they carry solid particles of dust and salt from the drying arabs see vast lush pastures have been all got robbed of their moisture. alexanders clad remembers all too well how it started thirty years ago. but out of their boat and 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 brochure the results achieved proved that it was possible not only to stop as its invasion but also to bring life back but there were not that but it'll take fifteen to twenty years for this land to become step again. you know 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 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 at the court in just going out because this is a collision and route one of the bushes planted to study this. it would be the roots can grow fifteen to twenty metres deep you know 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 if 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 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 with just 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 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 there even though it's hard to reach the desert is surrounded by rivers and marshes every july it hosts a festival the real. enthusiasms stay away from the proper roads for the trip to the festival location is an adventure in itself some travel across tyga and 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 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 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 probably. dimitri ran into problems as soon as 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 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 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 you can. early in the morning while the campus is sleep. and 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 shortcut to the desert goes through a marsh land and a pine forest we're going to explain landing in charge of the flies over the desert krasnoyarsk up with the passengers are always but will the two actually see sanjay and hear. that legend has it that want there were two brothers younger. and older can 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 a fair 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 ridge 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 who post 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 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 protective 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 block a western backed u.n. draft resolution on syria with moscow slamming the text for an unbalanced approach and denial of dialogue between government and opposition. other stories that shape the week riots returned to egypt as anger at authorities failure to prevent a deadly soccer ball spills over into four days of violent clashes that have already seen a dozen dead. and in russia's bitterest subzero cold hundreds of thousands join the record breaking rallies both pro and anti-government at next month's presidential vote.

midnight in moscow i mattress and bring you today's top stories in a look back at the week's news here on r t moscow says it's determined to help bring an end to the syrian crisis by implementing democratic change and sending foreign minister sergey lavrov to damascus for talks next week saturday russia and china blocked the latest u.n. security council resolution on syria saying it could cause even more bloodshed because it took sides in the armed conflict or he's worried important as the latest . tempers are still flaring because as we've been reporting this should be surprised that the security council did not reach a consensus on the draft resolution on syria yet western countries still pushed for a vote and russia warned from the very beginning that if the draft was not a did not address some of russia's concerns it would veto and that's exactly what happened now let's talk about these concerns because moscow said it just requested

some simple amendments would be made to the draft text that would have made the resolution a little bit more balance for example the draft resolution different and that the syrian government withdraw its all of its forces from the cities and towns and seize all all violence but russian officials wanted the document the draft resolution to also demand that the armed opposition groups stop participating in violence and retreat back from any cities or towns where it may have occupied the chemical as called the draft text that was presented saturday morning to one side with a list of demands being made on the assad government but no note of armed opposition groups operating in syria now while addressing the security council saturday russian envoy to the u.n. fratelli churkin said the security council was not created just for the sake of taking sides or interfering in a civil war of sovereign countries he also accused some some countries of sponsoring a campaign of regime change in syria those who are pushing for this resolution to

be adopted don't you sleep with them still you could put some influential members of the international community including those sitting around this table from the very beginning of the syrian crisis has been undermining opportunity a little settlement but i couldn't call regime change stirring up the opposition against the authorities and north because if anything to encourage enfeeblement methods of struggle the draft resolution put to the vote does not adequately reflect the real situation in syria and since unbalanced to go to the syrian side suppose this doesn't take into account the. proposals look as well as withdrawing syrian armed forces from the cities that this should be an inch to attacks by armed groups on state institutions and neighborhoods with a low balance year when the signal is now the u.s. delegation could not help but showing its frustration and anger why not participating in the meeting saturday morning we heard. you some language that's normally not heard in these diplomatic settings like disgusted in shame the united

states is disgusted that a couple members of this council continue to prevent us from fulfilling our sole purpose here. addressing an ever deepening crisis in syria and a growing threat to regional peace and security in the meantime russian foreign minister sergei lavrov is heading to damascus on tuesday to meet with syrian president bashar al assad russia has been very vocal in trying to get home sides participating in the conflict in syria to come to the table and start speaking to one another and maybe using some type of dialogue instead of violence to come to a peaceful approach so of course we will stay on the story and see how it evolves and works out as diplomats continue their showdown over syria thousands of demonstrators gathered in damascus in support of president assad crowds also praise the decision by russia and china to block the calls for action in changing the

country or work rose off from the group stop nato tells r t although moscow and beijing not to allow u.n. sanction intervention in syria there is a chance they could have intervened could still be trouble for iraq. but 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 not only a few of those laws here i'm hoping of course that the resolute stand to take on 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 they include 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 of the world it's

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 burn in syria could have occurred if it was and would be earlier possible route as long as the thirteen years ago without the understanding by those engaging with armed uprising that they would be supported by forces outside the. more than two hundred people were reportedly killed by security forces in the syrian city of homs just ahead of the vote at the u.n. security council but the government has denied the assault calling the reports i hysterical a campaign of incitement by armed groups editor of the syria tribune dr ali mohammed says the information from the opposition should be taken at face value. their words not believing the syrian army waited ten months and then just the night before the security council meeting it decided to start bombarding homes this too which in homs that's been difficult for the syrian. regime supporters for such

a long time and i don't see why the army would choose such critical timing just start it's a vicious crackdown and the strike it's the out of only cleans and just two weeks ago we had the arab league observers who could have gone there and investigate it but unfortunately they were pulled out for a little good reason and therefore there are only claims from this i. was it's claims from their side we cannot treat it with what's going on but i don't think that the army was chilly neighborhoods it's not like the syrian army this is number one and james like that happened before in fact in just a short and the opposition was not able to prove any of these claims over the past and months egyptian police have again fired rubber bullets in tear gas to drive a crowd of rock throwing protesters away from the interior ministry in cairo clashes between security forces and demonstrators in egypt have been raging for

four days and after dozen dead and thousands injured activists have been venting their anger over the military rulers alleged failure to prevent a deadly outbreak of violence at a football match wednesday artie's where if an ocean has more from cairo. things have been extremely devastating and terribly kilty communities of the last two days and also very tragic therefore would say they didn't massacre on wednesday when seventy four people died in a stampede at one of the city's football stadiums has become lifestyle the deadliest incident since a bar of alsip last february but it's also to get a new wave of clashes between the police the army and demonstrators that's actually become something common seen here in the. and where are all egypt the fact these people have been very weak to use following closely incident to use local forces especially the interior ministry will do nothing of allowing this to happen allowing these deaths also inefficiency and actually only showed over instigating

these trials in order to preserve the situation of instability in the country in order to eventually just to follow somehow. through terror and rule the generals from the supreme council of the armed forces they took power from mubarak last february and since then demonstrations actually have never stole shortly after this happened on wednesday the whole school football fans have come to the booths nothing to minister here in the central cairo just walks away from here seeking for justice and calling for amy did transition of power from the ministry to civil to situations unquote early presidential elections and since then twelve people have been killed in the last four days and twenty five hundred dollars have been injured who think that it's a terrible dissolve so i have to say while masood street is a narrow street this one the streets leading to the woods they built an old photo of the interior ministry here in prague with the queen many many people there

chanting and to miter slogans from time to time police has been firing tear gas at the times doesn't even show it's we've been able to speak to several people there let's listen to what they have to say about who's going and when it's going to stop people not just but this thing in addition to teaching the cons to the students are unbelievable in fact even people might die and that they will they suffocate each day children everything today they're trying them. not to light the fire and they don't speak for. that the child the seventy seven year old china it's over your news it's more than enough what they're doing to the protestors and that they're doing here. to the woman to the country and the children must be oh well as you can see situation is very volatile here in colorado and actually in several all the cities throughout egypt but we can also can talk. about several months sometimes well before we could see incidents. people from that ministration

old this stadium have been detained to their custody right now is that while the investigation goes you know say. for testers to months just recently the supreme council of the armed forces it. has also called for early presidential elections in the country stay with us here on r t this hour still ahead a change of tune a once a vocal critic of the prime minister now tells a different tale we do very few people he would say as many. as i did as well but you want to blame right here putin for the death of his son alexander litvinenko but now the former f.s.b. officers father has had a change of mind it offers his own theory to explain what happened. and the latest in the sit in for the u.s. anti-corporate protesters face a heavy handed police response we ask how the occupy movement will cope with

eviction from a park they've occupied since early october. but first saturday was a day for demonstrations in russia of more than two hundred thousand governed across the country voicing their political views ahead of next month's presidential race two of the largest rallies happened in moscow with supporters and opponents of the current leadership braving bitter cold to have their say it was the third biggest opposition gathering after the parliamentary vote two months ago that protesters claim was rigged now their main demand is for a fair presidential vote in march political analyst dimitri babich thinks there is no split in russian society but will positively influence the country's political climate. it's mostly just emotional. fueled by the media some people were obviously irritated seen the same two faces on television maybe too much in the last few months especially some people were terrified when they saw their position and it's small the ones and when they failed to handle the west behind it

so it's more sleeve media driven there is no real cost struggle behind it there are people and reach people in both radius there are people of all kinds of ethnic groups in both race so right now i think it's mostly a positive effect because it sort of wakes up the government to the needs of the people so until now the consequences motive more stability i hope it will continue in that wait if there is a real split in society of course it's not going to be good for the country author and researcher f. william engdahl things the west is funding the russian opposition to minimize the country's influence on the world stage during a critical time. it's documentable from the records of the national endowment for democracy which is a washington government financed. that's all over the place in russia their financing activists in. several different cities in russia i think really

their expectation is to create as much internal unrest in russia as possible to distract the prospective from new putin presidency at a time when russia is going to face challenges with the missile defense with the destabilization of the assad regime in syria the attempt to create regime change in iran and throughout the middle east and you raise or to try to divert any russian any incoming russian government from dealing with these crises they're trying to do the same template they used in ukraine with the orange revolution in georgia to bring saakashvili into power as a. president in that country and i don't think it will work in russia i whatever mistakes the. ten year has brought with it whatever discontent is i think there are a lot of things that have significantly improved over the last years since the time

of the yeltsin era. but that that really isn't the point the point is us interference in terminal russian election affairs is something that ought not to be tolerated and it's quite right not to tolerate it says more about moscow's rival rallies on the line as thousands gather for a day of protests and r.t. photographer caught the highlights on camera check out the big chairs on our facebook profile more on this and plus analysis and much much more also what are. its. iran says it won't give in to international pressure and abandon its controversial

nuclear program even if it's banned from selling a single barrel of oil it's tehran's hard line response to this week's approval by a u.s. senate committee of a package of sweeping new sanctions against the islamic state but the bill has yet to pass through congress as a whole the u.s. initiative targeting to iran's nuclear program follows the adopting a total embargo on iranian oil due to come into force in july the islamic republic in turn has repeatedly said it will halt all crude supplies to some european countries before summer tehran maintains its atomic ambitions are peaceful and seeks to prove it by cooperating more closely with the u.n. nuclear watchdog team of i.a.e.a. inspectors over arrived in iran this week and plans to return in february political analyst and he says keeping pressure on the regime is a key issue in the u.s. election. within american election especially now we're going into the election they want to put a lot of pressure on iran and. obama administration. lobbyist to

group inside the united states but i think they want to squeeze. the pressure on iran they want to. american. national community and i think what we have seen some european talk. again. i think american trying. to go to the extreme by trying to destroy the economy they've taken into consideration that iran is going through election. probably the thing this is going to backfire. against. i think they go in very far in this in this because this is kind of an implication for the world economy especially this escalate to a military showdown between the.