the operation to free remaining captives in the now period 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. it could be drifting towards an exit from the european union that's according to excerpts david cameron's speech by the prime minister remained shaky on calling a referendum on the issue also. the russian one designed girls right there the results of which i could say i'm standing very exhilarated right now tens of

thousands of people in russia including our two very own puter all aboard take the plunge their feet out of the epiphany. it's three pm here in moscow many so now away with you here on r.g.p. 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 and fifty people now the insurgents claim they're avenging french intervention in mali which is putting president francois hollande in into an increasingly tough political situation artie's polly boyd gave some reaction on the streets of paris. it's all calm on the streets of paris but with an escalating

military intervention in mali and an algerian hostage crisis in response to it french public opinion is predicted to turn against francois hollande pledged to help the mali government once he's really hit by the enormity of what they may be taking on in mali there may be a lot of questions then asked about his judgment and a lot of people who are supposedly supporting him now or may very quickly turn around and criticize it's already beginning to happen we've spoken to provisions here who lament the fact that they weren't told in advance that the military offensive was set to take place meanwhile voices in the french media complain of a war with no pictures they say that there's a media blackout and accuse the government of making it intentional the journalist surprising thing is that. we had no. recourse or information from. the day after this really started for most of all that when you see what's

happening what has happened in iraq or in afghanistan surely if you well if you read to the region and if he lasts long it's going to be a problem comparisons already being made to the usas experience in iraq and afghanistan conflicts that were initially supported at home out of a sense of patriotism and support for the troops but it turned into lengthy and costly and deeply unpopular wars at home now if this mission creep becomes only driving on the terrorists as some ministers and even along themselves seem to be saying. that it's going to be a failure because you cannot drive out all the terrorists. and many soldiers die and there are attacks in paris and public opinion will shift the way it has done.

other wars. started by from a war started by them by the us nevertheless french president francois hollande remains committed to the french military offensive in mali making grand statements that the french intervention was intense until legitimate authority in the country is restored but what many french people are beginning to wonder is just how long that might take and out what cost. i see paris france has meanwhile helped the malayan army retake the strategic towns of kona and money from al qaeda linked militants conducting airstrikes to support its troops on the ground there the french contingent in the west african nation has now increased to eight hundred troops with more on the way but 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 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 fighting with one hundred fifty thousand already having fled the country columbia university researcher dr yunus of where you've said that before each 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 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 you know that the who fought with gadhafi and all backed 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 as end of the day it's the population who pay the price. now analysts are suggesting that africa may be a huge source of economic interest for western powers there 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 if you can take a look here the west african nation is the continent's third largest gold producer it trails only south africa and ghana as you can see there are also some forecasts which indicate it could move into first place in terms of those gold exports in the

future while energy is another of mali's economic trump cards with its uranium deposits numbering over five thousand tons france of course relies almost entirely on your radium for its nuclear energy and has two major mines in the country well paris could be aiming to diversify after its main source of supply in niger was threatened by major work for strikes there meanwhile author as 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. critical strategical goal of u.s. foreign policy so you need a horn policy at present is to prevent cold 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 has been just simple as that so china has been turning its own

sights to the continent by making huge investments the country claims that they've poured as much as nine point three billion dollars into the region from two thousand and five to two thousand and ten but u.s. sources say that in fact that 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 geo political interests for some of the world's leading economies here and you can also keep up with the story get more analysis on this issue on our full interview with william and all on our website and that's our t dot com. download the official publication yourself choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorites from our t.v. if you're away from your television well it just doesn't matter now with your mobile device you can watch your t.v.

anytime anywhere. in other news the u.k. could leave the e.u. this is the prediction of prime minister david cameron revealed in a preview of his delayed speech on britain's status within the block meanwhile he's been wavering about the idea of an in out referendum saying it could be held after the next general election in twenty fifteen well nigel ferrars 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 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 euro agenda she exactly what harold wilson did forty years ago this speech is happening because of the rise of years ago and the rise of ukip has led to massive discontent on the backbenchers 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 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 are we dependent 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 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 all 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 unit we sell to them would mislead is stop selling cars. it would have the we all know. 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. 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 something 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. want smuggled into britain many victims of sexual into mastic slavery a report on that later in the program for you. plus braving the winter waters

russians take a dip to celebrate a penny and wash away sins while many do it just for the buzz that's stories coming up after a short break. we'll look at. technology innovation all the moves developments around russia we've got this huge you're covered. what makes life complete. love and a happy family. or self-expression. that seems so true. when you're too late. child.

mission free accreditation free in-store charge free. arrangement free. free. to tide free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects free media done to our t.v. dot com. live from moscow 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 claims for cooking up to the children. but i wasn't even allowed to take the kids to school i was locked inside the house when i was nowhere and open the door. 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 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 cold and she was shouting asking me to keep playing. the house is clean 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 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 skull on their cell 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. police estimate more than two thousand

people two thousand victims there's a retreat. victims say they were just ten percent to. twenty thousand. trafficked into this country each year. for the first four organized criminal gangs profiting 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 might have previously been smuggling drugs or arms. may now be looking to also work with 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 a control and and once that happens they are literally sort of assigned to watch out 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 for 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. and is planning all afghan taliban prisoners held in detention that's according to a senior pakistani diplomat 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 a afghan custody or freed in pakistan u.s. welcomed the decision to fight 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 and t.v. channel he's rumored to have been taken to a bunker a specially built for 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 a return to venezuela the ailing leader has not been seen since his last cancer surgery in mid december and missed his own inauguration ceremony.

and the u.s. has vowed to back to pan in a row with china over a string of disputed islands the pledge came from secretary of state hillary clinton during a meeting which plants 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 that statement tensions in the region have flared in recent months as washington demonstrates a shift in its security focus in the asia pacific. now more than two million people here in russia celebrate the feast of the a penny taking part in traditional bathing by immersing themselves into icy waters the celebration commemorates the baptism of jesus christ it also is believed to wash away the sins of many saying it keeps them healthy for the rest of the year are to his very own peter 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. i was quite prange cold 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 i used to have terrible back pain but it's gone now i'm healed sure the natural part 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. this isn't a new activity in the tradition of the russian orthodox church worshippers mark the feast of the with a late night submergence into the icy waters symbolizing the baptism of jesus and the anyone thinking that they would like to give it a go i do have these words from my own experience so when called. lets say i did

that the first day i put them out when i read no shit so the russian legs aren't girl to your the reserves so. i can tell you i'm feeling very exhilarated right now . the head walrus at this swimming hole is bloody near going to be nk and he's the chairman of the russian i swimming and cold water treatment federation and insists that there are genuine medical benefits. 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 blood in me has also trained thrill seekers who push the abilities of the human body to the limits. day of holds the record for time spent in icy water i'm going to. 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 could talk to the press. a swimming federation has one and a half million members across the country and blood to me it does his best to drum up more supports with his own personal guarantee for a gift for the 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 of a moscow. a look at what's on r t dot com today a war denied to british sailors in world war two you are not allowed to accept

russian idols you can find all those bands three thousand veterans who served in the legendary arctic convoy from accepting the medal for outstanding bravery find out more details on our website. and israelis sharing democracy we report at r.t. dot com that thousands of israelis are donating their right to vote in the upcoming parliamentary ballot to their palestinian neighbors via facebook. here to stick director of the ballet company of russia's bolshoi theatre is being treated in hospital for severe burns following an acid attack sergei feeling was assaulted on thursday night outside his home in central moscow as large as alexei or says he discovered feeding has spoken to colleagues in other incidents that happened to him prior to this 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 you feeling it was returning from work on thursday night when another defied 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's a good feeling was taken to a hospital and the doctors have been battling to save his eyesight the prosecutor's office has launched an investigation a criminal case to determine who stands behind this attack of the bolshoi press office so sad that sergei was intimidated for several months his car tires were slashed threatening phone calls and his facebook page was hacked 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 in a. seps into 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 told to shoulder with sergey it's a brutal crime and i hope those responsible will be fun and punished. because the circle with the bill over goodness 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 that 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 other bolshoi theatre but definitely everyone is waiting for the results of the best 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 theatre could have been responsible for this terrible attack. and that wraps up our main news block i'll be back at the top of the hour meanwhile in a few minutes abby martin examines for you the phenomenon of economic hit men and much more that in breaking the set they with us.

more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations rule the day.

to live on one hundred thirty three bucks a month for food because you know how fabulous bad luck i got so many i mean. i know that i'm still the same thing really messed up. in the old fairy so personally apologized. worse for going through. my downstairs of a. radio guy in fort lauderdale minutes from a cricket. club we're about to give you never seen anything like this i'm told. to scream i have off all going to breaking the set i'm having martin's going to start the show by reading your letter i'd like to send to congress and the post office sticks around long enough for me to send it.