the track on. live from moscow this is r.t. warm welcome to futures join this it's now eleven pm here my name's kevin zero in and first eleven bodies have been pulled out of a freezing sea off russia's far east coast where an oil rig capsized and sank on sunday crews are still working to recover other possible victims seen in the water earlier a life raft was spotted which was initially thought to be carrying fifteen people but sadly it turned out to be empty fourteen were rescued from the sea shortly after the rig collapsed but several dozen are still missing artie's jacob grieve is in no second linsky in the coastal region where that disaster unfolded. it's looking increasingly unlikely that any war survivors will be found search and rescue teams who have made contact with lifeboats and life rafts for out the course of the day but no people so far no survivors crucially have been found as

a very similar story to that of sunday and largely this is owing to the fact that this all wreak sank so quickly in bad weather conditions that swept away many of these lifeboats before it seems people could board them and we're looking at a very grave picture present if there are any survivors though being in the water for well over twenty four hours now typically given nighttime conditions that means planes can't fly and can't we use to try and search out any signs of life indeed throughout the course of monday we have seen the number of people found dead and mounting as for those who have been found alive for so far fourteen in toto took place on sunday where they're plucked from the water shortly after the sinking of this oil rig for the were immediately flown out to sakhalin here for further treatment a day have been ruled that they're in

a fit and good state and that she those four have undergone questioning in it because certainly in this case the criminal case has been opened to try and find out what exactly happened some of the theories that have been put forward so far looks or perhaps as this oil rig took on a significant amounts of water which meant it sank very quickly it's all occurred approximately two hundred kilometers off the coast of south carolinian in russia's far east as it already has been towed to a port by an icebreaker a very bad weather conditions now of course the search and rescue operation is still ongoing there are many more still missing and expecting it continue throughout the course of the evening. well arty's crews in the region are following the latest developments for you hopefully over the coming hours we're going to show you more of how the rescue is progressing from both here in the sea as well as hearing from those relatives desperate of course for information about their love

of this coverage here on our web site tragedies through the eyes of a witness to track down an eye witness a survivor recalling the final minutes before that oil rig capsized the details from him on our web site are. japan's voicing fears of a possible military escalation in the korean peninsula after the death of the north's leader kim jong il the warning follows a state of emergency and military alert cleared by south korea china internes expressed its condolences but is also reported to have sent troops to its border with the reclusive state it's all being driven by fears of a possible succession conflict now as the late leader's youngest son kim jong un prepares to assume power the country has declared a period of mourning with state t.v. showing outpourings of emotion from across the country he said this is now a reports of the man who personified north korea's communist state. a mystery to the world what now for north korea with its leader kim jong il dong this

massive military great was held in two thousand and eight to mark north korea's sixtieth anniversary general can john wasn't there to greet the crowd reports suggested he suffered a stroke in two thousand and three reports claimed kim jong il died of diabetes and had been replaced in public by stand ins hired previously as a security measure he never spoke to the media had a profound fear of flying and ate with special chopsticks which could detect poison rumors have surrounded the so-called supreme leader throughout his life beginning with birth according to one source he was born in the soviet union in one nine hundred forty one during his father's exile all kim jong il's official biography claims his birth was heralded by the appearance of a double rainbow. our people take pride in the fact that they are blessed with great leaders from generation to generation. the leader of the democratic people's

republic of korea since one nine hundred ninety four he succeeded his father kim il sung keeping korea close to the world kim jong il was also named supreme commander of the people's army one of the largest in the world with one million active troops and over four million reservist it's believed enormous funds allocated to its military might ate up north korea's resources needed to fight famine and other social problems but kim jong il and his regime tried to put on a different show when allowing the globe a glimpse inside one of the you know in our thought or the general. thank you so much you know after the korean war the demilitarized zone was drawn up sending north and south korea into very different directions. decades on the north remains a closed communist state the south a modern democracy and innovative success story north korea has caused global

outrage in recent years has two patients by carrying out underground nuclear test and short range missile launches leading to us in un financial and military sanctions it is now not a matter of the united states and north korea it is really a matter of the region saying to north korea that it has to change its behavior russia has tried to be a mediator for peace on the peninsula by pushing for negotiations or in the asia pacific region this serious potential for conflict and there's no alternative but to set up dialogue and improve understanding between the sawyer in twenty ten new cars blew up around the north with talk of the possible next leader that's when kim john on became a four star general and first moved into mind to take over for his father november saw tensions reach its highest point in decades after the north launched an artillery strike that left four dead south korea continues to hold large scale war

games with the u.s. and japan and want to conflict would break out if another attack was launched now came john on a young and inexperienced leader is up a helm and will either open the door or continue to keep it shot this were a way station was built in two thousand and two with hopes of connecting seoul and pyongyang but the north korean regime backed out at the last minute making this the last stop train heading back into the south now with kim jong il that there is a new poll that perhaps soon we could see a train heading in that. setting light on the most secretive and reply. in the world and he's now our team korea where tensions across the korean peninsula are at a pig then as the world waits to say what direction the north new leadership set to take a discuss what the. he is talking to a dependent in this to make sure it's him hi there thanks but in the program give me your thoughts can go he'll spend fourteen years preparing to take power for his

father camille mono only three indeed most of the rest of world saving for less than that it is the blessing of his late father enough to secure his position is needed you think. and well we shall see that's true he's only been around for three years in the public light he went to school in switzerland apparently he knows a lot about how the internet works and he knows a lot about social media but beyond that we know very little except he's been appointed a four star general and it did take kim jong il who just passed quite a few years to actually gain total acceptance with the power structure there with the powers that be there in the in the party in the government to actually you know take firm control so i think that's an open question well you say we made a four star general you know we know that what does that mean in the hierarchy of how does that cut anyway with the with the other generals over there maybe some higher up i guess. well i would say it probably would with the military but

obviously he has no military training very very you know this zero next to zero military experience but i think what these two leaders this closely held leadership in north korea once is a symbol of their regime and this is a clear you know successor symbol they can they can use to continue their power and i think the fact that it took two days to announce his death and they announced one hundred fifty person you know funeral committee means that they have the people lined up behind them have been you know on this decision and they're getting ready to move forward on whatever was going on before in terms of the kinds of discussions with the united states south korea with other countries including russia about this pipeline that may be built through the koreas how much power does kim you know we were already had today reports of a rocket being launched from the north but as he begs himself is there a worry that he might want to put forward some of the show of force to prove that

he is all powerful. well that's the kind of speculation that's going on in the us media today i don't really see any sign of that yet this missile test was long planned and had it been there's been talk about it within the department of defense here in washington for a couple of weeks that they were expecting another missile test and of course you know if you're going to have missile capability you have to test these missiles i think the best thing the united states in the surrounding powers could do was to get would would be to get negotiations moving to put an end to their missile program and i think that's a possibility as far as foreign policy also pressing is well the nuclear policy that the countries adopted so far is it business as usual. well i think over the last couple months business as usual has been changing a little bit it was interesting that yesterday the associated press had a story that the united states the obama administration and north korea were close

to an agreement where the united states will continue to send food aid and in exchange north korea was going to put a stop to its uranium enrichment program this was just a story but it's been discussed quite a bit here and i think there have been these kinds of discussions going on so i wouldn't i wouldn't quite painted as any kind of crisis until there's a sign of it i think i see signs that there are some serious discussions going on to end this nuclear standoff and perhaps get things moving and in a better way forward for the international community and for north korea itself north korea's also says a political battleground between china and the u.s. what moved you think we'll see next from the u.s. . well that's unclear i would i would expect that the clinton administration if there were any the obama administration was serious about these these talks are trying to have an honest restart again on the nuclear issue if they're serious

about that they will make some you know reach out to the new regime not necessarily to this new successor but people they have been dealing with already and say you know they're ready to talk on the food aid in uranium and so on and i think that's that's kind of what i expect to see but clearly the military the u.s. military is watching the situation very very closely and they've already said they've seen no unusual movements north of the d.m.z. which by the way it's important emphasize that that line was drawn right after world war two not after the korean war that that division has been there since one thousand nine hundred forty five and since it was drawn by the former u.s.s.r. and the united states ten things your thoughts thanks been on the program tonight to a shark independent journalist there thank you. thank you syria has signed an agreement to allow arab league observers into the country to monitor the regime's dealing with the unrest the league hobbs threatened to ask the u.n.

security council to take action unless damascus gave the green light let's talk about this no significance and go to beirut based political analysts campbell was looking at some of them from beirut the hi there i mean it took so long for damascus to allow observers into the country what will this step achieve in terms of resolving the conflict in syria do you think. well obviously syria took the brave step today because allowing the us observer said from the beginning those observer are well come to see and witness what is taking place in syria especially there is terrorist as the syrian chemical stories are going to stop if i may just stop you said it took the brave step can you outline why you use that. because you have to remember syria is an independent dependent country has its own sovereignty and those those initiatives by the arab league they want to fringe in the first place on the sovereignty of

syria and they strengthen syria and they apply economic sanction and they try to take the file to the e.u. un the fact that the syrian was able to a man. to actually balance with the national security and was the sovereignty of the country then syria in front of this huge collision which actually threaten syria every day was able to manage and to put a lot of pressure on the on the arab league to work the way the syrian national interests will work but at the end of the day was it not the moves of the arab league and the height of international pressure that kind of force syria's hand to say yes we'll let these people in finally. well i think the syrian spoke

very clearly they don't have anything to hide they have to or they let those observer to witness how the weapons smuggling from turkey from levanon and from jordan are coming into the country and how these what bin infiltration cause in. those how to feed into those terrorists and how they terrorize certain area in syria today. there was a propaganda actually launch by some satellite out of satellite trying to bitrate a different pictures i was in syria just two days ago i was in damascus there is nothing. when i was there i went to the cafe i went to a lot of places but when you listen to that satellite they you think there is like the whole war is going on so there is reality and there is a propaganda and i think the observer on the ground can testify to some of the

facts on the ground and you don't have to say there is an eyewitness and actually there is somebody invented the witness so this is in a way the observer if they coordinate as was requested by the foreign minister could be an indication and verify the syrian account that those country who said they want to help syria they are actually working to destabilize syria ok well the opposition leaders let's just talk about what they want they still say it's not enough for the opposition leaders continue to call for a different type of intervention a military one why are they doing this. well obviously because they bent arising that country and they've been smuggling weapons and they actually they feel they lost what they hoped for they can change the regime in syria today they're their dream of a change in their regime and collapsing of the regime did not matter allies and i

think after nine months of that international coalition western and some gulf country against syria syria was able to steadfast and prevail over all the obstacle that has been put by these country i think there is a map that has been drawn for the middle east and they wanted some somehow for the regime of assad to topple because american got defeated in iraq and and was forced to withdrawal from iraq and they wanted a regional mob that for some how to bleed america and to please the persian gulf and i think the way things are going it didn't please them but there are a persian gulf and it didn't please what they called the opposition and that's why you see they don't really want to negotiate those opposition they don't want they

want to still continue the process and to geisha and causing instability inside syria over for the story very closely thank you for your thoughts on it and your viewpoint barrow political analyst come always in a thank you thank you. coming up in just a couple minutes on r t continuing crackdown on an endless uprising is violence in egypt raises into a rage and volunteers for a day with gun fire from government troops and the country's medical officials raising with death toll now to fourteen populates developments from there. but legs israel says it plans to build over a thousand new homes in east jerusalem in the west bank it's part of a speeding up of settlement construction in response to palestine succession and to unesco palestinians say peace negotiations are impossible while settlement expansion continues artie's paula slayer's following developments. what we're hearing is that the israeli government has announced it will be building more than

a thousand housing units across the green line on palestinian land now the purpose of the housing units is to try and help alleviate the shortage of accommodation particularly among young israeli couples in the jerusalem area but no doubt this announcement will draw the anger of the international community as indeed have similar announcements in the past so it does not bode well for any kind of resumption of peace talks between the israelis and the palestinians it seems out a strong message that the netanyahu government is not interested in sitting down and talking with the palestinians while at the same time continuing to build settlements on palestinian land while we're talking palestinians in the west bank grating and this is because of the release last night sunday of five hundred and fifty palestinian prisoners from israeli jails this was the second phase of an israeli prisoner exchange swap that was carried out back in october you remember there that the first phase of this prisoner exchange deal started that will

ultimately see more than a thousand palestinian prisoners released for one israeli soldier gilad shalit who has already returned to israel now there was a time when clashes broke out shortly before the exchange last night took place these clashes were between israeli soldiers and families who were waiting for prisoners to come back the soldiers were firing tear gas and rubber bullets the palestinians were throwing rocks and burning tires so you do have this policy which seems quite strange to some observers on the one hand israel that hearing to a prisoner exchange deal and seemingly one thousand to move forward and create some kind of of negotiations with the palestinians but on the other hand we do have this flare up in violence and we also have this continuation in settlement building by the netanyahu government. middle east correspondent israel's aggressive settlement policy threatens to split the jewish state from its western allies while receiving no real political goal busta view anyway of dog. from palestinian israeli peace and

geo for the. the whole idea. of the palestinians by building another one thousand. and the west bank is a big mistake from the point of view of the israeli interest it is the direction that this government is taking and that they were. against. the palestinian. friends. in your. building in united states. you said. this is not the time neither have. you from the festivities to fire as independent deadly encounter with angry mob

burning dozens of buildings as their industrial action goes on how do we bring it out. so i want to get a moment why. say to get us out of the recession is already a tried and failed for me. about the reporting on. which discovered the hard way just. security forces have opened fire on anti military protesters in cairo killing at least three egypt's health ministry says the total number of casualties after days of renewed violence now stands at fourteen with seven hundred reportedly injured while ask and local blogger and journalist he told me the military rulers he thinks

are deliberately provoking violence not a single month has passed without the army creating some sort of violence there are so many reports that it's always the army that starts it always the army that instigates protesters and they've been doing very provocative. things we don't know what's going to happen after elections some people think that confrontation between the islamists and the military is bound to happen in the very end we don't expect that things will calm down because the way things have been running the country is really just like a mob running running the country rather than a real government. no other great show crosstalk is that weighing up the odds for next year's u.s. presidential race shortly tonight's program there in about ten minutes time first let's catch up with you there she got the latest business for you this monday night .

thanks kevin and welcome to the business program russia's prime minister vladimir putin is calling for a corruption probe at state owned power companies inspections will take place in the next two months and would include forums such as gas from the bank and the milestone an ounce meant was made at the country's largest power plant this is our cheese that is there with the details. the government meeting devoted to the power sector surprised many and it started in a routine way with large zimmer puton announcing new investments in the sector but when that was done the prime minister devoted how often not worth to naming people in the industry suspected of corruption he highlighted how top managers used offshore companies and i feel it's still siphoned off my he called these schemes a legacy of wild mind his and said russia has to make sure to check sectors worked in a transparent way. that if we want to good investment climate we cannot accept offshore

schemes any longer especially in the infrastructure sectors those who want to keep profiteering russia you're welcome it's in full compliance with the law but withdrawing money from the country through three companies cannot be accepted we need to pull the plug on the legacy of the arrow wild capitalism. what's different this time is that it appears to be more than a grand words officials and managers have been put a lot has cleaned up your act all software as the consequences that you are going to call a business are to siberia. it has been called the deal of the year by one of russia's business magazines the country's two stock exchanges have completed their margin the r.t.s. and my suits will continue to trade separate indices but the trading platforms cleary systems and data centers will be integrated the new exchanges expected to go for public listing in twenty thirty they need to raise at least three hundred million dollars the merger is an essential part of the government's plan to promote

moscow as an international financial center. but so have a check on the markets this hour your stocks so low off to comments from the european central bank chief injected a fresh lot of pessimism into the market. as european markets were lower as euro area policymakers discussed additional financial support through the i.m.f. and finally moving on to russia where the markets closed in the right the artist lost a quarter percent while the lights of spinners just. let's have a look at some of the individual shambles in the mind is that some energy may just war in the red bull and what about putin's speech that it's just to produce. more than three percent off to russian prime ministers said the company should cut its consumer prices by twelve and a half cent next year as monopoly gazprom also posted losses after vision this newspaper reported its spending may rise to fifty five billion dollars next year and precious metal might have pulled the metal gate and the company plans to

increase production by as much as twenty percent in twenty twelve and expect the goat fries to rebound two thousand dollars an ounce it seems from our all see capital outlines two main factors that affected the day straight. to the situation room gus form this book is known new almost six largely in the bag or new political pressure to raise taxes on the. loose is a fraud. investors and the nerd shareholders of the second biggest story. within the school month regarding the field this was a performance of just were pretty mixed so the those i would say were the key factors driving markets today. that's it from. another business hub days at eight am tomorrow.

told stories from ati hopes fate of finding more survivors from the oil platform that sank in the cold waters off brushes far east coast with rescuers failing to locate the missing workers. the cloud of uncertainty descends on eastern asia as the death of north korean leader kim jong il leaves neighbors on the edge with growing fears of violent conflict could follow his demise. and israel pushes for more settlements announcing over a thousand new homes in east jerusalem the west bank in response to palestine suppose.