all. a moment when the world has changed forever. thousands pounced to nothing.

new and to suffer and to deny. it was the first but probably not the last military uses of this weapon. will make. sure the common good in the future wealthy british soil most of us moved on to the split was. hard. to predict. market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy in cars a report on our. a look at the week's top stories in moscow calls police arrest of thirteen alleged russian spies a groundless political philosophy aimed at scoring political points with nato but

the swoops approach there and monks some georgians. me tell nice map of the democratic party with major defeats and elections and loss of control the house of representatives but some say it's big business rather than the american people which has had the biggest say. also we'll see how shocking poverty caused by the boy in iraq forces some to risk their minds to make ends meet by smuggling alcohol into neighboring iran the way it's strictly. on the top level investigation as ordered by russian president dmitry medvedev after the burst of attempted murder of a meeting. a great journalist knocks the links to his work. hello and welcome to the program this is aussie's weekly review my name is hugo of our town main story now moscow says thirteen people arrested in georgia accused of

spying for russia innocent victims of political games the foreign ministry described this route as a political farce orchestrated by the saakashvili administration attention seeking before a nato summit involving brusha but as i. reports many georgians fear their government's point man here could land them in prison to. for alina this spy scandal was a horrible deja vu her own husband. was thrown into prison for allegedly spying for russia during the two thousand and eight conflict between georgia and south a city or a very unfair they said some three thousand 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 formation with witchcraft and worked was just his analysis if you look at his case you'll see that it's easy to say that anyone's a spine ga something with. feeling as husband was george's envoy to nato he was

named in a documentary just shown on one of george's main channels restudy too 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 unraveling 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 invited 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 very say it won't do georgia any good mosco reacted almost immediately the saakashvili regime suffers from some chronic spine mania

fueled by under russian sentiments in recent years the georgian leadership has resorted to fabricating similar scandals more than once cynically hoping to political dissidents 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 the in their struggle against a position which still is not consolidated body 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 on the chaplain the sex symbol but apparently the taster

for the same time it's an attempt to lead the situation between russia and georgia to another escalation. but wild tbilisi in mosco exchanged verbal blows one woman continues to wait for justice for her and. 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 it right now but when they will they will accuse me of pretty. to be lisi georgia. russia received late his invitation to cooperate in a joint european missile defense system on wednesday the alliance the secretary general was in a visit to moscow hoping to take relations to you level and rasmussen stresses that nato sees russia as a friend and an essential play with in regional stability present vet of said partnership alliance could boost security in europe and the world the meeting comes

ahead of a nato summit in lisbon later this month which the president will attend an expert in conflict resolution to be treaty told us he that a joint russian later missile defense project could be a breakthrough for both sides the secretary general. of the joint. russia's. cooperation with. the state bar during his first speech on russia first major speech on any issue. last year basically you need to realize that no amount of strategic arms reduction love occasions can transform the russian russia western russia u.s. relationship one nice to have a strategic collaborative project and it looks like. it is the one thing. the project that has the potential at least transformed the entire russian western

relationship it's a game changer or fail to seize appalled that it could be a broker. later as the original plans for an anti-missile shield in europe while george bush was in power sent a new chill through relations with russia but recently things have been positive in september nato invited russia to take part in the alliances lisbon summit and last month the two sides carried out a joint and trans raid in afghanistan. and while russia and nato are stepping out their joint efforts in afghanistan delivered the first of sixteen planes loaded with russian weapons and ammunition to kabul on tuesday these small arms are being supplied. to help the government's fight against militants drug trafficking and other crimes in the country russia's defense minister says military experts may be sent to help train security forces too but moscow says its troops will not be returning to afghanistan despite media speculation that russia might get involved in military operations that. moving on now republican victories in the u.s.

make ten elections could pose serious problems for president obama's administration policy company lies and public frustration with the pace of economic recovery winning a majority in the house of representatives but as aussies get education fund some experts say it's not the american people but corporate influence that determine the outcome this was a special election year in the us for the first time corporations were allowed to funnel as much money as they wanted into political campaigns and they definitely did not miss out on the chance to buy influence on capitol hill we've come to take our government and. big businesses 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 they'll cut in their bottom lines 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 inaction take 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 insurers oil firms and drug manufacturers baner is campaigning against all kinds of government regulations and against a tax increase for the rich and other 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 implats to fight against tougher rules for the financial market 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 only. minute amounts of money in politics and be able to be

credited as anonymous donors has basically legalized corruption one definition of corruption is the privatization of public party two years ago corporations supported obama knowing it was going to bail them out but now that he imposed tougher rules on the financial markets and wants to increase taxes for the rich they're betting against his party believe no fear mongering and constant attacks on obama were arguably the perpetrations remained 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 most aspiration. but many americans now fear their interest in being left down because

of someone's special interests on the outside this democracy is unusual with people coming to a polling station friends putting a cost before the name of a candidate they like but in these elections with the influence of corporations on me it seems all really has the vote in american mail is money going to shut down all t. washington d.c. . out of the republicans make a comeback in the house of representatives one republican former president is also returning to the scene with his mother was. george w. bush's legacy almost two years after he left the white house. not be able to get a job after that as well iraq war a lot of things i remember about george bush 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.

let's turn to iraq now where the war has a rather stay corner way with estimates suggesting nearly a quarter of the population level just to dollars a day in dire poverty some have resorted to illegal and desperate means to make ends meet risking death to smuggle alcohol into neighboring iran where it's too bad it's also sébastien full of them in that dangerous quest. in northern iraq kurdish smugglers load their horses with hundreds of boxes of booze they're taking into a brain 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 we have absolute fuck you here teachers just be 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 block this box of luck will cost

a smuggler a hundred and five dollars in iraq he will sell into iran for over four hundred of 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 it is work for the poor uneducated in desperate follows that i do this because i'm a literate did you know you can you know i was 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 in venture the price of the bullets that were shot at them with a mind they stepped on. we crossed the border and there are explosions shootings i restore fights terrible much nothing we can do because we have who are. not only is the job dangerous but the living conditions are bleak on the iraqi side of the small. that makes the border so it's

a series of shanty towns full of tattered checks. for the smugglers as well as for the horses the place is filthy and stinks of course. this isn't a life and there's no food or drink. on the other side said hundreds of a rainy and border police some hours. pursuit to keep the smugglers out of their country a few days before we arrived they mounted an ambush on one of the smugglers. came from the other side and took three of my mules back across the border and showed everyone. the corpses rotting on the riverbank as a warning to the smugglers. a phone call comes in 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. on the iran iraq border. you know she hotseat later this hour with former president visit to the curial islands and find out why japan is not pleased. that t.v. show that pleat german society finds out why a program exposing the dangers of paedophilia the world wide web is at the center of a public rally in germany. investigators in russia searching for those behind a vicious attack on a russian newspaper journalist that sound correspondent was brutally beaten near his moscow home early saturday morning and is in hospital with a coma with severe injuries has already undergone surgery twice and doctors say his condition is serious but stable investigators believe conscience journalism is probably links to the brutal assault and an attempted murder inquiry has begun

police are examining c.c.t.v. footage showing two people attacking the journalist the case has drawn wide public outrage with rallies supporting caution moscow and st petersburg president dmitry medvedev says that tigers must be found and punished and former editor in chief of commerce. says he was not afraid of writing we use which could have made him a criminal enemies. 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 common sense has a certain style this beating is very similar to the attack on the journalist. which took place a couple of years ago this mention of his fingers for example so that the person who could not write any more there is a horror show element here. japan appears to be ready to repair ties with russia retiring its was drawn ambassador to moscow earlier than expected he was recalled

earlier this week after rather president medvedev his visit to the korean arlen's which tokyo also claims but as are his acts on a boyko found out moscow maintains sovereignty with big players who they were motera tree. it's a leftover from the second world war old soviet tanks rusting on the shore barrels pointed toward japan they're about to be scrapped. when the visit by the russian president put them at the center of another fiery exchange between russia and japan discovered in the seventeenth century the audience changed hands several times to the soviet union lost in the month to expel the japanese army from the islands in all the stuff nineteen forty five that prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty living a door open for japan to claim they are the seventy. sixty five years after their handover the tussle to define the islands national identity still goes on this

cross appeared here and few years ago when the russian orthodox church opened its parish on the island of she could. 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 region there are many kids here and parents bring them to be baptized and livingston's it's a quite decent nowadays just a few hundred metres from the church at ikeja motor is teaching japanese at a local school and here class seven greater sit alongside their parents many of them getting a job and to fan is that best shot at lifting their families out of poverty our class is a very popular and people coming here year after year. sometimes 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 tried to paint a pretty quick church roads and crumbling infrastructure betrayed the island's

chronic financial problems so it's an important part of our land we would definitely invest some money into the region. and the midst of rich fishing grounds on and. a prime spot to buy seafood an opportunity that mitchell inventive didn't miss. what is it. smelt can i get some. while fish and seafood are affordable here everything else costs 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 don't have any problems with the supply of alcohol here with the president's visit was a missed on the japanese side talkies foreign minister said the trip heard japanese public sentiment and temporarily recalled its ambassador from moscow. it is extremely regrettable that president medvedev visited the crew islands even though japan had earlier notified russia that there could be

a negative impact on bilateral relations his russian counterpart was annoyed. that only japan's reaction isn't acceptable it's our land and russian president was visiting russian territory with a ready explained this to were just a nice porkers session planned to once again in a big risky retreat this position however we're not going to take any steps that would hinder relations while the russian officials consider last week's rout over the greenland's unfortunate they stressed that their first priority is to make sure that the people who actually believe on the islands aren't left feeling more wrong 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 likely to do so in the future the audience may be an integrity part of russia on the map but they cannot make clear and logistically they're still very much

a foreign land some of the artists in russia's forests. that story and the others were covering local to website home and there are lots of others too. in making that it will be historic and defines nine hundred forty one parade a red square find out about a story of immense courage as many soldiers taking part were heading straight for the fronts to probably not seen the asian. island of rats can be stunning while that's what the organizers of an unusual beauty pageant in russia would say rodents from all over the country have been this chanting that stuff perhaps on iraq's walk rather than a concert hall simply a sow's in a website called. debate

is raging in germany over a t.v. show which exposes internet paedophiles by secretly filming their meetings with decoys posing as victims critics say the program is chasing ratings rather internet predators but its makers say they can tease other matters do you say loopholes in the law. it's every parent's nightmare their child is being lured by someone they met on the internet this girl is pretending to be thirteen years old the man at the table is in his sixty's they've been conversing online for weeks my girlfriend it is you is and yes if i'm a little kid and you. went to kiss. you tell me. the back of your neck may be ok but perhaps that might turn you on that later is actually an undercover journalist and it turns out the man works for

a children's charity he's completely unaware that the meeting is being secretly filmed as part of the german t.v. show a cool tattled internet and they think spacing the danger is a sexual predator online. in the very beginning we expected it expected. to have a very specific. person to be imagined you know what you would really usually magine as a sexual predator you know the guy with the glasses and more here and you know this guy but we've met people from all kinds of society those who praise the show say that the authorities should have been inform straight away especially as in this case the man worked with children and that the show is designed to big ratings is the primary motivation of people who took the video clip. and broadcast of it in october no. in between there was no information for an.

investigative. officials for police and not for the employer or employer as well but the producers argue that the reason for having to keep the identity of the men they film secret is due to a major leap hole in the law. chatting on the internet with a child even about cirqus is almost never considered a crime or is left very unclear what exactly constitutes a criminal action. shockingly under current law unless there's an actual physical assault there's not much that can be done and it's an international problem with many experts openly acknowledge the guidelines are in desperate need of clarification instagram is not a new thing nomination and as a number of children going online craze so does the danger and the scariest part is that right now there's not much that the police can do to protect the team shaders

how often within minutes of going into an online chat range praising as a young girl sexual advances were made if we can succeed with the goal of really changing the law making the approach of minors online for cyber grooming. under. restriction we can avoid those people tracing the surface r.t. . and let's have a look at some other international news stories this hour victims of the mount merapi volcano eruption in the knees there have been buried in a mass grave the disaster has claimed more than one hundred lives in the past fortnight friday saw the volcano unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century meanwhile as merapi shows no signs of calming down experts fear that acid should belching out may also damage the fabric of ancient temples in the area. at least twenty people have died in drug killings over the weekend in the mexican

frontis city of c. about who arrests two police officers are among the dead in what seems to be an interface and intensification of recent violence in areas bordering the us the city has become one of the world's deadliest with over six thousand killed that sense of drugs war began in two thousand and eight. u.s. president barack obama is on a ten day trip to south and east asia here arrived in new delhi india on sunday the second stop on the tour has been local anger however that he fails to mention pakistan links to the moon by a terrorist attack in two thousand and eight when calling for better understanding between india and its neighbor both countries are deeply suspicious of each other but obama has said it's not the united states' responsibility to impose peace between the. after two years out of view george w. bush has come back into the public arena with his published level was looking back on his life his presidency and it was some mistakes from his past nori hoffa is the reporter called the resident went on to the streets of new york to head just how he

that today. decision points george w. bush's memoir is hitting bookstores everywhere how do you remember him this week let's talk about that i remember him as will ferrell being dropped to the stage gently on the cable from a helicopter and landing in times square fictionally being dumped and saying when he arrived that was weird. obama's inaugural day that's how i remember going to prom with him his school my book though do you think that people in general feel better about him now two years later than they did when he was in office. i would say that no but. but i don't think obama's really proven anything you know above and beyond what he did so makes him look

a little better i guess and one might not be able to get a job after that as well iraq war a lot of things i remember about george bush though do you think that his saying out of the limelight for a couple years has helped his image a dollar is that kind of just i don't think it's changed you know the first six seven years were good for less year we had the financial difficulties and the difficult we do the war 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 if you think that's fair for a lot of presidents it takes some mattress back i think so i think the only thing we could look barely upon initially was nixon with the watergate he never really seemed to recapture in the glory the bottom line is it's always easier to judge in hindsight so it'll be interesting to see what people think about bama two years after his presidency ends whether that's in two thousand and fourteen or twenty eighteen we'll have to wait and.