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every month we give you the future we help you understand how we'll get there and what tomorrow brings the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world join its knowledge and update on our jeep in the united kingdom is available in the house bill and the one who took the old way from the hotel to get them closer to the mill stone who took some of the old country house holiday in the pool. halls the room brant the creamy the chesterfield the montague the turtle the oil spill the rubens hotel.

tonight the french senate some central time increasing the retirement age while the conference racked by the raging protests of. workers say they do not want to be paying for the mistakes of the fact cats while the business to say it's time to get off the streets and get back to work. also this hour a common goal with no common vision while recognizing i've got to stop as the world's greatest drug threat russia and the us consecrate on how to deal with. petrol traffic using the brac become a new health hazard as the fuel they smuggle spills into rivers poisoning the populations water supplies we've got a report coming out. this is all to live from moscow just off a nine pm friday evening here now you are most welcome i'm kevin now in with the

top story and french police have broken the blockade of a real. finery crucial for the capital's fuel supplies the workers union that captured the depo so that these three people were injured in the clashes and special operation end of the blockade the last for more than a week causing significant fuel shortages around twenty percent of fueling stations remain empty tonight across the country with no end in sight to the education meanwhile the senate is expected to approve president nicolas sarkozy's proposal to raise the retirement age to sixty two the whole reason behind the protests. over is following events for us in the french capital. the senate is working on pretty much all day every day figuring out the final details fine tuning the proposed pension reform that will see their retirement age rise from the age of sixty to the age of sixty two and the french are definitely not happy about it they've been taking to the streets of the country not just the capital paris making sure that their anger

is heard with some protests turning violent and police forces. being forced to use tear gas to disperse angry crowds and of course those protests are ongoing in paris there are dozens of them daily from the students to the pensioners everybody young and old taking to the streets making sure we're attempting to make sure that their voices are heard and that the government pays attention to their demands but it seems that this is probably the first time in a very long time where the government is not prepared to back down is not prepared to renegotiate with trade unions and is simply staying very firm on its position saying that this pension reform is what is necessary to make sure that the french economy actually gets over the effects of the aftermath of the global financial crisis with the economy of course being strongly hit by it and that the government proposed pension reform is exactly what is necessary to push the economy forward

and to aid the country out of the financial slump that it's currently in it's vitally necessary if they don't do with 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 so this could well be perhaps the first time in a very long time where the french people and their protests are being ignored with many already saying of course that the people who are protesting basically have gotten used to nearly blackmailing the guy. in answer to shin any france in order to get their way in this perhaps could be the first time in a long time where the government is not prepared to do that and of course many people in paris according to opinion polls people in paris and in france as a whole over forty percent of the people say that what they are most tired of is the protests and the disruption that they cause their country of course the costs

of these protests are also to be taken into account in these current strikes iconic have not yet had a chance to count exactly how they will affect the current economy but of course just to compare in two thousand and seven ninety eight transport strike across the country four hundred million euros and those are of figures that france cannot afford to be paying right now. apart from fuel shortages the protests of course in the streets of french cities a spillover with rubbish too as waste collectors took part in demonstrations refuse piled up in downtown areas of must say that resulted in army troops helping to remove the largest objects fuel shortages delayed travel and piled rubbish is causing many in france to call for the strikers to stop right now from one of the movement supporting reforms says it needs to be approved to save the system the french economy is based on. if there were. protests in the streets for us the reform is a is a good thing we have to reforms that are punished and system has

a young student. for my generation for the reform is really really because tomorrow it's. a punch in for our parents our grandparents and you know that today in france one punch of out of turn is paid by it's. going to have to pay. in the next year with demographic issue. it's going to be. the next year or so we have to reform our pension scheme today we have to work two more years so that we save the system in the next to yours. frederick william and downs american writer janice place in germany he told me that the reason behind french protests is why did it just pension reform i think what's interesting is you have students in the. nazia level the high school levels across

france also joining the strikes and that shows that the students recognise if older workers are staying in their jobs several years longer that means so many working places perhaps several million are kept occupied and young workers cannot come into those workplaces and later the whole point is not so much the pension issue or whether the french worker has a cushy compared with british or american or german workers i think the real point is. who is going to benefit from from state policies it's going to be a tiny elite of financial interests and interests or large defense industry interests would back sarkozy's campaign sarkozy by the way is fighting for his political life and he has staked himself that he will ram this thing through on bath of the paris banking and financial sector and stake his presidency on it so he has no choice with the scandals swarming around his presidency right now in his

popularity and all time low to stake everything on getting this pension reform which i think will pass frederick william angles being two is the united kingdom's also cut its public sector budget to reduce the national deficit that spiraled out of control so far the response in the u.k. there's been much more restrained than in france and sam bodman head of a london based economic think tank told us the british are not likely to copy the french. it's not really in the british national character to protest we haven't really seen protests any of these cuts in the last year or so and in fact the two biggest protests that happened over the last ten years were against fox hunting and the iraq war neither of which had any real effect the british government doesn't really listen to protesters and i don't expect that there will be any protests that we'll see in the next few weeks there was a protest the other day. held by the unions against these cuts and it had about five hundred people which compared to the protests in france is now huge so i really don't think we're going to be seeing anything more the british government has a long history of ignoring protesters and british people really are kind of people

who want to get on with it and get back to work business as usual you might say and really the protests are quite a tradition in france whenever there is a government car some kind it doesn't happen in the u.k. and people really here are just and getting out of their lives and getting back to work and hopefully that's what these cuts well people to do head tonight at r.t. in just a few minutes time of militants turned a mine into four percent we asked we got details of a special forces operation in the russian caucuses has targeted militants and one hundred kilometers long abandoned why that story coming up. first russian prosecutors have demanded a fourteen year sentences for the jailed oil magnate mikhail khodorkovsky and his business partner on trial for the second time now it's the latest twist in the so-called you course of artie's reports. prosecutors in the case of formal all magnets in you call c.e.o. holder hoskins his business partner never there not today almost to drop the

charges of theft in relation to thomas nafi in case she says formally appalled all the new console company and they've also roles for a sentence of some of the food t.v. he is against the two men this would then mean if it's up held that they would only be released in the twenty seven t.v. noise acting the defense over who have mostly and that they have it if you continue to protest that there were innocence on each other just say that they will contest this in poor next wednesday on october the twenty seventh this is this good time that both men haven't stood at trial this time they're charged with money laundering and theft and embezzlement that just some three hundred and fifty million tons of oil from one thousand nine hundred ninety six two thousand and three the numbers went to laundering of some twenty three billion u.s. dollars because for the whole city was of course once upon a time the richest man in russia that all changed but i'll tell you but she fills in two and three when he was arrested in may thirty first two thousand and five

thirty three and got to live it every sentence probably of most cases to nine years imprisonment in a siberian jail all those charges of food and tax evasion that's said to schools been reduced to eight years and the later bite got more sixteen cool both men continue to protest there were distance and say there were charges brought against them on the city motivated. and peaceful more than iraq it's not guns or war right now that are putting people's lives at risk the main source of water in the region is being polluted by gangs of petroleum smugglers looking to make a quick buck and to sebastian my reports for all to the health and livelihoods of the local people that are now 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 compas kate and jerry cans contains thousands of gallons of gasoline that was illegally trafficked from iran a few days ago smugglers footed these cans down the sewer one river where 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 leaked their contents into the sea of one river poisoning the water supply used by the thirty five thousand residents of the city of. saudi or these are the cans did over the years you kill people. could use this war to it now because of the color is to do people count to use it. 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 line their pockets downstream fishermen like you bring him in my head are watching their livelihood disappear two years ago we could catch a lot more fish. than what your kids twenty kilos a day now it's only five hundred

a second in the city families unable to afford their own well have to drink the water delivered to them by miscible 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 get sick according to the recommendations of the american environmental protection agency pollution levels in the water supply are over fifteen times higher than the safe amount. of any kind hospital now means daughter is suffering from diarrhea which she contracted after having a bath in the cities. water. i haven't been hospitalized myself but because of my challenge i come i don't have to have the children and they suffer from diarrhea and vomiting. comes back. here again. and with the same regularity is no means visits to the hospital continue to still

get to leave it to do it then because water system in this remote and peaceful part of iraq ignorance agree or is dangerous as in the rest of the country the best in my northern iraq. the obama administration wants to sell sixty billion dollars worth of weapons to saudi arabia congress is yet to approve what will be one of the largest deals in u.s. history it's set to include new fighter jets attack helicopters as well as upgrades for its existing aircraft the saudis also want a wide range of bombs and missiles washington hopes the deal will improve the defenses of saudi arabia which is one of the u.s. is biggest all supplies but let me come to david keyes who spoke to says it's not a likely partnership because of the gulf states patching human rights record. and classic dictatorial fashion the saudi regime does not rely on the consent of its people to be governed and therefore all the arms that it can acquire simply to maintain its presence in the region 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. 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. concern and pressure for improvements in saudi human rights. and american support for the saudi regime is a flashpoint in the late edition of crosstalk people avails guess grapple with that whether rand soft power is driving its influence in the region. and house 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 store. and you know he stole the election that's why they were. there you were you were. running from the day you go right ahead. ok you let the tides wash over for a second look at each truth that most of the arab world is totalitarian 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 in the region and we're going to be influenced by many families will continue in my maze if i may just continue a bit. robert going to a moment. later

edition of crosstalk in just over two hours time at twenty three thirty in moscow time here on this channel r.t. . russia and the u.s. both agree that afghan heroin needs to be wiped out the can't see idea why and how to go about it afghanistan is by far the world's biggest opium producer but washington only wants to focus on targeting taliban controlled poppy fields or he's got to explain why russia insists that isn't enough. there is definitely an understanding that drug trafficking from of ghana's then 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 victor 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 for on the solution russia

suggest eradicating all poppy fields and labs where heroin is produced the u.s. says it's up to the afghan government to make that decision russia's argument is the afghan government can stand up against multi multi billionaire drug monster and do u.s. congress a value is determined and drug production to be worth one hundred fifty million dollars however it's not the whole of that again just production is just to meet a sixty five billion dollars to concede that the taliban sectors only zero point two percent obviously it's not the main producer who our international forces say to the womb and they'd only do drug production related to the taliban 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 almost said the only ones who benefit from it are the landlords or the drug lords and

definitely not afghan peasants 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 a washington correspondent for the full interview with the head of russia's federal drug control service and more related news you can take a look at our website of course. chronicled on if you do not also online while we're talking about i used. tennis star world famous for both her sporting achievements and good looks she want to be angry at us for saying that put she's getting married local for a look at the man of the choice tonight and freshwater set to become the oil of the new world as reserves run out russia is looking to adapt to exporting the new most valuable resource got a back story home tonight. well

the day's top stories are militants hideout is being utilized in a special operation in the russian republic of top of the noble caria policemen have also found a truck with explosives near a mine where the government and trapped artie's exotic job is in the region for. at least ten militants are sealed off in the abandoned mine incumbent in iraq are the counterterrorist operation which started on wednesday is under way through militants have been killed one police officer died in the crossfire the federal forces have started their salt on the mine after the militants ignored all demands to surrender and open fire right now they are blocked inside the industrial mine which is approximately one hundred kilometers long these gunmen are involved in the terror attacks and the system nation of police officers in car but is in a ball carrier when we do know is that a car has been found by the mine this car was filled with explosives and it was it in mind also several locals collecting scrap metal have been evacuated from the

scene so the counterterrorist operation is still going on a criminal case has been launched and police has already found the niece and inside the mine there is a me we don't supply in their mind i had to be identified because the world news headlines from moscow tonight three people have been killed twenty two softer a hidden bomb exploded near a mosque in pakistan last targeted worshipers leaving the mosque after friday prayers police say the bomb was placed in the veranda outside detonated by remote control so far no groups claimed responsibility. a caller breaks killed at least one hundred forty two in central haiti and left more than a thousand people infected health workers say the confirmed we'll this doctors at the hospital is struggling though to handle the flood of patients medicines being rushed in to combat the country's deadliest health problems of january's massive quake which killed some three hundred thousand people. coming up to twenty one

minutes past nine at night in a few minutes our special report takes you on a journey back in time as you visit a once closed soviet military town has to come ashore even but we call business this friday night before that with daniel after this break. hungry for the full story we've got it first hand the biggest issues get the human voice face to face with the news makers. every month we give you the future we help you understand how to get there and what to bring the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world to join us for technology update on our g.

soon which brightened if you move. from phones to impressions. on t.v. dot com. welcome to business this week the government details of its five year privatization program will be the second load of publicly owned russian companies since the end of the soviet union but under her clever reports. the biggest privatization program since the one nine hundred ninety s. it covers the whole range of the state's involvement in business the government plans to put stakes to nine hundred state firms up for sale globally but the main goal of the sell off will be to change the investment appeal of these assets to

attract private investors and if you change the structure of ownership of the companies to make them more transparently stable and reliable. the government also hopes to patch the hole in the budget with the sixty billion dollars it expects to raise among the most notable offerings is the sale of shares in v.t. bank to blow controlling the state will reduce its stake to controlling the country's biggest lenders burbank and in the national airline and afloat the finance minister believes investor dimanche will exceed supply but analysts are more cautious. larger companies the company perhaps already being traded on the market such as bank ross then after forty years. concerning other companies i'm not sure because it would very much depend on investors which in turn would depend on the way the russian and global economies are proceeding russia is not the first country to

undertake widespread privatization indeed it's a common factor among nearly all developed economies since at one time or another they all had extensively publicly owned companies in countries such as the u.k. the process helped turn large numbers of the population into shareholders however analysts are skeptical this will happen in russia my personal take is it most likely as a government might so some company as it can do also. or there are a well known names like oil companies all for these shares their way to invest was a scene that was in the sick. the brown boss prove it does ation bet the church i'm not sure that the largest part of this placement torelli target as it would to investors if pushed through successfully the program will alter the financial landscape in russia although it will continue to be a major player in business the government will have less direct involvement it's

hope this will usher in an era of greater transparency as companies become more accountable to their new owners they how clever business r.t. . russia stock markets this week of a mixed fortunes on news of the privatization program and corporate data supporting the russian markets troika dollars vice president gore profile explains the main trends. the markets were very volatile very volatile and the general trend globally is that the market's expecting a release of information on a new quarter if using it from listees then we we saw very good results on the corporate. third quarter results from the united states most companies about eighty five percent reported two very good results well above expectations and probably the third factor which is very important for russia is that the announcement of a new approach is a program. good news for phone users now russia's anti monopoly service is to find

the country's big three mobile providers for setting prices too high the watchdog says n.t.s.b. line and megaphone which have eighty five percent of the market have broken competition law the final total one percent from their annual turnover that's around three million dollars per company they've already agreed to qataris for regional and international roaming. one of the top precious metals producers holly metal has posted a fifty five percent boost in gold production for the first nine months of twenty ten year on year over silver output during the same period only five percent the company also increased revenue to six hundred fifty five million dollars that's up eighty seven percent. 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 in two thousand and nine when russia overtook saudi arabia as the world's top oil exporter but russia is close to its peak and production is expected

to decline twenty two percent within a decade as the latest you can find more stories on our website dot com slash business.