both come to the fountain curry in a blizzard of winter blues to get to slopes and try out some new text brushes got olympic caliber excitement in its southern melting switched trainers to keep you in top form and watchful eye on the goal line carving the trail to sochi twenty four to one technology update here on our we've got the future covered.

protesters in the middle east and north africa refuse to back down while europe's under threat of drowning in a wave of immigration with a state of emergency already declared don't want to tell you no island. we can leaks founder is set to hear whether he'll be extradited to sweden to stand trial for alleged sexual advances but his supporters say the case is politically motivated. and no place in space as the u.s. shuttle discovery prepares for its final launch of russia's rockets that will soon become the only way of birth as many americans taking it as a blow to their pride. business burbank's minority shareholders. twenty didn't what the management of the biggest bank is saying and i was in business in twenty minutes.

is not i am in the russian capital you're watching our. welcome to the program and was leave in the throes of violence and bloodshed anti-government unrest in the middle east and north africa showing a little sign of dying down however it is one of the countries that managed to break a decades long cycle of suppression but the question remains whether those fighting for reforms will get the change they crave peter all over reports from cairo. one month from the outbreak of the revolution mubarak stepped down so many protesters who stood. to you square. the more one works the gown and it was announced like we had on the screens on the square and it was just couldn't resist for

a second to get overwhelmed by the joy of getting rid of the big figure of corruption or the regime western leaders were quick to throw their support behind the popular revolution in the country that spent the last thirty years under mubarak. these democratic change has to start now. needs to happen now for growth for freedom and democracy in egypt ultimately of the united states can't have sources dictate what happens but you know we can but what we can do bill is we can say that. the time is now for you to start making a change in that country or however support wasn't the only thing coming from these nations during the uprising western rumors were rife that mubarak had fled tyrone was headed to germany and later british foreign secretary william hague said that colonel gadhafi had left tripoli in the midst of the ongoing crisis there but protesters are now very heated up it's all very hard to each of these countries and

the fact that they might be falsely made to believe that they have won that they have a victory is very dangerous because they are heating up the situation opens the door for other countries other power structures to come into egypt and to come into libya into coming to tunisia and all of the other countries to try and take some advantage in some cases might be greater than from what is happening in the chart shell of a political party's headquarters in a country policed by the military tardily the image many in the west would associate with a democratic nation part of this hasn't stopped world leaders from speaking about a newly democratic egypt. the country is now being watched over by the armed forces while a partial curfew was still in place in cairo many key figures of mubarak's regime remain in the current cabinet including prime minister ahmed shafik a figure of hate for the revolutionaries who met with david cameron during the british leaders visit a visit that was termed in some circles as cameron was on his way to the gulf

states to hawk the u.k. arms industry political groups in egypt are calling for a million man march to demand a new cabinet so how do those who helped remove mubarak feel about the future the army is in charge they're taking they're taking action there the hand the upper hand to give everyone everything on control so yes getting more and more to figured that out and hated and think about how we're going to deal with it we don't want to be like who plays a military regime with another. potentially elections could take place at around six months of the political sources in the country suggests this could come too soon for the nation a major reason for three decades of dictatorship featuring the cairo egypt. meanwhile libyan leader colonel gadhafi is fiercely fighting to retain control of the capital as he's faced with more defections from his own regime much of tripoli is currently desert with reports of uprisings in nearby towns after more than

a week of revolts demonstrators have taken over the east of the country the u.n. security council and washington have demanded an immediate answer to the violence the e.u. is considering sanctions against libya for colonel gadhafi is why the crackdown on protesters after some reports say the army used air strikes against its own people several hundred protesters are said to have been killed but the real death toll is feared to stand of more than a thousand. larry was shot a former m i five agent says some western countries are exploiting the lucrative relationships with libya as could offer to fight till the end. it's just a very talented of the regime that's been in place and the fact that the west has been cozying up to gadhafi ever since two thousand and three when he came in from the cold and became our new ally in the war against terror means that he's of course very tooled up with lots of new weapons which been supplied by countries like france in the netherlands and the u.k. so he's in a very strong position and also very strong position financially to fight back and

i think perhaps that some of his new friends in the west are a little confused on how to respond to what to do about him he had come in from the cold he was the sort of poster boy of being a poster dictatorship of course after what happened to saddam hussein he did offer up what little technology had which might mean taking him towards a situation where he had weapons of mass destruction and then of course he was welcome back into the international fold with with open arms and has been allowed to start opening up his country to a certain extent but certainly financially so he's in a very different position and i think because of that because he's been held up as the the way to go the way that the west can deal with middle eastern dictators and bring them back into the fold they really just don't know how to handle this sort of backing off but they don't want to overtly support the protesters either. more on the repercussions from the rest of north africa and the middle east coming your way shortly before that let's take a look at what's ahead the salwar here in our team a criminal or

a political pawn as we can weeks fower julian assange awaits a ruling on his extradition to sweden his supporters claim the case is political fearing for his fate if he ends up in the u.s. and. now we're we're reduced to being passengers on the russian ship. by the end of the year and assa will no longer be able to sam few minutes into space find out how the americans are dealing with this dance to their national pride later in the program. the stress nutritious and delicious products on the price of healthy eating. lead to testes toxicity. immune response lower nutrition for environmental contamination don't you feel like a brot so consider the experiment to use human treatment. the significant

differences between the g. have both at the don't cheer. but they weren't treated so well themselves one question means one career you ask one question. and you might or might not be able to publish it but that's really end of your career. what you are to live from moscow more now on the facts of the revolt in north africa and the middle east italy has declared a humanitarian emergency on its island of lampedusa as a small land mass drowns under a wave of illegal immigration from the unstable region five thousand refugees have already reached its shores was rome warning of up to three hundred thousand more to

come we were just going off has the details. at eighty miles off the coast of north africa the tiny italian island of lampedusa has relied on fishing and tourism for its main sources of income but for the first time in years the boats are in harbor and the nets are drawing the best of us. they're always out here we haven't gone out to sea for twenty days now. since the recent uprising in tunisia the island has been flooded with refugees over five and a half thousand arrived in just two weeks sometimes up to three hundred refugees would grab on just one tiny fishing boat to make the perilous journey to the mediterranean island dozens have already drowned many of those who have nothing to lose turning local life here on its head with no money and jobs they have already been cases of vandalism and theft and you know when you started leaving the lights

on at night they always wonder ronde none of the locals ever used to lock their doors now that this people here would feel uncomfortable due to its location lumpy doozies familiar with refugees but never so many in such a short period of time and with many voicing strong beliefs officials say identifying genuine cases is one of the biggest problems. we are historically a free mission and we want freedom this is the stuff we want to live like a prophet told us to live in an islamic state but most are housed at this refugee center where they're provided with food water clothes and medical aid all financed from the state budget is designed to house only around eight hundred people so under tight security hundreds of if you g.'s are flown to the mainland the. central plains yesternight but in average two planes with refugees leaving every

dying made. where do they go to turn a binary polemic. tunisia used to have a target which most were fiji's were intercepted before even reaching the island but now that the government has been overthrown the floodgates have opened and with violence continuing to spread in both north africa and the middle east it is already ward other streets up to three hundred barrels and with the week a little. for decades managed to remain a tiny isolated world of its own the record with call is still alive and no one was afraid to leave their doors on one side something she said the biggest wave of refugees may still be out there in the early one this tiny island but the entire continent you've got this i'm all for the one you know about italy. and there's

a storm of protest batters the arab world europe is bracing itself for human avalanche aspirins believe influx of immigrants will be a real test for the continent. the europeans thus far even though there are an aging population in western europe even though there are a dwindling population in western europe are not ready to receive more african migrants or arab migrants you also have some other voices in europe being raised where they're suggesting that there is a crucial moment where the europeans we need to be seen to be doing more for the safety of libya and they should not be talking about sanctions because those can't be activated quickly and they're not going to have an immediate impact they can freeze the assets of gadhafi and family if they want to but again he's fighting for his survival he's fighting to the death he said so so something a little bit stronger than sanctions is called for. the unrest in north africa and

the middle east will force its way onto the agenda at a meeting between prime minister vladimir putin and top european officials the russian premier is in brussels for major talks with the european commission the sides will focus on trade cooperation and high technology and moscow's bid to join the world trade organization and the russia partnership agreement is also on the table. the u.s. says it's ready to start new talks with russia on further nuclear arms cuts earlier this month a key new treaty the new start between the two countries came into force which will see both sides slash their arsenals by a third former u.s. national security advisor brant scowcroft told r.t. that the deal is a way to make sure nuclear weapons are never used. both sides have ratified the new start treaty and that is. a major step forward what it really does is that continue the framework that we've built up really over

fifty years of how to talk and how to deal with the military nuclear issue that if it continues that process and now we can look at ways we still possess over ninety percent of the world's nuclear weapons so we need to work together to ensure that those weapons are never never need be you and that is to increase the stability of the nuclear bomb so whatever the problem between a story is no incentive to use a month i think now the way is clear for us to sit down and have that comment there's still there's so many nuclear weapons out there but just not just a matter of numbers it's doing the kinds of things that ensure those weapons are never going to be used and that take that'll take a lot more discussion negotiation thoughtfulness on both sides. but i'm sure we can

make progress now that we've laid the groundwork for further steps. and you can watch the full interview in just over an hour's time here on r.t. . and the founder of the controversial westphal blowing website we julia sons will learn if he will be sent to sweden to face sex crime charges and one court is due to the limited charge when it later on thursday on whether stockholm's extradition even will be successful and sarge denies the allegations saying they're part of a conspiracy to hand him over to the u.s. here outrage washington after his website published american secret war a logs and diplomatic cables floor amatus following the case. the court's been looking at whether the european arrest warrant for ourselves was issued correctly and whether it would be an abuse of justice to send him to sweden for questioning during the three day hearing earlier this month the defense team focused on what they termed

the bizarre handling of sex crime cases in sweden there's no bail and trials are held behind closed doors which they say justice won't be done the defense also pointed out that solves could be held with no contact with the outside world in a prison complex which is being criticized for its treatment of prisoners the defense also attacked the swedish prosecutor bringing evidence that she has a grudge against men and is a radical feminist they called the warrants disproportionate and said the rape charges which he is wanted for questioning under wouldn't be crimes under british law so as his lawyers cuse sweden of politicizing the issue calling into question the independence of the judiciary in this case the defense is main fear is that if extradited to sweden our soldiers could be sent from there to the u.s. to face espionage charges a member of the u.s. justice department in london has stressed. no charges have been brought against us

on in america but confirmed that there was an ongoing investigation into wiki leaks whichever way the verdict goes today it's very unlikely that this will be the end of the story the losing side has a right to appeal in the high court and will definitely use it some are saying this case won't be resolved until the summer. florimond reporting there. are more news blogs and analysis but here's some of what we have gods for you wind up. abortion could soon mean murder in the u.s. state of georgia as a new bill seems to criminalize the practice and ensuring that authorities investigate all miscarriages. and the gold rush is a bad to make a comeback in russia as parliament passes a law which could reopen old tourist and amateur diggers find out more and check out our own videos on our you tube page.

he used. to. be official. from the. video. in the palm of your. home. and now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world police in new zealand the death

toll from the country's devastating earthquake has risen to ninety eight we also fear one hundred twenty bodies may still be inside just one of the hardest hit buildings two days after the shock hit over two hundred people are still unaccounted for rescue crews are continuing to comb topple buildings but many. fearing the worst the country's prime minister warned out the toll could rise further communication with about. what we would call a. former serbian police chief has been jailed for twenty seven years for crimes against humanity a u.n. tribunal in the hague found last a mere georgevitch play a key role in the murder of more than seven hundred ethnic albanians in kosovo and nine hundred ninety nine the court also ruled he was responsible for the deploy taishan of at least a further two hundred thousand judges said georgevitch who was a close aide to the lady the soft president slobodan milosevic was cordial to the success of the criminal enterprise. authorities and to ruin believe

you have declared a state of emergency as massive flooding affects both countries and believe three people died and almost seven thousand the world left homeless as a result of the strong rains hitting the country for the past few weeks rivers burst of their banks flooding farming land and residential areas there were similar scenes of the ruler of some three and a half thousand people lost their homes. and they are in group has killed at least ten soldiers loyal to ivory coast disputed president laurent the army vehicles were attacked by a group supporting al assad atar who's internationally recognized as the winner of last year's election and african union backed panel is currently trying to resolve the deadlock some three hundred people have died of violence between supporters of both man following the disputed poll. america's longest serving shuttle discovery is preparing to lift off for the last time after twenty six years in the space

craft while the spacecraft rather will be put into retirement it's also one of the last times the u.s. will santa shuttle into orbit before it's a spans its space program. found out what the loss meant for americans. by the end of this year nasa will no longer be able to send humans into space according to obama's plane responsibility will go to private companies which are expected to come up with cheaper ways to ferry astronauts to low earth orbit they know that they have a big step to take when they if they're thinking about putting humans into space and that's going to take a you know the next phase of their development so i have a few years oh gosh i. can even estimate exactly no one can say for sure when the private american companies will come up with a new spaceship for years to come it will be the russians so use that's going to be the only means for people to reach the international space station which is

perfectly fine with the leaders of russia and the u.s. but doesn't sit well with many americans how could this how. we could make it to the moon person build this wonderful equipment and then. and now we're we're reduced to being passengers on a russian ship and that's that's sort of it's a wounded pride thing wounded pride revealed itself in comments by some american lawmakers astronaut scientists and former nasa officials comedians in the u.s. did not miss out on poking fun at american sense of pride so we pony up the cash then after right on the hope of the backseat all the take the wheel. yes you know they're going to let us touch the radio they will let us eat snacks or stop to use the bathroom should have gone before we left. use but those the nasa who now actually work with the russians like astronaut sunny williams have different

sentiments i couldn't imagine when i was growing up walking through red square or going to a russian company and working hand in hand with my russian colleagues or going to their families homes and having dinner with them and likewise when they come to the u.s. and so i think. maybe we're not competing but we're to working together i think it's more of a time of joint cooperation and learning from one another that's just as healthy as the competition we had in the past it's not the first time americans have to rely on the russians to take their crew to space they depended on washing rockets during the two year grounding the few s. spacecraft after the two thousand and three space shuttle columbia disaster columbia exploded during re-entry into the earth segments here all seven crew members died shuttle's track record includes another tragedy in one thousand nine hundred eighty six the space shuttle challenger broke apart seventy three seconds

into its flight. the russians so use proved to be the safest way to deliver people to space and now with the shuttle retiring it will be the only way we're no longer racing against an adversary we're no longer competing to achieve a singular goal like reaching the moon. in fact what was once a global competition is long since become a global collaboration the leaders of both russia and the us are saying space is no longer a place for competition it's now a ground for cooperation but the question remains if ever once here in the world was ready to fully accept it i'm going to check out our to washington d.c. . well that brings us up to date here in our time now for the business news with stay with us.

hello that's right time to get the latest business news a very warm welcome soft commodities have skyrocketed in the past month on supply concerns cocoa and coffee have jumped to the highest level in nearly three decades sugar is up forty percent in one here while cotton has added forty five percent since the beginning of twenty eleven geoff wood john from index futures group says although harvests have been poor there's also been a fundamental change in demand which should support prices over the long term a lot of that has to do with the fact that we are looking at what were emerging nations and economies turning into developing economies you know when you've got rising middle classes china is a wonderful example of that where we have more and more people going from an agrarian lifestyle into an urban lifestyle the demand for soft commodities around

the globe is increasing we cannot stop that and it's not just soft commodity just that are set to go high and jet blue jumpsuit oil prices of two hundred fifty dollars a barrel within the next five years as a result of the new demand fundamentals remember what we're talking about is maintaining purchasing power parity over the course of the next few years because if we take a snapshot of commodity prices over the course of the last decade we've seen very stagnant moves we've seen very little movement as far as real fundamental core inflation goes but i believe what we are going to see ahead of us primarily driven by what the central bankers are doing is going to be a very very quick acceleration in the velocity of the rise in commodity prices so grains and i believe energy i think while is going to be a wonderful commodity i think in another five years we'll be talking about two hundred two hundred fifty dollar oil just from the fact that the dollar will depreciate and the demand will continue to grow. ok no time to have

a look at how the market's up faring this hour asian stocks are mostly down for the second day hampered by the leap in prices and weakness on the wall street japanese exporters stocks were pulled down by the continued strength twenty six to thirty three top of the indices were lower the honda motor down one point four percent and so we've done one point three percent japan's nikkei last point seven percent. saying it is bucking the trend with about ten percent. burbank's minority shareholders are asking for a big good twenty ten dividends they want the payment to increase to fifteen percent of the bank's net income from the current ten percent that's after the bank report a five fold increase from net income for twenty ten more than six billion dollars but the head of burbank herrmann says dividends won't be raised until at least twenty thirteen.