very rarely. the operation to free the remaining captives in the algerian gas plant continues as the military intervention that sparked the hostage crisis in tandem with france helping were take central towns in neighboring mali. the u.k. could be drifting towards an exit from the european union according to the excerpts of david cameron's speech but the prime minister remains shaky on calling a referendum on the issue and. the russian with his own culture you're the ridiculous and. i could tell you i'm simply exhilarated right now tens of thousands of people in russia including our very own theology as you can see take the plunge

for the feast of a pity. it is one pm in the russian capital watching r t with me marina joshie algerian armed forces are continuing efforts to free a group of international hostages from libya militants at a gas plant as many as six hundred fifty captives have reportedly been rescued with an unknown number of civilian deaths and manny still missing insurgents claim there are avenging french intervention in mali which is putting president francois hollande into an increasingly tough political situation boyko now explains. these are peaceful civilians from all around the world that were working at the facility they've suddenly found themselves in the middle of this very dangerous situation where the algerian military have apparently been criticized for going in guns

blazing you know the u.k. and the u.s. have already complained that they weren't really warned in advance that this rescue operation was taking place david cameron over in the u.k. has already warned britons to brace themselves for multiple casualties and for more bad news potentially on the way so many very surprised how quickly francois hollande jumped into this intervention just one week is a wednesday as strikes in the north of mali began with the crisis in algeria the stakes are really getting much higher we've got a number of civilian casualties from the u.k. from britain from japan all in this very dangerous situation and a lot of political analysts saying that yes all the terrorist attacks in retaliation for the french military offensive in mali of very much a possibility now we've also got critics over in the u.k. and in the u.s.

saying that this is the place that the allies of france are now paying for supporting this intervention that was quite a hastily planned and a bit of surprise announcement last week so of course francois hollande he needs to spin the crisis to suit his own needs and he said that the behavior of these militants justifies he says the french military intervention in mali up until a few days ago almost two thirds of the french public supported this military intervention in mali but for francois hollande that could change very very quickly as we're seeing these civilian casualties pile up this is turning into a very sticky and difficult situation for all loans and of course this is a man who was very today in los. in france for the peaceful credentials he actually said that he wanted to cut his paternalistic ties with the former french colonies but we've seen him jump into this conflict very very quickly and

a lot of political analysts are also saying that it could turn into a real quagmire and that these islamist groups these al qaeda linked groups could actually be much stronger in the region then the french previously anticipated so it could turn into a much longer conflict than anybody thought now france has meanwhile helped mali an army retake the strategic towns of qana and from al qaida linked militants conducting air strikes to support its troops on the ground the french contingent in the west african nation has now increased to eight hundred troops with more on the way french and u.n. officials have admitted that the islamists are better trained and equipped than initially anticipated prodding fears of a drawn out conflict nigeria has meanwhile agreed to up its military presence to over a thousand troops as part of west african led support forces the un meanwhile says that up to seven hundred thousand people could be displaced by the firing was one

hundred fifty thousand already having fled the country columbia university researcher dr yunus says that the french intervention is primarily sparked by the economic interests of the west. the economic crisis has shown that the western developed countries have. lost the economic competition against the new. players china russia south africa the great countries basically and now that tending to militarize this competition trying to expel the chinese from the region the natural resources are very important especially when you're because it's a very necessary element and resourceful france this is basically a new fight and competition over the resources of the african countries this is going most probably to spread into the region it's going to sects definitely libya because this is the largest border between mali and libya this and i see drug

dealers jihadists and fighters going back and forth we know that the two are a who fucks with gadhafi are not back with heavy weapons this could affect the whole west and north africa this is for sure we're not going to stop here but of course at the end of the day it's the population who pay the price. now analysts are suggesting the african may be a huge source of economic interest for western powers and they are linking the intervention campaign of mali to the country's vast reserves of natural resources the spine being considered among the world's poorest nations and has plenty to offer when it comes to valuable commodities well let's now take a look at the chart that we've got here the west african nation is a continent third largest gold producer as you can seem and trails only behind south africa and guyana and of course there are some forecasts which indicate that it could move in fact into the first place in the future. now am argy is another of mali's economic trump cards with its uranium deposits

numbering over five sounds and tons france relies almost entirely on the radio for its nuclear energy and has two major mines in the country paris could be aiming to diversify after its main source of supply share was threatened by major work force strikes meanwhile author william and dol says that the u.s. is concerned it will be left behind in the economic race as other nations seek to expand their presence in the region the critical strategical goal of u.s. foreign policy so you need a horn of see at present is to prevent a cohesive expanding eurasian lambaste from russia china to iran to northern africa and the rest of africa that could leave the united states as it has been so far just simple as that. so china has been turning its own sights to the kind of them by making huge investments the country claims that they are poor it as much as

nine point three billion u.s. dollars into the region from two thousand and five to two thousand and ten by the us sources say that the figure could actually be osiris forty four billion dollars and that number is expected to grow as well so mali is clearly a country of paramount geopolitical interest for some of the world's leading economies and you can get more analysis on the issue in our full interview with author william and on our website which is r t v dot com. download the official publication to yourself choose your language stream quality i think joy your favorite. if you're away from your television or it just doesn't matter how would your mobile device you can watch your t.v. anytime anywhere.

now in the u.k. could leave the e.u. and this is the prediction of prime minister david cameron revealing a preview of his delayed speech on britain's status within the blog meanwhile he has been wavering about the idea of an referendum saying it could be held after the next general election in two thousand and fifteen nigel farrar the leader of the u.k. the panel's party told r.t. sarah firth that the vote should be held right now. key to the ongoing hostage crisis in algeria involving a number of british nationals amongst others the prime minister had to postpone that long awaited fourth speech on europe but nonetheless some extracts of what he was expected to say in that speech have been revealed to us more about that were outside the house in london to talk to the leader of the u.k. independence party nigel farage the party that says we're better off out the. some of the excerpts that reveal quite a positive thing to that he does well positive in the sense of you know he's using

euro skeptic language to pursue a europe agenda she exactly what harold wilson did forty years ago this speech is happening because of the rise of using it and the rise of you could has led to massive discontent on the backbenches in the house of commons and amongst the conservative party in the country that's what he's responding to so that's why he talked tough and says he was renegotiate but the reality of what he says if you read the subtext is that the e.u. is very good for us but it serves our interests and i promise i promise god to do my best over the next five years to do everything i can to keep britain a member of that union this issue is a key constitutional issue it isn't even about economics it's about who governs britain it's about are we dependent nation as a democracy and determine their own future or not and i want to referendum now promise because i want to say there's a lot of concern that if a person left the this is massively affect our relationships our trade

relationships certainly have a hit on the economy as a result of that what do you say to those concerns a classic scare tactics always employed by the status quo whether they're defending slavery for the called laws or e.u. membership you know transparently body with a whole series of shocks you know three million british jobs would be lost if we left the european union really really we import massively more from the e.u. than we sell to them would mislead is stop selling cars. we have the e.u. well i think we all know the answer and you think the person should be looking to trade outside the well you know what i'm saying is this that europe is aging europe as a percentage of the world economy is now below a fifth form in quite sharply it is gripped by eurozone crisis which is likely because of their fanaticism to keep it together to last for up to a decade and yeah ok europe is thirty percent of our overseas exports and it's an important market place but the rest of the world is more important to us and we're impotent because we're stuck inside this old fashioned nineteenth century concept

of a customs union we cannot make our own trade deals anywhere else in the world let's have a free trade deal with europe like the swiss do and let's reengage with the rest of the world we've always see this latest postponement to take understandable reasons they don't see seen a number of delays already what do you think about that the fact that this is such a huge issue and we just. you know i've been waiting for years for this speech another couple weeks doesn't matter too much thank you very much for joining us nigel for us clear information about when exactly that big speech in europe will be delivered there someone is that it could be as early as next week and of course the latest place payment making that big speech on europe no less controversial. well human trafficking is on the rise in the u.k. once smuggled into britain mannie become victims of sexual and domestic slavery we were poured in that later in the program. and braving the winter water is russians take a dip to celebrate epiphany and wash away sins while manny do it just for the boss

the stories coming up shortly after this break. well. science technology innovation all the developments from around russia we've gone to the future covered. do we speak your language was anybody will or not a day in. the news programs and documentaries in spanish matters to you breaking news a little turn to defang those kids stories. you hear. that try all teach spanish find out more visit actuality. mission free credit patient free in-store charges free. range month

free. three stooges free. download free broadband videos for your media projects free media oh god r.t. dot com. welcome back now human trafficking one of the fastest growing forms of international crime is flourishing in the u.k. many small go into britain become victims of sexual domestic and labor exploitation where the number of people trafficked into the k rapidly rising over smith looks into what's behind this modern day slave trade. out to lots of the and. i was the one to know the claim cooking looking after the children. but i wasn't even allowed to take the kids to school i was locked inside

the house and i was nowhere and i opened the door. it sounds like something from an eighteenth century work house but it's britain today so it was trafficked to this country aged twelve now nineteen she's still too afraid to talk about her experience but the fact that she's played here by an actor doesn't make her horrific story any less real i was getting beaten by them and i was slapped and right i kept getting right. things i was like a slave never a time i kept. i kept trying to clean myself up and i kept getting called and she was shouting asking. even in the house is clean i still have to keep clean and eventually sarah's female employer threw her out of the house aged just fourteen with no way of contacting relatives at home she lived on the street for nine months begging until she eventually found help through ecpat an international group

campaigning against child trafficking it's a story that all too common and it's not just about domestic slavery according to experts many people are trafficked to work on cannabis farms in the u.k. and they're often kept in a perpetual cycle of debt or through fear of repercussions for their families but another sector that says is rife with trafficking victims particularly from asia is high street nail bars so next time you go for a manicure pedicure ask yourself who serving you and is the seller on that sell figures from the into departmental ministerial group on human trafficking show it's risen by thirty three percent compared to last year and victims come from all over the world africa europe and the far east. more than two thousand people live with two thousand victims there's a retreat. victims say they were just ten percent. twenty thousand.

this country. business for. criminal gangs this is the second most profitable thing to drugs and a lot less chance of getting caught that rise could be because more cases of being reported but chloe seta who works with trafficking victims including sara says it's partly down to a lack of police awareness only eight cases of trafficking were successfully prosecuted last year trafficking is seen not just in the u.k. but worldwide as a low risk high profit crime those criminals who have previously been smuggling drugs arms. into also children and people because a child can be recycled a human can be recycled the drugs that they have a crime so there's a number of ways of controlling it and once that happens they are literally sort of

assigned to the tracker for hospital time unless the authorities do something to intervene antony steen founder of the parliamentary group on trafficking is leading the biggest ever conference on the subject held in britain slavery is. a modern day slavery is alive and well and ten times the size of what it was when it was abolished two hundred years ago but prosecution relies heavily on his say evidence and testimony and huge numbers of victims like sarah never want to talk about their experiences again laura smith r.t. london. now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world pakistan is planning to free all afghan taliban prisoners held in detention that's according to a senior pakistani diplomat their leases are expected to bolster peace efforts with insurgents as the western military withdrawal from afghanistan draws closer the diplomat didn't specify the exact time of the move and whether the prisoners are to be transferred to afghan custody or freed in pakistan the u.s.

welcomed the decision despite its long lasting operation in afghanistan battling the insurgents who are now to walk free. but as well and president hugo chavez has reportedly been moved from the cuban hospital where he was receiving treatment to a secret location that's according to the univision t.v. channel is rumored to have been taken to a bunker specially built for former cuban leader fidel castro the move was reportedly made to avoid constant leaks about the state of health of the president and to prepare him for his return to make his way over the ailing leader has not been seen since his latest cancer surgery in mid december and missed his own inauguration ceremony. ukraine's jailed former premier you could be put behind bars for life the opposition leader is now being accused of ordering the murder of a prominent political figure and her business rival sixteen years ago to a shadow was already serving

a seven year sentence for abuse of office she denies the allegations and says she is the victim of a witch hunt by president viktor yanukovych. the u.s. has vowed to bag japan in a round with china over a string of disputed islands of alleged came from secretary of state hillary clinton during a meeting with japan's foreign minister on friday meanwhile three chinese patrol vessels have answered the waters around the islands in the east china sea claimed by both countries less than twenty four hours after the statement tension in the region has flared in recent months as washington demonstrates a shift and its security focus in the asia pacific region tens of thousands in russia celebrated the feast of a pivot taking part in traditional bathing by immersing themselves in icy waters the celebration commemorates the baptism of jesus christ it's also believed to wash away the sands with manny saying it keeps them healthy for the rest of the year are

all over braved the icy plunge. winter temperatures commonly fall below minus fifteen celsius in the russian capital perfect conditions for a swim say this lot they are part of a group who refer to themselves as a walrus club and they believe in the health benefits of taking a few subzero laps yeah she shouldn't lose quite prange khaled's all my life until i turned sixty when i took up i swimming and i've never had any kind of a cold since then you know as i was acquitted i used to have terrible back pain but it's gone now i'm healed and there were surely a natural cause but after i took up my swimming i regained my flexibility i could even do a proper like split and that's how it works i recommended to everyone it's the only existing cure to all illnesses and maybe this isn't a new activity in the tradition of the russian orthodox church will ship is marked the feast of the with

a late night submergence into the icy waters symbolizing the baptism of jesus to anyone thinking that they would like to give it a go i do have these woods from my own experience so when called here let's say i did provided that the first day i put that out of the play was mission so the russian legs aren't girl tell you you're there exertion. i could say i'm feeling very exhilarated right now. the head walrus at this swimming hole is bloody me going to be nk and he's the chairman of the russian ice swimming and cold water treatment federation and insists that no i'm genuine in medical benefits if you're the main way i swimming works for you is through blood circulation driven by cold and struggling to stay warm your body contracts its blood vessels so there's less blood pumped around the system so where does the excess blood go it goes to the vital organs that is why it's good for the kidneys and liver they are constantly cleansed. blimey it has also changed thrill seekers who want to push the abilities

of the human body to the limits. day of holds the record for time spent in icy water. spent sixty minutes in there and i helped him get out of that condition when he could hardly talk he couldn't even say mama he couldn't walk his arms wouldn't move but thirty five minutes later he was recovered and could talk to the press. the russian ice swimming federation has one and a half million members across the country and blah to me it does his best to drum up more support with his own personal guarantee for years for a little i jumped into a nice hole for the first time thirty four years ago i saw that people who did it are never sick and so i decided to give it a try now look at me fit as a butcher's dog. well it might not be everybody's idea of a good time but be it for health reasons or for spiritual reasons there's no

shortage of people willing to take the plunge all of a moscow well you'll never know if you don't try as they say to other stories now israeli sharing democracy worry poor it's on our website that thousands of israelis are given mating their right to vote in the upcoming parliamentary ballot to their palestinian neighbors by facebook. and russia you know it's you know me the country's witnessing relentless snow fall with streams cars and buildings buried under drift in siberia thousands are battling the life threatening blizzard so find out more at r.t. dot com. the artistic director of the ballet company of russia's bolshoi theatre was being treated in hospital for severe burns following an acid attack sergei filin was assaulted on thursday night outside his home in central moscow as he discovered fillin had spoken to colleagues of other incidents that had happened to him prior to the

attack. well the bolshoi theater the pride and joy of the russian culture is celebrating exactly one hundred eighty eight years since it was created but definitely this birthday celebration has been marred by this gruesome attack on a statistic director so gay feeling was returning from work on thursday night when and not notified man called him out by his name sid again turned around to respond and the man reportedly threw a ball of acid into his face we know that's a good feeling was taken to a hospital and the doctors have been battling to save his eyesight after cicutto office has launched an investigation a criminal case to determine who stands behind this attack of the bolshoi press officer sad that sergei was intimidated for several months his car tires were slashed human seed threatening phone calls and his facebook page was hacked as as we saw in the hollywood movie the black swan definitely the big stage is certainly a rather conflict zone and there is some infighting happening behind the scenes the

bolshoi theatre has never been an exception to that there have been stories of some serious infighting to get roles to get a prima ballerina positions we had heard many revelations from former artists of the bolshoi on that still we talked to the colleagues and employees of a feeling they were all shell shocked at what happened. and that it's an incredibly difficult day for us the dons companies an enormous shock it's really hot speak as with always what chilled to shoulder it's a brutal crime and i hope says responsible will be found and punished. to use a coworker over good luck the police should look into people who would potentially benefit from creating that sort of scandal and compromised the reputation of the theater just today surrogate was telling me how a couple of days ago he got into his car with his children and realized two things car tires were pierced he told me i feel as if i'm living on the frontline despite all the infighting and despite the fact i said. he was the one who was assigning

all the roles in the bolshoi theater still the bolshoi never made criminal headlines and this attack is something completely outrageous for the bush white theater but definitely everyone is waiting for the results of the first occasion for some of these preliminary data from the security authorities to see whether this could have been inside job and whether somebody inside the bolshoi theater could have been responsible for this terrible attack. why in just a few minutes albert off talks to the man who turned his passion into his job and that's the spotlight coming up.

hello again and welcome to spotlight the interview show in r.t. i'll be you know when today my guest on the program is. as a child again to talk to call ski learned english from bugs bunny and cartoons moscow born he moved to america at the age of seven and like every kid he was

a huge fan of katun son comic books but then he says unlike others you never grew out of it his childhood passion turned into a career marked with two emmys and a dozen other awards his cartoons dax's lab summary jack and star wars have millions of fans worldwide. you know he. is an american of russian origin his family emigrated from the soviet union to the united states when he was a kid of seven many people as can now he and his parents leave their own country to start a new life in the united states but only a few of them become rich and famous many people as that of their kosky tried to make animated movies cartoons but only.