all. in some pieces books available in ground to tell you a grand hotel emerald. as a club supposed to turn so close hotel in the big old hotel. in the steepness reticent s.a.'s room kempinski twenty two look you can phone. now so it's. russia says thirteen people arrested in georgia had never aspired for moscow when calls to police these allegations of political and provocative publication.

responsive look good will cost the smuggler one hundred five dollars in iraq he will sell in tehran for over four hundred leaked living conditions in northern iraq force locals to risk their freedom and lives by smuggling alcohol to neighboring iran where blues is banned and archie follows the dangerous trade route. and argues close up series takes you to one of the oldest towns in siberia which has now become one of the most promising innovation hubs in the russia. it's eight pm here in moscow good to be with you here on r t our top story georges interior ministry has confirmed that thirteen people were detained last month accused of spying for moscow russia says the suspects arrested in georgia have nothing to do with a national secret service. reports from tbilisi. this story has all the makings of

a spy movie and not a quality wanted that let's get the facts out first at thirteen people four of them russian nationals arrested by the georgian ministry of interior affairs for allegedly spying for russia now and no evidence has been presented at least publicly they do say that apparently they have concrete evidence and that evidence has been gathered by none other than the ball which also allegedly has been implanted into russia's directorate of military intelligence by georgians this statement was made a week after every foreign media source broke the story the reaction has been coming from russia's ministry of foreign affairs almost immediately they have called it a provocation in part and they have said that this is just another attempt on tbilisi's be have to exist or bait the already existing tensions between moscow and tbilisi reaction has also been coming from russian state duma particularly from the

the head of the foreign affairs committee conception to such a. georgian president mikheil saakashvili has at least two passions one is to aggravate relations with russia as much as possible and present russia as an enemy of georgia the second is to destroy as many people on the way i mean the tragedy in south the city or jail as many people as possible. people have been arrested who have nothing to do with the special services do nothing against georgia but who once again will be declared enemies of the georgian people this is happening first of all only eve of a very important summit of a lisbon summit where russia and nato are supposed to come together and discuss some very important issues and of course georgia has been trying to get into nato for the last several years also they have to remember that november is almost traditionally a month for the georgian opposition to start yet another round of attempts to over

. throw the georgian government in particular president saakashvili and they did already say that they did plan some massive minute to stations later this month now there was this very similar spy scandal back in two thousand and six but before russian officers were arrested for spying for russia they were released afterwards but relations between moscow and police went down words from there of course there was also this georgian side sitting we're off two thousand eight hundred which must go supported the city and afterwards diplomatic relations between russia and georgia world all together dissolved and the communication has come basically to nothing a bunch of throwing verbal punches at each other and at this point it seems like the president really does not want to stop continuing this a war of words and sometimes questionable actions. political analyst dimitri bad things the georgian president may be trying to provoke an angry response from

russia that could turn the political balance in his favor. you'll put yourself in the shoes of saakashvili he is really in a very difficult situation he cannot at tax office sit and uprise there for a second because that would be political suicide and he cannot political pressure diplomatic pressure on russia because he was so bad he just created. internationally so the only way for him is to organize all kinds of p.r. stunts to try to attract attention to the problem showed georgia the teaser please do something so we've seen all of these p.r. stunts in the last few months born out of the mourning meant for the second world war arrested in a turkish cup and for fourteen years like this now thirteen people arrested you know be spy case or grizzly he expects russia at some moment to all spacious and to do something dramatic increase military presence in a part of yourself to say to you know to do something that would make russia look

like and aggressive. stay with us here on r t coming your way later this hour we take a look at how when the west stories plan to. help win public support for the american military operations abroad plus. the president say one of the main advantages of having a base over in toms is the abundance of great minds universities lined the main street here in the city center and one in every six people is pursuing some form of education to discover what else lures venture capitalists and scientists into the siberian town of thompson with artie's closeup team coming your way in a few minutes. first though more than two hundred iraqis claim they were subjected to torture and inhumane degrading treatment by british soldiers the abuse allegedly happened in british controlled detention centers in iraq between two thousand and three and two thousand and eight lawyers in the u.k. are seeking a public inquiry into these allegations that have submitted video evidence to support the claims the u.k.

ministry of defense says it's investigating the claims and there is no need for a public inquiry such probes have already been launched for two similar cases involving the alleged torture and murder of civilians by british soldiers to discuss this in this possible effects on the inquiry into the war in iraq we're joined by chris ames a journalist and. he joins us live from london good to have you with us so what are the exact claims being put forward by the group of iraqis against the british soldiers. well the the claims are that soldiers used a range of techniques to humiliate and terrify iraqi detainees into giving information to them there's allegations of sexual abuse sexual humiliation stress positions sleep and starvation a number of techniques are in theory banned by britain under the geneva convention but the allegation isn't just that soldiers use these techniques but that they were systemic they rule through ice and they were part of a deliberate policy that was that was widespread rather than just being the actions

of a few bad apples u.k. ministry of defense has yet to present its argument in court but refused to order a new inquiry into these allegations do you think the government is afraid of a public inquiry i think it's worth saying that there is a new government since the events that happened the ministry of defense is is certainly very much opposed and very much afraid of a public inquiry i'm not so sure about the government and the politicians the secretary of state for defense liam fox has said that he has an open mind if things come out that might actually justify a wide range of you that they will allow that but i think the ministry of defense the civil servants the soldiers they always fight tooth and nail against any public inquiry and they were going to inquiries that you referred to earlier that were really been set up they've been allegations that they withheld information from from court proceedings previously they really don't want another inquiry like this while this investigation. of the current inquiry on the u.k.'s involvement in iraq

. well it's interesting that i've been following the iraq inquiry and decision quite closely over the last year these allegations have hardly come up at all it would make sense if it was known that there was already going to be an inquiry into these specific allegations there have been two inquiries into particular cases as you mentioned but the chilcot inquiry has pretty well stayed clear of these they've seen a huge number of british military witnesses but they've been much more concerned to find out what lessons there are to be learned by the british military than actually to find out whether abuses were committed by the military so it really isn't clear whether the chilcot inquiry much just avoid these issues altogether now you've been trying to look into the legality of the war since the us led invasion of iraq which is now going ahead do you think this inquiry will bear any fruit. i think the chilcot inquiry is actually throwing up quite a lot of new information about not so much the legality of the war i think there's a widespread feeling that british participation in the war was illegal i don't

think there's ever going to be a formal legal ruling i don't think they'll be one from the chilcot inquiry what we're finding out a lot more about is how the british attorney general came to change his opinion about the galaxy of the war he initially until a couple of months before the war said that british participation would be illegal and subsequently he was prevailed upon to change his mind more or less at the last minute lots of documents are coming out that throw in a lot of light on how that came to happen. all right chris ames journalist and editor joining us live from london thanks for your fact thank you. the war has left many iraqis destitute with some estimates suggesting that a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line forces many to make a living illegally smuggling alcohol into iran or drinking is officially banned are to follow the booze trail in our special report. in northern iraq kurdish smugglers load their horses with hundreds of boxes of booze they're taking in two of them although alcohol is forbidden in islam

a group public much of tehran's bourgeoisie can't resist a drink and these smugglers provide them with an extraordinary selection we hear in a smugglers storm in a mountainous area of northern iraq that borders around we have absolute funky here teachers here mr chavez risky black and white whiskey back here we have johnny walker black label we have johnny walker red label over here and we even have over four different kinds of smear not barca this box of vodka will cost the smuggler one hundred five dollars in iraq he will sell it in tehran for over four hundred although the profits appear immense to many who actually take the dangerous journey are paid a mere fifty dollars a night this is not work for those looking to make a fortune it is work for the poor uneducated in desperate. i do this because i'm a literate. so this is the only job i can do. is google and its approach to keep alcohol out

a smuggler recently arrested was sentenced to life others who have been wounded in police ambushes have been fined up to half a million dollars and then charge the price of the bullets that were shot with a mind they stepped on. we crossed the border and there are explosions shootings arrests or fights it's terrible nothing we can do because we are. dangerous but the living conditions are bleak on the iraqi side of the small river that makes the border so it's a series of shanty towns full of tattered shacks. small shelters for the smugglers as well as for the horses the place is filthy and stinks of course down. this isn't there's no food or drink it's getting cold in the way. on the other side said hundreds of a rainy and border police some in concrete towers others in canvas tents put all in their pursuit to keep the smugglers out of their country

a few days before we arrived they mounted an ambush on one of the smugglers. that came from the other side and took three of my mules back across the border and shot everyone. the iranians left the corpses rotting on the riverbank as a warning to the smugglers nine a phone call comes in saying that the route is clear the smugglers quickly finish packing their horses and then take off towards the border what awaits them on the iranian side is uncertain what is certain is tomorrow the same dangerous job awaits those who are desperate enough to do it sebastian meyer party on the iran iraq border. you can always find more news blogs and video on our website. here's a look at some of the stories that are online right now. first cause my drama in the. world set to become a film set and not just for a science fiction writer all the details at r.t. dot com. and kids in grown ups are flocking to

a game paradise and experiencing the latest to read games here in moscow you can get a taste with the tour with our website r t dot com. levy classified evidence from the one nine hundred eighty s. reveals how the us government was planting stories in the media to gain public support for the past conflicts in central america artie's kale and ford reports on the stair on the stand on those standing behind the scenes crafting propaganda for the us public. when most americans open a newspaper they expect all the news that's fit to print not to plan but declassified documents show that in the one nine hundred eighty s. the state department was doing exactly that known as white propaganda editorials and stories were planted and pushed in major u.s.

media outlets the washington post c.b.s. usa today the new york times and more. ensuring favorable coverage of the controversial contra war in central america the office of public diplomacy had a very innocuous sounding name but in fact it was a sinister covert office running eagle propaganda operations hello my name is art all right meet the man at the forefront of this effort cuban american cold warriors and former head of the office of public diplomacy for latin america has the reputation of a tough operator that's why you are telling a lie employing special psychological operations experts to craft messages for the american public putting people secretly on the u.s. payroll reporters writers and having them then pretend to be independent and writing op ed pieces and nobody would know that this was a u.s. government financed and directed opinion but from these declassified documents we

know that auto reich was behind these similar tactics were used by the bush administration and the lead up to the iraq war the iraq war is a textbook case of how a government or a couple within a government uses propaganda planting stories in the u.s. media to convert public opinion favorably toward a war within a matter of days on september eighth the new york times michael gordon judith miller published a front page long story you know which they talked about how u.s. intelligence officials. had found out that saddam hussein had purchased lumen tubes which they believed could only be used for nuclear weapons what they did not say of course was that that was a minority view within the intelligence community the drums of war beat faster the u.s. invaded in march two thousand and three in two thousand and nine immediately after

the president of honduras was overthrown in a military coup otto reich resurfaced in the mainstream media quoted by columnists interviewed by pundits. well what i want to know about stuff like this there's nobody else better to call than the guy you're about to meet right here he could better explain what is happening and just about everybody else otto reich is who i'm talking about as we since he was in charge of what he was doing back in the eighty's and he's been around like like a ghost and you see him personally reading. for important newspapers in the u.s. and you see him working behind the scenes for the mongers in honduras and what you what you have to wonder is who's paying him to do so why propaganda has proven effective in garnering support for america's more contentious foreign policy the office of public diplomacy it became the sacrificial lamb of the iran contra scandal follow your congressional investigation but otto reich moved on unscathed

first to become ambassador to venezuela then assistant secretary of state he remains an influential consultant here in washington frequently quoted in the media and regularly called to testify here on capitol hill as an expert witness for our t. washington d.c. . take a look now at some other stories making headlines across the globe a suicide bomber struck a mosque in northwest pakistan killing fifty people leaving more than eighty injured officials say the target may have been a member of pakistan's senate who had encouraged people to oppose the taliban the targeted procession took place in an area where the taliban has recently gained ground in a separate attack seven. people were injured after three hand grenades were thrown into another mosque near the city of peshawar. more than sixty people have been killed in the latest eruption of indonesia's volatile mount merapi it takes the death toll to more than one hundred twenty since the volcano became active again last week after lying dormant for four years residents are being treated for burns

and respiratory problems seventy five thousand people have been evacuated from central java while people with covered faces have been seeking a means of escape. up next as our teams close up series as we continue to explore the many diverse parts of russia. as we continue our journeys on the tom screen the city of tomsk one of the oldest towns in western siberia has officially opened for open to foreigners in the one nine hundred ninety and it became one of russia's major i and fastest developing innovation based centers are these tests are still has been finding out what makes tom's tick well we are here in talks in south western siberia now this is a very important region for oil exploration and production companies and some of the major industries here are building metalworking and timber but over the years

this region has also diversified their industries and they have become known as a town of science and an important economic center here in siberia and it's also a center for nuclear research and production however today investment is flowing into new for lots of the new and growing industries and that includes technological innovation scientific research and development as well as start up companies well tom is continuing to carve a name for itself technological and scientific innovation now in this report we'll look at some of the people behind this effort as well as the business ventures that have come out of this region. it's one of the oldest towns in siberia but it was only officially open to foreigners in one thousand nine hundred ninety today wooden houses hundreds of years old still wind the streets and there contrast it by the youthful enthusiasm of students who flock to toms the home of siberia's first university. corian is a graduate of the thomas cloyd technic university he's only twenty four but he's

already working on a ph d. and is running his own welding company with twenty six branches all over the country. i started doing this three and a half years ago while still in undergrad or we sampled our first models in a small garage then we want to few contests and received grants which allowed me to launch a company. but in the world of business a great idea needs money to get off the ground. and that's where venture capitalists like nikolai but dual income in. my business model is if not me then who are the different ways i could invest and i found something i thought was best investing innovations creating new products new technologies. one of the many businesses but to invest it in is this water purifying technology it's still in the testing stage but he believes in its potential but dylan has another project up his sleeve

a new technology that may be able to advance the battle against cancer. in two thousand days we started testing the drug silver all on twenty eight carriers eighteen laser tested healthy scientists still need to study this drug but i personally have not seen anything better for treating leukemia business was so one of the main advantages of having a baby so when tom says the abundance of great minds universities live the main street here in the city center and whatever six people is pursuing some form of education. we were told that in this town it's cool to be an intellectual well one intellectual locals aren't cool with this russian playwright and don't check out who once wrote a sister saying tomsk is a very dull town to judge from the drunkards whose acquaintances i have made and for me intellectual people come to the hotel to pay their respects to me the inhabitants are very. chekov son favorable comments earned him this marking

statue and amusing reminder that the people of toms don't take kindly to such remarks even from an intellectual. tests are cilia r t reporting from the tomsk region yulia bokova joins us next with all of us business news stay with us here on r.t. . hello and a very welcome to the business program here on r t with me here live back about china's central bank says the latest burst of money printing from the u.s. could endanger the global economy as the fat stimulus highlights the need to reform the international monetary architecture china says a special drawing rights developed by the international monetary funds could be used as a global reserve currency that is something emerging economies have been proposing via the g twenty and this is the global crisis erupted more than two hears ago china's central bank's head says that as do you are as would offset

a speculated bubble created by the u.s. liquidity injections. stocks rally it after the fed's new round of stimulus the u.s. dollar fell to its lowest level of the year is some analysts say the u.s. is consciously aiming at inflation devaluation hunt hoping to export its problems to the world decision to increase quantity thing by six hundred billion dollars it's a complete disaster i mean we're not in a situation where the total is going to be something like eight hundred fifty the mine hundred billion dollars by the end of next year and that's going to be approximately one hundred billion per month which effectively means that really what we're seeing is the sort of a repurchase agreement of the american deficit if you look at the economic actually manufacturing was rebounding in october according to american statistics crude there how can it be that particularly if i can number of private sector hiring but the truth is that actually the job picture was improving ever so slightly within the private sector which is the engine of the american economy but you american

government is certainly not a retail field has been remarkably strong over the course of time therefore it's quite bizarre because what we're risking at the economic good market distortion for the dollar is being pushed through the floor and that's really the sort of appalling baggers our neighbor kind of approach which is i'm going to help the. kind of commonly because it's simply making imported foodstuffs more and more expensive and creating inflation for the average working man while at the same time it's basically leaving places like the eurozone with a further problem because it's increasing the value of the currency and making those economies less competitive. russian investor in facebook and internet holding mail dot argues surged forty one percent in london after raising nine hundred twelve million dollars in the sitter's biggest i.p.o. july the stock's climbed from eleven point three to thirty nine dollars in london trading today at that price male dr here as the but first day performance among london stocks or at least to hear us. the skies are open was again across

moscow russian pilots no longer need to sit permission to fly in the city but while certain regulations for light weight aircraft have been canceled some obstacles remain as they do it out of explains. the skies over russia into smaller be as of this week light aircraft flying below three thousand meters no longer have to suit permission for their route twenty four hours ahead rather than given permission authorities now require pilots to notify them of their flight plans small of nation existence is far from florida and while the new rules are welcome once will doesn't make a summer and as the saying goes on an international regulations regional regulations are still an obstacle to open skies it's a rather small but important development for russia's air industry well it's a little small aviation can become a good base for pilot training because now we face

a serious deficit of pilots small aviation can also keep alive the whole range of regional airports all over russia in the future form the basis of commercial transportation. unlike europe in united states flights over big cities are banned and regional flights have to navigate a mountain of people who are require its commercial and political will to develop the segment legislation might ease their way through but it wouldn't change dramatically it's all market driven. and in our case. the aviation market development in russia it's about the mentality change flying around russia even in small planes is still a lot greater than an everyday reality with the russians vast territory so it's crucial to develop air transportation and to both levels you go in is starting small but the potential benefits are huge. zinaida many doing business are cheap.

that's who update from now but you can always find most or is on our website r.t. dot com slash business. close up g.m. has features. where russia.