and several thousand firefighters and volunteers are currently trying to extinguish them in total during the whole time that these fires have been raging or fifty people have now been killed and around five hundred people have been injured in the fires and several thousand people have been deprived of their forms basically there probably were just courage to be. currently living in temporary shelters and the off towards the valves to give them full compensation for their property and also to give each affected family a new home in the nearest future and artie's more youthful notion i went to see the full scale of the devastation that these fires have wrought rushes in flames. the hottest summer on record has also become one of the most destructive massive forest fires have burned about the foul thousands of hectares of land in brush with the wind speed twenty meters per second it's moving through fourth as you can see

behind me it's approaching now leaving behind at trade devastation. this used to be a small picturesque really beautiful pine forest some one hundred fifty kilometers south of the russian capital and paradise to the three hundred people who had lived there with a kindergarten. and a community whole. it will never be the same again to dismiss for a frightening display of mother nature's fool force to change it for river. twelve perished in the inferno sun in her refined circumstances panic has been sprayed in among people as fast as the flames have been in gulf in their homes five people an old couple and mother and a son and another woman decided to hide in a basement their place of refuge became their tomb temperatures inside became too hot to survive. and most people in the village managed to flee and it was one of

those that escaped and a later she's bag hoping to find something tagged but it's all in vain. the flames were really high even above that salzhauer and the black smoke filled all the space below i thought really scared when i saw the red glow of the fire and the black smoke you know i've seen houses and barns burning but here the entire village burned down completely this was really horrifying. the dormitory of a local college has become a new home for dozens of homeless it staff in smoky corridors in rooms but it's the only shelter they have now. we won't see things for all this care they feed us here very well they talk to us and we have a corner to sleep. but they hope this tape here will not be long or the speech that this is we've already got about seven thousand dollars in

compensation each pensioners and jobless a bit more but what we're really especially waiting for the new home they promised it to every family within the next three months and we're ready to wait. when the house is a rebuilt the victims of this unstoppable and merciless force who try to rebuild their lives and consign these ghost village to the past all here would rather forget. raef notion r t mostly region. and while russia is baking in the heat central europe is swimming in floods heavy rains have caused the rivers to burst their banks and left at least ten people dead in the last few days the flooding struck an area near the borders of poland germany and the czech republic hailstorms strong winds and torrential rain have destroyed bridges damaged buildings and ruined crops thousands have had to be evacuated from the worst affected areas helicopters are plucking people to safety from the roofs of their homes and a state of emergency has been declared in

a number of cities meteorologist warned that the rains will continue all sunday. south ossetia is in mourning as it remembers the victims of the war with georgia two years ago hundreds were killed when tbilisi attacked its breakaway republic in august two thousand and eight r.t. correspondent natalia was following the commemorations in the south of certain capital. several sorry monies have been help their publics president who are quite delayed grief stole the places that have become symbols that were bogus two thousand and eight here in c involve one of those places was a local school number six nearby which a lot of people have been killed and it has become involved has become one of the places where reefs are laid annually in a small village of he thought i would have outside of involved and museum called museum over burned soldiers was open it basically looks like dozens of burned down

cars put in a circle with a monument in between them many families have died in those cars trying to scape south say to as the war broke out and they were simply burned down by the georgian tanks first racoon began last night at eleven thirty five pm that's moment here in south the city it is remembered vividly as two years exactly from now i'm sorry two years ago exactly at that time georgia began its assault in south a city and opens fire many people are wearing black in south of setia today as well as some believe it is buildings that are covered with black fabric very sad day here indeed but let's not forget that in just about two weeks time people here will be celebrating the second anniversary over the nation of independence of the republic and that will take place on the twenty sixth of opus will the reconstruction is in full swing here many of infrastructure objects have been restored several more schools and kidan gardens will be finished by the september

also many people have received new homes that they can now live in of course it's still a long expensive and difficult process so some are still waiting for new homes local university still hasn't been restored but i was here last year as well as two years ago and i can tell you what i see with my own eyes is definite progress small airport is being built outside of the capital to involve so life here is slowly getting back to normal and as my cold night eyes he's a reason based here reports it's not only construction is taking place not only in the republic but also in the relations between the south the city and enjoy living here. he. yes she is a georgian who lives in south ossetia he was born here and didn't leave his home even during the war he has a small farm and keeps a reasonably sized garden for his own needs but what you know this family was swallow's is his favorite pastime he says.

is it safe for you and ethnic georgian to live here in south a city especially after two years ago georgia atop this republic. we're going to have it is safe here no one is bothering us the satans were saying don't worry don't go away stay even during the war no one came until the sleeve. the overwhelming majority of the population in this city in a village where yasha lease or georgians a pharmacy or small scale trade has some regularly travel to georgia as that's where they nearest hospital is this is a checkpoint controlled by russian border guards they hear not only to secure the republic but also to guarantee free movement of the locals who live in this segment to georgia and back this is essential as many of them have relatives on both sides of the franks yeah. here is your passport thank you the roads are bad in this place toward public and it can take several hours to reach the capital so

many go to georgia to shop. there are no problems between the ordinary people like us who have nothing to petition it's the people in power the government. we need peace first of all we need two of us friends just like both of us sitting here there must be a confrontation between georgia and. brothers and sisters here. to. fuses to recognize this over into its format to a tree but these two old friends georgian and to see. the time has come to restore relations between georgia and south it's just separate independent countries. from south. and it does look like on the other side of the georgian south border the attitude towards the war its causes and consequences is also changing as my colleague. from b.b.c.

. that's what i tell you the attitude is changing if two years ago people did feel that there was a right and presence of us for his behalf to start a confrontation with the sense here two years later that attitude has changed dramatically a lot of people do not believe that conflict of any sort is the way to go in fact many of them most of the people who live in georgia have already been through several bloody conflict so a lot of people are feeling very strong antiwar sentiment in fact. quite a few people came out on the streets today in order to protest the decision that was made two years ago by president because for me to attack the said there is also a very strong anti-war sentiment amongst the representatives of the opposition forces in the country labor party has actually called for sanctions to be imposed on the georgian president they did not specify what sort of sanctions but they did say that it is time that the international community has let it known that actions like the ones that were taken by the georgian president in the summer of two

thousand eight hundred no circumstances be repeated ever again and about let's have a listen to what the leader of the conservative party had to say on the matter as well within that it was a big. and we see this results. so i. think. it was one of the biggest mistakes for sure but you also have to remember that at this point president president really is not stepping off the war path in fact georgia's citizens are being bombarded by messages that russia it was the main aggressor in two thousand and eight and russia is getting ready to strike again really has actually made a speech just at the end of last week at the ministry of defense meeting saying

that very thought to say that the country should be prepared for an attack at every single moment that every village every resident of every town should be prepared to take up arms and go defend their country. their reporting from georgia. following the conflict in southern russia decided to recognize the independence of the republic and another georgian breakaway region. president dmitri medvedev spoke about the reasons behind the move. the decision russia made after the military conflict wasn't an easy one but time is shown it was the right move for the existence of the uprising in south the city and people was at the time under threat and if those decisions were made the situation would have been totally different. currently on a visit to president medvedev said he was glad to see life changing for the better

in the region and promised that russia would continue to help with reconstruction the next step is likely to be the resumption of direct travel to an area which was stopped after georgia's war with the republic in the early one nine hundred ninety s. . it is sixty five years since two japanese cities hiroshima and nagasaki became the only places on earth where atomic bombs were deliberately used against civilians more than two hundred thousand people died either in the last two or due to radiation poisoning after the us launched its nuclear attack on friday held its biggest memorial yet remembering the victims of the tragedy and for the first time washington sent of representatives it was also a u.n. secretary general ban ki moon but despite this international attention still a group of victims in japan but only now getting help. at eight fifteen in the morning on august sixth one thousand nine hundred forty five the united states destroyed the city of hiroshima instantly with an atomic bomb while

not directly hit the people living in the surrounding area faced another danger black brain. that there was a big heaven and earth overturned. started to turn away blouses black with spots and even though here in pieces. the bomb sent a mushroom cloud into the atmosphere creating its own weather system pouring down a radioactive suit filled the rain onto the survivors the u.s. and japanese governments acknowledged black rain as a health risk and set up an official area where they believed the phenomenon had occurred but people living around here ashima say the designated section was far too small and that the government didn't do enough to protect the entire population that suffered now groups of survivors like of the black rain association are gathering to make their voices heard. our members consider to. more than eighty percent of us suffer from serious or related illnesses and cancer we just want to

government to recognize. this building was destroyed in the initial blast and miraculously this wall was left standing it is been the left here as a memorial to that tragic event and to like this bill. victims in the media path of the radiation wave are easier to identify than those in the surrounding areas in an ironic twist it is another set of buildings built shortly after the bomb was dropped that has given scientists the information they need to help black rain survivors. two or three years ago we found nine thousand houses with mud under the floorboards because when the houses were built we know when the mud was exposed and when we took samples of the mud still radioactive evidence of radioactivity from black rain can go a long way towards getting help for the victims also using new technology teams are reassessing the size of the radioactive cloud. commission that identified the original area calculated the mushroom cloud at eight kilometers but by finding the

poor and old the pilot and where photos were taken we can get a better idea of the real height which ended up being sixteen two on the doors more than twice that we had thought traditionally to be armed with new information in the city of hiroshima has commissioned a new study with the idea of increasing the official area for a bomb and black rain victims. our biggest goal is to extend the black rain area and continue to care for the health and support the survivors even now sixty five years on from the event the tragedy continues in hiroshima alone it is estimated that three hundred fifty thousand people were exposed to the bombing nearly one hundred fifty thousand died today the city that was once destroyed is a thriving epicenter for culture and peace those who live here fight to rid the world of nuclear weapons through their experience stories and memory sean thomas hiroshima japan. dr robert jacobs from the. believe the us presence of the

ceremony marks a turning point in washington's attitude. i think that there's still a lot of contention in america over how that called his actions were viewed how the bombings of hiroshima nagasaki were viewed it was only in one thousand nine hundred five that at an exhibition commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the bombing at the smithsonian institution in the united states that there was controversy over including photographs of him shot along with the display of the enola gay but i think that the attendance of the ambassador today is a testimony to president obama's desire to effect healing and to find finally get over the division that's happened over through this bombing and i believe that this is laying the groundwork for obama himself to attend the ceremony sometime in the future or to visit hiroshima sometime during his presidency. it's not just one in twenty minutes past the hour here in moscow you are with r.t.

it's good to have accompanied today and a group of former intelligence military officials from the u.s. says demanding immediate action from barack obama to prevent a war in the middle east they claim israel is counting on washington to offer unconditional support for an attack on iran as early as this month it comes just days after a u.s. top brass refused to rule out a strike on the islamic state the group which includes former cia agents says that a war in iran will ignite a regional conflict which could lead to the annihilation of israel to iran has repeatedly refused diplomatic relations with tel aviv as it maintains the jewish state has no right to exist political analyst michel chossudovsky believes any israeli action would have to be given the green light from washington for us to. so your stories of this memo are very. serious. people and of course this message should be taken very seriously it is technically from a military standpoint impossible for israel to actually launch

a war on iran without the green light from the united states we have to understand that this this is not strictly an israeli military project the united states since the mid ninety's has indicated iran as a possible target and that the war plans which have been ongoing since two thousand and four have been a joint program of the u.s. they total and israel so that in fact these war plans already ongoing it may be convenient for washington to let israel unleash the attack and in fact dick cheney back in back in two thousand and four intimated that israel might do the work for us so to speak iran has ten percent of the global oil and gas was five times those of the united states it's a it has tremendous wealth and ultimately war in that region is the battle for oil

and natural gas the threat of war is real the implications are far reaching if that war were launched. within the next few months the whole region with player up from the eastern mediterranean right through to the chinese border. and coming up for you a little bit later in the program e.u. ought to be happy now parasailing donkey still leading the high life but thankfully these days with all hoops firmly on the ground as he checks into the luxury a scramble in riding school. well what's in a name russia's militia could soon be finding out president via their one stammering named as the police title the force held before the bolshevik revolution almost one hundred years ago the move which includes a number of other measures will be up for public discussion including on the internet last december the president ordered sweeping reforms of the police

proposals included cutting the number of officers by around a quarter and keeping only the most qualified the militia has come under immense pressure recently after several high profile cases of murder and corruption by high ranking officers. estonia has held a military exercise commemorating nazi collaborators the annual international war game called the raid honors a reconnaissance group that worked behind red army lines during world war two russia says the exercise glorifies it is stone news corp with hitler's regime while tellin claims it's just a sporting event estonia comes in for frequent criticism for honoring nazi sympathizers former british m.e.p. glyn ford believes the drill may be a signal of nazi support on a political level. what concerns me about this it appears how some support from if you only officials within the estonian government and that's what's much more concerning because that indicates if you want to

a political collaboration with the people organizing this event it's clearly both offensive and bizarre that while there is a new enthusiasm for extreme sports there actually basing it around a nazi collaborating organization. second world war out of sort the generally across the european union the vast majority of people will be horrified about what's going on there always are a small minority of people who actually sympathize with the nazis but they are extremely small these days i can't imagine that anywhere would support for this kind of event. and a quick update now on other world events and at least one hundred twenty seven people have been killed in landslides triggered by heavy rain in western china two thousand are missing after floodwaters tore through the gansu province toppling buildings and overturning cars the disasters the latest to affect the country this summer which has seen the worst seasonal flooding in a decade. fifty three people have been killed by two landslides in pakistan have

the monsoon rains have worsened the flood crisis which is the worst the country's seen in eighty years a red alert has been issued in the south of the country as rescue and food aid efforts have been hampered by bad weather the deluge which started. two weeks ago it's claimed the lives of at least fifteen hundred people officials say thirteen million have been affected at this point. a car bomb in the iraqi city of ramadi has killed eight people and wounded more than twenty others the attack comes a day after a chain of explosions in the country's second largest city had killed forty three and left as many as one hundred eighty five injured insurgent attacks have risen since march elections failed to elect a clear winner and america confirmed the withdrawal of combat troops by the end of the month. dramatic footage here the most it shows the moment a tornado destroyed a home in the united states a storm chaser driving through the state of minnesota captured a twister crossing

a field before tore through a farmhouse demolishing it and scattering the debris officials say the building was empty at the time no injuries were reported. while the terrified beach donkey sent soaring into the skies in a p.r. stunt can now look forward to a better life and that because forced flight shock millions of people around the world while awaiting her new owner a pretty tabloid to pick her up she's taking a rehabilitation course for the luxury of scrabble and writing school near moscow. the donkey has learned it russia's notorious four legged fly is finally able to breathe easy and up to the donkey arrived in moscow after days on the road from southern russia not because she's not complaining she's very sweet and everyone fell in love with her and we don't want to give you know and now the knock a strange journey started with her now infamous flight up above the beach when the power sail pulled by a boat a publicity trick by

a local water sports company when police found out the owner run away and was only found later. sitting on the beach parachute go i couldn't quite figure it out myself or legs now of my own. it's a donkey the animals distressed brain also brought simply from around the world celebrities and animal rights activists were hot to trot with their opinions this animal was suffering was captured on videos and photographs and the way it spread through the media is really amazing and i think what the public has done is create a demand you know for animals to be treated better the culprit presented of that certificate showing the animal was not physically harmed so is unlikely to face prosecution nevertheless the outcry means anat cohen now spend a month at the prestigious kremlin riding school drinking filtered water eating a special diet prepared by a nutritionist and being message with medical point mints might get a little bit of the meat if we have well equipped stables good for dinner and

a team of professional experts who take care of the horses and what after office to housing up to have flooded in from all over the world and not all from way you might expect the manager of england's top man hotspur football club harry redknapp has said he would happily put on that go up harry has an ambition to open his own animal sanctuary in the hunt sure area of england and he has perhaps could and could join him at that animal sanctuary and not been here now has her feet planted firmly on the ground so wherever she ends up after this month for the moment she can just relax tom barton party. i'll be back with the headlines in just a few moments.

by one. so the people that are going to be validating this machine stand there all day long and vote for somebody and it will be right every time but the guy can walk up here and if he hits the right button.

it is a. top story closes in. spreading across. people in cities struggling to breathe. remembers the hundreds killed in the war with georgia two years after. the republic . razed to the ground. sixty five years. for the first time. for the memorial service. in about half an hour's time my colleague bill dog will

be here but next. the story of a man who was commissioned to create a vote rigging software that many believe helped george w. bush win the two thousand and four election our special report on this is next. mr curtis if you would come forward. and ask the court reporter to swear the witness. mr curtis would you please state your full name for the record i name is clinton eugene curtis and what is your profession i'm a computer programmer mr curtis are there programs that can be used to secretly fix elections yes how do you know that the be the case because in october of two thousand i wrote a prototype for president congressman tom feeney at the company i work for you know

beetle florida that did just that it would really going to lakshman it would flip the vote fifty one forty nine who ever you want to go to and whichever ray she wanted to went to who ever you wanted to win. on november second two thousand for george bush was more popular even middle of an unpopular war i was watching the exit polls and looked very clear that john kerry was going to wind. up going for duty. was. and then all of a sudden the numbers that were coming in did not match up with what was coming in from the exit polls and it didn't make any sense it just didn't make any sense late in the evening six states that exit polls showed we're going to carry suddenly veered off to bush.