top stories of the week here in our team spies lies and videotape many georgian spirit releases and a russian paranoid could find them accused of espionage next. to heads are better

than one russian nato pledge to work together to great advances tend to neutralize common threats. a bomb a cold a chill lacking critics say it was just a good old beating but something cast votes are sure of the republicans to victory in this week's u.s. miss term elections. archipelago outraged he was angered by president medvedev says it to russia's coral islands which japan claims as its own moscow says it will keep investing in its remote region. and the international space station is celebrating ten years of human life in orbit the longest stretch ever spent outside the earth's atmosphere our team needs space citizens.

of the russian capital you're watching r t with me marina joshua welcome to the program now this week has seen a new scandal flaring out between russia and georgia just release the sad thirteen people were caught spying for moscow russia claim the whole story is a political farce and deliberate provocation by the georgian authorities had a nato summit and as our teams are reading the reports from tbilisi the opposition is considering this will be another attack on the government's opponents. for this spy scandal was a horrible deja vu her husband. was thrown into prison for allegedly spying for russia during the two thousand and eight conflict between georgia and some. the city or. they said some three thousand and three hundred pages of data which my husband supposedly sam to russia that's a blatant lie we have presented evidence numerous times that on information with which fact and worked was just his analysis if you look at his case you'll see that it's easy to say that anyone is

a spy in georgia something. healing as husband was george's envoy to nato he was named in a documentary just shown on one of george's main channels to as one of the russian spies who didn't get away in fact the film was just part of what seemed to be a spy novel and wrapping in a small caucasus country over the past week first the news of the arrests that came suddenly and not from the authorities but through western news source then a week of silence after which the georgian interior ministry made the announcement with much pomp and circumstance aspiring for years a work by the georgian counter intelligence service amol embedded into russia's chief intelligence directorate so what is this latest spy scandal all about a political farce a desperate plea for attention or simply much ado about nothing moscow says it's a combination of all three and many say it won't do georgia any good mosco reacted

almost immediately the saakashvili regime suffers from some chronic spine mania fueled by only russian sentiments in recent years the georgian leadership has resorted to fabricating simula scandals more than once cynically hoping to political divisions inside the country and abroad some analysts believe the whole affair was an attempt to put pressure on georgia's opposition the regime of circus really does not feel safe and they use any possible to again in their struggle against a position which. still is not consolidated but it is getting in power more and more. and in georgia the spy story was met with distrust. everything that concerns any information coming from the georgian authorities is highly don't fall and with a healthy dose of irony. this whole affair seemed to be fashioned on the american

spy scandal only it lacked and on the chaplin the sex symbol but apparently the tastes differ at the same time it's an attempt to lead the situation between russia and georgia to have those collation. the twelve tbilisi in mosco exchanged verbal blows one woman continues to wait for justice for her husband well you know i'm not afraid but i know that if need be georgian authorities can accuse not only me but any georgian citizen and spying for any country which they don't need to right now but when they will they will accuse me of a movie in those court t.v. to be lisi georgia. russia receive nato proposal for a european missile the fans joint program when the alliances secretary general anders fogh rasmussen visited moscow this week the nato chief stressed there the alliance sees russia france partner as being essential to regional stability the russian side has stated that the plan should be based on principles of equal

development a system that would neutralize common threats the meeting comes ahead of israel summit in lisbon on of ember of a twentieth and an expert in conflict resolution retreat krannon told r.t. that a joint russian naval missile defense project could be a breakthrough for both sides the secretary general is a champion of the joint missile the russians for russia. corporation was. made that state but during his first speech on russia his first major speech on any issue that you may. last year of the auspices of the carnegie endowment basically you need to realize that no amount of strategic arms reduction good love occasions can transform the russian russia western russia u.s. relationship one nice to have those that teach it collaborative project looks like

. it is the warmth of the silver bullet the project that can has the potential at least to transform the entire russian western relationship it's a game changer or it was fail to see the part that it could be a broker. scandalous and hysterical is how russia is viewing their recall of the japanese ambassador from moscow the reaction came the day after president medvedev a visit to the russian coral islands which tokyo claims for itself moscow says war visits are planned to promote business development in the region are days of sun a boy who has been following the diplomatic route. it's a leftover from the second world war old soviet tanks rusting on the sure barrels pointed toward japan they're about to be scrapped from nacho when the visit by the russian president put them at the center of another fiery exchange between russia and japan discovered in to seventeen century the audience changed hands several

times it took the soviet union lost in the month to expel the japanese army from the islands in august of nineteen forty five that prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty leaving your door open for japan to claim the arlin sovereignty. sixty five years after their handover the tussle to define the islands national identity still goes on this cross appeared here if you years ago when the russian orthodox church opened its parish on the island of she could tan after decades of seeing its population window they are and is now in the midst of a baby boom. we have the highest birth rate. in the entire celing region there are many kids here and parents bring them to be baptized and living standards are quite decent nowadays just a few hundred metres from the church at ikeja my motor is teaching japanese at a local school and here class seven great or sit alongside their parents and many of them getting a job in japan is that bass charge at lifting their families out of poverty are

classes are very popular and people keep coming here year after year i'm hipp be a sentence it seems like and with my family again. this is precisely why the president came here to tell the locals that russia has not forgotten about them and while the regional officials try to paint a pretty picture of who roads and crumbling infrastructure betrayed the island's chronic financial problems. it's an important part of our land we will definitely invest money into the region and the midst of rich fishing grounds the our lands are a prime spot to buy seafood and opportunity that mitchell made that of didn't miss the. point is it smelt can i get some. while fish and seafood are affordable here everything else cost almost twice as much as on the mainland the locals complained of unreliable supply but as the

president noticed one item was always in stock. apparently you don't have any problems with the supply of i'll call here that the president's visit wasn't missed on the japanese side as foreign minister said the trip heard japanese public sentiment and temporarily recalled its ambassador from moscow. it is extremely regrettable that president made very do visited the korea lions even though japan had earlier notified russia that there could be a negative impact on bilateral relations his russian counterpart was unloved. japan's reaction isn't acceptable it's our land the russian president was visiting russian territory will be ready explain this to our japanese porkers should plan to once again in a big whiskey retreat this position however we're not going to take any steps that would change relations while the russian officials consider last week's row over the unfortunate they stressed that their first priority is to make sure that the

people who actually believe in the islands aren't left feeling my room according to a two thousand and nine nationwide poll about ninety percent of russians would strongly object to handing the grill audience over to japan but the overwhelming majority of the respondents have never visited this territory and are very unlikely to do so in the future the audience may be and then ted rall part of pressure on the map but they cannot make clear and logistical way there are still very much a foreign land it's not a boycott artists in russia's far east. so the converse of this hour here in our t.v. crime of desperation. here we have johnny walker black label we have johnny walker bravely over here we even have over four different kinds of cinema but. rampant poverty in iraq pushes manny locals to make a living illegally risking death penalty to sponsor prohibited alcohol to neighboring iran. also u.s.

versus china washington policy makers here tang over to could lead to america's bankruptcy. a top level police investigation has been launched into a vicious attack on a russian journalist kushan a correspondent for the newspaper commerce and was brutally beaten near his home and is now in an induced coma with severe injuries police are searching for a suspect as a c.c.t.v. footage was obtained showing two people attacking the journalist the assault has drawn a wide public response with manny rallies in. court of caution taking place in moscow russian president has personally commented on the case saying those responsible must be found with the help of the country's best investigators andree with syria the former chief editor of commerce and cautions writing may have been the lengths to the brutal self. but of course the reason for this attack is conscience professional activity he was a popular blogger and he was more open and outspoken in mind than in the paper

concerned has a certain more reserved style this beating is very similar to the attack on the journalist mikko because of which took place a couple of years ago this mention of his fingers for example so that the person could not write any more there is a horror show element here. and the mid-term elections in the us were a big blow to obama's administration republicans wrote a wave of public frustration to take the house of representatives unlike in previous elections there was no limit to how much big business could bankroll parties but critics say money this side of the outcome not the american voter. this is especially large screen work it works with the first line which is the language you want to hear as much money as little want to do before reaching the mission they definitely did not miss out on a trip by doing. that we've come to take our government by big business is pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the pockets of the republican party

that's now in charge of the house of representatives so what was at stake what they're hoping to do is bend the laws and regulations or prevent new laws and regulations from being approved that will cut in their bottom lines and the problem is that a lot of these rules and regulations exist for a purpose they're supposed to protect the public interest to watch corporate influence the national republican john boehner now a majority leader in the house of representatives wall street invested millions of dollars in his campaign he's also a darling among large health insurance oil firms and drug manufacturers baner is campaigning against all kinds of government regulations all and against a tax increase for the rich another republican congressman spencer baucus is going to be the chair of the house committee on financial services he has reportedly taken over four million dollars from wall street and courage to fight against tougher rules for the financial market the least of corporate favorites on capitol hill is long and not only republicans are on it for some that leaves no doubt whose

interest capitol hill is standing for and it seems there is no way around it the election system in the u.s. is such that it's virtually impossible to run for office without strong financial backing but the bigger the backing the more candidates over to their benefactors many argue the latest supreme court decision which made it possible for corporations to invest unlimited amounts of money in politics and be able to be credited as anonymous donors has basically legalized corruption one definition of core option is the privatization. public party two years ago corporations supported obama knowing he was going to bail them out but now that he imposed tougher rules on the financial market and wants to increase taxes for the rich they're betting against his party fear mongering and constant attacks on obama where arguably the corporation's main tools for making things work their way and it

wasn't hard with most americans on happy with the way economy works and with the unemployment rate at its worst in almost thirty years people are frustrated they're deeply frustrated with the pace of our economic recovery some corporate darling channels like fox news were especially good at channeling people's trust ration. but many americans now fear their interest of being left down because of someone's special interests i would like my boat to come as you would be more democratic. next monday on the outside is democracy as usual with people coming to the polling stations putting a quasi before the name of a candidate they like but in these elections with the influence of corporations on meat first it seems all really has the vote in american mail is money going to check out all t. washington d.c. . and coming up next hour judging in retrospect. i think will be like

harry truman it may take twenty years twenty years later i think will be looked upon as maybe a decent president. after two years out of the limelight george w. bush publishes his memoirs the president checks out of people having any fun memories of him. war has left man iraq is destitute with some estimates suggesting that a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line that forces some locals to resort to illegal means of survival smuggling alcohol into iran work drinking is officially banned r.t. sebastian mer follows the booze trail. in northern iraq kurdish smugglers load their horses with hundreds of boxes of booze they're taking into a. although alcohol is forbidden in the islamic republic much of tehran's bourgeoisie can't resist a drink and these smugglers provide them with an extraordinary selection we hear in a smuggler storm in a mountainous area of northern iraq that borders around absolute. teachers here mr

chavez whiskey 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. this box of luck it will cost a smuggler one hundred five dollars in iraq he will sell it in tehran for over four hundred what all the profits appear amends to men 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 he does work for the poor uneducated in desperate. i do this because i'm a literate. so this is the only job i can do. the rain is brutal in its approach to keep alcohol out a smuggler recently arrested and was sentenced to life by others who have been wounded in police ambushes have been fined up to half a million dollars to invent charged the price of the bullets that were shot with a mind of

a step down. we crossed the border and there are explosions shootings i restore fights terrible nothing we can do because we have who are away but only as the job 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 to serve a small showcase for the smugglers as well as stables for the horses the place is filthy and stinks of course down there and man it is this isn't a life and there's no food or drink during the cold and went. down. on the other side said hundreds of a reunion border police. some in concrete towers others in canvas tents put. in their pursuit to keep the smugglers out of their country a few days before we arrived he mounted an ambush on one of the smugglers. came from the other side and took three of my muse back across the border and showed everyone. the remains left the corpses rotting on the riverbank as

a warning to the smugglers nine a phone call comes in and it 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 dangerous job awaits those who are desperate enough to do it sebastian minor party on the iran iraq border. russia has become a weapon to resupply or to afghanistan as the first of sixteen planes delivered its cargo to the capital kabul one tuesday the weapons were given to stand free of charge following an agreement between the two countries to fight militants and drug trafficking rushes the fans minister on the car said it's possible that russian military experts help to train afghan security forces however moscow a state of its troops are not returning to afghanistan by earlier speculation because it when the director of the conventional arms program at a russian think tank says moscow's efforts in the region will help slash problems.

is a big threat. to all neighboring countries as a regional superpower i think. russia should engage. the. russian troops. much of. it was very remarkable which came recently of all the successful joint operation we all expect the. operational real continue if you. because the russian people know more from their every day life. broad's. re presenting a huge threat to all our c.d.'s all our generations. i want a most ambitious project in history the international space station is marking a decade of man operations this is the longest period of continuous human

habitation outside the earth artie's learned what it takes to become a space settler. november the second two thousand the first permanent crew reaches the international space station as the world watches its arguably humanity's most i'm bishops engineering project to date a mixture of science technology and political cooperation between formal sworn enemies in the ten years since the sense has expanded to the size of a football field and received two hundred visitors. now the station is nearly complete but the jury in what it has achieved is still out but for a shock but up to before the i.s.o.'s is a breakthrough of corporation before there were separate space agencies now they work together it's a leap forward this station has cost the taxpayer one hundred billion dollars and that's just absurd it's too much but it's their money now admit they were not sure

what to expect from the station and that includes the expedition one cosmonauts themselves you to get them going up trains but then she says crew members his own training was more chaotic than we're going to give them and i said when we started training for the station itself did not exist there were no manuals and there were no exercise machines with the first crews job was to fully activate the station much of it had been assembled separately in russia in the united states and the first time beast parts came together was and space of the militia would be the first two weeks on there were extremely stressful because if we failed we'd have to return to earth and abandon the station it would never have been constructed as planned expedition one was a success despite problems with construction following the columbia shuttle disaster three years later most of the modules were eventually successfully docked the completed space station provides a unique platform for experiments and weightlessness that could develop new materials and medicines starving we'll now and next year we're going to find out if you have researchers tinkering in space we can have breakthroughs if not the whole

thing was a waste but others believe that the value of the i assess is not that scientific discoveries it's lifespan has already been extended to twenty twenty and possibly beyond even we're looking at projects of using that i assess as a docking port for missions to the moon and even mars. and if mankind does mention further afield i search will serve both as a blueprint and an instruction manual of space should do and don'ts whatever its limitations and budget over and then i assess as. important at the torah word no longer seemed like everything was possible in space and there were no longer the cold war budgets to fund that all the still proves that space research can be right to the edge of human endeavor. moscow and china's fast growing economy is causing alarm among policymakers in washington d.c. or beijing is rise could result in a us fall but the trade wars between the two have some experts saying that america

is our to bankrupt china's rising economy. it's on our genes and children's two made in china three common words quickly becoming bad words as part of smear campaigns made in the usa to be voted to give china special trade status the chinese are being set up to be the next bogeyman and the only thing that's interfering with that is that the muslims are in effect of bogeyman for right now but that hasn't stopped china and its alleged us supporters from being the bad guys does your records help foreign companies create chinese jobs to make it with in the u.s. china's ascent in the world is becoming the popular perceived threat from washington maybe you ought to run for senate trying to holywood good to get it over to go with their remaking the eighty's flick red dawn. but this time around instead of soviet

troops invading the west you guessed it it's the chinese it seems for longer the us economy stagnates barely growing at all oh. and the more china celebrates the ten percent plus rise in its economic growth the more we see china vilified it's very important to see more progress by the major emerging economies with policymakers accusing the country of manipulating its currency to boost exports at the expense of the u.s. recovery and demanding they do something to change that every just look at the issue from that perspective you may think china is to blame here but if you want and china have a very dynamic interconnected relationship and when you look at what the us is doing because a lot less clear who is the bad guy but it's two to tango there are two sides to that core and the only way to get out of this imbalance is to coordinate a process that is mutually beneficial both. an imbalance that has china the largest

creditor nation on the globe. funding the us the largest debtor. nation in the history of the world is asking for the dollar to go down twenty percent against the chinese currency the yuan essentially as china who holds two point six trillion us dollars in its reserves to just lose a half trillion dollars china doesn't want that and economists say this is anything but mutually beneficial to us no we want to screw you we want to bankrupt you like we grip the grip him we want to disable you because if we can destroy your canonically then you can never become a military threat. of paranoid psychosis but it doesn't stop the u.s. from parading its military might around china's borders china's also held drills in recent months and both sides are duking it out in what's been dubbed a currency war i happen to think china should open its currency up and be freely convertible on the other hand the united states is running up the gigantic debts

and printing money oh everybody's making mistakes here and that's where economists say a larger war is impending looks like we have a trade war developing a losing battle for both sides nobody in history has won a trade war but that may not stop anyone from putting up a fight and recent u.s. history as seen here here and here doesn't seem to even be allowing a fair one floor in mr r.t. new york and there are more stories to come next hour in our program including. a catch a paedophile creators of the german show say they're helping protect children critics say they're just after higher ratings. than just a few moments we interviewed had of the disney film production company in russia and the c.i.s. .