it's got very small shop who they damage the ground. bad choices in crop planting intense cattle pasturing and unfavorable weather conditions of all brought about an ecological catastrophe these daily winds that blow over counties contributed to the disaster they carry solid particles of dust and salt from the drying errol sea the vast lush pastures have been all that robbed of their moisture . alexandrov clad remembers all too well how it started thirty years ago. but i know there were a master plan of countering desert invasion was put together. when an emergency state was introduced in the republic almost all farmers schoolchildren and students were involved in seed collection and subsequent sowing works in the region. the results achieved proved that it was possible not only to stop does it invasion but

also to bring life back but it would not that it will take fifteen to twenty years for this land to become step again. we should remember that it's impossible to revive step in its original form on the open sea. the water our goal is not only to reinforce the sandy soil but also to create quality pastures that will foster the development of cattle breeding in kalmykia where. it's a tough task selecting which plants are fit for life in the desert and those that can help turn the desert back into step in bush's was selected by way of trial and error which. was one of the first scientists who proved which plants are most likely to survive here with a cord injured this is a collision and route one of the bushes planted to study the. it would be the roots can grow fifteen to twenty meters deep fifteen yet no one

it's a very convenient plant to use because it grows in the sand and doesn't require watering . when you get in the world enough scientists recommend planting cuttings of killing you know much the same way grapes are planted. on what we were hesitant at first but it turns out that it grows well after all even on certain people can't help wondering they tell us what's the use of planting sticks but after three months the sticks start to blossom. today residents of the county village of pecans kate will start another round combating the desert all they have is an old tractor with soviet era of quick mint attached to fight the invading sands the new agricultural technique of planting cuttings with the working team is composed of three people two technicians who plant the cuttings and an assistant who stamps on the ground around the plants to make it flat but one planting machine can cover up to twelve hectares of sand in

a single shift it is hard work especially considering temperatures often reach forty five degrees celsius one hundred thirteen fahrenheit in the shade in the first year the young plants will shoot out a strong and lengthy root system then every bush gradually gains a territory of about thirty square metres all to itself when the sand invasion is stopped the spaces between the bush rows will be filled with grass this is how a form of desert is going to become a pasture. there is a great variety of deserts and some of them instead of being a hindrance can be a natural wonder six thousand kilometers east of moscow in the foothills of the kadar ridge behind lake baikal lies the chara desert it is a unique place in siberia. tourists from all over russia visit there even though it's hard to reach the desert is surrounded by rivers and marshes every

july it hosts a festival the real. the c.s.s. stay away from the proper roads for the trip to the festival location is an adventure in itself some travel across tighe on rivers and trucked off road vehicles others had through the marshes on foot one group of thrill seekers fall by force has chosen an especially difficult route. dimitri balaban of the shy program from kazakhstan is the focus of attention his car is completely unfit for off road exploits yet he has travelled four thousand kilometers to join the band of adventurous. at u.b.s. i wish of course i'd never dared to go to such a place on my own. but going with a group is a different thing. besides the experience guys took a look at the route beforehand and said we should be able to make

a point but probably. dimitri ran into problems assumes the cars left the highway and the next five hours were very hard however his fellow travellers tell him it's the only way a rally across tigar is a real test but for the driver and for the vehicle. adrenalin is pumping the car is stuck the wheels are spinning and the terrain is getting more and more difficult now the participants will all experience the fun ships of travelling off road through the siberian tiger the crews will help each other out if not many of these cars will end up abandoned in the swamps forever by the time the convoy rives it is already late but the drivers for go exhaustion and start repairing their vehicles right away are the good with no i probably wouldn't want to come every year. because you need some time off but almost as if it's

a very intense kind of experience because you. early in the morning while the campus's sleep is son of an experienced hiker well acquainted with the area sets off into the sands his task is to check how safe the route is before the new arrivals hit the road to explore the charred desert the short cut to the desert goes through a marshland and a pine forest we're going to explain landing in charge of flies over the desert. with the passengers are always but will the two actually see sanjay and hear. that legend has it that wants there were two brothers younger. and older both were princes and they lived in peace and harmony really never was me until they came upon a treasure trove of gold they proceeded to divide it mostly but they could never come up with their hogs one always ended up shorter than the other and this led to fighting and civil war the gods were greatly displeased with it and turned one

prince into the kadar ridge and the other into the can rich while the gold they were fighting over became a stretch of sand between them and the first groups of tourists are approaching the charas sands. each person has to improvise a way of walking over the difficult terrain where the tiger ends and the desert starts the walk ahead of them is fascinating yet tiring the key to success here is to ignore the burning sun and insect bites of the taiga. there is no complete explanation as to the deserts origin one theory is that it was produced by centuries of winds eroding the sediment of an ancient lake. the lake dried out about fifteen thousand years ago and its former bed was walked on by packs of mammoths and woolly rhinoceros tusks keep turning up in the area to this day. charles landscape is a breathtaking combination of north and south brought together as if by magic.

there is no other doesn't like it anywhere else in the world these fabulous sights completed by the impressive skyline of the kadar mountain range the chara desert itself is quite small but just over fifty square kilometers. some members of the talk who post stayed behind in the camp there completing preparations for the relay competition on the festival's program it's going to be tough with over fifty experienced hiker's after the trophy. so that the who naturally our goal in coming here was not to take some wild rides in off road vehicles or like bonfires balls that are both of quite the opposite. we were trying to appreciate the beauty of the desert as it is then we'd like to make sure it stays this way for times to come that other some countries a desert is considered disaster just the char is

a place for us to get together and have a good time in a friendly atmosphere. just like today's festival we were usually going to be in. the relay competition route is set a few kilometers away from the desert the chara desert itself is a protected nature reserve and visitors only allowed on foot this is no place to host a competition but the protection of the law and the deterrent provided by the sounds themselves make sure that this one of a kind natural treasure remains in its original state. in the evening visitors are treated to one last wonder the sun setting over a quiet lake lights up low clouds and fog on the horizon creating an unforgettable beautiful picture. once the sun has set everyone gathers at a large meadow by the lake it is time for the awards ceremony and singing songs by the fire all just for listening to the music of the night forest by the slumbering

siberian desert.

syria is still reeling from escalated outbreaks of violence as its flights to new york where u.n. security council members seem unlikely to reach consensus on the. occupy d.c. protesters dig their heels in as they wait for a police crackdown after the deadline to leave their camp. and london security goes large for the upcoming summer olympics with tens of thousands of troops and the high tech spy drones all that amid fears the spirit of the games will be damaged by the show for.

worldwide news live from moscow city center this is c with me rule received welcome to the program syrian troops said to be pushing further into damascus into the suburbs around the city after seizing control of a key checkpoint moving the front line away from the capital and as the unrest runs high moscow has offered itself as a stage for dialogue between the regime and the opposition rejecting talks with president assad but it's sarah first reports there are concerns that outside players determined to throw fuel on the fire behind all the refuse. with the sounds of gunfire and hillary. yes of protests from the streets and the increasingly loud and numerous international

opinions britain needs to lead the way in making sure we tighten the sanctions the travel bans the asset freezes on can be hard to hear the syrian. the syrian case has developed as every side wants to push away the responsibility to a mother tossing the ball back and forth. in the last few days the situation has become so unstable the finding people willing to talk quite know has proven difficult. we've had tanks entering in firing and just enjoy or we've had six people who've died we travel to the suburbs where some of the clashes have breaking out to try to get a clearer picture of what had been happening here in the last few days when one of the suburbs of damascus at the moment now we were travelling to a suburb called and we thought it was a slightly safer area to visit but we just received a phone call telling us that it's not safe to travel there at the moment the situation is so volatile it goes to show you really that you simply don't know

what's going on in these areas even the people who are living in these areas don't really have the situation at the moment we make it into the suburbs job or using backwards the opposition that just last week had control of some of these areas has now gone underground so there was a funeral for a resident of who died in the fire his funeral people and his relatives were voicing slogans and called for freedom someone was shot dead during the funeral and we had to go and hide from the security forces. after it had taken to meet some members of the f.s.a. therefore the in the begins and some other members joined as well and those took turns to people they know just being arrested the meat changes and. the atmosphere starts to feel hostile so we leave such uncertainty right now it seems mistrust is rife. it seems not to have convinced the free syrian army that coming closer to the

capital would be simpler now this is harmful to the cause of bringing peace to syria and. everyone it seems is no waiting to see what if any outcome there will be at the un's briefing by the arab league's with having ground to a halt. to hold reconciliation talks is not want to be simply dismissed as many have already done they have do political aims they have two political reasons for. this for for feeding the conflict in syria i think they don't want that they're not interested in the form nor are they interested in democracy or freedom was the government accepted the invitation received mixed reactions from the opposition they size of being very clear in the past in calling for a syrian solution to a syrian problem that has repeatedly failed to communicate no opportunities for dialogue are running out fast. and with such desperate pleas from many

people here the opposing sides continue to make it clear they don't want to listen the calls the international action it's just going to keep getting louder surface r.t. damascus. meantime the syrian opposition has threatened that president bashar assad and his family will follow the fate of libya's late leader more market after a member of the syrian national council says the leader has lost his chance of a peaceful accent john bradley author of the book after the arab spring so the opposition is simply not interested in a peaceful solution. they're under huge pressure from outside powers who want these talks to fail even before they begin most obviously nato nature is determined to bring the assad regime to it's only as a prelude to invading iran saudi arabia is financially and politically back and back in the. opposition and has been widely reported to be

funding and arming the jihadi rebels who are leading this insurrection we can be absolutely sure that this is nothing to do with human rights when it comes to the west and even more sure when it comes to the concern of saudi arabia this is how preposterous the western media coverage is of this uprising rusher of course has that experience to durant and once bitten twice shy they know that if they support a u.n. resolution that even ostensibly is aimed only at protecting civilians it will be used by nato as an excuse to impose a no fly zone while the qatari isn't saudis fund jihad is on the ground and so russia is essentially crucial in all of this. and the battle over syria now shifts to the u.n. security council in new york as its members are set to negotiate a resolution on syria backing the arab league's peace plan. has

a preview. the united nations security council will hear a report from the arab league today detailing findings from its recent monitoring mission in syria this of course coming as an arab european drafted resolution on syria is already circulating among council members the draft calls in part for syrian president bashar al assad to transfer powers his powers to his deputy this draft resolution also says the security council could quote adopt further measures if syria does not comply with the terms of the resolution in the meantime russia has said it cannot accept the draft resolution in its current form because it simply ignores moscow's position in addition russian officials say they would like time to study the arab league's report in detail and not act so

swiftly or too swiftly now on monday the russian foreign ministry did invite members from the syrian national council as well as the syrian government to come to moscow to participate in negotiations and to get a dialogue started our viewers may remember that it was back in october when russia and china did veto a previous u.n. resolution on syria citing that the language that was used in that draft that was of course also written up by by european countries open the door for foreign intervention possibly foreign intervention similar to what the world saw transpire in libya. reporting right still to come for you in the program. whether you are twenty five nations agreed to a new treaty making it a sanctionable crime to abuse deficits well the czech republic joined the u.k.

rejecting that much. problems. in the philippines finds itself in the middle of a power struggle between two global giants turning the battle of wills to its own advantage. and he corporate protesters from the occupy wall street movement in washington a gearing up for tough police action they've passed a deadline set up by local authorities to remove company equipment from the city squares but it's artie's lives while discovered the activists are remaining loyal to their ongoing costs. so we are here at macpherson square where protesters have been occupying the park since october throughout the demonstration about one hundred tents have been pitched here the national park service has repeatedly slapped these notices on tents here macpherson square informing protesters that they can no longer camp out here that means they have to get rid of sleeping bags and any other material which allows them to live here protesters are responding by

painting that symbol on the notice which demonstrates the fact that they do not agree with this mandate there are tens can stay about their doors must remain open proving no one is living in it the notice warns protesters that violate the rule are subject to arrest and it's basically a symbol of opposition. to you know what everything this movie is opposing right now and so i think the tents are really important part of what you buy but police presence was sparse with no reported arrests they stand mostly on the sidelines refusing to answer questions from the media no one but occupiers made their message loud and clear they are not giving up the fight. as you can see protesters have erected a massive shadow over the statue here at macpherson park it's all a demonstration to the anticipated even action by park oh yes this is our tents of

dreams we want to be able to sleep here so we can dream of a better world where everyone has access to health care education housing and where the rich and corporations banks no longer have control over political system the federal government and the political leaders in wall street were all tone deaf they could not hear this so the occupy movement has offered them a hearing aid and they're getting our message loud and clear now the purpose of this was to unite us in this space so if they want to rest one of us the after rest all of us are not about us and washington. liz wahl r.t. . and i to corporate movements elsewhere in the world are also facing tough sanction not only from the police london bailiff runs his car through a group of demonstrators as a police just stand by and watch you can find out a full story from our london correspondent at r.t. dot com.

you with r t live from moscow i'm rory sushi it's good if you join us today let's go back to two of our top stories here the ongoing going boiling crisis in syria and that of what's happening in iran as well to discuss both issues further i'm now joined in the studio by the deputy chief of the russian a duma committee for international affairs constantine cost of thank you for joining us on r t today straight to that of syria the u.n. security council is set to negotiate a new draft resolution later on tuesday what do you think we should expect to see by the end of the day do you expect any action on this well hopefully we will be able to see here because i believe that we need to have a united position by the security council and its member states but perspective or

not they're good because the draft resolution has been to give the route that has been drafted to result russian pretty sad because participants result take into account our concerns and the major concern is still that these draft resolution is addressed just towards one part in the conflict namely mr his government in order to force them to resign and their view undermines any perspectives for a political solution for this crisis it is interesting how you bring in the fact that undermines russia's view. because russia had actually earlier vetoed a western backed resolution on syria and then we just had comments from british prime minister david cameron accusing russia of shielding those with blood on their hands when russia has proposed to be the mediator to bring the opposition and the syrian government to moscow to negotiate a peace deal why why is the u.n.

why would the west not take russia's motions here seriously because unfortunately the are not interested in a political settlement of this conflict what they are interested in is to get rid of mr us or his regime because they believe that syria plays a very negative role in more global or at least regional contest in terms of the ongoing processes in iran in west bank in other areas in the middle east region and this is called they do not accept mr r. so anyhow so is it so is the western position here is that just based on a regime change definitely years and i have no doubts about that in this this is not fear and this contradicts to the international law now we have just heard a comment out of a senior official in damascus saying that our president and his family have now lost their charge to make a peaceful exit similar to what happened to that do you see that happening no i believe that the whole have had

a unique chance to get course to give their arranging political consultations and most all this initiative was rejected yesterday by their position and the. reason the look there are no prospects to speak for this regime because this regime is out of question the will of the they will why because messages coming to syria from abroad from washington from brussels from elsewhere has had all this been this regime does not have a future he don't need to talk to them this is the wrong message shown by the message they have undermined prospects for political consultations and most. or elsewhere and this is how we will continue to see clashes in syria we will see blood casualty this week to unfortunately it will continue to happen not to due to the russian position but due to the position there you know that there are very very unfair position taken by the united states and there are always right now that tension out of that of iran are certainly another powder keg in the region the u.n.

inspectors are there now they're touring nuclear facilities tehran has even invited the un to talk atomic watchdog members to extend their mission there it would appear that iranian officials are cooperating and complying with western demands why then does the international community continue to rattle its sabers that iran will have no good answer on that because the nuclear program of iran is not a transparent enough this is true and they have many questions send. them many questions but is there inspectors are there and they continue to talk to each other and suddenly we see that anything iran does in this area is completely unacceptable for western media or for western politicians and again and again we should keep iran inside of this dialogue. we should try to give them a chance to explain themselves to prove that their program does not have

a military there are some that are saying that it doesn't really matter what the i.a.e.a. report comes out because the west isn't interested again perhaps like what you said with syria perhaps the west is also only interested in regime change in iran absolutely have no doubts about that the nuclear program of iran is just a pretext in this case of the same way it was a pretext and peaceful iraq when saddam hussein was blamed for developing destruction weapons program. proved to be absolutely false and then i'm afraid that in this case and peaceful for and these accusations may become exactly false of the same in the boat iraq but. it would be too late to to to to to discuss this issue because the regime would be so forcefully moved away by now let's get to our last question here and forgive me i'm running low on time circles of u.s. british french warships are already loitering around the iranian border some might sense they waiting for perhaps a possible for.