twenty fourteen opening show was followed by a. dutch team occupying a podium in the. equipment failure could have ruined the dreams of olympic gold for some german ski is. already a russian a. rivalry to help. street violence. protesters clashed with police and set government buildings ablaze all in unemployment economic stagnation and corruption. plus a suicide bombing reportedly carried out by a british citizen in syria sparks fresh fears that hundreds of western volunteers

could pose a threat when they return home from the war. your worldviews and your. headquarters this is. live from moscow with me will receive. the sochi twenty fourteen winter games that are in full swing the first day has been a success for the norwegians up in the mountains and the dutch down on the black sea coast let's find out more now with. joining us live paul good to see you tonight so the netherlands team the latest to celebrate what do you have. yes well the netherlands are a prolific speedskating nation and they have plenty to cheer after day one of the sochi twenty fourteen winter olympics they secured

a one two three in the men's five thousand meters spend kramer successfully defended the title he won in vancouver four years ago while his teammates blockhouse and enjoyed it bugs completed the podium however there was disappointment for a russian birthday boy even scope of who could only finish seventh on his thirty first birthday well that success for the netherlands puts them in second place in the medal standings at the moment they are behind norway norway have won more medals in a limb pick winter olympic history than any other country they currently top the table with two golds to their name well the owner of the first gold of the twenty fourteen winter olympics went to american sage kotsenburg who won gold in the men's snowboard slopestyle earlier on saturday morning and there was disappointment for russian ship pool and he finished fourth in the men's biathlon ten k. sprint pool we understand has already been a display of true olympic spirit how would you know about that. yes well it may be

the first day of the sochi winter olympics but the experience has certainly been on display now a number of german athletes would have been under prepared for their events because a machine that they use to prepare their skates this is going to affect scale as. competitors basically their machine broke and they were asking around scratching around different federations looking for assistance they went to austria who refused to help but the russians did decide to lend a hand they put rivalry to one side and the machine to the german tameside the germans can prepare properly for their events now the president of the german olympic sports confederation has been quoted as saying that i have never experienced this kind of solidarity before in my time as an official said the olympic spirit is certainly on display in such a and we've talked about spoken about the medals that have been decided on saturday five in total on saturday let's find out

a little bit more about those medals is my colleague andre fama. who will actually see sochi adrenals podium finish and then him take magill around . and it's a good enough to get one they'll be taking trying something unique these goings reflexive cheese landscape by the peaks of transnet prion and he just sandy beaches of the black sea is designed that will be nice for the same area in peaks with a curiously paralympians will get you measure for the exits. and olympic gold medal weighs an average of five hundred twenty five hundred forty grams paralympic gold medal is about six hundred seventy just six hundred eighty grams but the reason for the weight difference between a limp eight gold medals is because the titles of different sport disciplines vary

in. they have to be engraved which means the longer the title of the discipline the lying to them. no matter what their weight each one takes a staggering eighteen hours to make it starts on the late the medals are cut to the right size special machine creates that icy looking center and the game's trademark patchwork quilt pattern is engraved reflecting russia's cultural diversity all part of twenty five different manufacturing stamps recalled thirteen hundred medals have been minted in this way for the sochi games where twelve new events will make their in peak debut it's been a big undertaking for a russian jewelry manufacturer and a mass they've needed tetons or silver which is the main ingredient and it does mean that when these metals are not worth their weight in gold which is only used as a final casing the fact there are rules is just a few hundred dollars the n.t.s.b.

tell you they are in fact priceless and. artie. and i were joined by whatever russia's olympic athletes. are coming here on r.t. international thanks so much for joining us today we know you've been very very busy to tell us quickly a very well known top american snowboarder shaun white he's dropped out of the slope style discipline this year he said it was dangerous he was good he was worried he might get injured is it is a very dangerous course. yet is that. is their most biggest kickers when i even try so yeah it's really hard to jab whole lie because the tables like right now it's like twenty four meters yeah it's super big and guys can try triples or call kickers so yeah it's pretty dangerous part do you think do you think that is the most dangerous part of

a competition as far as you're concerned or what do you think personally is. the most the most trying and difficult. the most difficult. i think it's the third yeah is their biggest in this line so yeah most dangerous. alexy if i can just jump in here quickly unlike many sportsmen who don't always seek recognition we understand the certainly during the practice rounds you wrote your cell phone a mobile phone number on your helmet was that done to pick up the lady's alexy. yeah yeah i have a pretty good collection right now of urals yeah it's a makes my day better yeah of course but you're supposed to be concentrating on the sports not the spectators might. not bodies it's super good moderation for me yet you know motivated by. those old i also know you're.

a legacy i understand you're working very very hard down there on the site you see quickly for you tell me this how is it down there and saw to use it a good venue a good elim picked city is it is it what you are hoping and expecting. are you yeah i think it's really good and we have a comfortable just something else yeah. yeah. it's yes sometimes it's boring to leave in the olympic village i don't know why well listen there you have another your house you know if you're going to get bored with all your collection of ladies that you picked up by putting your phone number on your helmet i think you've got you know or slow course of flyers. alexy before i go very quickly very quickly aside from the lovely bodacious babes what's your future looking like in a career of snowboarding and sports. i didn't know i

i just going going forward yeah and training training more training yeah all right snowboard. team russia live in sochi joining us here on r.t. international such a bad boy enjoy yourself so you. well thanks for joining us here on r.t. international all the sporting action was preceded by the glitz and gloss of the opening ceremony here's an he said now with more of the highlights of the spectacular show the city is still rumbling really can feel the energy in the air after what we saw last night with the opening ceremony of course kicking off the twenty second winter games here in the russian hole still see the two and a half hour show took spectators on a breathtaking journey through russian culture and history more than forty thousand spectators from around the globe packed into the fish to the big stadium to witness this extravaganza this ceremony featured the olympic parade of nations this time

with a different athletes not didn't enter the stadium from the side as usual but marched right from the middle emerging from a changing of the world and of course there was a grand fireworks display to match the dazzling show where the culmination of the ceremony was of course the lighting of the olympic flame with the on going to two russia's most celebrated athletes a soviet hockey legend vladislav tretiak a legendary figure skater you know told me she shared her feelings and emotions without. us is a girl it means to them it it seems is my destiny to do everything as a pack but it's a fantastic experience it's so great that we've been entrusted with such an honor to have these games will be extremely exciting it's always exciting at the olympics ever. and it's creating a festive mood for everyone especially the athletes and it's very important because the olympics has long been about so much more than just two days. ago with the

security very tight in sochi you know here at r.t. international we spoke to one movie star who knows all about keeping people safe steven seagal is also a friend of law to me and of course a martial arts expert he believes the people in salt you should feel very secure. i would agree with some of the folks who are saying that sochi is probably one of the safest places around right now and i think the world you know all of the different countries that are participating in the olympics are all very concerned about trying to make this a wonderful experience and everybody's cooperating working hard in their own perspective areas i think as a world we all support each other to try to make any human picks anywhere in the world a secure wonderful event where politics are kept out of it. you can find out everything else that is happening from twitter team in fact we have

a fee that has a list section where all the sporting disciplines are sorted into categories it's the simplest way to keep across all the tweets coming from the very people that are competing for gold and then fans willing to share their experiences of sochi twenty fourteen for you and everyone around the world online. the g twenty four team promising. exhilarating winter sports and. joining us now is make seven zero and the rest of our lives thank you staying to sochi twenty four take. on. it's good to have you with us for the program here both indians woke up on saturday to streets of broken windows and smoke rising from government buildings of the day before thousands of protesters across the country went on a rampage clashing with police authorities are valid to prevent further violence after the worst rioting since the nineteen ninety. i.

have basically hundreds of people have been injured in three days of protests in a state where forty percent of the population is jobless and the capital sarajevo authorities fired rubber bullets water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowds and in other parts of the country protesters hold rocks at security forces and torched local government buildings now the underestimates really erupted over the closure of several state owned companies that was sold off and then collapsed on to private ownership a political analyst dr mark mason he says the violence is growing into a full blown uprising. forty percent of the population of bosnia they are simply on employed without any work whatsoever so these conditions are like annoyed at all surprising that we have a mass popular uprising some of the police may come over and that's one of the back

doors that has been actually studied by social scientists when about five percent of the population say they've had it with the government and they get some significant fraction of the police forces to say i'm through with this too i'm during the protesters pretty much the end of it for the government so we want to watch that very closely. but up ahead for you in the program here on our team to national an issue of immigration people in switzerland prepared to decide whether the influx of foreign workers should be curbed all their critics say the economy would be the area that truly suffers. or it's a quarter past the hour here in moscow it is damage control in washington after a leaked recording of a phone conversation apparently involving the u.s. assistant secretary of state and reveal the depth of america's involvement in ukraine's anti government unrest happiness. so that would be great i think to how polluted thing and have the u.n. help glue it and you know the e.u.

well the use of strong language by victoria nuland was recorded while she was talking to the u.s. ambassador in kiev and the remark is caused outrage from the german chancellor angela merkel and cold newman's choice of words completely unacceptable international affairs commentator rick ross often says the conversation shows america's overall neglect of the sovereignty of the states. this story would not have gained traction and would not have achieved the exposure it had if that word had not come out i'm afraid that maybe obscuring the actual content of the discussion which is all but you know presenting a blueprint for regime change at least significant words to get issued during the course of the conversation with the u.s. ambassador is the one that is gained at the notoriety for better or worse that it has what you're really seeing is just casually and callously of the u.s. state department lots political transformation in other countries outside the legitimate which is say the electoral reno zero is in effect engineers' regime

change even going down into the most mind my new particulars as to who should and should not be a future prime minister. now the u.s. state department did not deny the authenticity of the recording saying that noonan's already apologized for comments and washington's continued claim that is not involved in ukraine's political process and he left the state department spokesperson on the back foot. it shouldn't be a surprise that there are discussions about events on the ground it's more than discussions though this is the u.s. midwife in the process there is a difference between private discussions that happen in the interagency process in the building and what we convey publicly as a u.s. government that's what you do as. if you're saying privately behind the scenes that you're cooking up a deal and then you're saying publicly that this is up for you creating incentives those are two totally different things are still to come here about international a facelift for the israeli army.

well when a recruit numbers are down a good commercial just might do the job offer a short break here on the program we report why israel is taking to the airwaves to boost its combat units. an article at business insider brags for americans who feel insecure about their country in light of china's impressive achievements it may be reassuring to know that while the chinese would rather move to the united states of the stay at home yes rich chinese are getting green cards in record numbers do they love you for your freedom well not exactly for according to the headline china's wealthiest citizens are fleeing to the u.s. amid corruption crackdown yes you americans should feel so insecure because apparently america is the best place to flee if you're corrupt.

dramas the truth be ignored. stories others refuse to notice. faces change the world light snack. food picture of today's. home to and from around the globe. drop to. you. if you're just joining us welcome to the program here on our national the u.n. brokered ceasefire in the syrian city of homs has been broken with both sides of the conflict blaming each other for the shelling. the international aid convoys

well no way to help the civilians red crescent trucks being fired upon and several people reportedly injured as well dozens of homes residents were evacuated on friday part of agreements reached at the geneva two conference of the syrian government says it's ready to continue talks with the opposition at the un mediated summit but the rebel delegates don't enjoy popular support inside syria where radical islamist. militant been bolstered by hundreds of european volunteers sparking fears they could bring terror back home with as. a british you heart is known as. he is believed to be the first brit to have carried out a suicide attack in syria after a vehicle packed with explosives was taken to a prison allowing some three hundred prisoners to escape british citizens along with other europeans travelling to syria as young as sixteen and fighting alongside jihad is long been

a concern for authorities believe now that there are about three hundred fifty britons over there making up the largest contingent of some one thousand westerners and this is a new development reinforces the urgency expressed by governments here and having to deal with this specific group of jihad is scary their countries passport. information is finally come out that we seeing this actually happen in syria however given the trends that we've seen in syria of the past few years it's not surprising that we're seeing british individuals or foreign individuals more generally becoming involved in on the ground i think if we compare this particular conflict in syria with the jihad that we've seen or. the world need to repeat the tea with which you've seen the large numbers of foreigners be drawn to the back to fuel is from my perspective on precedent is the number me that would be they were hearing created about our news for british intelligence and it presents a very different cool picture for them to manage in sounding the alarm over this phenomenon authorities are regreasing be worried about what happens when these

individuals return home group of britain's sub already threatened to carry out terrorist attacks in the u.k. and this is believed to be the first direct threat to come out of syria reporting from london i'm tess are cilia. the swiss preparing for a referendum on whether immigration polls show increasing support for the plan to limit the number of foreigners moving to switzerland but some warn it could backfire on the economy. has been finding out. welcome to switzerland breathtaking views plentiful jobs and low taxes it's no surprise that the streets here are growing more crowded some eighty thousand new residents arrive each year a significant number for a country of just eight million our industry our economy needs immigration to a certain point but everybody under and miss underestimated the situation the

number of people coming this much much higher than anywhere else in the world on sunday switzerland will ask its citizens whether to reintroduce quotas for immigration from abroad including e.u. members although itself not a part of the blog switzerland has signed on to the e.u. rules on freedom of movement if passed the initiative would pit the swiss against an angry brussels but supporters aren't worried the swiss parties the swiss said the political elite they were very enthusiastic about joining the european union ten years ago. but people change they saw the disadvantages they saw the immigration is tremendous much bigger than we thought and so there's also a change of thinking and anti immigration slogans are gaining more traction here in switzerland at first about a third of voters supported the initiative now that figure is over forty percent so what's behind this push to keep outsiders out of switzerland will some experts say

and motions a lot to do with that. there is competition in the housing market competition. in treasury. and there is competition in the labor market so it's simmering it's populist politics and this is just anger in there in this field but as elsewhere in europe anti immigration messages seem to be resonating and pollsters say even voters without political affiliation may vent their frustration calm sunday voters like this. swiss businessman who owns a cosmetics factory the name as a manufacturer i profit from this the more people i sell my products to the better but i'm also a swiss citizen i don't want to live like a sardine in my country switzerland is tiny and we simply can't accommodate all the immigrants the country can't take anymore. but the proposed curbs also take aim at highly skilled workers there is no way to run the hells or education system.

because there's no way to do modern business in particular financial services franking without foreigners and there's no way to run to rescind this out waiters and cooks from other countries switzerland is highly dependent on this work force four in ten companies in switzerland including nestle are founded by foreigners last year they created around thirty thousand new jobs politics or between at that no they are against the foibles because they need them i mean we are not stealing their jobs we are just taking the job they don't want to do so that's why i think it's so this so this potentially lou i don't understand how this sunday's vote is likely to strain ties with brussels but the fear is that it could have more economic consequences than the country bargained for reporting for r t in switzerland and lucy catherine of. now the latest edward snowden leaks detail how u.k. intelligence stops nothing when trying to get the information it needs i reports

accuse the british intelligence agents of using sex cyber attacks and propaganda to get to the full story for you right now aleksey dot com why is that i have a look at this as well the rover curiosity it captures an image of planet earth taken directly from the surface of the red planet of the photos for you right now out on t. dot com. let's get to. some of the global headlines now a russian woman is reportedly being killed along with another person in a train derailment in the french alps it was traveling from the coastal city of nice officials say the train came off the tracks off to a boulder smashed into one of the cars injuring nine other passengers emotions the service is now at the scene and rescue operations continue. iran has resumed talks with the un's nuclear watchdog on its atomic program the country's media says one of the issues is the heavy water reactor in iraq which at iran says it could

modify to produce less plutonium in ten days iran begins to go she ations with world powers on a final deal to allay western fears it's not building bombs countries already hold at its most sensitive nuclear for a sions under a preliminary agreement which when it some relief from sanctions. well we're coming to you live from moscow it's the international law researcher stepping aside here comes max kaiser. the first recreational marijuana shops are now open in colorado finally the question of what effect legal marijuana will have on the american public can be

answered with real world experience you know there are a lot of people out there with strong arguments as to why we should legalize this controversial planet firstly there are plenty of things just as bad for us as marijuana or worse like beer cigarettes antidepressants and mystery fast food meats which are totally legal secondly young men are often thrown in jail for the absolutely victimless crime of smoking marijuana i could see punishing someone for drugs like crystal meth which can and do turn people into maniacs but have any of you out there ever heard of someone breaking into people's houses on a we ramp age no no you haven't the downside to all of this is that across america the world people are looking for change and they want to message still rise but when the masses are stoned out of their minds it makes things in life that we shouldn't tolerate become very tolerable we now call allow us to make it through another day of our miserable lives so that we can live without going through. all that effort of trying to make things better or challenging the system legalizing weed will just pacify the masses even more but that's just my opinion.

we will. see you will know the whereabouts of the. almost entirely in the olympic village. committees who will tell the i.o.c. where the. welcome to the kaiser report imax kaiser an article at business insider brags for americans who feel insecure about their country in light of china's impressive achievements it may be reassuring to know that wealthy chinese would rather move to the united states of stay at home yes rich chinese are getting green cards in record numbers

do they love you for your freedom well not exactly for according to the headline china's wealthiest citizens are fleeing to the u.s. amid corruption crackdown yes you americans should feel so insecure because apparently america is the best place to flee to if you're corrupt. they love us for our freedom to steal. and get away with it the shining city on a hellhole that's been stolen. well china's wealthiest citizens are fleeing to us amid corruption crackdown is the headline amid a widening crackdown on corruption china's wealthiest citizens are increasingly seeking a better life abroad the united states is their favored destination so if they have a million dollars they can get a green card in two thousand and ten there were seven hundred seventy two chinese who received these green cards that increased by eight fold by two thousand and twelve to six thousand one hundred twenty four threads or corruption crackdown is

rising in china so the chinese while the chinese that are the jimmy diamonds of their country are fleeing to america because they know that america provide safe haven for a corrupt banking larcenous to. thieving good to no good mix and yes now part of the reason is they're also leaving because of the pollution that we have export and their american corporations export of the pollution there where there's so much pollution you can't even see it kind of looks like london with the fog they're all moving to rush limbaugh's house. so ruslan both being now surrounded by chinese people escaping the pollution that he's so eloquently defended i'm trying these companies have the right to do behalf of profiteers in america the crackdown will go into that here over the last year chairman jim pang has overseen investigations into some of china's wealthiest most powerful party figures including those who have profited massively from the state.