olympic fever sweeps saatchi as the game's countdown reaches one day to go the torch relay is now on its final leg to launch the twenty second a winter olympic games. and amid the snowy peaks and swaying palms we get the opinions about the only she meet location for the winter games. a british couple accused of money laundering go to court to buy their extradition to the u.s. they tell r.t. being forced from home will be too much for them to bear. put us on the plane. take the first opportunity we can and. the west record as a syrian war reaches the u.s. and the u.k. with returning extremists openly making terror threats against their home countries

for the first time. and washington weighs in on the ukrainian political crisis sending its diplomats to back the country's opposition for a second time and less than two months. what you are going to live in moscow with me marina josh welcome to the program now after years of planning construction and anticipation it's all come together in sochi we're now a day away from the official start of the olympics and thousands of spectators and visitors are flooding the internet was their impressions from meeting the mascots to posing inside the olympic rings while it's evident that games in the air. well the city itself is brimming with athletes visitors and tourists and they've

been joined now by the olympic flame it's in the final leg of its epic journey that's covered tens of thousands of kilometers from the bottom of the world's deepest lake to the top of europe's highest peak to the olympic capital now and r.t.s. paul scott. well spirits are high in and around sochi right now no doubt at the moment being aided by the fantastic weather conditions you can probably see. glistening in the sunshine behind me temperatures are well in the double figures at the moment and the atmosphere the party atmosphere is also no doubt being boosted by the presence of the olympic torch which is in the final stages of its journey across the region over the next twenty four hours or so is going to be carried by a number of high profile public figures russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov the highly respected diplomat he's taken time out of his busy schedule to pick up the baton and a little bit later on it's the turn of the u.n. secretary general ban ki moon he's here for the opening ceremony on friday evening

of course it's the climax of a journey that started in moscow. sixty five thousand kilometers the torch has traveled it's been to the bottom of lake baikal it's gone to the top of mt it's even been to the north pole and even to space and it's also been in the mountains which is just a short train ride from here and where my colleague. paul yesterday. came up paid to the manties and to the ski resort of rose a. very only in peak hero the bobsled. was one of the torch bearers nine were in the foothills of the caucasus and despite that was still only a very short tally cabin right away where most of the sporting events are going to take place so everything is very compact and that's also the case down at the black sea in the coastal class today and that's something that i've been impressed with everything is small you noted a village and everything it's close. close to do. we

can go by wallach and there is not a big security so we feel free and we feel confident the russian tennis star maria sharapova is also in town and she has links to this part of the world too and in her opinion she says sochi is the. perfect place to host the winter olympics. same baxi same day as you can drive up and out in some best slopes world. no one really believe me and i hope that every experience. and finally we should note that even though the opening ceremony is tomorrow some advance have already started the qualification in the men's and women's slopestyle snowboarding has begun and the figure skating team event would also get underway so even though we're still waiting for the cauldron to be lit for some athletes she twenty fourteen is already up and running. well as he says the sport has finally got underway after months if not years of talking although this early stage nobody

knows exactly what the medals table will look like come the end of the games start for such a dolphinarium believe that they have one animal you might know they believe that in their midst is a psychic seal. this is the moment to see his life changed forever abandoned by his mother in russia's far east the seal pup was weak with hunger and vulnerable to predators his chances of survival was slim. fast forward three years and his life is now transformed. is the home of the rather shy seal now staff say he was abandoned as a pup was rescued and then nurtured back to health care the dolphinarium and throughout the course of the winter olympics he's going to be one of the animals who are going to be predicting sporting outcomes. he's now fighting fit and hoping to make a splash with spectators during need winter olympics. he's

already predicted a few football matches however he's not always correct only ninety nine percent of the time. paul the octopus was the first of his kind he made international headlines during his career as a. using psychic correctly predicting eleven out of thirteen football matches the stuff in sochi how you. will have a similar success rate and also believe that after a difficult start in life it becomes a favorite with the public. or your body. alone. isn't a life style fair also the number that dolphins and even alters display psychic tendencies. let's go it's a multi sochi. one and everyone's willing to go to embrace the olympic spirit and a number of journalists have been on a mission to highlight the less savory aspects of the city by the athletes in

general tell a different story from admiring the view to praising what they say are top notch facilities here are some of the tweets that visitors have been posting from sochi and around the clock on air and online stay with our team's olympic coverage from sochi will be bringing you the highs and lows from the slopes and the ring so the winter games are teeter national at our dedicated website twenty fourteen dot com. the g twenty four team promises the ultimate in the exhilarating winter. season our way to make seven zero eight on the bus tomorrow let me take you straight to sochi twenty four take. on. well the spirit of the game a smile off for the warring sides in syria some respite and russia's urged all those involved in conflicts around the world emphasizing syria to sign

a so-called limbic truce and stop the violence at least for the time of event of the situation of a conflict zone worsens daily and its consequences are felt far and wide. as hundreds of europeans who joined the fight in syria return home the alarm is being raised they are bringing a jihad back with them a group of extremists with british citizenship who are fighting in the middle eastern zone are now threatening to carry out terror attacks in the u.k. and they are already spreading the virus of extremist propaganda issuing posters urging people to join their cause among the targets public transport and financial centers and not just in the u.k. one of the pictures shows a militant and front of the white house it washington or smith has a story. these are the first direct threats as far as we know that we have seen that have come out of syria death threats to attack public transport to attack

financial centers and there's an estimate hundreds of britons have joins you hard just rebel groups in syria according to a couple of studies that have been done it's not just britain's although they are the most numerous there are around three hundred fifty according to these couple of studies that we found but there are also three hundred belgians more than two hundred each from france and germany and around about one hundred fifty fighters who've gone from the netherlands to syria this group that we're talking about in britain is a group called riot how we which is a british jihadist group faction in syria they've got this facebook page and they've issued these threats online mainly if you take a look at their facebook page which is quite a shocking thing actually that the post is that they have posted these motivational posters that we're talking about are accompanied by likes on facebook requests to be tagged by various people now this is coming

a. number of other developments for example u.s. intelligence saying is saying that it's received reports that al qaida has set up training camps in syria specifically to train fighters to return home to their own countries to perpetrate terror attacks in their own countries and u.k. intelligence authorities say they're taking these threats very seriously indeed anti-war activists richard backer believes such groups are and inevitable result of washington's program will policies in syria. i think that we have to see that it's the the us unrelenting campaign against the syrian government that has led people many people to to go to syria to fight on the side of the opposition and it's not just the united states but it's france and britain and other nato allies that have taken this position and this happens over and over

again in regards to the big powers in particularly the united states that while they feel they can control all situations what really ends up happening is that they cannot and they end up having these kind of. comes that they had not anticipated at all well the mass on rast in ukraine seems to have made a country a popular destination for u.s. diplomats with the latest state department official now in kiev torino and plans to meet with both the leadership and the opposition to offer washington support and putting together and new government as worried about neither reports this follows a long tradition of u.s. involvement in the politics of other nations. in less than two months u.s. assistant secretary of state of victoria nuland is making her second visit to ukraine where anti-government protesters have received the full support and backing of washington now u.s.

officials say this trip is aimed toward words aiding the country in forming a new government and helping ukrainians fulfill their democratic aspirations now back in december it was the stomachs of protesters that ms nuland helped fill as she walked around teves independence square handing out now it's now for many this scene put an entirely new twist on international meddling you see in recent years the u.s. has cemented its reputation in siding with anti-government opposition movements taking place in sovereign countries such as tunisia egypt libya and syria. put in the case of ukraine u.s. officials are actually flying over the atlantic to visit and possibly strategize with pro european union protesters a power play that critics say washington would condemn if the roles were reversed china or russia or any other great power or even a regional power like iran came to the u.s.

and was encouraging the protesters there would be a hue and cry from the american media like you'd never hear of before they would say why these people interfering in our internal affairs but of course the united states sort of has a double standard because it often interferes in the affairs of other countries and thanks nothing about it in all fairness critics say the u.s. does sometimes show over strange when it comes to foreign conflicts for example in bahrain as brutal and deadly crackdowns against peaceful unarmed protesters have taken place the u.s. has in mind its own business america has also respected its right to remain silent as the saudi arabia recently enacted a new law allowing the kingdom to prosecute in jail anyone who exposes corruption or demands reform reporting from new york marina portland r.t. . well here's one regular guest of protests around the world john mccain the u.s.

senator has been known to the ukraine public since his first appearance of the so-called orange revolution and decade ago and is interest in the post space didn't end there getting a welcoming hug from the president of georgia during its war with russia and here he is at the hearts of the arab spring in cairo also lending a helping hands to the libyan uprising and most recently visiting a syrian refugee camp in turkey. the french government is weighing up plans to reform immigration policies and is meeting a wall of resistance with manny saying the proposals violate international ideals we explore that issue and more after the break. the united states has significant technological over the rest of it while it is now

using that spy on the rest of the world then there was the deal between the u.s. and england where u.s. spy agencies couldn't spy on people in the u.s. but british a spy agencies could spy on people in the u.s. so the government said all right each of us will spy on the other citizens and then we'll trade and that way we'll be sure veiling our own people so this is what i think of as the scandal. we speak your language anything about the will not advance. these programs these documentaries in spanish what matters to you. a little too much of angles keep these stories. here. in

the spanish. visit. welcome back this is our team international a british couple are facing a desperate battle to avoid extradition to the u.s. caught in a legal tangle they told you that they'd rather take their own lives and be ripped away from their families. one morning fourteen months ago a life changing knock on the door with two policeman from scotland yard and i said i was done i'm with come to arrest you and your husband since then they've been out on bail and are fighting extradition to the united states to await trial after claims from the dunham's former company in the u.s. that they have more than one million dollars in illegitimate expense claims something the couple say are without merit showing as evidence that they've

gathered that some say they're not afraid of trial but their worst fear and being sent to the states is the possibility of being denied bail and spending years behind bars apart from one another simply waiting for their day in court if we were away from this country if it's. for a very good chance he would have. we're confident we would win. because we are innocent that we would then be shipped but there's no compensation and. wrongful act for the ocean. can you imagine coming back to this country you know three or four years later. no money no job and you're now in you know sixty to sixty three years. and trying to rebuild your life controversy has long surrounded the u.s. u.k. extradition act of two thousand and three signed in the wake of nine eleven critics claim the dream and is biased against the u.k. if you're a u.s.

citizen wanted by the u.k. government you have a higher standard of evidence that you need to provide in the u.s. and also as a u.s. citizen you have the opportunity to go to a u.s. court to clink your case and unfortunate for purchases since there is no such opportunity to have your evidence tested in the u.k. court before you are extradited and that's a basic unfairness to an independent review and twenty eleven found at the treaty quote does not operate in an unbalanced manner but this contradicts findings of the parliament's joint committee in human rights which called for a renegotiation to ensure british citizens get the same protections as americans conservative m.p. who sits on the committee looked at nationalities of those extradited and found at thirty five britons have been sent to the us it's two thousand and four versus just five u.s. nationals who may be opposite journey that's seven times more two thousand and twelve david cameron told us president barack obama that he wanted

a review of the treaty that is little comfort to the don imus and others like them who teeter on the edge of desperation knowing it's very lives at stake from the moment they put us on the plane. first opportunity rick and. just so sylvia r.t. london. won a virtual world stamps interior ality and new generation treatment for gunshot. one stops bleeding in a couple of seconds with scientists hoping it will replace all known battlefield treatments in the future had to our website for more details. and also online if you thought believed was a force for world peace you're in good company the president of your guy has been nominated for a nobel prize making his country the first to fully legalize marijuana find out more. now france is planning to overhaul its immigration policies after the prime minister admits the system is

failing a government report says the stage should become more arab orientated but that's drawing fire from the opposition which believes it could put an end to french culture as we know it you were just going off reports from paris on what could be as seismic shift for society. the bar salute has been living in pairs for new you three decades step by step she's gone from getting a worker's permits to building a family business she changed her life to become a part of french society a long time ago but agrees that the time for it to change has now come as well maybe this is normal it's the evolution of society the french prime minister recently published a government report proposing a shift in the country's migration policy specifically only integration cancelling the two thousand and four ban on muslims wearing veils in state schools proposing to start teaching immigrant children their language of origin and other measures that many find controversial the. report has parts about of holding people's roots

and promoting the values of the republic not only is it contradictory but it undermines the secular nature of french society. the report has sparked a wave of criticism of political rivals accusing the prime minister of undermining national values instead of promoting them or calling it a dangerous provocation that threatens the country's decades long migration policies it's estimated france officially received around two million immigrants over the past ten years and one of around two hundred thousand new or rivals in cheer the figures are continuing to grow with despite this things like immigration and integration for a long time weren't always something for french society found tough to discuss they were almost. anyone with a french passport no matter where they came from originally is a citizen of the republic and even mentioning someone's foreign roots could be enough for discrimination case in court friendship or

a break. doesn't like groups of children or it is we are not in the same position. as they used to to deal with. the communities in france we don't like this we want every citizen to be a part of the friendship oblique and not a part of his community. it will take a lot of debate before the portals are put into action and such strong opposition it's possible none of them will make it into the go home but the report may be opening a pandora's box with signs of a growing design to be changed migration policy that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago you got this kind of birds. and some other world news now or in brief at least thirteen people have been killed and twenty two others injured in a string of car bombings across baghdad police say the explosives work in sealed and parked vehicles in busy commercial areas of iraq capital on wednesday multiple

blasts claimed thirty four lives in the city's heavily fortified green zone though groups have admitted to the strikes which some of the time of rising sunni militant activity. transport chaos is sweeping britain's capital for a second day running with millions of people facing huge delays due to workers' strike on the london underground most stations out of action mueller's have had to stay at home or face massive queues for buses and overground trains unions declared the strike over plans to close ticket offices and jobs. a warehouse fire in argentina has killed nine firefighters and civil to fans workers when a seven metre wall collapsed into them as they battled the flames seven others were injured in the incident at a storage facility for banking documents and data in buenos aires because a fire is being investigated but authorities say that arson might have taken place

. and x. world apart mean to the american activist flying to take the strain jacket off our computer software. recently an online poll by the liberal doe's t.v. channel that's rain in english has caused quite a storm of rage across the country how could a stupid online poll cause russia wide anger while they pose the question was defending living grad from the nazis worth it because retreat in their opinion could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives what is offensive from culture to culture differs a lot but from

a russian perspective fighting to the bitter end to stop the german genocide machine was worth it this is basically like if a somewhat popular news outlet had a poll on martin luther king's birthday asking was slavery really that bad it was a poem for the economy but why would someone create this poll is because the people who wrote it are sick with the disease are types total self infatuation egoism and greed in other words we're a generation mean mean mean these people could never imagine sacrificing the great and wonderful mean for any cause sacrificed me to the dog seems a plus for me i'd rather kiss their boots and learn german but it wasn't for millions of russians put their self-interest as a distant second then all those great and wonderful me s. would have been worked to death and shot a nazi death camp it pays to make a few sacrifices for society but fascist my opinion. our guests should know that we too can president and measures to ensure their

safety is but it's about the. this will not get in the way of their comfort food to you i can say for sure but that they will even know you sold. it will feel welcome to the us it will be needed to restore social residents are very hospitable people . speak your language. programs in documentaries in arabic it's when you hear a multi reporting from the world talks about six of the c.o.r.p. interviews intriguing stories are you. trying. to find out more visit our big. dog called.

hello welcome to wilds of part it's one of the sweetest and most toxic wars and then your language the one that can be used to both save and kill people in large numbers freedom what does it mean in today's world doesn't the quest for freedom often result in the worst form of tyranny to discuss that on knowledge joined by walt famous technologist and philosopher richard stallman dr spellman thank you very much for your time i know that you've been a very vocal advocate of freedom for many many years and you define freedom as. having control and though having control of your own life exactly and i think that whenever we speak about the use of software or even about governance having control presupposes some sort of knowledge some sort of expertise and my question to you whether that makes freedom a privilege something that you have to actively work for something that you have to

earn and deserve rather than you know you know i disagree totally first of all we need to distinguish freedom from power freedom is having control of your own life but when but power is when one person has control over another person's life and freedom it's certainly not a privilege everyone's entitled to freedom. to the extent it is at all possible you just said everyone is entitled to freedom but my question to you is whether everyone can really use freedom of course you know even if you don't know all the details about how a computer system is implemented you can still exercise control over what that computer system does now this is an interesting point because when you're using a program freedom means having control over what that program does now there can be there's individual control one user at

a time and then there's collective control groups of users up to the size of the whole world exercising control over that program but all of those are the opposite of power power is what happens with a non free program where there's an entity that's the owner and that owner controls the program and the program controls the users so this is the injustice when there isn't freedom if you can transfer it see the political aspect of things i know that you've been involved in politics as well it's almost anathema in the western political thought to suggest that certain countries or people may not be qualified for freedom but. i think it's very interesting idea to ponder and let's let's take the example of libya i know that it caught your attention back in two thousand and eleven the year for a very vocal critic of alfie you called him a butcher and. i think by now it's been well established that the extent of that

office picture was exaggerated greatly and maybe even purposefully i've not convinced i don't know if i've seen the estimates but i've certainly seen the gadhafi is was quite a butcher of course western countries such as the u.k. and maybe the us as well delivered people up to his his. his dissidents dissidents from libya who had fled they were delivered up together fee to torture and punish so i'm not i don't at all regret that i got off he was kicked out of power now spearhead things have happened in libya since then i don't know if it was possible to predict i didn't but my question to you is you know those people who sought to oust gadhafi and by no means .