the operation to free the remaining captives in an algerian gas plant continues as the military intervention that sparked the hostage crisis intensifies with france helping retake central towns in neighboring mali. the u.k. could be drifting towards an exit from the european union that's according to excerpts of david cameron the speech of the prime minister remained shaky on calling a referendum on the issue also. the issue with his own girls right there exists a. i could tell you i'm feeling very exhilarated right now tens of thousands of

people in russia including our genes very own peter all over take the plunge for the face of the oppression a. warm welcome to you live from our studios in moscow you're watching r t with me and he said now it's good to have you with us two pm here in the russian capital our top story algerian armed forces are continuing efforts to free a group of international hostages from libyan militants at a gas plant five more foreigners have reportedly been rescued bringing the total to over six hundred fifty people the insurgents claim their avenging french intervention in mali which is putting president president francois hollande into an increasingly tough political situation archies polly boycott explains these a peaceful civilians from all. around the world that we're 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 were very surprised at how quickly francois hollande jumped into this intervention just one week ago 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 other terrorist attacks in retaliation

for the french military offensive in mali are 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 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 and and of course this is a man who was voted in last year in france for his rather peaceful credentials. he

actually said that he wanted to cut his paternalistic ties with 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. france meanwhile help them alone army retake the strategic towns of kona and from al qaeda linked militants conducting air strikes to support its troops on the ground now 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 prompting fears of a drawn out conflict nigeria has meanwhile agreed to op 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 fighting with one hundred fifty thousand already having fled the country columbia university researcher dr yunus of the u. says that the french intervention is probably rather loose sparked by the economic interests of the west. the konami crisis has shown that the western developed countries have. lost the economic competition against the new. players china russia south africa the brics countries basically you know that tending to militarize this competition trying to expel the chinese from the region the natural resource is very important especially when you know because it's a very necessary element and resourceful friends this is basically a new fight and competition over the resources of the african countries this is going most probably to spread in the region it's going to affect definitely libya

because this is the largest border between mali and libya this and i see drug dealers jihadists and fighters going back and hordes who know that the fox with gadhafi and all 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. well like we just heard analysts are suggesting that africa may be a huge source of economic interest for western powers and they're linking the intervention campaign in mali to the country's vast reserves of natural resources well despite mali being considered among the world's poorest nations it has plenty to offer when it comes to valuable commodity you can take a look here at some graphics that we've created for you the west african nation is the continent's third largest gold producer as you can see here it travels only south africa and gonna now there are some forecasts which indicate it could move

into first place in terms of gold exports in the future but energy is another of mali's economic trump cards with its uranium deposits number and over five thousand tons france relies almost entirely on uranium for its nuclear energy and has two major mines in the country where paris. could be aiming to diversify after its main source of supply in niger was threatened by major work force strikes meanwhile author f. william and all says that the u.s. is concerned it will be left behind 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 all of us here present is to prevent the core he's expanding your asian 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 just simple as that so china has been turning its own sights to the continent by making huge

investments the country claims they've poured as much as nine point three billion u.s. dollars into the region from two thousand and five to two thousand and ten but u.s. sources say that the figure could actually be as high as forty four billion dollars and that number is expected to grow so molly is clearly a country of paramount d. a political interest for some of the world's leading a common maze and you can get more analysis on this issue in full in our full interview i should say with william and on our website that's our dot com. download to show up location here so choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorite. if you're away from your television or it just doesn't go so well with your mobile device so you can watch your t.v. anytime anywhere.

it's coming up to nine minutes past the hour the u.k. could leave the e.u. this is the projection of prime minister david cameron revealed in a preview of his delayed speech on britain's status within the block meanwhile he's way wrong about the idea of an in out referendum saying it could be held after the next general election in twenty fifteen minutes of raj the leader of the u.k. independence party told r.t. sarah firth that the vote should be held right now. gita the ongoing hostage crisis in algeria involving a number of british nationals amongst others the prime minister had to postpone that long awaited for 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 we're outside you are a powerhouse in london to talk to the leader of the u.k. independence party nigel for us the party that says we're better off out the nigel

and 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 you you're a far agenda so exactly what harold wilson did forty years ago this speech is happening because of the rise of you get on the rise of ukip has led to massive discontent on the back benches in the house of commons and amongst the conservative party in the whole country that's what he's responding to so that's why he talked tough and says we must 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 unions this issue is a key constitutional issue it isn't even about economics it's about who governs britain it's about always independent nation as a democracy and determine their own future or not and i want to referendum now more of a promise ok i want to ask there's a lot of concern that if

a person left the that this would 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 or 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. and we have the e.u. well i think we all know the heart of our annual thing that britain should be looking to trade outside being 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 and falling 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 eight 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 but i've seen a number of delays already what do you think about that the fact that this is such a huge issue and we just had. 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 some is that it could be as early as next week and of course the latest face payment making that big speech on europe no less controversial. human trafficking is on the rise in the u.k. on smuggled in britain many become victims of sexual into message slavery we report on that later in the program. was braving the winter waters

russians take a dip to celebrate the finale and wash away sins oh many do it just for the bots at stories coming up after this break. world. science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got this huge you're covered. makes life complete. and a happy family. or self-expression. so true. when it's

a late. child. mission free accreditation free. for charges free. arrangement free. free. to tide free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects free medio done to our teeth dot com. watching our live from moscow with me and he said now i good to have you with us human trafficking one of the fastest growing forms of international crime is flourishing in the u.k. many smuggled into britain become victims of sexual domestic and labor exploitation with the number of people trafficked into the u.k. rapidly rising more smith looks into what's behind this modern day slave trade.

out. there and. i was the one doing all the claim for cooking up to the children. but i was never allowed to take the kids to school i was locked inside the house and i was nowhere in the door side it sounds like something from an eighteenth century workhouse 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. i was slapped and right i kept getting the right . things i was like a slave never a time i kept playing i kept trying to clean myself up and i kept getting called and she was shouting asking me to keep playing even in the house just playing i still have to keep playing. 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 streets 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 sell 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 two thousand victims there's a rich. 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 rice could be because more cases of being reported but chloe setter 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 might have previously been smuggling drugs arms. may now be looking to also children and people

because a child can be recycled a human can be recycled the drugs that they have a one off crime so there's a number of ways of control and and once that happens they are literally sort of assigned to the traffic different hospital on 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. 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 hearsay evidence and testimony and huge numbers of victims like sarah never want to talk about their experiences again laura smith r.t. london. look now at some other world news making headlines this hour pakistan is planning to free all afghan taliban prisoners held in detention that's according to a senior pakistani diplomat the release says the releases are expected to bolster

peace efforts with the 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 u.s. welcome the decision to spite its long lasting operation in afghanistan battling insurgents who are now to walk free. venezuelan 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 universe. t.v. channel he's rumored to have been taken to a bunker a specially built for the former cuban leader fidel castro the move was reportedly made to avoid constant leaks about the state of the health of the president and to prepare him for his return to venezuela the alley leader has not been seen since his last cancer surgery in mid december and missed his own inauguration ceremony.

ukraine's jailed former premier due to tymoshenko 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 is 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. and the u.s. has vowed to back japan in a row with china over a string of disputed islands the pledge claims are entirely of state hillary clinton during a meeting with japan's foreign minister on friday meanwhile three chinese patrol vessels have entered the waters around the islands in the east china sea claimed by both countries less than twenty four hours after about statement tensions in the region have flared in recent months as washington demonstrates a shift in its security focus in the asia pacific. where more

than two million people in russia celebrated the feast of the epiphany taking part in traditional bathing by immersing themselves an icy waters the celebration commemorates the baptism of jesus christ it's also believed to wash away the sins with many say it keeps them healthy for the rest of the year all artes peter all over braved the icy plot to take a look. 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 sure shouldn't do those quite prange colds 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 sure the natural part after i took up i swimming i regain

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 worshippers 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 stove and cold. that's a had it provided that the first they put their heart when i read moshe so the russian went his own call tell you you're there exerts and. i could say i'm feeling very exhilarated right now. the head walrus at this swimming hole is blood in me a good a being can he's the chairman of the russian i swimming and cold water treatment federation and insists that there are genuine 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 his 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. to me it has also trained 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 could. spend 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 can talk to the press very. nice 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 peter all of a r.t. moscow. let's take a look now what we have for you online today is israeli sharing democracy we report on our website that thousands of israelis are donating their right to vote in the upcoming parliamentary ballot to their palestinian neighbors via facebook. and russia's snowy tsunami the country's witnessing relentless snowfall with streets cars and buildings buried under drifts in siberia thousands are battling a life threatening blizzards you can find out more at r t v dot com.

there to subdue rector of the ballet company of russia's bolshoi theatre is being treated in hospital for severe burns following an acid attack sergei feeding was assaulted on thursday night outside his home in central moscow as are two select peers have discovered feeding 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 but the celebration has been marred by this gruesome attack on a statistic director so gay feeling was returning from work on thursday night when i'm not notified man called him out by his name sygate turned around to respond and the man reportedly threw a ball of acid into his face we know that sergei filin was taken to a hospital and the doctors have been battling to save his eyesight heat up the security office has launched an investigation a criminal case to determine who stands behind this attack and the bolshoi press

officer sad that sygate 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. it's an incredibly difficult day for us the dons companies an enormous shock it's really hot speak as with always what told to shoulder it's a brutal crime and i hope says responsible will be found and punished. because the new circle with. 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 piece 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. sygate was the one who was assigning all the roles in the bolshoi theatre still the bolshoi never made criminal headlines and this attack is something completely outrageous for the bolshoi theater but definitely everyone is waiting for the results of the best occasion for something at least 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. coming your way after this break find out about the trials of a russian man left to care for his children after the death of his wife leave it to dad is coming up.

congress's approval rating has hit an all time low never has american record history been so disappointed with the lawmaking body the united states even former arkansas governor mike huckabee said that their approval ratings are just barely above a pedophile so i guess that's good news for the disgusting pedophiles out there soon you won't be the most hated group in america anymore but i don't think this statistic reflects the quality of government but so much the quality of the governed in some small country with a hard to pronounce name if the government became that unpopular the country would simply collapse but no matter how many wars congress gets involved in and no matter how many jobs are shipped overseas or no matter how much the american dream gets

stamped out everyone still relish round obama and votes democrat and republican this popularity rating doesn't show how effective the government is it shows how arrogant they are because they seem to have no fear whatsoever of getting reelected or being punished in any way for their bad behavior so you know congress i have to save us keep up the good work go for one percent popularity and maybe someone will actually do something about you but that's just my opinion.