific bargains during the sales and western design is such as paul smith kenzo

on miley for example all that amazing clothes discounted prices. was one of the well. you can join me in about ten minutes time here on r.t. but first is that we can business news with. welcome to our business program. a high tech country needs to make high tech products the government is putting its political and financial capital behind modernizing the economy but it also needs to find innovative goods the rest of the world might want to buy that tell you how close reports. the gigantic ultramodern building obstacle cover innovation center these days it's attracting a lot of interest from those who in the near future could change the face of both

russian science and its economy speaking at the forum the presidential aide even went as far as saying that russia may become the world leader in innovation within the next five years but for that to happen talent needs to be nurtured and harnessed such as that belonging to this fifteen year old muscovite was not so this model is built with a legacy construction cage it's intended for people with limited hand movement which is constructed on the principle of human biomechanics and fully replicate science function i'm currently expanding my project and i hope it will soon help even those who are paralyzed three times that they had a roof not a was more cautious and preferred not to unveil details of their breakthrough projects but assured that there were at least three that could change the world and it was the sense of exciting potential that was attracting a new wave of private capital to come to russia a number of. other what your gut says. is about

eleven billion dollars yeah what is the point of for me yeah we. are investing eleven you know less than fifty percent. more. topics from the road to the top five sectors prioritize to drive russia's modernization our energy efficiency nuclear in space technology medicine telecommunications and aunty but some of the most interesting projects have universal appeal and cut across all area . of the economy and society this is what the library of the future should look like in the eyes of some young russian inventors they believe it could be a real money spinner in just the last year more than one hundred thousand people have paid to join their start up service booth scientists and businessmen agree that finding talent in russia is not the major problem the skolkovo research group

has already found many exciting and innovative candidates the trick will be to harness that into primary or energy to produce goods that will make the whole world sit up and take notice and then get out its wallet. r t moscow. two thousand and eleven will see more changes in the banking system with some players leaving the market and the rules getting stricter speaking exclusively to r.t. deputy general director of russia's deposit insurance agency under miller cough spoke about the upcoming reforms. but those are the only changes we think we should make is to create procedures so that the assets and deposits of a bank or bank are given to a healthy one that's the situation we see in the states at the moment in the us in ninety five percent of cases this mechanism is being implemented the clients of the bankrupt banks are given access to their deposits quicker also the agency together

with the state doesn't have to spend a lot of money and the liquidation process is faster so now we think this mechanism could be used in our country we have already tried it several times and found that it works we think it is possible and this will also give us more but unities to save capital reserves the central bank plans to raise the minimum capital requirement for retail banks do you think this will force a more banks into liquidation starting score sector or. this move lies in the overall strategy to develop the banking sector last year the minimum level was three million dollars the next step is six million dollars until the end of two thousand and eleven for all banks to fulfill this obligation the system needs capital reserves of some three hundred million dollars i don't think this is a crucial figure so i believe the russian banking system will see another minimum level increase and this will prompt further reduction in the number of banks

present in the market next year i expect this to for some ten to twelve banks to leave the sector but this will not be critical for the whole system. to see more consolidation in the banking market next year and i think on every year around fifty banks leave the market next year our forecast is that some thirty banks will have to be shut down but you can never really say exactly how many banks our country needs the main aim is for all of these banks to function properly that currently we have around one thousand banks in the market and they cooperate quite well with each other. and russian companies enjoyed a successful rebound from the crisis in two thousand and ten as investors increasingly turn to emerging markets but a select group emerged as big winners and potential gainers in two thousand and eleven float ended the year well as it was linked to a rebound in consumer demand and

a recovering economy mark rubenstein from metropole explains why russian carrier will continue to interest investors in two thousand and eleven are for more on this stock said basically that you can use to play the fast recovery consumer demand in russia which is fast recovery and indeed. this continue in my view in two thousand and eleven and there are flawed is certainly in the sector which is which is around the circle sectors which has a high correlation with consumer demand are flawed so there's going to be the beneficiaries of that growth because it's an airline. and that's your business update for this hour but you can always find more business stories on our web site that's r t dot com slash business stay with us.