there is a new blow for the libyan rebels as the finance minister returns i am thing out of problem washington after days of trying to convince the international community to release karl cut off his frozen assets. a meeting between the nato chief and the american president francois shrinks as to what we're we'll motives are behind their so-called many tarion intervention in conflict have countries. plus one thousand days left until the twenty fourteen winter olympics officials in russia's resort seeds are working round the clock and pulling out all the stops to wow competitors and spectators ally. and archie's close of team heads to the hometown

of europe's largest hydroelectric station and finds out how locals are trying to repair decades of damage to reverse and fishing industry. to me out of the russian capital you're watching artsy a marina joshie welcome to the program the libyan radicals have failed to gain official recognition from the united states government a top rebel officials even denied a meeting with barack obama in washington on friday what would you brill is the first senior member of libya's national transitional council to visit the u.s. after meeting american officials djibril said that rebels are having trouble getting washington to release colonel gadhafi is frozen assets it ministration earlier promise to hand over some of the multi-billion dollar funds to the libyan

opposition journalist patrick haynes assess the revolutions where the west is only alienating libyans. robert gates has said that he's. cautious about understanding who makes up the opposition and so an extent caution is commendable because this humanitarian intervention by the west in libya wasn't a planned strategy it was a war without any real hames it was something of the west young cynthy without any real clear sense of who they're doing it on behalf of who the rebels are and what they want to achieve from it transitional national council of libya now completely orientated towards the west toward nato towards america they want to try and get exceptions from obama from western leaders they're not looking towards the libyan people it means that self-determination doesn't come from the libyan people it comes from this kind of political elite in libya who basically just tried to kill the west what it wants to hear recognition from the libyan people it can't come

from the west it's not just about getting rid of gadhafi it's about bringing about a democratic libya which is very much a process that has to be struggled for by the people of libya you can't form libya into a democracy the solution doesn't come from the west removing gadhafi and i think it would be absolutely dreadful if this does end up killing gadhafi because gadhafi should be removed by libyan hands not by the west believing him or a nato airstrike orderly struck the capital tripoli calling it a fine broadcast from colonel gadhafi made in washington barack obama and nato had anders fogh rasmussen agreed to continue bombing as long as the libyan leader puts up a fight as archie's lauren lyster reports the motivation of u.s. led alliance is under scrutiny. well. several decades and wars later it's still the question it's top of mind when it comes to the world's largest military alliance many people i think today wonder if

it is. why nato lo and behold radius it was busier than ever. set up to counter perceived threats from the soviet union the north atlantic treaty organization has plowed ahead without an enemy after the end of the cold war. fair that the alliance lost its reason to exist instead what happened in fact and in violation of even the accords and the agreements at the time was nato aggressively expanded. and a larger alliance that once promised peace has instead pledged bombs in troops to afghanistan going on a decade. and in its latest endeavor lobs air strikes into libya despite uniting a new strategic goals back in november libya has launched allies aided dischord some countries don't want to actually you know shoot ground targets some hit

air targets which are not. amidst the in-fighting it's unclear what motives are really behind the planes flying in the name of nato over the african country is it a personal aspirations of a leader france was among the first to push for intervention and who wants to get in on what i call the imperial condominiums a really kind of african or is it the showcase in a new arms race military buyers love to have weapons that are tested and work if your weapon system does very well in the war you can count on sales going up in fact the only two planes now in contention for a ten billion dollar order of one hundred twenty six planes from india are the euro fighter typhoon and their friends. well the very ones french and british allies have been flying over libya. is it the opportunity to oust the gadhafi regime that is u.s. policy that gadhafi needs to go and prop up one more favorable to us foreign policy

interests. of course to screw. up a so-called humanitarian intervention that critics argue was never warranted but which now may be causing a humanitarian crisis we didn't start a bloodbath but we are prolonging and perpetuating the suffering of civilians in libya the suffering that is now washing up on the shores of nato allies by the boatload of refugees though the united states has seemingly stepped back for libya he was the number one contributor to nato and therefore many would see the u.s. really as being nato now this comes at a time when the conflict in libya on the ground more and more people are calling a stalemate and it's the allied in-fighting as well as rising costs in every sense that same question people have been asking for decades comes to mind if. yeah nato

lauren lyster r.t. washington d.c. so leave you in government claims a nato airstrike that killed eleven muslim clerics in the city of brother of a coalition says a facility of god was being used to coordinate attacks on civilians or activist recross of things you know why it says intimidating the entire world whether it's leave your campaign. talking about work there is. no global story for us and you know the world it was very sort of a one story in serbia. and seventy four years ago they bombed one of you know now there were fifty five and he said he was struck with the way to achieve their objectives from the other nations around the world going to receive it was a case of our movie versions in the united states from france germany and sweden. the work winds are going to do the same thing with france for often supervillains very i mean this is what you were threatened with this is working for america we

don't believe all of this for you know a million geo political terms this is a dangerous organization these are your partners in the world going to the world community needs to get a certain strong response work out of the united nations and not the u.s. led military because it's in georgia but he's on guard for some of the world. in syria security forces opened fire on sounds of protesters killing at least six people on friday soldiers tried to had off demonstrations by occupying mosques and walking public squares according to eyewitness accounts meanwhile international pressure is mounting on the syrian authorities over the brutal crackdowns united states has warned syria that it will pursue additional steps to hold the country responsible for its gross human rights abuses along with the e.u. the u.s. has already imposed sanctions against the country with washington also examining whether president bashar lawsuits eleven year old rule is legal human rise groups say as many as eight hundred fifty people have been killed since the start of

a revolt against also a regime. we're watching aren't you remember you can always get all latest information on everything that's happening in north africa and the middle east on our facebook and twitter pages there you also find more on our developing stories as well as photos videos and polls make sure you take a look next on your own lying. well with only a thousand days to go preparations for the winter olympics in sochi are well

underway with most of the construction entering its final stages sidelobe said to be crossing the finish line right on time the russian are of mirrors basking in developments that the country's most anticipated scoring about has brought with it the last news in the region following reaction. to a miracle in the making the construction the suit she's bolshoi ice bellis is entering its final stage to less than two years to record this joint structure like most of the venue seriously she it's being built on schedule but she's going to do not all the facilities here except maybe for the main olympic stadium well have to be completed by two thousand and twelve so that they can be used during test competitions. and most of construction effort was launched in two thousand and seven and sochi won't deal with big bid deal with the construction sites no consume more than half the region's cement supplies over three hundred fifty thousand tons

more than eighty they have thousand workers take part in the project three hundred of them are foreigners the good news besides stadiums and ice rinks include fruits tunnels bridges together with new schools and hospitals they believe the lasting legacy of this tropical black sea resort so there's great excitement high hopes said the fresh city resting the big event but i've got oh you can see the preparations new world they're being built the streets are cleaner. more tourists will come they'll lympics will bring festive mood into town good and i think the medals rubio was and russia's team will be formed better at home. a killer bear hair and snow leopard have been recently picked as the olympic mascots less than three years join this dream team will greet the athletes and visitors of the two thousand and fourteen sochi winter games. one of the greatest sporting spectacles

on the planet is just one thousand days away but if the sochi olympics vision is going to be as grand as russia imagines every minute counts towards completing the mammoth construction effort on time and in budget those walls p.r.t. sochi. while still the ground this hour here in our team the maya the volga joyously as we take you on a journey along the longest river in europe that's been the backbone of the russian economy and inspiration for its culture. mumbai's probably best known as the birthplace of one of india's greatest exports bollywood and like many other countries more cosmopolitan cities it's undergoing constant change saying senate nominee for the millions living there only one issue dominates their daily lives clean water artist previously or saw just how hard life in mumbai. mumbai india the financial center for one of the fastest growing economies in the world. and the heart of india's beloved bollywood film industry but beyond the glitz and

glam there is another story playing out on the streets of india's most populous city. i.v. cup at six pm and walk to a village that is one in half hours every two get to go good soft drink in ward so . this is shine i'm on a got but she's twelve years old and her life in mumbai literally revolves around finding water basically going is that i don't go to school because i have to work at home my mormon dad walk us through blows and they have to go out so i have to stay back and work at home from morning to evening in this slum it's actually more common to see a satellite dish bringing these people cable t.v. than it is to see a working tap to bring them water one point two million people in mumbai live in an authorised slums and are entitled to government services like water even after walking hours to get to a taf the water only runs at specific times for sometimes as little as ten minutes

. while the people in the got community have managed to find a broken pipe in a gutter not far from their homes many indians are spending up to ten percent of their salaries to buy usable water water access isn't just a problem that affects people living in the slums actually thirty five percent of households in mumbai receive less than the desired one hundred liters of water per person per day and many of those people live in middle class communities. still one is in mumbai housewife despite living in a more modern apartment so wants to has to schedule her day around when she can get water or not up on if. we get water at four am for one and a half of us since we just get it for just one and a half or we have to wake up early and get all the work done so want has to fill the to. on her roof during the time the city gives her access to water and if she needs more than the chunk of water she's able to fill she's out of luck water is an

issue that seems to affect everyone here and five there is a one man that managed to escape the problem is there is no case somebody is worth twenty seven billion us dollars and his house there are hydroponic hanging gardens swimming pool water and he reportedly uses five hundred hours of water every month it's something that angers me here while most are used to seeing the great contrast between rich and poor on a daily basis they believe that it's access and waste that is unfair. you have come to give money memorandum and water collected from vegas slums if there is a shortage of for filling to give him more we came here to build him this on purpose to and for those who have no choice but to plan their day around water retrieval it's a painful reminder that even when it comes to basic necessities the wealthy elite still has the advantage what a lot but i feel bad in a house we get water for only one and a half of us whereas they have enough water one day even to waste it

a constant battle to meet their needs preassure either party mumbai india. well more on the way for you here in r.t. including to share or not to share as the u.s. decides whether to worries its debt ceiling americans speak out. like that the only political system that's kind of relevant to christianity is socialism and i don't think jesus would be very happy with us not sharing. more international news in brief for you this hour israeli security forces clashed with palestinians in east jerusalem and the west bank on friday had a day some protesters hurled stones at soldiers who responded with water cannons and tear gas but courts say at least one person was killed and nearly a dozen more aggressive down five day march the founding of the state of israel nineteen forty eight after which seven hundred thousand palestinians platter were

expelled in the war of that ensued palestinians want jerusalem to be the capital of the state and to stablish in the west bank and gaza strip. egypt's interim ruling military council has vowed to use all means to crack down on water called deviant groups threatening stability and security meanwhile the wife of ousted president hosni mubarak has been detained for fifteen days and cairo pending further investigations into corruption allegations comes after the couple were questioned on charges of profiteering the former president is also accused of ordering the deaths of anti regime protesters. three people have reportedly been killed and eighteen injured after security troops opened fire on protesters in yemen the shooting happened in the town of south of the capital as thousands of ten of the funeral of another demonstrator killed on thursday people across yemen have

been demanding an end to the twenty year rule of president saleh however their leader remains defiant saying who will use all necessary means to defend. his position. on the american operation that killed osama bin ladin two weeks ago and call for an answer to u.s. drone attacks as drone strike a chord with five people in pakistan on friday washington has refused and it's haves and still hasn't apologized for keeping us in the dark over at the pentagon and right as military container thanks you asked should have been more cautious nobody can be of the u.s. administration unique capability to model the waters and bungled the message last week and u.s. president obama deployed two top u.s. officials to negate the negative impact from the overkill verbosity of their discomfort. first it was u.s.

attorney general eric holder who tried to change that perception to have a direct orders for the you be able raid war to kill or capture and then as ministration dispatched the u.s. national security adviser thomas danny. both did their best to cover political interference in covertly pressure will force its missions in pakistan but inadvertently compromised the whole nature of the operation it was designed first and foremost as a political campaign not as this special operation before you authorize somebody to step up and talk to media make sure they get together all your national security teams and delegate just one person who will have all necessary information. to speak on behalf of the u.s.

president. well the u.s. debt ceiling already at a staggering level americans are alas unhappy about proposals to raise it and while obama and congress struggle to reach a compromise our own resident in the big apple or harvest looked for a solution on the streets of new york. if the us stops bearing money it could negatively affect the whole world economy if it continues to borrow money it could accumulate a burden that's too heavy to carry so as the us fast approaches the debt ceiling over fourteen trillion dollars that congress just put into place in two thousand and ten should it can fit or raising that that feeling even more this week let's talk about that do you think they should raise the debt limit again i'm not sure they shoot but they will because they really have to that's how do we get to a place where we have to keep doing it. because. too much

expenditure if you have to cut out national parks if you're. saving the turtle or if you have this is a cut out some teachers' jobs maybe three percent here three percent or three were ever just a small percent off of everything have to cut everyone has to give up something would you be willing to give up two more percent of your salary no tax no tax raises don't you be willing to pay more in taxes yeah a little bit i think it's patriotic i get to do what's good that people you know that say that they're so patriotic and that they're american and they stand for america but then they're not willing to pay more taxes for the country well i think the only political system that's kind of relevant to christianity is socialism and i don't think jesus would be very happy with us not sharing it's a shame with what's happening middle america is disappearing as should be happening do you think middle america is aware of the corporate sizing of america i think people don't even realize how am swines they are you know i would agree with you i think middle america they're such good citizens nobody wants to make any do they

want to rabble rousers you know they want to be included in the whole process but when you see people from the economic unit three million dollars or seventy million or whatever or a.b.c. making forty five minute i mean what happens if you make five going to put their money back you know and they hire people if you people working there what i would think would have much more value for everybody the world economies and so you. situation you look at what's. going to be a kind of situation where the time they're. going to regroup the whole system just means. whether or not you think the u.s. should raise the debt ceiling the bottom line is given the fact that we've done it that we need more time than one hundred sixty two i think it's just day that it's going to be raised again very soon. today we're going to be exploring russia with our close of team checking out the country's most fascinating places.

and we are in the volga grab region sound one sounds and kilometers southeast of moscow the region is divided by the volga river the longest in europe a river has long been the backbone of the russian economy and of inspiration for its culture but despite providing so much human activity it's also causing huge damage already so martin investigates whether the graves river is being harnessed or abused. the mighty vulgar it runs deep through the russian soul it has provided inspiration for songs and poems and is the country's main north south artery and decades ago human ingenuity connected it to the dawn river to the west. over centuries people dreamt of connecting the two rivers now this canal essentially joins distance ceased to get.

the vote the dawn canal is an engineering marvel within a day a vessel can pass the canals thirteen blocks ten million tons of shipping does so every year. another concrete giant is this finished fifty years ago it's the biggest hydroelectric plant in europe it powers the local city of volgograd and sends lots more electricity to moscow the hydroelectric plant behind me is a potent example of how much the volga can provide but harnessing a river like this isn't without its cost. fishermen have been watching fish stocks for years they see the slowdown midges the downing of the river has done especially to russia's prized sturgeon the source of caviar. the hydroelectric plant has done significant damage because it stopped face with ridiculous corn and grounds they turned back and start swimming downstream and now we don't know where they are.

within a year all these houses will come fall into the river. depending on how many of the hydroelectric plants turbines are on the water level can change suddenly and dramatically too suddenly for the banks to absorb it plays havoc with the canal to . so that's. what can only three ships we have enough water for last year the water level dropped because of this hydroelectric plant and it caused big problems you could only look through smaller ships flooded ones. control of the river flow by the planters made building the boulders for a more attractive serious floods and less likely the water that is put into the drains is taken away from the fish that need it. when people started building on the floodplain the places where the fish spawn don't flood anymore most of the spawning grounds are now gun now at last the voice of the voters of color g.

might start being heard after fifty years of damage the plant may change its regime to release water for the river spent it not just its own. for the first time in fifty years the rules will contain a point on maintaining biodiversity in the river we still have a chance to bring the vulgar back to life meaning that the mighty boulder is treated with the respect it deserves dumbarton. rammer there is much more at our. core including news coverage analysis and blogs last year scores. the hockey world and twenty six still. you like staying out all night and i galleries and museums are preparing to welcome thousands of guests as moscow's cultural centers open up for free as part of a night of the museum project that is house arts and.

well martin must go out with martin andrews is coming up in just a few minutes here in our right after a week's half of our top stories. repairing

a broken nation. highway construction and humanitarian aid. bugs a shady official spoke at the spoils of war it's the people who pay the price. profiteering here is no longer just down to drug trafficking. afghanistan on the job. a cluster mission.

and inside the container you have made it all bombs and you can have anywhere from dozens up to hundreds of there's a huge market right now for battle area clearance because there are a lot of countries in the world that are contaminated by unexploded ordinance. and so you've got these companies and n.g.o.s and it's basically shrunk out that have an expertise to get rid of these weapons what they do is they go to. these places they will hire locals train the locals how to do the clearance they'll let the locals basically take ownership because you know they have a vested interest in clearing their homes and they're putting themselves at risk every single that when they go out there to clear areas of what. they. did in. rock hard.