brighton if you knew someone from france to. keep don't come.

frances paralyzed by the product protests against cutbacks and pension reform but anger is now turning towards the rioters are making the country's dire situation worse. allegations of child abuse in one of russia's oldest convent teenagers accused of beating them. and they're very frightened of the state of the u.s. economy more and more u.s. citizens are trying to escape into the world. well can't you say from the reality of recession the people accusing someone of a slum. they're broadcasting live from moscow this is r.t. france is braced for another day of unrest after three million people took to the

streets on tuesday hurling stones torching cars and smashing shop windows they're angry at government plans to raise the retirement age from sixty to sixty two which would still be one of the lowest in europe but not everyone wants to protest tease . reports on those who say the country needs to get back to reality and be. to work . young smart and ambitious lucy is slipping her time between a master's degree and working for a large international company for her the recent protests in paris are first and foremost a personal distraction i'm not driving because in paris you don't really need your car so i'm using the. headquarter of my company yeah it's it's longer like i need like one and not moral according to trade union officials in france over three million people took to the streets across the country but people like you see no the numbers don't always

reflect reality t.j. sion in france there is also like a committee is just to avoid school it's like six years ago i made the same when i was in high school. i went to this race because i can avoid. the rowdy crowd certainly give off a celebratory vibe singing dancing and shouting but while they're spending day after day protesting a reform that is aimed to aid their country they're very actions are doing serious damage it's basically this is one of the reform to. restore the. system remove disincentive for working out older ages as well give a signal of the commitment of the government to. take structural reforms that will raise the potential of the economy as well. the numbers really

speak for themselves france has a huge foreign debt the fourth largest in the world and unlike in the united states there is no board advertising the numbers also unlike the united states where there is no annual paid leave the french enjoy the longest paid holidays thirty days a year. their attire which is what the people are protesting about this time is one of the lowest in the world countries also affected by the global financial crisis like italy and spain have already increased there but with less widespread opposition from the people so are these protests a true sign of a democracy or simply a force of habit by the french people used to pouring out in the streets to get their way or is this a sign that government needs to negotiate with treat unions more we have to say to the french. and members of. meet in the streets. by revolutionary fortunately we live in a democratic state. sides it's necessary to respect and in the

year to. be made a mistake and change our leaders these are the people who run the country the my way or the highway philosophy certainly attention grabbing but who will back down first is still anyone's guess on the one hand it is a constitutional right of the people to project something they don't believe in and don't agree on the other hand as well they think if you do it too much it becomes a farce and democracy becomes a blackmailed institution in the hands of the people catcher doesn't. paris. well. demonstrates only reasonable considering they would still get. most other europeans. the problem was the retirement age has been raised actually a number of years ago because of the observed democrat demographic trends and so

there are actually several attempts before to streamline the system to. increase the number of years that people have to pay which is still in france lower than the average in other countries as well but all of these measures have been insufficient and so it's come to this measure of raising the retirement age which is only a raise of two years and it's still it would still be one of the younger stages to retire in europe so it's true that the public ought to be aware of. the issue but it's true that also that they have been used to generous benefit regime and it's very difficult for them to we're actually except to let go of it. well moneywise things aren't shaping up any better across the english channel britain has announced its largest cuts in public spending since the second world war the u.k. wants to slash one hundred twenty billion dollars from its budget in next years. to

raise the chronic age to sixty six. welfare benefits are also among the hardest hit close enough to ten thousand. in the cuts will condemn. it but some economists the government should have gone further. i think actually george osborne should have gone further with the cuts let's put it into perspective by two thousand and fourteen fifteen overall government spending will only have fallen by about three percent so this is actually a very tiny cut so i think we should have gone further he's relying on economic growth and rising tax revenues to make the bulk of the deficit reduction and this is a big gamble because we can't allow an economic growth because for the next year i'm really almost certain departments are facing very severe cuts but it is definitely patrick and let's not forget as well that. every pound they get in this is taken from the private sector and i the taxation so you're not actually taking money out

of the economy i mean we've seen huge number of job losses in the private sector during the recession and at the same time the public sites of expanding and pensions when welfare benefits went up so you need to restore the balance in the economy and we've had a huge transfer from the productive private sector to the non productive public sector and this is very unhealthy for long term economic prosperity. economy may be depressed but that doesn't mean you have to be as we learned later when we reckons who have got their problems to stay in recession. and the huge price one industrial russian town paid for the country's economic boom as it's become one of the most polluted places in the world. prosecutors are to look into claims of child abuse at a convent in central russia teenagers this teachers beat them with belts and sweaters depriving them of food and sleep on a geisha as the convent denies there were similar accusations

a year ago but no evidence of abuse was found out he's been in the region can tell us more about this i mean what do we know so far about these allegations. well what we know is that we have three teenagers two girls and a boy who escaped from the convents boarding school and going straight to one of russia's major newspapers it's easiest to talk about the flights that they went through and according to them this is going to sound like something straight out of a charles dickens story according to them nuns at the convent beat them regularly they are the newspaper demonstrated bruises and marks from beatings on their arms and the and the hands and knees everywhere sensually and this is a common that's right behind me right now apparently at that convent nuns that punished the pupils for behaving by making that making them stand on their knees cutting down their hours of sleep leaving them without food for days and forcing them to work in the fields one of the girls as

a matter of fact says that her spine has been damaged as a result because one of the nuns thought that she wasn't working briskly enough in the fields and now we're talking about kids ages from ten to sixteen and they were made to work in the fields from dusk till dawn does t.v. are cases of child abuse and of course like is that this is not the first time. investigations that were carried out earlier but unfortunately of course the convent denies everything saying that all of these allegations are lies and this situation has got again the attention of the most good teacher to all of the child to child abuse dampens men as well as the moscow as well as the russian state prosecutor's office because of course if these allegations do prove to be true then this is going with this is bound to be one of the loudest scandals to hit russian orthodox church in recent years kerry yes as you say it's not the first time there were similar claims a year ago so do the investigation at the toy to any changes at the.

well you see example most exactly year ago a girl a sixteen year old has escaped from the convent she has written a letter to the russian president and to the russian d.t.r. talking about the abuses that went on in this convent but at that point investigators were not allowed into the convent premises they were not allowed to enter the boarding school to see for themselves what was going on and they were forced to rely on the testimonials of the pupils and their parents and at that point ironically one of the girls who is now accusing the convent of mistreatment one of the girls actually spoke in favor of the convent and said that nothing of the sort was going on of course now she said this is says that she is regretting the fact that she essentially lied last year that in fact these abuses are taking place her mother also spoke to the newspaper to use this year and she said that she is also very regretful of the fact that she did not tell the truth during the

investigations last year because she says that afterwards she was not allowed to see her daughter for days and when she did see her her daughter seemed to be lacking in sleep and an obviously unhappy and mother has also reported hearing crying coming out from the boarding school rooms essential eventing at the fact that children were reg. literally mistreated and beaten and otherwise miserable there so of course investigations will be carried out again we don't not know how they will be going on since probably the investigators will not be let into the school premises yet again but we are going to talk to the common representatives today as well as to some of the victims possibly and see if we can find any more details about this case and of course like i said earlier just again from russia's prosecutor's office it probably will also be carried out as well as by the most because. they are teaser porting from the marriage.

but don't forget there is much more a few websites. catch your eye including a disco for the death of the music. club d.j. ted found out about. russia's prime minister has invoked a classic soviet very tale time to get you to prove. the truth when you go into. politics. well different people are coping with the current economic downturn in the u.s. in different ways but as. finds out some willing to go

a bit further than most to escape reality. for two years now the world economy in the u.s. has turned into an ocean of horror from many how do you skate your fears by saying employed what if you get fired what are you going to do i'm screwed while some have been choosing humor to fight off the frightening reality or you're afraid of a double dip recession. others ways a little less legal are you afraid of the economy. what do you do to escape reality . i sit in my room and i smoke a lot of weed but many are choosing something completely different as millions of americans are very frightened of the state of the u.s. economy more and more u.s. citizens are trying to escape into the world of fantasy welcome to comic con the world's biggest gathering of comic book fans and site file overs do you feel like this costume protects you from the woods of the u.s.

economy. pocket to keep my money inside somebody tortured r t tried on the gear to test its superpowers yeah i definitely do feel very protected from everything can't really see much but feeling safe several thousand people gathered on a weekday mostly people i think it was the unemployment office with computer games some dancing. and imaginary battles it's easier to forget that an economic crisis is spread across the country what are all of these people doing here i mean last i checked today is a work day. it's like. two pm i don't see how are we turning into a superhero for a day what is your mean. i'm power girl i've got a big can. and enjoying feeling like a child i baby was a great b. and now we're kind of crazy with the possibility of

a double dip recession just around the corner it could seem trickier to lure comic book shoppers in. but the world of fantasy is far from scared of losing its customer what are the most expensive and cheapest comic books you're selling today well i have some three dollars to take that number thirty seven is. the last batman before robin came along at sixty eight hundred dollars but it could take both spider-man and superman with some more help from his girl to pull the u.s. economy out of its recession so that affording something like that would not just seem like magic to most americans and forty new york. top stories right now iran says it's increased its stocks of english to raney and by about one fifth officials admit they now have thirty three kilos of nuclear fuel which to twenty percent which is enough for

a search reactor falls well short of being able to build atomic bombs but continuing to enrich uranium is defined when sanctions and the chance. is unnecessary many western countries remain convinced havens goal is to create this great fuel. a single engine plane has crashed northeast columbia. killing all five on board went down shortly after taking off from the town of methane officials say there were no problems reported by the pilots before the crash rescue workers have recovered four the five bodies so far. emergency workers are scrambling to get aid to flood victims in central vietnam raging currents have killed at least forty people and some two hundred thousand homes have been swamped police say a bus swept away two days ago by the waters has been found but the divers have not yet been able to determine the fate of the missing twenty passengers. between

a rock and a hard place the town of carrabelle show once a center of economic activity and wealth in russia has for years had to choose between poverty and pollution but the town's industrial heart is now attempting to change all that following decades of industrial activity likely to be considered environmentally friendly but toxic towns copper smelters are trying to clean up their act and sarah for three ports. it's a bleak site that greets you when you're right in the small russian town of care about a legacy of environmental destruction once the title of one of the most polluted towns in the world it's going to a large. and a century of toxic fumes chemical waste left the landscape devastated but it's the residents who have really suffered from. cardiovascular diseases respiratory diseases of the justice system diseases are coming in the world to article diseases

who are i. under new ownership since two thousand and three the plant has begun cleaning up its act but progress is slowly. we immediately began renovation but you can see for yourself the problems that a company of an inherited were doing a lot to preserve and develop care about but of course lots more still remains to be done. the snails was founded to explore the region's rich copper deposits and has contributed to the economic progress in russia if the last twenty years the price to pay for the economic boom has been enormous with the social and environmental scars. tall hills of black industrial waste surround the residence a caravan when you're in the town the air quality is extremely poor. today the wind is blowing in a different way usually you can see your own outstretched arm because of gas

concentration people are being literally poisoned but the plant is the town's life when it was closed in one thousand nine hundred seven after being branded an environmental disaster zone the town fell into poverty so it was a relief to the people here when it reopened even though residents knew the more of the same pollution and unhealthy working conditions they were at least able to provide for their families. if well this industry is really doing druce it's a rude everything the units often feel and all impurities come to tyrone on the other hand things did used to be much worse so there have been some improvements despite millions in investment to modernize the plant when we visited the working conditions still seemed wafl inadequate at times we found it really hard to brave many of the staff appeared to be working with no breathing equipment whatsoever but there have been some successes here the waste used to be dumped into the water has

stopped and the companies say that they're winning the battle to cut emissions and with further investment. and care about a future where we aren't done with the plant yet we're going to turn the plant into a modern european type factory so everything you see around the plant will soon become history. for the residents that care about the mistakes of the past the time being the main every president sarah for us he care about. the latest base news these are korean in a few moments they miss. for the full story we've gone to. the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers. every month we give you the future we'll do you understand how we'll get there and bring

the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world. join us our technology update on our jeep. and i welcome to our business program here on their actual government has revealed some of the details of its privatization program the state will sell stake in around nine hundred companies by two thousand and fifteen worth around fifty eight billion dollars the program covers the whole spectrum of the government's involvement in business among the most notable offerings of the sale of shares in bt back to below controlling if sirius investor show interest the government's stake in spare bank will be reduced to controlling as well its holding in the national airline air flight it could also sell up to fifteen percent of all company ross they have by two thousand and fifteen tiffany prime minister said the program

was intended to help russia modernize its economy. but the main goal of the sort of would be to change the investment of these are sets to attract private investors and therefore change the structure of the companies to make them more transparent to be stable and reliable. so now the new mayor of moscow is due to be confirmed on thursday the nomination of seventy's have been seen as having close ties with the ruling president made a different promise to poach and has been greeted with some optimism by the capital's business community. a professional lawyer and an experienced manager who ruled russia's oil rich to main region said is a banyan is no stranger to power in two thousand and five he moved to moscow to have the kremlin administration and in just three years was appointed deputy prime minister tried and tested he's seen as the right man to take the keys to moscow i

think savannah. enormous experience hall for work in the garment he is known as an efficient professional he has managed to create a system within the government staff. and he was quite successful as a governor of one of the. original russia benyon delivered his mayoral strategy does feature colleagues in the moscow duma among his top priorities are to reduce bureaucracy fight corruption and to prove the city's infrastructure a lot of hopes are being pinned on the new man not least by intrapreneur those who expect him to solve the small but still important problems. the new mayor should not only focus on global issues but also resolve small issues. public consultation dish to city districts doing the small business and we also expect him to think how to alleviate excessive sure that small companies would have an opportunity to invest in new technology they remain open to little greek cafe in the center of

moscow in the middle of the extreme summer heat and like many other intrapreneur as she was lucky to pass all the registration from l.g. smoothly but an easy start doesn't mean any zeroed apart from high rent and interest rates she says red tape is the main thing holding her back it's her strong hope that. we'll be able to work miracles. so we hope the new mayor will sort out the weather next summer and will be last with our series and speaking we want less bureaucracy and more transparency another important thing for small business is to have. an opportunity for you to take part in real estate tenders renting or buying . the new had brushes capital is cut from the same political cloth as the country's ruling tandem of president and prime minister putin is the prospect of creature called a nation between federal and local government in the country's biggest city moscow's small business people are cautiously optimistic that their lives may be made

a little easier but even they understand that although the problems in moscow well and just stooge they are still prodigious ok you can feel the business on t.v. moscow. let's take a look at the markets now asian stock markets along the solid japan's nikkei trading less than a quarter of a percent to bands benchmark index rose zero point two percent of the morning session after the dollar jumped against the yen of comments by u.s. treasury secretary to. the russian markets finished wednesday session mix will be all tears down point eight percent energy majors where the main losers will group oil and gas on down more than half the banking stocks were where all those banks finished up more than one percent. and russian road and bridge builder lost the trust has set an indicator of price a price range of six point twenty five to eight dollars a share for its upcoming i.p.o. the company would raise up to half a billion dollars if it manages to sell the twenty five percent off she has

allocated to the initial public offering the road show starts on wednesday this is expected to be concluded. seven style gold mining unit is seeking regulatory approval for a one billion dollar initial public offering in london only start as early as this month according to sources close to the deal the sale be the largest overseas share offering by a russian company since united raised two point twenty four billion dollars in hong kong and check. the out of the car industry now sales of rent cars jumped ten percent in the third quarter beating forecasts. the french manufacturer has also raised its full year earnings outlook the company benefited from a stronger sales in europe and emerging markets in particular sales in ross soared seventy one percent pays zero increasing its market share to more than three percent the call makers are expanding operations in china brazil russia and

argentina with the ambition of generating half of the sales outside europe by two thousand and thirteen and that's all for now i'll be back with another business update in less than one hour john.