long. on rest and egypt's gathering momentum as hundreds of thousands of people converged on its capital cairo and the latest attempt to force president mubarak to step down . history is in the making that's the rallying call on egypt's streets join me here in a few moments for more. also western media is under criticism for double standards in its coverage of the riots in egypt compared to similar events in other countries. a day of tribute to one of russia's most controversial leaders. on the eightieth anniversary of his birth the country remembers the

late former president boris yeltsin more details just ahead. and from our business program the london high court is set to decide whether or not to block b.p.'s assets swap with russian oil giant rosneft i'll have more on that in about twenty minutes time. you're watching r t it's four pm here in moscow welcome to the program first let's go to egypt where a million strong rallies expected to take place today in the country's capital at least one hundred thousand have already gathered on cairo's main square in the latest attempt to force president mubarak to step down also for three hundred people have reportedly been killed and over three thousand injured since the protests began over a week ago well for all the latest we could now live to our correspondent paula sleazier who's been covering events for us well paula the egyptian army promise not

to use any force against protesters and that has encouraged me to join the rally well now are there any reports of violence and what is the military's role. well as you can well imagine the passions here on the streets of cairo are running high and the mood is one of celebration as thousands upon thousands of people descend on telfair square they represent the cross spectrum of egyptian society their children out here they've been foisted up on a pair of shoulders there are old people there are young people there are religious people there holding banners that say things like hey hosni leave goodbye we're barrick they're there they're showing posters depicting him as a cartoon character now the earlier intention was for the protesters to make their way to the presidential palace and as a result the whole route has continues to be lined with army with soldiers with tanks with trucks it does at this stage. that the protesters will make their way

there because there's simply no unifying voice no one to really organize them and bring them together as a cohesive force but having said that there are no reports of violence as of yet there are demonstrations being held at cities throughout the country and they too we've had no reports of violence there are small groups of pro mubarak demonstrators are on the streets but they're receiving no attention and as you can well imagine their voices are drowned out by the thousands upon thousands who are there calling for mubarak to leave. many see today's rally as a sign that a change of regime is a done deal and that mohamed el baradei is a possible candidate for the president's post now what do the locals say about this . well most people here when you ask them about mohammed el baradei actually don't know who years is very much of figaro and his reputation on the international stage but here in egypt people say that he has the backing of the united states and western powers in particular and this does not present him in

a particularly good light because they say he's painted with the same brush that pains will break having said that though the opposition parties did need somebody to bring them together and they've chosen him and he's done a fair deal so far trying to bring everyone on board he has appealed to the muslim brotherhood they have given him their backing but they have stressed that it's only temporary now the opposition groups have put together a list of demands and on those demands say they address issues such as unemployment such as wise in food places such as the disarray on the streets we've not yet clear when they will in fact be able to present their demands to mubarak if in fact they will be able to do so but certainly for now the opposition voices are gaining momentum here in egypt. nighttime in cairo a dark empty and scary we we gather every day like it so. we say who like to to do the first shift and to would like to do the second and so

on some people or do you know mohamed and his neighbors take turns protecting their property by day they're professionals by night street guards groups of armed gangs are on the prowl and ordinary citizens have to rely on themselves for protection they've collected what they can kitchen knives bathroom grooves sticks poles rods anything they can get their hands on to keep their home safe. and with security at an all time low the leader who's come forward to replace hosni mubarak is offering precious little to make he gyptian is feel safer. believe term. getting in on this opposition movement well it may be too late but of the international crisis group a murky elite group with close ties to western interests i think of the media of war two different lines as the people of egypt are shown such courage in the face of such us backed terror that has occurred in egypt for the past thirty years i'm

not sure marbella baradei really stands much of chance as senior analysts are saying washington has yet to officially declare support for the former international atomic energy agency chief but he's someone they recognize as do other foreign powers prompting some to believe president obama's allegiance is now divided between the current president and the would be challenger. there is no difference between mubarak and el baradei america supports both of them and the american media has built up. egyptians don't like him he's lived in europe and united states and hasn't even been here for thirty years. and he came back and called for a regime change prompting critics to point out that he was absent for most of us in this budget but i've. lived in america we don't want him he was. the strange things in telling us it was broad. and a little bit of

a we didn't choose our borrowed line which was only for a short period of change he's only temporary. he's much better known on the international stage than in his own backyard and is yet to be recognized by the eighty million egyptians he hopes to rule. and the egyptians need national leaders not american populace with american agendas if people support al baradei it's only because they hate mubarak. which is why amidst the chaos he gyptian find themselves turning to each other for protection and reassurance. now we're just hearing word that the jordanian king abdullah has fired his government and appointed a new prime minister now this follows demonstrations in jordan over the past few days no doubt as word of that filters down to demonstrators here on the streets of cairo and other egyptian cities it will rule their excitement and only add to the

momentum we witnessing today. you have the momentum today is the biggest rally since the protests began over a week ago what was the atmosphere there like is this a decisive day is this it or are more demonstrations likely to fall. where protesters certainly want to believe that this is it but that does not seem to be the message coming from the egyptian president he has done nothing to meet their demands other than reshuffling his cabinet appointing three new figures but essentially keeping most of the ministers in the same positions mubarak did say that he wanted to talk to the opposition party she said it through his vice president but the opposition parties now say that the time for dialogue is over they do not want to talk to him and nothing short of him stepping down will be satisfactory so what it does seem likely that is going to continue moving forward from here is that we'll see more of these demonstrations more of these upheavals something has to give but for now it's not clear that today will be the day

although demonstrations here it will be all right thank you for bringing us up to date artie's polis we're reporting on the latest from the egyptian capital cairo. and stay with egypt where mass protests and violence continue to dominate world headlines artie's an associate sure can examines how some western media shoe support trace such events in a manner that suits their own political agenda. riots and outrage have the same face no matter where on the world map they take place. you were or the middle east if you're britain or egypt when people do this. the world should know it's time to listen to what they have to say although the scale of events doesn't compare the anger does it is that a leadership deaf to the needs and desires of its people what we're seeing play out in tunisia in egypt in other countries is no different than what we saw in in greece and what we've seen in italy and what we've seen in the u.k. are violent at least what is different is how the media choose to approach their

coverage depending on what country has its streets in chaos you look at the double standard if you burn a bank in greece you're a villain if you burn the party headquarters in cairo you're a hero if you're not a mockery of course when recently tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of britain in reaction to to wish an hikes in an economy that was dwindling the u.s. media downplayed what was happening so stressing the young age factor the youth in britain are very disappointed and spinning the bad kids a play aspect the smashing of the windows a fire extinguisher getting thrown at a police person as well as underscoring the criminality of what was happening violent criminals who will join in the action for the sake of having a cause to adopt or just a crowd to join and vent some anger focusing on the unfortunate occurrences with charles and camilla. what we know about charles and camilla they're fine right a window was smashed splashed the car kicked not to mention on any channel the

symbolism of attacking the king in waiting seen by many of the british as a remnant of a deeply unfair and classes difference because just under the sporting of substance by the us media have been a way to make sure the message from britain that the common people are not prepared to pay for the folly of the ruling elite did not reach too close to home. meanwhile as the streets of egypt erupted in chaos. for us media has been portraying these events as the struggle of the disenfranchised masses and stressing the need for the egyptian leadership to address the grievances of the population all of those values that we take so seriously here haven't really existed in that part of the world less attention has been drawn to u.s. support of this leadership united states taxpayers of billions of dollars over the past thirty years some media also threw in wishful thinking it could go all the way from tunisia to world unlike britain egypt is

a country seen as too different to reflect on the us speaking of the people's will and the need for responsive government may therefore never be less scary information is a word that seems to be long forgotten by the mainstream american media instead what you will see been receiving our opinions from people far away from events on the ground but close to a political agenda that actuates depending on what kind of impact occurring world events can have on america just as your church and i teach you. all there is always more news views and blogs on our website that's our t.v. dot com and here's some of what's waiting for you right now the u.s. and e.u. have them post a raft of new sanctions on bella russo december's post-election violence they say the balance will only be lifted when everyone detained grounds is released gloss. find out why russian and american scientists are keeping a close eye on one whales a mysterious migratory bird. well russia is commemorating the man who

presided over the fall of the soviet union and the country's turbulent transition to democracy today would have been that boris yeltsin's eightieth birthday remembered for his sweeping reforms his legacy four years after his death still has many russians divided well let's cross live now to our to get into gaza. was that what you have e.g. cemetery in central moscow where the commemorations are being held that read up how is russia honoring this very controversial figure. well of course there's a variety of events all across the country being held to mark the eightieth anniversary since birth here or in the center of moscow at the nor do it use them terry people have been coming since the morning hours laying down flowers wreaths his family was here among a lot of visitors they flew in actually from from you consider the hometown of the late former president where the main commemorative events were hailed as special

marbled long human two was unveiled there today and the then set the current events attended by russian president dmitry medvedev who said that the blow to the legacy of boris yeltsin is hard to underestimate. well the path of our first president was a very difficult one every single citizen of our country realizes this today the first president always has his work cut out for him he needs to change the entire political system and this was the fight that befell boris yeltsin even though we must admit that he was up to the time and stood his ground on really what a modern but not perfect country we live in today was created fangs to boris yeltsin and everyone who helped him build the foundations of a new nation of you just problem is. also when you consider what

a good memorial center on the ring the ladies former president will be open that will be dedicated to civil society and human rights something which a lot of people in russia connect to boris yeltsin with. boris yeltsin was at the helm of the country at a very crucial time it was the transition period from communism into democracy so how do people evaluate his role as a leader now. well up to this day even four years after his death a lot of people still still cannot come to one conclusion a lot of people say that he'll took over at the very hard time for russia the country this over the so the soviet union was dissolving at that point and a lot of things were falling apart literally and the verb really and if it was really a hard task for any leader and boris yeltsin tried to discuss a lot of people say that he took over and for him play he the t. took over and. put further implications and to further extensions to put his story

that he essentially started democracy in russia at the same time a lot of people say that the economic reforms which he conducted or allowed to be conducted were not proved were not done properly and a lot of people seemed to suffer from them so i give it the say is so again even four years after his death a lot of people cannot agree cannot come to one conclusion also what boris yeltsin remains for russia but michael the good sort of like a spoke to some people who were close to him and she shared her view it's share it shares their views in this report. he never doubted he would live to celebrate his hundred birthday but instead his widow has to fight back tears while opening an exhibition time to what have been his eightieth jubilee in nearly four years since boris yeltsin's death the agony of loss has given way to quiet remembrance. he really liked family gatherings birthdays we usually celebrated with our daughters.

most of these photos show yeltsin in his early years in power but he had the backing of almost the entire country when voicing your political position was still an act of novelty and courage and went hopes of a different life in a better country are still untainted by the harsh reality of the war in chechnya which he also himself admitted was a mistake the banking crisis is that with cripple the already impoverished population all of these would come later and some argue would end fairly obscure all the good that yeltsin had done. anything largest better perceived from a distance especially in history i think we still need more time for the emotions and troubles to give way to serious analysis of what to take tannic figures really was. but a service he's had of protocol for more than eight hears and of all the else in the explosive character and unpredictable temperament often contravened the dry rules

of diplomatic engagement but the mayor says he had never had a better boss. never thwarted a single event and he was never but emotionally he could be absolutely unpredictable and do what no one expected him to do like his famous conducting of an orchestra for example and again he was overwhelmed by emotions he turned his head and saw the shift change that was the only one who was objecting dragging him away all the other people around him were applauding. he was there shooting to power by the great hopes of his people he left office full of regret. for not fulfilling all of the it was only after yeltsin passed away that he country can start to design in his legacy in all its complexity yeltsin seventy of birth there were celebrate their far fewer accolades but one day came later even those who criticized him very harshly and growing a bit more gracious in their assessment of his character and his policies because

even they have come to realize that with all his ups and downs yeltsin was the very epitome of the mountain i'm just going away artsy. so as controversial a figure as boris yeltsin really be not likely to be forgotten by russians for a very long time all right thank you very much for that artie's correspondent. and for more on boris yeltsin's legacy let's now talk to fred we're journalists and russian affairs expert although you lived and worked in russia and the one nine hundred ninety s. what was it like to be a foreign journalist under yeltsin's leadership. it was a very turbulent time and as your package just showed we had. any number of really serious crises i remember nine hundred ninety two for example the year the first year after the collapse of the soviet union it was a time of hyperinflation. extreme political turmoil that the political system that

yeltsin inherited was unstable and. he himself his his personality i think it has to be said contributed to the confrontation that developed between him and the parliament which was a freely elected parliament the last one that russia elected in the soviet times. it was the parliament that vaulted yeltsin into the presidency but he found it very difficult to share power. and that led to the things you didn't see. on the screen you saw you saw yeltsin in the night tonight the one crisis where he got up at a tank in addressed that was the time of the putsch and the collapse of the soviet union but barely two years later he ordered tanks to attack that same building

and drive out the parliament. in a mini civil war in downtown moscow which i remember pretty well because i nearly got shot myself. and that led to. i think what you could call the way he wrote the constitution to make it much more centralized than authoritarian it's the same constitution we have today. and it led to a concentration of power in the kremlin and the loss of any kind of parliamentary solvency. this is part of your son's legacy to basically he managed to credibly turbulent time and i guess that's what people are giving him credit for today but i assure asking me and i suppose you will i think that he he could have thought a lot better all right when you're talking about all the political turmoil yourself most getting shot we had a lot you saw a lot of corruption a lot of crime now do you think all these things could have been avoided at that

time probably not now let's face it a huge superstate came crashing down and. all semblance of order came unstuck the whole ideology of the soviet union ceased to have any any moral force sort of people and. you know the authorities had to restart with themselves and in this context you see i don't think that much of that could have been avoided everybody blames yeltsin. and with some reason i think but the narrow way in which i would blame him is that he. personality he was in his heart a democrat didn't understand the notion of democracy and he didn't really think about the problems of transition he had people who did. but he himself was for much of his early years he wasn't. always sober for the

rest of the time he was so sick. he was close to the public eye and so he probably. maybe through no fault was all didn't manage. very interesting inside must have been a very interesting time to be working as a journalist back then that was fred ware moscow based canadian journalist and russian affairs expert now about twenty anti-government demonstrators were arrested on monday when they tried to hold an unauthorized rally in central moscow police said protesters were disruptive and ignored requests by officers to join a legal gathering nearby the un sanctioned group who refused to join the peaceful demonstrations have since been released along the thirty first of every month opposition protesters are allowed to stage legal rallies in the russian capital. and now a quick look at some other headlines around the world. and seoul have announced a date for talks despite the south korean president earlier demanding north korea

takes responsibility for two deadly attacks last year if held the february eighth meeting will be the first negotiations between the two since the north shelled a south korean island. also responded by staging massive war games in the yellow sea further ratcheting up tensions earlier requested to move the talks forward and offer seoul rejected. residents in the flood ravaged australian state of queensland are prepared for a new cycle only a day after one hit experts say it could be one of the worst. storms ever about through the area and it may even be life threatening it comes on the back of severe flooding in the region which graeme's at least thirty five lives cycle yasi is expected to hit the coast on wednesday. haiti has agreed to issue its former president with a passport opening the way for his possible return. to steve has been living in

exile in south africa since being removed from power seven years ago the move comes at a critical time with the final results of the first round of the disputed presidential election due on wednesday the government says as soon as it receives that official request from aristide they will grab him the passport. that brings you up to date business news is next. well welcome to our business program. b.p. and rosneft could include b.p. in the arctic project deal signed last month the british company's executive director robert dudley said on tuesday the company doesn't mind cooperating with john kerry b.p. enjoyed projects with. the london high court is set to decide whether or not to block b.p.'s swap with russian or giant ross now this comes after the russian owners. complained seeking to stop the deal on the grounds that it violated the

b.p. shareholder agreement however dudley said the standoff may be resolved in the nearest future analysts also say that the disputed deal is unlikely to be blocked. the mean . of. russian circled is often good because not to store business because this is the extremely important for russia and i'm sure that such people as mr friedman will miss the big city being a don't want route to stop them do you feel that is why in this case. the russians all this of doing good to be the most have some small benefits in other conditions it can be the problem or for example can be the problem of go we. asked staring with b.p. the british company has announced it will pay dividends for the first time since the gulf oil spill after posting a profit in the fourth quarter of two thousand and ten despite an overall loss of

five billion dollars last year this comes as to include b.p.'s russian shareholders decided not to approve a one point eight billion dollar dividend half of which would have gone to b.p. . and let's take a look at the stocks stocks in europe are higher as investors seem to be a bit less cautious about the unrest in egypt the peace decision to pay dividends however didn't impress the investors the company's shares are losing a one percent on the footsie. meanwhile in russia that r.t.s. in my stocks are posting strong gains tracking the upbeat investor and globally indices are gaining ground after monday's losses showing that corrections on the markets were apparently short term. and rising oil prices are. seventy energy shares higher gas problem lukoil and rosneft are seeing approximately the same gains adding on average two percent mining shares are also among the leaders on the

bisect severstal is climbing two point three percent and the all cynical has skyrocketed five and a half percent higher nickel prices after monday's three percent drop. and brant crude prices have retreated after hitting a two year record of one hundred dollars a barrel on monday fueled by a growing instability in egypt analysts link the price drop with china's industrial growth slowing to a five month low signaling demand may not rise as quickly in the world's second largest oil user. and president medvedev has fired the head of russia's united aircraft corporation for failing to seek innovation following leading on modernization a presidential aide said the bosses of some other state owned bodies may follow he also said companies should appoint vice presidents including specialists from abroad to be responsible for the innovation. and you some other companies will be thoroughly analyzed in order to take additional measures if needed so the timeframe

for adopting innovation programs is quite tough the president stressed that if the companies fail to meet the deadline the consequences will be harsh all the way up to dismissals. and that's the business update for this hour you can always find more stories on our web site that's our. business stay with us.