and what is coming to algeria and they will not leave algeria alone until they are divided and destroyed and even. leaders are saying this thanks for your thoughts under their activists and journalists rather time but thank you for being on the program which preceded well ok as we heard some analysts suggesting africa's untapped natural resources could be the main reason attracting western powers to the continent's also being cited as a pretext for the intervention in mali we've been talking about this week despite the country being considered among the world's poorest nations it has plenty to offer when it comes to wealth that lies beneath let's take a look at the screen take a look at it the african nation is the continent's third largest producer of gold that we've mapped to the there's mali garnishing see south africa and you can see that it trails only south africa and garner there are some four cars which indicated could move into first place indeed in gold exports in the near future some other facts and figures energy is another of molly's economic trouble with it she radium depos

we do have an unmanned drone that was locate odd over the incident in algeria. that's under way in that eastern part today. we, in mali are helping to airlift the french in. we're helping to fund a lot of these projects. we're also giving malaria drugs, gps, kevlar vest, helmets to african militaries to go in to intervene. so that's what we are doing on that end. and the french military can work alongside those african militaries. they don't have the same laws restricting their movement like we do here. so we're providing a lot of information to them. >> you mentioned the fact that the secretary had been to africa and had some exploratory meetings there. did they see this coming? >> well, the secretary has had africa and particularly taking on al qaeda in east africa as a clear priority for some time. this challenge of taking on al qaeda in mali has really come to the foreearlier this year, earlier in the fall. all of this really boiled up after the fall of mo mar qaddafi in libia. i know we are throwing a lot of countries in here. but it was after you saw some

gas compound in algeria. a number of british citizens have been taken hostage and i think we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility of bad news ahead. >> the whole thing began when 20 armed militants called themselves the battalion of blood took control of the gas plant and seized workers and scores of algerian supporters. the gunmen demanded the release of prisonners in algerian jails and called on the government to withdraw its cooperation with france's military offensive in mali. >> what is happening in algeria justifies even more the decision i took in the name of france to come and help mali in compliance to the charge of the united nations and request of the president of the country. >> algeria has been building stronger lengths with america and europe by combating al qaeda elements within its borders but foreign governments were told what happened when key decisions were made and what went wrong. allen fisher, jalede. allen fisher al jazeera. >> let's bring in the former chief of the c.i.a. in a

one american hostage confirmed dead in algeria. cnn communicates with another hostage who managed to escape. the nra's power is growing even after newtown. let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, breaking news on lance armstrong. coming clean, part two. the 41-year-old former cyclist continued his confession with more revelations about his cheating and lying for more than a decade. ed lavandera has been following the story. he's in austin tonight. ed? >> reporter: erin, oprah promised leading into this interview that it was at times emotional, and on this second night is when we finally saw some of that emotion. lance armstrong becoming the most emotional we saw him in this two-night interview when he had to explain to his kids that he had been lying all along for more than a decade. >> when this all really started, i saw my son defending me and saying that's not true. what you're saying about my dad is not true. and it almost goes to this question of why now. yeah. that's when i knew i had to tell

straight to our top story and the islamic terrorist cell allegedly responsible for the deadly siege in algeria says france is carrying out a crusader campaign in the region almost sixty hostages were killed after militants captured a remote gas plant in retaliation for the ongoing french intervention in neighboring mali well the islamists claim they wanted to negotiate the release of their captives but the offer was turned down but the algerian military deciding to storm the facility causing a bloodbath more terror attacks have now been promised and less friend. and the campaign in north africa some of the hostage takers were militants from libya where paris helped islamists topple the late colonel gadhafi who had warned of an impending al qaeda surge in the region marty is probably has more you want to peace you wanted freedom you wanted economic progress france great britain europe will always stand by the libyan people but a regional crisis probably wasn't what mr sarkozy anticipated when he was spearheading the military operation to topple moammar gadhafi although the former french preside

a number of civilian hostages are dead with more being held at gunpoint by islamic terrorists in algeria that's a retaliation for the french assault in neighboring mali but paris maintains its actions are justified. force to tackle the hostage crisis in algeria british prime minister david cameron yet again delays a long anticipated andress aimed at tackling the issue of the u.k.'s future role within the european union. the artistic director of russia's bolshoi theatre undergoes treatment for severe chemical burns to his face following an acid attack which officials are linking to sinister professional rivalry. and as israeli voters prepare to head to the polls next tuesday we'll look into wine prime minister benjamin netanyahu is seeing his support every way. it's six pm here in moscow this is r t coming to you live with me and he said no way good to have you with us our top story this hour islamic terrorists are still holding an international group of hostages at a gas plant in algeria with the local military continuing their attempts to free the captives about sixty foreigners remain

is the most militants who are holding it dozens of foreign hostages at a gas field in algeria reportedly made some of them wear belts packed with explosives a gunman attacked the facility on wednesday killing at least two of the kidnapping around forty now reports suggest that around a half of the hostages have managed to escape at this point the hostage takers are demanding an end to the french led combat action against insurgents in neighboring mali meanwhile the operation in the west african state has intensified french troops are now on the ground to back up a heavy air campaign against al qaeda linked groups the. he's also received the gist the core support from its nato allies or the e.u. prepares to send hundreds of its military personnel to train them early and a u.k. based political analyst dan glazebrook joins us now to tell us more about the whole prospects of the mission and more talk about the rising threat of retaliation strikes as well a pleasure to see you thanks for coming on it has been now less than a week since france intervened in mali there already we are seeing ret

let's start off with the hostage situation in algeria. what do you understand at this point? >> first, i think we have to extend condolences to those families of those to a lost life. situation is fluid. hostages reportedly have been taken coming from at least eight different countries, including britain, japan, ireland. there are still reports that not only those that have been killed coming potentially from britain, france, japan and other countries, but also this is a crisis that is still under way. the algerian military is still seeing this as an ongoing incident. the information is scant t and fluid, changing very rapidly. it is coming out very slowly because of -- remember, algeria is essentially a military state. information is not flowing freely. there is a reluctance to share information with international actors, particularly former colonial powers, given the history of what has happened in algeria. >> the reports are coming out initially saying many of the western countries, governments, were angry about the that the algerians moved in without first discussing or t

we begin with the latest on the fluid situation, the hostage situation in algeria. we're awaiting for word on the fate of several americans held by terrorists. two others from the u.s. are safe tonight after a daring escape. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is at the pentagon again tonight with what is happening right now. good evening, jennifer. >> good evening, bret. the algeria rescue appears to be over but the fate of several americans remains unclear. fox news learned two american survivors are en route to london right now. b.p. chartered a flight out of algeria for the plea employees, some of whom narrowly escaped death. kidnappers said they took dozens of hostages at the b.p. oil and gas facility in response to algeria, giving the french permission to fly to neighboring mali where the french troops are trying to push back to al-qaeda-linked rebels. >> instability in mali has created the opportunity for a staging base and safe haven for terrorists. >> more than 41 foreign oil workers were captured by the al-qaeda linked group whose leader lost

in algeria. interest extremists --- islamic extremists are holding dozens of workers hostage deep in the sahara desert. the algerian army has surrounded a gas complex and will doubt any negotiations. this is the man they think is behind one of the most serious hostage crises in decades. mokhtar belmokhtar issued a statement calling for an end to the french military intervention against islamist rebels in neighboring mali. we will be asking if that's really the reason. >> the complex and deep in the algerian desert that is the focus of the international hostage standoff, now supposedly surrounded by the algerian army. there were clashes overnight between algerian troops and the heavily armed hostage-takers. with americans, japanese, algeriansand held hostage. >> i would like to say these kind of acts are absolutely unforgivable. after hearing the news last night, i gave out three orders. act with a party to the lives of people. gather as much information as possible. third, coordinate and closely

dozens of hostages seized by al-qaeda linked insurgents are reported dead in algeria following a botched rescue attempt by the country's military. and the crisis in algeria causes david cameron to once again delay a much anticipated speech on the u.k.'s future within the european union. plus as israel gets ready to go to the polls prime minister benjamin netanyahu struggles to maintain support for his reelection bid. and the ballet director of russia's most famous theater is undergoing treatment for severe burns to the face after being injured in a shocking acid attack. live from our studios in moscow you're watching r t with me and you so now it's good to have you with us let's get straight to our top story and algeria says there are a number of dead and injured following a hostage rescue attempt at a gas plant near its border with libya an al qaeda linked group say the hostage taking was in retaliation for france's military intervention in neighboring mali now a french president francois along believes that the latest developments justify the ongoing offensive let's get more from artie

this is r t thanks for being with us tonight seven more foreign hostages are reportedly killed in algeria as the military carries out what's called the final assault to free the last remaining captives from islamic terrorists we'll bring you up to speed with the latest there. david cameron is accused of fudging the e.u. issue with political rival seizing on extracts of his address on britain's future in the union which they say threatens the country's democracy. and latest too on the bolshoi theatre is artistic director he successfully undergoes the first operation to save his eyesight after an acid attack that's being linked to his profession. very good evening chief thanks for being with us it's kevin owen here at the new center tonight just after eight pm now moscow time and our top story eleven islamic terrorists and seven foreign civilians have reportedly been killed in algeria after the military launched a final raid to free the hostages held at that gas plant the militants said they took the captives in revenge for the french intervention in neighboring mali let's go live to paris

but outside algeria as well. they had to act quickly. they knew that they needed to have the hostages together while they were in 1 place. it would have been much more difficult had they been spread out and taken by the terrorist. >> professor, is this now a regional crisis? >> well, in many ways, jeff, this has been a regional crisis, ever since the libyan reg seem-- regime, the qaddafi regime was replaced in libya, remember that after the civil war in libya we had kind of a power vacuum and following that power vacuum, the fact that a lot of the weapons that the good avi regime had bought had been spread throughout the country and smuggled into neighboring countries. so in that kind of vacuum that existed came in a number of groups including islamist groups that then took the opportunity to really stand up against, particularly as we now know in mali but also targeted some of the neighboring regime, some of the neighboring countries. and so in a sense it is not only a regional crisis, it's really a crisis that

citizen frederick butaccio in algeria. he is from texas. one other american mark cobb has managed to escape and told cnn he is safe in an undisclosed location. there are still many unanswered questions about what happened at the gas field in algeria. one thing is clear, there is a libya connection. chris lawrence is at the pentagon with an "outfront" investigation. >> reporter: the land nato liberated from moammar gadhafi is now home to multiple training camps for potential terrorists. >> militants sympathetic to al qaeda have established quasi safe havens in several parts of lib ra. >> reporter: benghazi where americans were targeted and four killed is just one of the strongholds. but the camps are spread throughout the country. libyan officials tell cnn terrorist analyst paul cruikshank. >> amongst their numbers are people with direct connections to al qaeda central. >> reporter: at least three training camps near the december cert in the algerian border, 30 miles from the gas complex that's under siege. a u.s. official tells cnn the mili

then his former bosses asked him to lead one more project in algeria. he wrote about it on facebook before he left. >> translator: i'm working all over the world to see the twinkling, starlit sky. next i will see the stars from the desert in algeria. >> reporter: his brother, mitsunobu, heard about the hostage taking, then waited day after day for a call from rokuro. it never came. >> translator: rokuro was kind and a good brother. i just want to hug him. that's the only thing i want to do. >> reporter: fumihiro ito worked in algeria. he had spent years developing energy resources. he led a project to develop gas fields in sahara desert. ito came from minamisanriku a town devastated in the tsunami two years ago. now his 82-year-old mother lives alone in temporary housing. she says she has no mementos to remember her son. he and his former classmates were planning to get together next month to celebrate their 60th birthdays. >> translator: ito said he would join the party but would not stay overnight because he wanted to visit his mother and stay with he

but outside algeria as well. they had to act quickly. they knew that they needed to have the hostages together while they were in 1 place. it would have been much more difficult had they been spread out and taken by the terrorist. >> professor, is this now a regional crisis? >> well in many ways jeff this has been a regional crisis, ever since the libyan reg seem-- regime the qaddafi regime was replaced in libya, remember that after the civil war in libya we had kind of a power vacuum and following that power vacuum the fact that a lot of the weapons that the good avi regime had bought had been spread throughout the country and smuggled into neighboring countries. so in that kind of vacuum that existed came in a number of groups including islamist groups that then took the opportunity to really stand up against particularly as we now know in mali but also targeted some of the neighboring regime, some of the neighboring countries. and so in a sense it is not only a regional crisis it's really a crisis that involve

a mixed picture in algeria as many hostages celebrate their escape or rescue. uncertainty remains about how many have been killed. uncovering evidence of a massacre, the bbc is inside a syrian town. and 50 years after martin luther king's speech, they look at why that dream might still be on fulfill. >> make sense of international -- unfulfilled. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also throughout the globe. three days after islamist militants stormed a gas line in algeria, there is confusion about the face of those taken hostage. hundreds of foreign workers have reportedly been freed, but there are still conflicting reports about the number that might have been killed. the secretary of state level the incident an act of terror. the correspondent has the latest. >> one of the survivors of the attack, the of jury in state television has shown pictures of some that have escaped the gas complex including some for britain starting their journey home. they are just as confused about details of first hostage taking and then the algerian militar

i go back to the situation of algeria. this energy infrastructure was regarded as largely immune from this type of unrest. other countries are far more vulnerable and these groups operate there. >> it's fascinating. we said iea put out their 2013 view and it includes a sense that there's going to be a demand rebound particularly in china that supplies are, in fact, tight. how important is this part of the world for energy markets? >> huge. one of the reasons we could absorb the loss of iranian exports because of sanctions was a full return of libyan output to prewar levels. and you have to look at the situation in libya. we know eastern libya has been having extreme security problems. look what happens to the u.s. consulate. look what happens to the italian consulate this week. as these groups start targeting the energy sector, that could be real trouble for the energy markets. >> what do you recommend from here? whether it's investors, some of the countries operating in this part of the world. what do they do now if this

he grew up in the deserts of southern algeria. he fought with rebels in afghanistan in the early owe 9 ohs and then devastating civil war. that group became al qaeda and the islamic maghreb. it was then that he received another nickname, mr. marlboro. >> he's called mr. marlboro because of his significant krci smuggling. >> a practice which allegedly made belmokhtar millions and maiden mes within al qaeda. because his gangster ways did not live up to the al qaeda idle, he he formed a commando group called those who sign with blood. that's the group that launched this activity in algeria. would he kill whatever hostages are left? >> he has a track record of trying to get something out of every terrorist attack that he carries out and so just executing hostages has never really been his m.o. >> and there's a chance that belmokhtar may be wheeling and dealing again. the militants at that algerian fality are demanding the release of a well known pakistani militant as well as the so-called blind sheikh. wolf, lit or no chance -- really

a number of civilian hostages are dead with more being held at gunpoint by islamic terrorists in algeria that's in retaliation for the french assault in neighboring mali but paris maintains its actions are justified. force to tackle the hostage crisis in algeria british prime minister david cameron yet again delays a long anticipated address aimed at tackling the issue of ukraine's future role within the european union. and as israeli voters prepare to head to the polls next tuesday we'll look into why prime minister benjamin netanyahu is seeing his support at the way. warm welcome to you live from our studios in moscow you're watching r t with me i need to now it's five pm here in the russian capital two pm in aus years now islamic terrorists are still holding an international group of hostages at a gas plant in algeria with the local military continuing their attempts to free the captives a number of civilians were killed during an unannounced rescue attempt by algerian forces which drew anger from the international community well the militants say they're acting in revenge for the fre

a mixed picture in algeria as many hostages celebrate their escape or rescue. uncertainty remains about how many have been killed. uncovering evidence of a massacre, the bbc is inside a syrian town. and 50 years after martin luther king's speech, they look at why that dream might still be on fulfill. >> make sense of international -- unfulfilled. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also throughout the globe. three days after islamist militants stormed a gas line in algeria, there is confusion about the face of those taken hostage. hundreds of foreign workers have reportedly been freed, but there are still conflicting reports about the number that might have been killed. the secretary of state level the incident an act of terror. the correspondent has the latest. >> one of the survivors of the attack, the of jury in state television has shown pictures of some that have escaped the gas complex including some for britain starting their journey home. they are just as confused about details of first hostage taking and then the algerian militar

adam: what does this do for bp in algeria. this is not kid a military group that has done this, shouldn't they be expecting another oil and gas developers expect in this kind of attack on their facilities? what will that do? do they have to hire people to protect them? >> i think it is too early to say whether bp will pull out completely or will reduce its personnel based in algeria. most important thing to point out here is this is not necessarily going to be the first episode of a series of attacks against oil and gas facilities in algeria. the majority is a heavily botrytis area and very difficult to carry out their attacks if u consider in 20 years is probably the first episode of this kind and algeria went through very bloody and tough war in the 90s. adam: the greatest concern for potential disruption of gas supply would be in europe. it is mostly europe with natural gas? >> absolutely. algeria is a major supplier of natural gas to europe an specifically the southern european states of spain and italy. even a disruption

. >> and libya, algeria mali. no doubt that the algerian terrorist had weapons from libya and no doubt that the malian rements aqim have weapons from lib yampt is north africa the new headquarters for terroristpeter kings talks. >> and a dolphin in distress asked humans for help in the deep blue sea and jimicle yehis wife jill on how their marriage survives infell dillity and help. >> governor mike huckabee. welcome to huckabee. we are coming to you from los angeles tonight. this week callers to my radio show were not optmistic with four years of president obama at the helm. most of them lean conservative. but the term i heard was america was going to the dogs. i take strong exception to that. tuesday january 15th my black lab bradorjet died. he would have been 15 years old. i wanted to talk about it last week and i was afraid not to get through it without completely losing it we had three wonderful dogs. jet was my inseparable companian as a anniversary gift. he was my hunting buddy and fishing companion and sat

he returned to be a major islamist fighter in algeria, fought for 20 years in algeria. a war, by the way, in which 200,000 people have been killed, something that we know too little of over here in north america. he's a very serious guy. >> so what was it like to be held by them. what did they make you do? >> i was terrified the whole time. they grabbed me and my colleague and our driver just outside of the capital of niger. they took us 1,100 kilometers due north into the middle of the sahara desert. we stayed half of that time in one place and in 25 different places for the other half. we never knew when we would move or when we wouldn't. there was no shelter, there were no buildings. we lay in the sand. it was cold at night and hot in the day. the food was appalling. and every moment, every single moment, i thought that it would end like your colleague, daniel pearl, in a tent with a knife at my throat, and you'd all be watching it on cnn. >> that's something horrible to think about, robert, but as you're talking, as you said, this group's leader is affiliated with a

>> hostages in algeria, relief, but the crisis is not over yet with others still unaccounted for. this is aljazeera. also coming up, after military intervention, many may be forced to flee. outrage after the bolshoi ballet has someone with acid thrown in their face. >> did you ever take drugs to enhance your performance? >> yes. >> lying and bullying. what will the world here next from lance armstrong? -- hear next? a military operation at an algerian gas plant appears to be ongoing, three days after al qaeda-flynt fighters took hundreds of workers hostage. although more than six other people are reported to have been released, 30 foreign workers remain unaccounted for. algerian state media says 12 hostages have died. >> these and the people we were able to escape what may have been a terrifying experience for them, and relieved, they most certainly are. algerian television took these pictures, and it shows men, with praise for the algerian army, which took on the hostage crisis. >> the algerian army. >> i think they did a fantastic job. i am very impressed. >> my thoughts are wit

the nationals are being held from algeria, ireland, japan, france, and the united states, and britain. >> many of the people i've worked in the area many years. i asked for your understanding for not being able to give you more detailed information. >> it's not clear how many algerian workers are being held. least 30 people have managed to escape. a catering company said that it has 150 employees alone still confined at the plant. the gas field is in remote parts of the country's eastern desert, serviced by its own air fields, accommodations, and hospital. several hundred people are believed to work on the base at any one time. it's just 100 kilometers west of the libyan border. one armed group says it carried out the attack as payback for algeria allowing france to use its air bases in the assault against al qaeda dazzling spiders in neighboring mali. >> according to the information we have, there are about 20 terrorists inside. we believe they take orders from him and i don't believe they came from mali or libya. this is a revenge attack aimed at foreign countries participating in t

the american hostages in algeria. defense secretary, leon panetta, today, quick to call it a terrorist attack as he is traveling in europe. the interior minister says they are angry for the french offensive in mali. they attacked an oil field killing two and seizing a number of hostages. we have been working this story throughout the day. the exact number of u.s. hostages is unclear perhaps as few as three americans are being held. earlier in the day, we had heard it would be as many as seven. it is unclear if the number is wrong or some were able to escape. what are the latest reports there on the hostage situation? >> reporter: as you said, erin, we are still hearing conflicting reports about the number of hostages still being held. we are seeking confirmation from the british prime minister's office as to whether one of those hostages they have claimed to have killed was, indeed, british. we are getting more clarity on who is behind this. both militants and the algerian minister says the man they want to negotiate

tonight, administration officials say algeria did not inform the u.s. in advance of today's attack to attempt to rescue those hostages. but in the end it probably wouldn't have mattered. according to one defense official, the algerians were in total control. brian. >> jim miklashevski at the pentagon. where we'll keep an eye on it. >>> another big story today, big progress to report tonight in this country's war on cancer, specifically a dramatic drop in cancer death rates over the last 20 years. but the news from the american cancer society is not all good. it comes with a big warning about the next big risk. here with that our chief science correspondent, robert bazell. >> reporter: the report out today illustrates huge strides in the fight against cancer which kills one in four americans. the death rate down more than 20% in the last two decades is attributed to improved survival from the biggest killers, lung and colon cancer, for both men and women. breast cancer in women and prostate cancer. >> the public should be ecstatic we are seeing these kin