article islam ists twenty six people were seized for apparently plotting attacks of the christmas period and suspects are being linked to international terrorist organizations and chechen militants daniel bush is following developments for r.t. . police here in brussels say they busted an islamic terrorist cell tied to russia's republic of chechnya which is planning attacks three three throughout europe so it is swooped on fifteen people suspect of recruiting jihad is to fight in iraq and afghanistan it comes just hours after or sorties launched pre-dawn raid on homes of another eleven suspects who were tied to a cicily are linked in its work to build a prosecutor's office said quote there were an international terrorist group using extremist internet sites and saw al mujahideen to plan an attack it comes as part of massive coordinated raids across europe in countries like the netherlands denmark and germany where thirty one year old russian of chechen origin was

arrested suspected of training jihadists to fight in terrorist campaigns those arrested or belgian dutch moroccan and russian origin this is seen as among the first top level links that police have found between russia's chechen. rebel organizations and the worldwide al qaeda network to say those arrested are suspected of gathering recruits and money to finance a chechen terrorist organization called the caucasus emirate in effect to found a separate islamic state based on the surreal law in the south of russia and it comes in the wake of horrific attacks in russia from those moscow metro bombings that we saw earlier this year two increasingly but bloody suicide blasts in russia's southern republic of dagestan and chechnya of the one of those attacks russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov said that those chechen linked groups were based and was standing very much in line with al qaida but after that the united

states but chechen rebel leader dog or more are on the most wanted list of terrorists but it's really taken this set of events in the past twenty four hours to show that russia's chechen terrorists worked on standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the world's most dangerous terrorists. counterterrorism analyst up to edwin baca says the group arrested on tuesday's part of a global network that's trying to expand its operations of course they are part of this global jihad of which al qaeda is the main i can they are not only recruiting chechens to go back to fight to chechnya but they also recruiting other people in this case possibly people would a dutch moroccan background so in that sense they're not only part of a local struggle they're part of a global jihad and. a focus for some of these groups who have fruit in europe with nothing to do with chechnya so it's more international and these foreign supporters

they want these groups very much to make it as international as possible. russia's leader says the country's democracy is on the right path but needs improving to avoid stagnation is a main message from president adams latest video blog which has just been posted online. look over i've been watching it but i take us through the key points so what's dimitri medvedev are trying to achieve that. well in his address russian president dmitry medvedev mean least spoke about the need to modernize russia's political system with the help of gradual but still reforms but also to make sure that a stable political system doesn't mean that it's the naysaying. national political system or we simply want to make our political system more fan more flexible more dynamic and more open to renewal and development he must enjoy the confidence of our lecturing it is no secret that for some time now signs of

stagnation have begun to appear in our political life because to belittle he has threatened to turn into stagnation. the national president also spoke about the freedom of speech in the country they need to improve the quality of the work representation have stronger opposition forces and simply have a better political competition in more rights for political minorities. or if the opposition has no chance at all of winning a fair fight it degrades and becomes marginal or if the ruling party never loses a single election it is just coasting ultimately to degrades just like any living organism which remains static for these reasons it's become necessary to raise the degree of political competition with. russian president has also said that the ruling party in washington not simply as a supplement to the executive power. but president of also talks of what he says

he's achieved regarding improving russian democracy what does he say about that. well this year a list of bills have been completed that made major amendments to the multi-party political system on a nationwide scale and the key points of those amendments for decreasing the human factor of those counting providing again more rights to political minorities and minimizing risks of elections money relations. political system or i hope that our political system has been improved quite significantly as a result of these adjustments i am absolutely sure that it has become more open and flexible because of the ultimately it is also become more fat and more more points i made. on it democracy is imperfect and we are absolutely aware of this but we are still at the beginning of the route the most important thing is that we are not

standing still we are going forward. to is anything being made of the timing of this message. well of course this address comes at a very important sign for washers the electro period is approaching parliamentary elections will take place in december two thousand and eleven and this is when all the amendments that have been introduced this year will be taken to the test. the first time in over live from moscow for us thank you. with us to the head for this hour tired of trains. after decades of mismanagement the water is in one of the world's largest landlocked fees went away and a gigantic fishing industry but now coming that i went to france and joined me in the air i'll see in central asia. even the united states admits that violence in afghanistan is now at an all time high for the pentagon insists

progress is being made in the nine year old campaign retreat chase report modest gains against the taliban despite clashes ng creasing since two thousand and seven . has been watching troops in iraq hearing up for their move to afghanistan to boost the american forces there. a real trick which is time in iraq is coming to an end he's part of the american forces who stayed behind to train assist and he quote iraqi security forces sure their own wants to go home that's for sure no one knows whether once they hear the generous largest movement of troops and equipment since world war two the u.s. army is moving in supplies from iraq to afghanistan certain equipment such as are in route. mine resistant vehicles are humvees or those types of equipment a lot of our rolling vehicles rolling stock of course and some generation that

equipment yes will be dedicated towards. the mission in afghanistan but critics warn that moving troops won't help much that. we're not going people see u.s. forces inside their country it brings in paganism and makes them turn to terrorism and al qaeda so as more american troops come here from iraq it will just make things worse i don't believe the americans will live for another fifty years they have two of the main military bases here and then now building. americans leaving iraq also sends the wrong message to insurgents the afghans seeing the americans are drawing from iraq and they think themselves ok we're going to withdraw in a year or two we're going to hold on things we'll take control in a year or two it doesn't matter how real to quote she's already been told he'll be going from iraq back to afghanistan it'll be his second time there and he's not

looking forward to it i would definitely say that afghanistan is a lot more difficult when so the terrain is a lot more heavier in the mountainous region so we have to do a lot more walking there and whether the beefed up presence in afghanistan will help troops meet mixtures deadline to pull out or make it more difficult is still unclear policy to baghdad. afghanistan was the overriding focus of last week's data summit in lisbon where officials identified key strategies to end the war. contributor shelf discusses the challenges ahead for the alliance in today's blog and advises u.s. policymakers to work closely with russia. in the aftermath of the nato summit in lisbon now it's a very important time for the u.s. policymakers regarding pakistan and strategy on baby eve of the december u.s. policy or review regarding the f back issue and the main lesson from the nato

summit is that without pakistan you can talk till the cows go home in afghanistan and nothing will ever happen the second point as it turned out it was not russia that was asking nato for hail it was a nato that their protest to russia for bailing them out from the ever going to quit in fact it's only a russia that can help the united states to save nato from afghanistan and to reciprocate the u.s. president while wrapping up he is afghan pakistan strategy in december should take full responsibility to are new and jumpstart the u.s. war against him and to zero in and to eradicate all this narco plantation especially in kandahar and helmand province this that's

would be a fair price to pay for their sincere attempt to provide big graceful though not afraid the exit from afghanistan by the central asian and russian territory. well the international community is demanding the south and north korea keep cool heads to vent a new war breaking out on the peninsula at least two people were killed during exchangeable to me far between the neighboring countries on tuesday the north the sheldon island just across the border was in response to seoul firing weapons. from him to south korean marines were killed in the attack the south hit back with autonomy of its details about casualties on the northern side not real. ones it will strike again if the south violates the one of the by so much as a millimeter however r.t. contributor wayne madsen believes the south korean president is using instance to

boost his political power we've got the korean peninsula those two countries north and south are still in a state of war out there was only an armistice signed until russia and china king talked to the north to get them to back down but we also have to have the united states put pressure on president lee myung bok of south korea because he's been very warlike unlike his predecessors who were trying to open up to the north in a policy of sunshine diplomacy cross border visits special economic zones this particular president of south korea is very aggressive very right wing and very unpopular at home and the only thing he has going for him is to boost his image by getting into a military showdown with the north. r.t. contributor when madsen that. now i let's bring you up to date on some other international stories this hour. knowing that workers trapped on the ground in new

zealand coal miner died after a second gas explosion police say no one could have survived what was described as a last thing gas had been swirling in the practical rescinds the first blast last friday which prevented rescue attempts as the country's worst mining accident in a century. thursday has been declared a national day of mourning in tombo india after a stampede killed more than three hundred seventy people attending the annual water pistol the tragedy struck as thousands of people panicked as they tried to cross a narrow bridge causing a huge crowd surge most of the victims were crushed while others drowned after falling from the bridge over seven hundred others were injured. the u.n. says haiti's deadly cholera epidemic is spreading faster than originally thought and is likely to result in hundreds of thousands of infections health officials are warning people that the disease may spread further into the neighboring dominican

republic where cases have been reported the outbreak has so far claimed more than thirteen hundred lives. a twenty four hour general strike is underway portugal over public sector pay cuts pension freezes and tax rises unions are hoping to bring the country to a standstill two days before harder stereotype budget which is expected to be passed the government is trying to reduce its huge foreign debt and avoid being bailed out by god and greece. over the last half century central asia as are all sea shrank to less than half its original size as the soviet irrigation plants nearly drained what was once one of the world's largest lakes be receding waters devastated regions prosperous fishing industry bringing unemployment and economic hardship. in the false reports today the sea is returning and with it some hope. it starts with sun up these men fish in one of the

worst manmade environmental disaster areas ever known because this is the life they knew before this desolate desert has turned back into the sea it once was blown through the sea it just started out and then the true turned the brook to see back to us when central asia became the center of the soviet union's plan for cotton cultivation it nearly drunk dry the rivers feeding the erroll see what covered sixty eight thousand square kilometers in one nine hundred sixty around the size of southern california shriveled to a tenth of its size by the mid one nine hundred ninety s. nearly disappearing by the year two thousand here where the greater and lesser seas split there's just enough left for modern technology to make a stab at regenerating it in two thousand and five the cocoa round dam was constructed to trap what little water still flows into the lesser see from this

series river locked safely inside the water is growing to witness the results you must drive hours over rough sea bed then there it is bright blue the fishing village is like being ghost towns now but groups of men and numbers of about twenty to thirty camped out at the newly rehabilitated beaches and catch they have about one hundred kilo is a day until they've earned enough money to survive and they go back home. they live in dugout hats even in the coldest of winter but this new career means food on the table for young armont he was born long after commercial fishing had ceased. i've been fishing for two years my grandfather was a fisherman but he died right now we all work for a month straight living at the shore and then have a week off that's when i go home to our ask we don't get a salary we had piece work payment twenty species of fish now wriggle out of the

water and into the hands of the grandfathers of this industry still around to pull out the nets once again carp bring him pike catfish. fisherman are returning to their home and were drugged to scare child away tourists foreigner overseas providing us with work and profit again they even say it will come back to our desk in around the silence still stuns the locals no waves no boats yet this morning after i've served my term in the army i came back and the water was no longer here that was nine hundred seventy three zero people said that it wasn't the first time they will see had gone it happened before in the past and that it would be back again that was before the fall of the soviet union before the secrets of the arrows planned disappearance were released. they see the sea will be back and maybe we will live to see the good times and life will be even better we

do hope. the water has twenty kilometers to go until it's back. it's impossible to restore the entire erroll seat or to make it the way it's used to be if it pleases the northern part remains it will help solve many problems in central asia but while the industrial might of the past cannot be restored and food . will once again become import. it may never be what it once was but the arrow scene now boasts two thousand men who now fish for their living for them and that's enough when de france archie kazakstan. around the clock updates analysis on all the stories r.t. dot com that's. what's waiting for you on our website eighteen months only on the reset between russia and the u.s. but it's really working expert. the world's most infamous nuclear power gets

a new safety cap pretty. new to your great nation and report on the deadly dangers that still nerve. gas rio the tiger by the hollywood hot shots being praised as a real man by putting the stars i think to russia to save big cats. in a few moments all the business news with kareena stay with us. for the full story we've gone to. the biggest issues get the human voice face to face with the news makers.

good morning it's twenty one minutes past nine am here in moscow welcome to our business program with me i would start with an exclusive the president of the world bank group robert zoellick told business sites he rushes now playing a more active role in global eight. i think the deputy prime minister could hear and has started a process but also with the foreign ministry and prime minister and president it is very important which is as russia's economy recovers or grows stronger how we engage you know there are some particular areas of interest to economic literacy you would get some support from russia anti-malaria being with africa but i'd give

you a good example we're working with russia now and some of the central asian countries which obviously been very dependent on remittances from russia but have gone through some very difficult economic times so what i find encouraging is that russia is seen as it wants to move into the aid and development field that wants to do so in concert with others. oh let's have a look at the markets most major asian markets are trading lower on wednesday in the wake of shellfire between north and south korea japan's nikkei was down point seven percent and only after the session among the hard hit sectors so me talking with so the financial group down two point two percent in seoul the benchmark we recovered from being down some one point nine percent in early trading hong kong managed to gain. point seven percent here in russia the markets are closed closed in the red on tuesday with the aussie is down more than one and a half percent on the main players suffered losses with energy stocks the main drag

on the all prices soared more than one and a half the side on the r.t.s. but it's burbank was the biggest loser point eight percent. moscow and beijing are likely to agree on the price of russian gas supplies to china before the middle of next year the news came up to russian and chinese prime ministers held talks on tuesday in st petersburg russia the koch reports. the latest round of energy dialogue between russia and china has been broad what many analysts were anticipating and pricing policy both sides find suitable on tuesday prime minister putin sound that negotiations between. gazprom and china national betrayal and company are going according to plans. as we were at the energy between our countries developing quite successfully we have finished construction of the pipelines coated you know that scene starting from the first of january two thousand and eleven the first supplies of russian oil will arrive in china the negotiations between goss bromine c.m. b.c.

are going on successfully we're also thinking to develop nuclear energy corp but the main focus is future gas trade gazprom and c.n. prissie signed a framework agreement last he has for shipment of natural gas to china the deal could see seventy billion cubic meters of russian natural gas sign to china annually this size haven't disclosed the price at which they want to sell and buy but there differ by one hundred dollars for one thousand cubic meters of gas both parties think that they can tackle the pricing dispute by the middle of next yeah meanwhile a distant transportation system is needed to successfully sent russian gas to china one future route could be the old type light line construction is supposed to start in twenty eleven it will start from russia's western siberia and x. breed gas to northwestern china next summer. supply demand picture in europe

a lot more visible will have a lot more time to forecast from will have a lot more time to converse reality of the new market there's going to be even more dick copland retreat for the price of gas prices in the european markets i think trade you see him will get stronger this autumn gas from once again stressed that china is the focus of his future growth and it seems the asian pacific region is where a future and cooperation will grow between other global oil and gas players might be in the question of business r.t. . at the head of russia's federal tax service. talks to our correspondent poor about evidence of the country's recovery and how it's clamping down on tax evasion. before the crisis the total budget is more than seven trillion rubles was the record of the collection for the year of two thousand and eight and during the crisis is the collection tax which was went down to twenty percent and

we now see that even heaven the price for oil much less than the average for the year of two thousand and eight before the graces our tax collection for the consolidated budget in the end of the year will be seven if this is the mission seven percent or less than the best year so i think it's. shows that the economy is recovering after the crisis and specially we like also that four percent. higher tax on profits which is the which was you know that some profits was in tough two thousand and eight thirty two percent of the total because a little budget and then go down went down to twenty percent in all it's twenty four percent which also says that companies. recovery how substantial a problem is tax evasion still in russia first of all it's it's a bend on several things for example such important taxes like property tax is not counted in the base for property tax still is not

a related. for like property tax for buildings we have the most appraisal for our lens and these taxes actually during the crisis will show on the temple of growing the collection of these taxes and tax evasion sometimes because. the information database is not correct in the tax base is not correct it's could be various from region to region and so to change it we need to do the finalize this is the plan which mr goulden sanin mr economics is working with the grocery store to finish the mass appraisal for buildings and put everything you can database and mr action will be ready after two thousand and thirteen to collected better and minimize these. that's all for now i'll be back with more business news in less than one hour join me that.

the. sweet and clean. and fair use for. the radioactive and dangerous. and even the dead

and desolate. field keep their unique secrets and their bottoms unique lakes on our team.

so you're watching r t the headlines for. twenty six people for allegedly plotting terror attacks for the christmas period the suspects are members of a radical islamic network. and links to international terrorist organizations since . the russian president says he recognizes the country's infections on his arm to reform the political system in his own mind below. zero is the signs of a stark natan democracy promises to develop a new dynamic. questioning whether washington will meet its troop withdrawal deadline. in. iraq. the shift will be split to afghans anything through. can bring insurgency.