the. big.

news today violence is once again flared up the film these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada from china corporations are on the day.

a million rejections over raising the retirement age for french protest on mass as the country struggles through yet more crippling strides. to drugs officials from russia tried to work with the u.s. to wipe out afghan heroin production bad says america's sole focus on taliban poppy fields is not enough. and counting people to counter problems russia's nationwide census reaches all down to get it out of a fortress of the country's population. and the world's chemical which is a bitter dispute between its two main shareholders i'm sol enter into roles have voted against changing the board of directors at an extraordinary general meeting in moscow this is r t thanks lucidly to cells strategy tarek to.

you're watching r t all the latest news for you twenty four seven welcome to the program and now to what top story there is more protest day in ahead for france strikers committing yet more stoppages to vent their anger over plans to make them work longer tear gas and water cannon have been used against demonstrators while president sarkozy tries to curry the senate vote on raising the retirement age to sixty two party's got that he is in paris for us. young loud and proud to try and speak for their own country these people might look like they're attending a student party as they're all students and this definitely feels like a party but in fact it's anything but it's yet another day of protests in the heart of the french capital paris these people are nowhere near retirement age yet this is exactly what they're protesting the proposed pension reform that people are starting to see the french president is attempting to push forward in order to try

and help the french economy get off its meaning these people do not want and added two years to their service and they are prepared to take to the streets and disrupt the life of the country for as long as it's necessary in order to get the job done we're going to try and get over to the french senate where hearings about the pension reform are taking place and see what the people there have to say about the whole thing. only the heavy police presence outside the french senate reminds passers by that the protests that are grappling the country took place here just a few days ago the police of course are standing guard over what is happening in the senate when the real work on the pension reform is currently under place the decision could come as early as today and as late as sunday but the government has already said that they will not back down to public pressure the government and the french president nicolas sarkozy is saying that is not likely how the economy will

recover from the current protests however is yet another question economists have not yet had a chance to count would damage has been done by the strikes and protests that have grappled the country for days but just to compare in two thousand and seven a nine day transport strike cost the country four hundred million euros and that is of course a huge amount of money and it is possible the current strikes may end up costing the country the same amount or even more something in the current financial climate it definitely cannot afford but there are a surprising number of people who actually say that what they're. most tired of is the protest according to popular opinion polls nearly forty percent of the country's people say that they're really tired of people protesting of all the violence and chaos that is governing their french cities and specifically in paris young and old people alike are saying this is really disruptive to their regular day to day lives. all francis' pension system is decades old which business

consultant erich krauss says nowhere near matches today's real world it's vitally necessary if they don't do it the entire system is going to go bankrupt you cannot spend money you don't have if the system is not reformed people just aren't going to get pensions when the system was developed people died in your fifty's in their sixty's. more lunch if he has increased enormously in friends it's got one of the longest lived populations in the world people are dying in their eighty's they simply cannot afford to have a thirty year pension people live longer they're going to have to work longer this is the case throughout the world i don't see why it should be any different in france activists see the protests spreading beyond france's borders brian becker from the answer coalition told r.t. that struggling workers won't rest while they see failed finance shares rake in

rewards. the bankers are making tens of billions of dollars every year in bonuses but they tell the workers you can't afford we can't afford to have you have decent pensions you have to you have to tighten your belt meanwhile the bankers are tightening their belts so that contradiction is going to lead to class polarization and mass protests not only in europe but i believe in the united states repression leads to a greater radicalization which becomes broader that's how social movements start as small minority movements and become massive movements and then later we look back at them in history and say oh that was inevitable that that movement would come but before hand we hardly see it and i think that's what we're seeing in the united states or what we saw in france a few months ago the harbinger smallest things subterranean changes and finally an eruption of a mass movement. in the face of wide ranging public sector spending cuts across the continent the european union has voted to increase its spending now the move will cost the u.k. alone an additional nine hundred million pounds that's about one point four billion dollars in additional burden comes as the country and our state's largest public

spending cuts since the second world war thousands of protesters took to the streets of london saying it will come down the u.k. to here is a google on employment robert also director of think tank the bush group says the e.u. system means it's unlikely any of the money will be returned to the u.k. . but the timing is astounding really when you know as we are making these cuts in britain to pay off the enormous debt that we've been left having to keep more money through the use of money that british taxpayer the british government cannot afford to give shouldn't be giving this money to the european union contributions research revise the e.u. accounts haven't been signed off in over fifteen years so much board waste and mismanagement within the european union you shouldn't be giving this money until the european union has gone too far european union laws take supremacies over british law over the laws of every member state within the european union and we've

worked out that it causes a lot of damage economically we're overburdened with regulation as well as handing too much money to brussels really british law in britain should be solved when our own laws own politicians of westminster should have precedence over those in brussels that's what we want to see we want to see are you nation states that can work and cooperate together and not be governed by the institutions of the european union based in brussels which no one has ever elected can force legislation on the citizens of the year you. your rig r.t.m. coming your way in a few minutes oil and trouble find out why they get a fuel smuggling more than iraq is endangering the lives of thousands of ordinary people plop. you nationality russian we'll look at russia's biggest q. and a session that over five years that follows census takers as far as the

international space station. russia and the us totally agree that the afghan hair wind industry needs to be wiped out but what they can't see eye to eye on is how to do it now afghanistan is by far the world's biggest opium producer but america only wants to focus on taliban controlled poppy fields are these going to educate you on explains why russia says that's not enough. there is definitely an understanding that drug trafficking from of ghana's than is a common enemy russia in the us seem to be more than eager to join forces to fight it and they are doing so drug control chiefs of both countries said russia and the u.s. now share a lot of sensitive information in order to crack down on drug trafficking networks in afghanistan and also track down their assets let's not forget the drug business in afghanistan is worth around seventy billion dollars a year if that money goal somewhere some of it sponsors terrorist experts say it's victory evolved the head of forces drug control service was also talking about this

well known connection between herring and terror now the u.s. and russia perfectly realize the problem but they are on the solution russia suggests eradicating all poppy fields and labs where heroin is could be used the u.s. says it's up to the afghan government to make that decision just argument is the afghan government can stand up against a multi billionaire drug monster stronger nations have to put an end to it and russia made that point many times to nato which it actually cooperate with on drug trafficking but but to no avail. do you want congress about the taliban's drug production to be worth one hundred fifty million dollars however it's not worth the whole of their began drug production is just to me the sixty five billion dollars to concede that the taliban sector is only zero point two percent obviously it's not the main producer lab or international forces say that they will eliminate only do drug production related to the taliban in other words all one hundred fifty

thousand person now will be directed to eliminating just zero point two percent of drug production so the remaining ninety nine point eight percent is left to be destroyed but they are going to forces. the official argument of nato and one of its key members the united states for not eradicating the poppy fields is that they don't want to destroy the only source of income for local populations russia says that. argument doesn't work and his victory of an offset the only ones who benefit from it are the landlords or the drug lords and definitely not afghan peasants and afghan passon household makes seventy dollars a year for growing poppies and this mystery of an offset international forces should be after the landlords in afghanistan because they leave patterns with no choice but growing poppies and in the last nine years of war in afghanistan that policy brought nothing but deaths afghan drugs killed more than a million people worldwide. now america plans to sell some sixty billion dollars

worth of weapons to saudi arabia in what's seen as one of the largest arms deals in u.s. history congress has yet to approve the deal put forward by the obama administration the saudis want new fighter jets attack helicopters as well as upgrades for its existing aircraft the c. a would also include a wide range of bombs and missiles saudi arabia is one of the united states biggest oil suppliers and washington hopes the deal will improve the defenses of the gulf state but liberty campaigner david key says saudi arabia is an unlikely there for a country that claims to defend human rights. in a classic dictatorial fashion the saudi regime does not rely on the consent of its people to be governed and therefore need all the arms that it can acquire simply to maintain its presence in the region and there has been unfortunately a lack of concern for human rights in saudi arabia there are elements within the u.s. government that believe that the leadership is moderate and therefore it is an ally

of the united states i believe that the saudi regime is in fact quite extremist in its beliefs and in its policies saudi arabia is a country which. prevents women from leaving the their home country without being accompanied by a male model or guardian it is a country which bans the walking of pet cats and dogs in public there is gender apartheid it bans women from driving and i think a lot more can be done to increase american concern and pressure for improvements in saudi human rights. and american support for the saudi regime was a flashpoint in this week's cross talk program and later today on our t.v. peter lavelle's guests grapple with that and whether iran's use of soft power is giving it more influence in the region. one except reality in that in iran you have elections mr ahmadinejad for various reasons is because very popular just

a couple of days ago when he went to the city he stole the election and you know we stole the election that's why there were. large. green. girl running from the go right ahead. ok you let the thais wash over for a second look at each true that most of the arab world is trying to cherry and saudi arabia jordan egypt because we the west support them we want them to be totalitarian we want them to conclude their quote unquote their own people to be on our side. and that's why we hope i was enraged and i'm just going to be interviewed by many families are continuing my maze if i made you a continual. gentlemen when robert finish and you're going to a moment. well

they say that oil and water don't mix but in northern iraq the greed of gangs of smugglers is bringing the two together with painful results for local people sebastian meier reports their health and livelihoods are under threat. one hundred miles northeast of baghdad a special iraqi police unit makes its way to the iranian border they're hunting a new breed of smuggler who trade not in guns but in gasoline this cache of confiscated jerry cans contains thousands of gallons of gasoline that was illegally trafficked from iran a few days ago smugglers floated these cans down the sewer one river with they were intercepted by the iraqi police but many of the jerrycans didn't make the journey intact punctured by rocks or shot at by the iranian police tens of thousands leak their contents into the sea or one river poisoning the water supply used by the thirty five thousand residents of the city of durban. these are the cans do it all if it's over used to kill people. could use this war to it now because of the color

is to do people count to use it. again but the money is too tempting for the local smugglers who can run ten thousand jerry cans on an average night for a few hours of work they can make up to six thousand dollars what the smugglers wind their pockets downstream fishermen my keeper him in my head and watching their livelihood disappear two years ago we could catch a lot more fish. kids twenty kilos a day and now it's only five you know margaret a second in the city families unable to afford their own well have to drink the fell smelling water delivered to them by municipal trucks on the outskirts of town he was forced to feed his family this water those who are true is not safe to drink but because we can't afford clean water we have no choice but one of my children get sick listen i was going in so i had to take her to hospital when we dream to daughter and they get sick according to the recommendations of the american

environmental protection agency pollution levels in the water supply are over fifteen times higher than safe amount. of any one hospital now means daughter is suffering from diarrhea which she contracted after having a bath in the city's. i have water and i haven't been hospitalized myself but because of my child i come home and i have two of the children and they suffer from diarrhea and vomiting as well i'm told is coming back and they will go whom it is and we will be back here again a lot and of course and with the same regularity is no means visits to the hospital the smugglers continue to spill gasoline into that then becomes a water system in this remote and peaceful part of iraq ignorance agree are as dangerous as in the rest of the country sebastian minor northern iraq or to. get our top stories and analysis at our t dot com and now let's check through some of what we're lining up for you today russian fashion we don't lose in a moscow we've got the cream of the catwalk for next season's good tour as well as

a look back stage. and a prenatal social siblings italian scientists discover unborn babies interact as early as four and a half months into the pregnancy i had to r.t. dot com to discover how humans are hardwired to get along. now central asian gas liveries to europe are at stake as russia's president dmitry medvedev visits strychnine a stun leaders of both countries are to discuss the proposed pipeline that will connect caspian gas to the south stream which will pump the energy under the black sea to italy and other european countries now the linking project was proposed in two thousand and seven but is still being negotiated the do presidents are also to

talk about security in the region and drug trafficking from afghanistan. and now to some other stories in brief for you at least one hundred thirty five have been killed and hundreds are seriously ill after a suspected cholera outbreak in rural haiti at the stream of those needing treatment has overwhelmed hospital staff and facilities doctors are now waiting for test results to confirm the cause of the infections many people are still living in unsanitary conditions after january's devastating earthquake which killed some three hundred thousand people. four hundred tourists have been stranded in taiwan as typhoon meggie reaches lab a rescue operation is reportedly underway as the storm triggers heavy rains and walk slides earlier this week meghan about your the philippines killing of more than twenty people and is expected to hit china. now everyone

cows in russia vis week with a nationwide sense is now underway it's an effort to better understand today's population for current living standards so improving its future as r.t. stacy begins found out census takers are reaching out in all directions. the ability to defy gravity is not an excuse to deny your earthly responsibilities even in space cause menards are answering questions from russia's twenty ten senses your nationality russian elinor's of our sky has the job of reaching out to orbit via the ultimate and long distance phone calls. when it was my first time i felt more anxious and now maybe because i already know what it's like i'm a little bit less anxious but still i am. this out of this world q. and a is meant to inspire russians a matter how busy or how far away they are to take

a moment and fill out the census that's because it's believed that the questions that apply here could lead to some answers that could solve some of the nation's biggest problems the questionnaire attempts to probe issues such as why russia's birth rate is so low and its death rate so high a comparison to european countries data collected is meant to show who makes up washing households learn what their resources are and identify how government can improve their quality of life and with the slogan everyone matters to russia everyone from those serving their country to those serving time are being counted. so well so we know what kind of financial situation rushes and what our social situation is how will we know how many people live in russia they're doing it for us i think it's a necessity and that was why i went to take part in it. and less captivated surroundings people like these young men and women are hoping not to be turned away before the questionnaire is complete. this family of three is doing well but mom

and dad are filling out the forms as a form of security. now i feel good. how but maybe in future. if i don't have. the government or government will have this information about me but for now it's the government that's counting on the population says he didn't r.t. . all business news with you here is up next. hello and a very warm welcome to the business news there as clinical shareholders have voted against changing the board of directors at an extraordinary general meeting in moscow the vote was called to end a bitter battle between its two main stock holders into a loss and roussel want control of the russian mining giant with each only twenty five percent our correspondent daniel bushell asked ruth sauce stretton

a director if the dispute could damage the company. any dispute is affecting the company but the question is whether the dispute leads to any positive trend supportive changes and we believe that the call idea which we are promoting when we were calling for the c.g.m. is to actually rebalance the board in a manner where they'll be known come told and shareholder the result try to take this conflict further for example to the court it's not going to fight isn't the wall it goes it's a different story it's about to sell being a shareholder in the us trying to change the situation and so that every simple intense valient has been planned is implemented nichols results are in line with international competitors what's wrong with the running of the company it's really really the best month but it has no strategy and it has cash on the bells so either management should come to the board is

a proper strategy which would include gunny growth projects and we'll explain that's where this money is have to be spent and that spending would create additional value to all shareholders if that's what's happening then it should be paid out as if you believe no nickel mines to shareholders actually support resells bid absolute majority of independent shareholders have supported the idea for you actually neither of the big shareholders have ever actually had a dialogue with this is why not to shareholders such a big supporter of minority shareholders is actually a big victory does russo want to braze north because dividends so it can pay off or so that we are not looking for the rules to pay greater dividends but we are just saying that the company should either spend money in for a gun in growth projects or the dividends should be paid out to the shareholders for shareholders effectively to decide what to do this new business funds we are reaping out that way ahead of schedule we do not believe there is dividends doesn't

interest also support the display. so of course it's here but it's not the sale of what you get from the media it looks like it that they going to be proposing a civil between old u.k. show and shows which is effectively in a change of one caress it for another. program we have supporting that more new toys in. the in the on grass roots are spinning the more dishonest far as i know from the from the media again the going to be one year restriction for the smoke to be sold to the market was resulted in with interest through the media as communication work and we talking to each other for why the long period of time since small dolls made we've been trying to implement this program but unfortunately nothing was happening in this particular situation we had no other choice but to go public and talk to them in order to share from. knowledge see how

the markets are faring and here in russia the r.t.s. the slightly low income and it trading retreating from friday's gains and the mice it will open in a few minutes they figure secrecy on the screen all yesterday's closing. technician asia now where the pride is trading has already started stock some mixed this solid hong kong shares a pulling low as investors look in profits and property development under the shortest band in tokyo the nikkei is not too high in cautious trade as investors wherry ahead of the g. twenty outcome and earnings reports next week began strength also continue to focus investors attention as many foreign luck tends to put money into the market a meter of rising currency. of russia will produce around five hundred million tons of oil in twenty ten up one percent on the previous year production rose at roughly the same speed as a did jury two thousand and nine which saw russia out the form saudi arabia as the world's top oil exporter but russia has already reached its peak and production is

expected to decline twenty two percent in ten years time. the country has the world's largest oil reserves. led lamps are just the beginning as the russian government approves plans to make the country more energy efficient the government's spend three hundred nine billion dollars over the next decade to help cut power consumption by forty percent energy minister sergei schmeichel predicts an investment boom in energy saving technologies. russia's advertising market looks set to double by twenty fifth in the comet sundra ports a study by the country's biggest t.v. advertising video international it says the internet will outperform outdoor advertising in two years' time while radio will also enjoy a boon selling at slots t.v. will remain on top as the most popular advertising tool but it shows the market is set to decline slightly russia's total advertising market grew ten percent during

the first half of the year. ok that's your update for this hour but you can get more story small website r.t. dot com slash business. like millions of americans i was thousands of dollars in retirement funds and i haven't had as bad as many it's not just the balance of their good.