an. there's a new blow for the libyan rebels as their finance minister returns empty handed from washington after days of trying to convince the international community to release colonel gadhafi is frozen assets. a meeting between the nato chief and the american president question suster what the real motives are behind the so-called humanitarian intervention in a conflict country. and one thousand days to go the countdown is on to the twenty fourteen winter olympic games in sochi and russians are marking the occasion with events cross the country. and are to use it close up

to the hometown of europe's largest hydroelectric station and find out how locals are trying to repair decades of damage to the rivers and the fishing industry over . our two pm just after two pm on saturday here in moscow you with a hearty welcome to the program. libyan rebels have failed once again official recognition from the us government but rebel official was even denied a meeting with barack obama in washington on friday now. is the first senior member of libya's national transitional council and he's the first one to visit the u.s. after meeting american officials djibril said the rebels are having trouble getting washington to release frozen assets the administration had earlier promised to hand

over some of the multi-billion dollar fund to the libyan opposition help journalist patrick hayes says the rebel allegiance with the west is only alienating libyans. he's cautious about understanding who makes up the opposition and sense that. caution is commendable because this humanitarian intervention by the west in libya wasn't a planned strategy was a war without any real i mean it was something a little less jumps into you without any real clear sense of who they're doing it on the behalf of who the rebels are and what they want to achieve from its transitional national council of libya now completely orientated towards the west towards nato and towards america they want to try and get except 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 tell the west what it wants to hear recognition has come 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 struggle for by the people of libya you can't form libya into democracy the solution doesn't come from the west removing gadhafi and i think it would be absolutely dreadful if this bombing does end up killing gadhafi because a good athlete should be removed by libyan hands not by the west well meantime in libya more nato air strikes reportedly struck the capital tripoli following a defiant broadcast from colonel gadhafi meeting in washington barack obama and nato head for grassroots and agreed to continue bombing as long as the libyan leader put up a fight because r.t. laurent lister reports the motivation of the u.s. led alliance is under scrutiny. several decades and wars later it's still the question that's top of mind when it

comes to the world's largest military alliance many people i think today wonder after the end of the cold war why nato lo and behold radius it is 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 some ferrites 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 our new strategic goals back in november libya has launched the allies did dischord

some countries don't want to actually you know shoot ground targets. air targets which are in. 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 that the personal aspirations of a leader france was among the first to push for intervention france will also get in on what i call the imperial condominiums a really kind of african or is it a showcase in a new arms race military buyers love to have weapons sort of test and war if your weapon system is 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 the. fell the very ones french and british allies have been flying over libya. is it the opportunity to oust the kodachi regime it is u.s.

policy that often needs to go and prop up one more favorable to us foreign policy interests try to. shift it was of course to screw. the region a so-called humanitarian intervention that critics argue was never warranted but which now may be causing a humanitarian crisis we didn't stop a bloodbath but we are prolonging and perpetuating the suffering of civilians in libya 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 amid the allied infighting as well as rising costs in every sense that same question people have been asking for decades comes to mind at the end of

the cold war yet nato moralists are artsy washington d.c. . the libyan government claims that a nato air strike has killed eleven muslim clerics in the city of brega the coalition says the bomb was being used to coordinate attacks on civilians as you know to work or arrest record also thinks the alliance is intimidating the entire world with its look and campaign. we're talking about. you know global strike force and you know will they lose face will be would lose. in serbia last year for thirty years and there are. some states they want to start completely. from the other nations around the world they receive to the cities you have to bring peace in the united states britain france germany or sweden. or work lines of. france for our financial services this is what you are through with this

is working for you if you don't play ball with this. geopolitical terms this is a dangerous organization as we approach the world through world he really needs to you know certain strongly support this we're going to the united nations and not a u.s. led military it's in georgia resorting ground works around the world. right now turning our attention from libya syria syria where security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters killing at least six on friday soldiers trying to head off demonstrations by occupying mosques and blocking public squares the sort according to eyewitness accounts meanwhile international pressure is mounting on the syrian authorities over the brutal crackdowns in other states is more serious that it would pursue additional steps to hold the country responsible for its gross human rights abuses now along with the e.u. the u.s. has already imposed sanctions against the country which are examining whether president bashar al assad's eleven year rule is legal human rights groups say as

many as eight hundred fifty people have been killed since the start of the revolt against assad's regime. but you can always get all the latest information on everything that's happening in north africa and the middle east you can do so via our facebook and twitter page i think you'll also find out more on our developing stories as well as photos and videos and polls and make sure you take a look next time you are online. of. the same. suit the. same. since. you know without a lot from oscar 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 the site looks set to be crossing the finish line right on time the russian riviera is basking in the developments of the country's most anticipated sporting event has approached let's cross life out of control about who is following the action for us and by peter so what is certainly a prestigious event for russia here but what does what is hosting the two thousand and fourteen winter olympics mean for everyday russians. oh this is a fantastic opportunity for russia to show what it can do on a global sporting scale the winter olympics the olympic games in general if biggest thing around when it comes to sporting events and there's also huge support for the for the for the this will take place at those winter games here in russia i mean question of course are some of the the top athletes when it comes to competing in the winter sports and they're all looking forward to seeing those there's

a face perhaps a little plastic on home soil in sochi and they managed to do it in two thousand and ten in vancouver does a lot of proof. for the sportsman taking part this is so they can bring home more gold on home soil to mark this one thousand day mark to the to the game starting these events taking place across russia the clocks now ticking down in sochi and. across russia as well is that we seeing people celebrating this eerie moscow the final days you can see behind me chucking it down with rain people have been out in about one of the city's biggest parks they're flying the flag of sorts the twenty people would seem taking part in a. one thousand meter fun run the fun skates if you will those people taking part on roller blades and roller skates plaintiff like they're in the city officials have been climbing all of the biggest mountains in the area to put the front that's like the only at the top there and also to celebrate the games. i think the made events though will be the two musical spectaculars that are planned for both

a remote and in sochi to commemorate the day the world will the one thousand day mark of the games coming to russia well enough instead obviously a huge amount of preparation ok so here time is russia ready or going to be ready to host the games. well they made a lot of promises in the bidding process and wowed the judges and the i.o.c. from the international olympic committee that they could put on something that had never really been seen before you mentioned that sochi is the the russian rivière it's more of a summer holiday destiny however this the nation i beg your pardon however the mountains around across napoleonic they are excellent and full winter sports but a lot of construction has to be done and it's a lot of construction on the way and some that still needs to be completed not just the the huge stadia that have to be built but also road networks train networks hotels of course have to be filled there's going to be thousands of people polled

from all over the world coming to sochi to watch those games but as my colleague there is sports you know reports from such it seems that the construction is going according to plan. a miracle with the making of construction the city still showing that was the spent during its final stage so less than two years to record this joint structure like most of the venues here in sochi it's being built on schedule and we do not all the facilities here except maybe for the main olympic stadium well have to be completed by twenty twelfth so that they can be used during test competitions. because that would have less of construction effort was launched in two thousand and seven when sochi won the olympic bid believe the construction sites no consume hold and half the region cement supplies over three hundred fifty thousand tons more than eight and a half thousand workers take part in the project three hundred of them are foreigners if any use this. stadiums and ice rinks include broods channels bridges

together with new schools and hospitals they will leave a lasting legacy for the tropical black sea resort so there is great excitement high hopes some diversion city resting on the big event that might go you can see the preparations you will there are being built the streets are cleaner. more tourists will con the olympics will bring festive mood into town. i think the medals rubio was and was this team will be formed better at home. cooler beer hair and snow leopard have been recently picked as the olympic mascots less than three years time 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 you thought your one big vision is going to be as grand as rush imagines every minute counts or is completing the mammoth construction now for a long time and in budget there is more ski r.t.

sochi. you're with i think it's good to have your company today and still to come this hour the mighty volga one r.t. as we take you on a journey along the longest river in europe it's been in the back of the russian economy and an inspiration for its culture. well known by its probably best known as the birthplace of one of india's greatest exports that of bollywood like many of the country's more cosmopolitan cities it's undergoing a constant change thanks to an economic boom but for the millions living there there's only one issue that dominates their daily lives and that's the issue of clean water parties chris read an article saw just how hard life in mumbai can be on a day to day basis. 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 fake up at six am and walk to

a village that is one in half of reka get to book of soft drink in water. this is shana mana got but she's twelve years old and her life in mumbai literally revolves around finding water is going it at the end i don't go to school because i have to work at home my mormon dad work as liberals 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 aren't entitled to government services like water even after walking hours to get to a tap the water only runs at specific times for sometimes as little as ten minutes . well the people in the gulf by his 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. want is a moment i house wife despite living in a more modern apartment so want to house to schedule her day around when she can get larger. we did want to at four am for one and a half us since we just get it for just one and a ha far we have to wake up early and get all our work done so want us to fill the tank on her roof during the time the city gives her access to water and if she needs more than the tank of water she's able to fill she's out of luck bar is an issue that seems to affect average one here and by about there is a one man managed to escape the problem is there is more pay somebody and is worth

twenty seven billion us dollars and pay house there are hydroponic hanging gardens swimming pool water and he reportedly years of five hundred hours leaders of water every month it's something that angered many here well most are used to seeing the great contrast between rich and poor on a daily basis they believe that its access and waste that is unfair. we have come to give them would undermine want to collect good from being used if there is a shortage or for it to be a grilling to give him or if you came here to get him this i'm going to stick 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. but i feel that in our house we get larger for only one and a half hours whereas the have enough water the one day even to waste it a constant battle to meet their dealing it's preassure either r t mumbai india.

and those are more on the way for you here at r.t. including to share and not to share with us decide whether to raise its debt ceiling americans speak out. the only political system that's kind of relevant to christianity is socialism no i don't think jesus would be very happy with us not sharing. just now getting to twenty minutes past the hour here in moscow you with r.t. let's go to some other international news and pray for you and israeli security forces clashed with palestinians in east jerusalem and the west bank on friday just ahead of the day some protesters hurled stones at soldiers who responded with water cannons and tear gas reports say at least one person was killed and nearly a dozen arrests that day marked the founding of the state of israel in one nine hundred forty eight after which some seven hundred thousand palestinians fled or were expelled in the water and see that palestinians want east jerusalem to be the

capital of the state they intend to establish in the west bank and gaza. egypt's interim ruling military council has vowed to use all means to crackdown on what it called deviant groups threatening stability and security meanwhile the wife of ousted president hosni mubarak has suffered a suspected heart attack after being detained for fifteen days in cairo as part of a corruption probe the couple are accused of having abused their position for personal gain with the former president also facing charges over ordering the deaths of. 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 searches south of the capital thousands that were attending the funeral of another demonstrator killed on thursday people across yemen demanding an end to the twenty year rule of president someday however the

leader remains defiant saying he will use all necessary means to defend his position. now with the u.s. debt ceiling already at a staggering level americans are less than happy about proposals to raise it and while obama and congress struggle to reach a compromise our own resident in the big apple lori toughness to look for a solution on the streets of new york. if the us stops borrowing money it could negatively affect the whole world economy if it continues to borrow money it could keep related burden it's too heavy to carry so as the us fast approaches the debt ceiling of over fourteen trillion dollars that congress just put into place in two thousand and ten should it consider 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 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. to link to an 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 but were ever were just a small percentage 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 at all you'd be willing to pay more in taxes yeah a little bit i think it's patriotic i do too what's with that and 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 and 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 what's happening middle near froze disappearing there should be happening do you think middle america is aware of the corporate sizing of america it seems like people don't even realize how and twined bad you know i would agree with you i

think middle america they're such good citizens nobody wants to make it any they want to be rabble rousers you know they want to be included in the whole process but when you see people from a vehicle make united three million dollars or seventy million or whatever or a.b.c. making forty five min and what happens with the big 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. situation you know you look at what's happening with trying to. get to be economic situation for the time being in a pretty bad there so. the whole system just means that. 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 seventy four times since nine hundred sixty two i think it's safe to say that it's going to be raised again very soon.

we continue exploring russia with our close up team checking out the country's most fascinating places. and this time we're in the volgograd region it's about about a thousand kilometers or so south of moscow the region is divided by the mighty volga river that's the longest in all of europe the river has long been the backbone of the russian economy and an inspiration for its culture but despite providing so much human activity is also causing huge damage artists investigate what great river is being harnessed or is being accused. of the mighty volga it runs deep to the russian soul it has provided inspiration for songs and poems and is the country's main north south on tree and decades ago

schumann ingenuity connected it to the dawn river to the west the image of the for centuries people dreamt of connecting the two rivers now this canal essentially joins distances to get. the vote the dawn canal is an engineering marvel within a day a vessel can pass the canals thirty 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 cowers 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 slow damage the damming of the river has done especially to russia's prized sturgeon the source of caviar in the president of the hydroelectric

plant has done significant damage because it stopped fish swimming up the river to the spawning grounds they turned back and start swimming down. stream now we don't know where they are. within a year all these houses would have gone fall into the river. to pentagon 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 canals who. let's see if you will little we can only look through 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 small chips or half loaded ones . control of the river flow by the plant has made building the boulders for the plane more attractive serious floods are less likely but the water that is put into the drains is taken away from the fish that need it. when people started building

on the flood plain the places where the fish pond don't flood anymore and most of the spawning grounds are now gun and 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 rivers benefit not just its own. for the first time in fifty years the rules will contain a point on meeting biodiversity in the river will still have a chance to bring the vulgar back to life meaning that the mighty volga is treated with the respect it deserves tom barton. will be remembered as with much more at dot com that's our website of course there's plenty to explore including in-depth news coverage analysis and blogs for example russia scores find out how moscow and st petersburg won the right to host the hockey world championship in two thousand and sixteen. and if you ever believe that the exhibits in

a museum secretly come to life after the public. now have a chance to find out yourself. all centers open all night for free as part of the international night at the museum and those details are not some time. right now i must go out with mark niger's is coming up a hero nazi got to be right after a recap of our top stories and not just a few minutes. long and.

repairing a broken nation. highway construction and humanitarian aid. buses shady officials spoke at the spoils of war it's the people who paid the price. profiteering here is no longer just down to drug trafficking. afghanistan and the job. cuts. in some pieces but it is available in grown to tell your.