going on in and outside russia. and take. me to. eat meat.

as southern sudan prepares for its historic referendum on whether to separate from the north many displaced by ethnic violence in the country see it as an opportunity to return home. all we know is. our weather could not cause five thousand black birds to have liquefied insides from doomsday predictions to media hype r t looks at the fallout from the mysterious deaths of fish and animals across the globe.

and the call of duty the russian special forces unit preparing for the frontline against terrorism. broadcasting live from our studios in central moscow where it is four o'clock on a sunday morning this is r t i'm sean thomas let's take a look at your top stories millions of sudanese are preparing to vote in a referendum that could see one of africa's poorest and most troubled nations split into two countries in the vote that starts 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 thousands

sought refuge in israel a place considered an enemy state by the sudanese. overhead or to use policy or some of the refugees to ask about their hopes for the upcoming vote. the road to freedom is long and its role 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 israel is near from here in israel. and they do scan. and christiane but the journey was long sometimes on foot sometimes paying bedouins 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 made their journey 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. and. who have. this but israel doesn't really know what to do with these refugees last year alone eighteen thousand arrived just from sudan and eritrea is always a 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 corey arm works as a cleaner in a hotel and struggles to make ends meet my life. walking. 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 this. is really. going to northern sudan you would be killed and sudanese leaders have said as much if the authorities were to really the northern government of sudan finds out that the person has sought asylum in israel this person would be in in serious risk of persecution southern sudan is holding a referendum on whether to separate from the north and become an independent state if the final stage in a peace agreement that ended twenty two years of war many of them have has spurred from being in israel for such a long time with no rights whatsoever people realize that they don't really have a future here and people are also homesick and mia benjamin moore not sure what to

do home beckons despite the risks if the southern sudan is predawn. i will decide to go back to my own policy or r.t. southern israel. a recent spate of unexplained mass animal deaths across the globe has conspiracy theorists and doomsday believers predicting impending calamity even scientists are struggling to find a rational explanation for all the events that is covered in as our ever takes a look now 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 who's e n a followed suit and your feathers with mysterious avian deaths in sweden

experts attempted to calm the public by suggesting the birds got scared of fireworks who are flew into trees in 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 they're roosting in trees but then one hundred thousand dead fish turned up on u.s. shores that seem to have opened the floodgates i think. by and large not a portion or actually underestimate you know serious it is so i believe. basically . the entire planet was an uproar that we have a toxic release of gases and changes in the oceanic currents that the entire well

current system is no destructive for those not very impressed with a 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 now we do context. so far you cannot even get down the road without running over hundreds it was that bad with more and more mr. deaths around the world fish in brazil australia and new zealand crabs in the u.k. the frenzy is growing and the headlines scream a coocoo 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 as our r.t.

moscow miami based veterinarian pedro luis told r.t. that these types of the vents have indeed happened before and a thorough investigation is needed. it's impossible to say for sure what's happened to the birds and fish until proper investigations are held in fact i don't believe that these events are interlinked they followed one after another and that attracted universal attention it's not the first time that the world is observing such phenomena it's happens in other countries too the moment the investigation in arkansas claims an autopsy has revealed the bird suffered from internal bleeding but the research has yet to be completed so we could also be dealing with some new virus so usually it is another possible explanation but i repeat that food investigation is needed to establish the cause of what's happened and find a scientific explanation for it. still had for you this hour communist bogey men.

there getting a new lease of life of the fathers of socialism attracting new admirers and financial crisis hit america also. we gain access to the training of russia's elite special forces see just what they have to go through in a few minutes. a russian factory ship with hundreds of people on board remains trapped in the frozen waters of russia's far east it was part of a convoy stranded over a week ago the other vessels have been successfully freed from the ice now a powerful icebreaker is expected to arrive later on sunday to help complete the rescue mission strong winds snow and two meter thick ice have hampered the rescue mission officials say the people on board are not in any danger though as they have plenty of supplies. the u.s.

is planning to send another fourteen hundred marines to afghanistan to bolster fragile gained against insurgents the move comes as president obama's july two thousand and eleven withdrawal deadline approaches parties and military contributor says what matters now is how this fresh batch of troops. the way to stick to that is supposed to happen in afghanistan it's an additional beef up of u.s. marines in the southern part of the contrary we're going to the latest data the us marine corps is expected to beef up its deployment the question is who cares whether it's going to be just the same static twenty thousand or just another one thousand marines the curse will difference is to what purpose real this additional marines serve the key issue here is that helmand province is a u.s. marines sanctuary and it could make or break they new military campaign in southern

afghanistan and define the future of afghanistan itself and the future of the u.s. military presence in afghanistan and beyond if american marines will again be used and abused inflict co-ordinates read the policy of save guiding the drug lords and their slaves in helmand province then they will be remembered in afghanistan in generations to come as the most expensive suckers of the exploit of the drug and warlords in afghanistan who are deployed to safeguard yet another record breaking opium harvest in hell mand and beyond to some other international news in brief this hour a congresswoman has a been seriously wounded and at least six others killed by a gunman in the u.s. state of arizona the shooting took place during a public appearance by democrat gabrielle giffords at

a store in the city of tucson she was shot in the head at point blank range and is now said to be in critical condition some eighteen others have also been wounded police say the suspected attacker is in custody. u.s. authorities have ordered them. web site twitter to hand over personal details of people linked to wiki leaks the district court in virginia wants all account information including user names phone numbers addresses and payment details wiki leaks founder julian assange and an icelandic m.p.r. among them in the u.s. a criminal investigation is looking at a song his involvement in the leaking of thousands of classified documents. yang it says it wants to reopen two way talks with seoul as soon as possible to settle the situation on the korean peninsula the north offered to start negotiations without preconditions this month it's the second such proposal from

kumgang this week the south dismissed the first one as insincere relations between the two koreas 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. in times of rising unemployment and poverty in the united states the idea of social equality is beginning to seem appealing to some so much so that the works of marx engels and even lenin are going through a resurgence artie's loyalist or went to meet a few of america's socialists. the very first sentence of the commons manifesto in . a specter hangs over europe the speaker 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 it's poster

a philosopher so to speak is revered i'm walks in and i wanted to be around other marxists and and it's just a talk with all the marxists 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 or 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 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 partly for if you say it's great they sure. had the right here. but behind another door you could hear the discourse left out of many american colleges that failed that it was just an amazing world of knowledge that i had never been exposed to so. people also just play poker with the side of political analysis you don't hear on cable the whole struggle. you know the immigration story everything this is cars that kept stranglehold. the were out 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 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 capitalist america where the object is to win the revolution of workers when it's socialism if capitalists when it's barbarism talking to people around the black form it seems many are trying to implement the change they're studying without uttering their ass or c. is in communism word now it's probably 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. we invite you to check out our two dot com for more news and analysis here's some of what's lined up for you right now. in europe sees a spike in the number of the rest of the terror suspects raising questions whether poor background checks among asylum seekers are to blame also. find out about mr gold messengers between humans and spirits the ancient tradition of chauvinism lives on in some remote parts of russia for. more head to. the official location. from the. video. feeds.

the kremlin of russia's armed forces spetznaz are on the front line in the fight against terrorism with a reputation for intense training and tactics and they are revered and feared the world over. it may look like a scene from a hollywood blockbuster but the 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 that 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 a siege hostage taking for these youngsters these are life like scenarios from

training. none have get 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. for him said to belong to the elite but of course i am human and argue about fears to cope with them is a reason soldiers number one most challenging target. left turn and colonel and draper ryan face here to help the young boys deal with that oh no the order of courage was serious in chechnya and crimson bury the top space not all are similar to america's greenberry he knows how to take control of human nature was full of many sportsmen come to us and fails only twenty percent manage to prove they deserve it as a truce but it's not soldier is a fusion of physical insurance and what may be even more important emotional

maturity and. countering terrorism is a spats not spatiality 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 of. violent nationalist riots spetznaz soldiers were on standby close by. 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. all of these young soldiers a conscript a year at least. many say they'll stay for longer sign a contract and continue as professionals in the. race. if you're lucky enough to be in moscow or are heading this way and if you're

thinking of heading the winter sales well that are to show you how to get the latest must have trends for less in the russian capital. now although the stalls are generally expensive january is the best time to come shopping here. bargains during the sales and western design is. money for example amazing clothes discounted. and you can join martin anders in about ten minutes time right here on our t.v. but up next our talks to a renowned french a story about russia's past and present. well

got over the course of history and humanity is one of the secretary of the french science academy and the woman who predicted the breakup of the soviet union in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight in her book because laps of an empire is here with us today by think about thank you very much my dumbed down course for your time. and your recent book between two worlds you talk about russia can we presume

from the title that you think russia still hasn't found its place in the world media. the use of sim swiss look nice not exactly what the book says that russia has made these kind of decision but over the past ten years it's been pursuing two different paths rather than one word is what i've been trying to explain is that atlas saw it in in disintegrated into russia russia to europe or but as you have does not offer a warm welcome it's just a beginning of this century a russia's foreign policy has been focusing on two directions rosin on one on the one hand which fall courses on the west on the other hand because it was joe graphical position so decided to position itself as an asian country quickly gives it a greater priest and influence in the world has been pursuing this policy for more than ten years now and is ruled quite a success advantage of the twentieth century russia's international reputation around the world was not very good but now after the past decade it's obvious that

it's been reckoned it's a big change russia has taken a very important step forward and in my opinion this president is an irreversible you know russia has become a rover power at the fair probably since it began you you mean. introduction you raised the question of whether russia should be fear that jury in that being the piro russia and the soviet union which you were used to be afraid of and you are still alive. to think that gave up on us there not only in europe with the collapse of the soviet union was not anticipated it happened overnight many countries primarily those who are to solve it influence the eastern european countries and countries that used to be part of the soviet union but are now into violent states did not understand russia and are afraid of it as eastern european countries have become e.u. members they have to show their heroes and pass them on to the saying that russia

used to be an empire so why should cease being an empire and can't be trusted now that it is in the past has been forgotten by now people have already and still it russia is missing its own path but time has shown that georgia for example which has always been saying that it wants to save itself from russia that's why it wanted to access nato it feels that russia will dominate georgia again and look i think it's a few years originate from some kind of misunderstanding of the break up of the soviet union because it was so sudden that no one could adjust themselves to it immediately all the european and hires have a collapse but he collapsed after decades of preparation are you going to russia itself was not ready to throw you don't believe in russia's imperial ambitions just a right i don't believe it or i'd rather say there is some kind of innocent algeria but that's a completely different thing what

a country can forget overnight that it used to be a powerful empire but russia has common sense despite the fact that some russians say used to be so good and that is a shame is forgotten about across a still russian people and specifical is an hour ahead of common sense and there to stand too well that it's over and it's rushed. future is not to be an empire but rather to build up its reputation and eloquence via subtle our rather than by force . this will be it for you why does europe and yet russia now see a moving up in russia is needed because the entire history of international relations is moving away from europe it's played out in asia or even the us a significant role is refocusing its foreign policy on asia so you're aware of the huge countries that will play the big roles are located here in asia or latin america but that's a direct question you know what is the current state of european asian relations

europe is of no interest asia view europe as a landmass and tweezers to pacific oceans russia is your of the not a whole but if you picture there was an alliance here then we can say europe reaches the pacific affairs and this is the reason europe flees russia and i'm not sure if russian is europe but europe at the moment of needs russia well of course so it's not on and on course at one point you predicted the collapse of the soviet union and you knew forecasts for more than russia. that's the fear and now i don't email records that she's selling when i was writing about the soviet union i didn't see it as a forest or a look at it again and saw so many there negative elements but i couldn't help but ask myself how long will it last i don't make forecasts as a rule or a historian discover i look at the past and try to figure out what's happening in the prime.