cope with that 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 county contributed to the disaster they carry solid particles of dust and salt from the drying sea vast lush pastures have been all that robbed of their moisture. alexanders clad remembers all too well how it started thirty years ago. a master plan of countering that 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 there were not that but it will take fifteen to twenty years for this land to become staff again. we should remember that it's impossible to revive step in its original form on the open sea. the water 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 the bush is 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 injury this is a collision in route one of the bushes planted to study the. it would mean the reps can grow fifteen to twenty meters deep fifteen yet no one i

know it's a very convenient plant to use because it grows in the sand and doesn't require watering by the. minute you get in there were enough scientists recommend planting cuttings of killing you know 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 around combating the desert we'll have is an old tractor with soviet era of quick mint attached to fight the invading sands the new agricultural technique of planting cuttings we're used to working team is composed of three people two technicians who plant the cuttings and an assistant to stamps on the ground around the plants to make it flat 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 former 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 that even though it's hard to reach the desert is surrounded by rivers and marshes every

july it hosts a festival the real enthusiasts stay away from the proper roads 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 full by force has chosen an especially difficult route. dimitri balaban of the shy program from kazakstan 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 was 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 as soon as the cars left the highway and the next five hours were very hard however his fellow travelers tell him it's the only way a rally across tigar is a real test but for the driver and for the vehicle. adrenaline 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 traveling 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 arrives 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 it's

a very intense kind of experience because you. early in the morning while the campus is sleep. 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. for passengers are always but will do to actually see sanjay and hear. that legend has it that wants there were two brothers who are younger. and older can both were princes and they lived in peace and harmony or even if it was me until they came upon a treasure trove of gold they proceeded to divide it mostly but they could never come up with fair hogs one always ended up shorter than the other at 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 tiger. 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 form of bed was walked on by packs of mammoths and woolly rhinoceros tusks keep turning up in the area to this day. 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 rupert stayed behind in the count 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 the water to go 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 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 he would usually mean 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 one 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.

russia and china blocked the western backed a new one draft resolution on syria with moscow slamming the text for an unbalanced approach and denial of dialogue between the government and opposition. and other stories that shape this week riots returned to egypt as anger at the authorities as a barrier to prevent a deadly soccer brawl spills over into four days of violent clashes that have already seen a dozen people killed. and hundreds of thousands marching in russian cities in spite of subzero temperatures way from both pro and anti-government rallies in record breaking numbers ahead of next month's presidential election.

news incumbent coming to you live from the heart of moscow on charon tara the u.n. security council has failed to find common ground on the crisis in syria with russia and china voting against the draft resolution that they say exclusively blames the syrian government for violence both moscow and beijing say the text could cause even more bloodshed because it takes sides in the syrian conflict and favors armed opposition groups artie's marina port now has been following the diplomatic battle at the heart of the u.n. . in a matter of just five minutes after the meeting began russia and china both wielded their veto powers not supporting this draft resolution that was written up by the arab league and european countries while the draft resolution was supported by thirteen members of the security council russia was asking for some amendments to

russian funimation foreign minister sergei lavrov those amendments were not excessive and mr are a lot of said that russia was urging the west to accommodate moscow's concerns to reach a compromise on this draft resolution china during the meeting that it supported russia's amendments and said for the council to approach a vote knowing that there was a divide it did not help maintain the unity or the authority of the security council russian foreign minister sergei lavrov said that moscow does not support using the security council as a tool to intervene on a sovereign country that is experiencing an internal conflict he believes that could create chaos in international affairs so as we see there was to veto on this resolution it did not go through and it's because russia believes that as

the draft resolution was presented it had a lot of imbalances in it when it comes to the current circumstance in syria russian envoy to the united nations vitaly churkin did go into detail about those imbalances. that have some influential members of the international community including those sitting around this table have from the very beginning of the syrian crisis demining opportunities for political settlement by calling for regime change stirring up the opposition against the authorities and not hesitating to encourage and freedom of methods of struggle the draft resolution does not adequately reflect the real situation in syria. unbalanced signals to the syrian sides it doesn't take into account proposals that as well as withdrawing syrian armed forces from the cities this should be an end to attacks by armed groups and state institutions and neighborhoods. when the purchase foreign minister is scheduled to visit damascus on tuesday to meet with syrian president bashar al

assad this is a move to hope to to hopefully reach some type of peaceful approach or solution to the conflict still waging in syria the arab league has also addressed the media at the security council at the stakeout saying that they are extremely disappointed. over today's outcome but they will continue trying to work with the security council with the united nations to try to reach some type of consensus now u.s. president barack obama did also issue a statement of his own before the meeting began that evening that you know the united states is on the side of the syrian people that are posing the syrian president and his government and he said quote the assad regime at the time has come for the reason the assad regime and to change clearly the united states is pushing for regime change this is a sticking point this is something that russia does not support so we'll see what

takes place in the days and weeks to come but as of now the draft text proposed by the europeans by the arab league vetoed by russia and china. from the stop nato group says that although russia and china vow not to allow u.n. sanction for an intervention in syria there is a chance the country may still be bombed from the outside. what i fear is we may be see a replication of what happened in one thousand nine hundred ninety when the united states and its nato allies launched a seventy eight day bombing campaign against yugoslavia having failed to enlist chinese and russian support for un resolution against a few of those lobby i'm hoping of course that the resolute stand taken the principled stand taking the taken by russia and china against a resolution that we have to remember was sponsored by morocco and co-sponsored by a very interesting group of people the influence of the nato quality of the world the united states britain france and germany along with portugal to include all six members of the draw cooperation council that is the monarchies and camera in the

persian gulf this is not a representative group of nations of course in the united nations or the world is very select one is largely the same for the first a comparable resolution one thousand seven hundred three against libya last year you know armed uprising of the sort of burned in syria could have occurred if it was in libya earlier cause of all of those laws and the thirteen years ago without the understanding by those in gauging the armed uprising that they would be supported by forces outside the country more than two hundred people were reportedly killed by security forces in the syrian city of homes just ahead of the vote at the u.n. security council but that figure is being contested with some opposition groups putting it at around fifty editor of the syria tribune dr ali mohamed says information from the opposition shouldn't be taken at face value. but there were not believing the syrian army waited ten months and then just the night before the

u.n. security council meeting it decided to start bombarding homes. to which in homs are being difficult for the syrian. regime supporters for such a long time and i don't see why you could get the army which was such a critical timing to just start it's a vicious cracked down as described the art of only cleans and just two weeks ago we had the arab league observers who could have gone there and investigated but unfortunately they were pulled over for a little good reason and therefore there are only claims from this so opposite claims from their side we are not treated to what's going on but i don't think that the army wants really it's it's not like the syrian army this is number one james like that happened before in. just a short time and the opposition was not able to prove any of these claims over the best in months and yet some police south fired rubber bullets and tear gas to drive

a crowd of rock throwing protesters away from the interior ministry building in cairo classes between security forces and demonstrators in egypt have been raging for four days now and left a dozen people dead and thousands entr'acte activists have been venting their fury over the a legit failure of the military rulers to prevent a deadly outbreak of violence at a football match on wednesday our correspondent maria and also now has more from cairo. things have been extremely devastating and terribly killed to here these are the last few days and also very tragic the code so huge that massacre only one state when seventy four people died in a stampede at one of the city's football stadiums has become by itself the deadliest incidences where barak ousted last february but it's also true to get a new wave of clashes between the police the army and to the street is that has actually become something common seen here in the capital cairo and everywhere throughout egypt the fact is people have been very quick to use bolivian

incident to use local sources especially the interior ministry of doing nothing of the allowing this to happen allowing these deaths so we should see and actually fulfilled over instigating these trials in order to preserve the situation of instability in the country in order to truly just to follow and somehow think through terror and rule the generals from the supreme council of the armed forces they took power from the barak last february and since then demonstrations actually have never told shortly after this happened on wednesday the public school football fans have come to leave but it's nothing to the minister here in the central part of just walked away from here seeking for justice and calling for a may did transition of power from the ministry to civil the situation is until early presidential elections and since then twelve people have been killed in the last full day seven twenty five on the dollar and the thing to thing that it's

a terrible dissolve so i have to say i hope you can see the pictures right now as you can imagine. while masuda street is a narrow street is one of the streets they didn't towards the building over the interior ministry here in hollywood the queen many many people there chanting and to miter slogans from time to time police has been the firing tear gas. times doesn't even show that we've been able to speak to several people though let's listen to what they have to say about who's going when it's going to stop people not just protesting conditions featuring the concert the students are unbelievably effects even people who might die and that there is nothing teach the children everything today and john that's. not to light the fire and they do schieffer so. that the chinese the seventy seven year old china it's over here that's more than enough for what they're doing to the protestors and that they're doing to the world

that is the country. it must be or was you can see a situation is very volatile here in cairo and actually in several all the cities throughout egypt but we can also you can talk now about several months as well the following points to the incident the feeders and the people from the administration told the students have been detained and they're in custody right now is is that while the investigation is to go we can also maintain the protesters dimanche just say simply this a film called some of the armed forces advisory has also called for early presidential elections in the country. omar ashore from the institute of arab and islamic studies at the university of eggs that are says objections are tired of waiting for accountability to ship. supreme council of the armed forces has mismanaged the transitional process to a large degree the expectations on the egyptian street where rising that they will

be. power from the defeated civilian elected civilian in six months and therefore once you have elected civilian rule the investments will come their life the economic life will be back to normal there would be a formal restructuring of the security services that acted in a very aggressive and brutal way and. the mubarak era and all these expectations so the economy to enhance a better economy the dignity the freedom the bread the slogans of that evolution were not really accomplished by a year after that evolution that's why there is a protest last friday and on the university of that it would. wanted a president now an elected president now so that they can hold him accountable if you fail to be stored back the egyptian economy and if you fail to reform the security services. so i had for you this hour on r t a change of tune and once most

vocal critic of russia's prime minister now tells a different tale. very few people who would see as many horrible things are. warmer at first the officer alexander was killed in london and now his father explains why he no longer blames for his son's death and offers an alternative theory to what happened. plus the latest incident for america's anti-corporate protesters face and heavy handed police response we ask how the occupy movement will cope with it be fiction from the park they've occupied since birth we are told . saturday was a day for demonstrations in russia for two hundred over two hundred thousand people gathered across the country to voice their political views ahead of next month's presidential election two of the largest rallies took place in the capital with supporters and opponents of the current leadership braving the bitter cold to have their say it was the third and biggest gathering of the opposition after the

parliamentary vote two months ago which protesters claim to was ready now their main demand is for a fair presidential vote in march martin mccauley who is an expert on russia university of london believes the opposition lacks a viable leader at the moment. a very large rally is promised. in other words a week after the president's reelection and presumably that would be larger than this one the result of the election of course we are very very important because what these demonstrators want is if you like a clean election fraud and so on. it is up to the authorities to ensure that there would be cameras and so on if you look at the protest you have the legal voters who claim of the don't want to work with any politician and then use the citizens a larger version of the groups and so on and they are like minded people and so on the opposition will not come together maybe something russian maybe something russian. they don't want because you don't want to. arrive at

a single candidate the only way they're going to defeat. you know on the fourth of march is to a single candidate who is accepted by the whole opposition and there's no likelihood of this. pressure on journalists he says social policies are key and could undermine any of the opposition candidates campaign. i think the dark horse was too late in coming so we are seeing more or less usual suspects and even even if we take seriously proper up here i mean he's a he's a smart man and he's a rich man but. he's think he falls. in the category that he's not involved in russia we are rich and successful man we are not in america we are in russia and this is basically a social democratic country who has in store he's social policy going to give support to so many people that's why so many people who together to support him i

think that what is happening today is that there are so many people calling for sparrow actions my hope is that they will get the fair elections but i think that may be disappointed again because in cairo actions there is a fair chance that we can move. there's more about moscow's rival rallies line. for the day of protests and. highlights. the pictures on our facebook and there's more analysis on the other top stories on our website.

how around says a woman given to international pressure and abandon its nuclear program even if it's banned from selling a single barrel of oil it's a response to this week's approval by a us senate committee of a package of new sweeping sanctions against the islamic state but the bill has yet to pass through congress america's initiative targeting nuclear program follows that adopting a total embargo on iranian oil which is due to come into force in july the islamic republic in turn has repeatedly said it will stop all crude supplies to some european countries before summer maintains its atomic ambitions are purely peaceful and seeks to prove it by closer cooperation with the nuclear watchdog a team of i and specters visited iran this week and plans to return in february but some experts.