r.t. travel to central asia to explore what's being done to revive the our old see. you with r.t. as we're highlighting the top stories of today and all of this week and i'll see crew spend a thirty two hours in a u.s. jail after filming a peaceful protests near the so-called school of assassins in the u.s. state of georgia reporter kalen forward says she and her camera man were handcuffed and put in the same cell with criminals and despite condemnation from human rights watchdog the o.s.i. see the case was ignored by the media. it started off as a rally outside a u.s. training camp for latin american military and police officers followed this nonviolent protest caught everyone by surprise dozens were arrested police targeted

journalists along with the activists i'm a member of that right. i'm a member of the five i'm sorry ok i'm sorry among those arrested were r t correspondent kayleen support and r.t. cameramen john conway both there on assignment covering the protests that brought together thousands of people. the only thing i asked the officer to please remove the handcuffs these plastic handcuffs and at least put one on that was a little bit looser he took out a hunting knife to remove my handcuffs and that's actually part of the reason i have the cuts on my wrist for our worst killing had no clue what the charges against her were we asked on the bus what are we being charged with and one of the sheriff said don't worry no charge the ride is free we're taken to the county jail and we ended up spending thirty two hours there student tommy were mira's who was there as an activist tells a similar story i kept asking them what did i do to tell you my rise tell me why

i'm getting a wrist i kept asking them and i never got an answer and every year thousands of people gather at the gates of the training camp dubbed the school of assassins calling for its closure officially there to train latin american military and police it's called many of latin america's most notorious torturers mass murderers and dictators despite anger at the establishment violence has never been part of the protests so why the mass arrests now we feel like the message was look you know we wouldn't want you to be there we're going to make it dangerous you know to make you think twice to even show up despite the outcry from many at the rally that their rights of freedom of speech and assembly were trampled upon. it's not a story that's caught the eye of the us media we can see the newspapers of this country editorialized in favor of free speech and first amendment and give stirring in passionate defenses of these core american values but when another journalist

from another media outlet is arrested without charge without provocation and put onto a paddy wagon those media outlets are largely silent and i think it's because they feel like these are stories that aren't supposed to be covered well i guess so much for covering stories ignored by the us mainstream media the incident at fort benning left some guessing what would have been the extent of the media coverage in the west had a member of the foreign press been treated in a similar way in some other country say russia the remarkable thing about of the thing you know in moscow here a b.b.c. correspondent or a c.n.n. correspondent had gone to a demonstration where there was a legal permit and was roughed up by the police in the case of our correspondent she was almost sexually assaulted those are her words that would made headlines all

around the world it would have been a diplomatic row between countries but no in the case of the united states the international community is can damage what's happened and called on the u.s. to respond even the organization for security and cooperation in europe sent a letter to secretary of state hillary clinton calling the journalist the rest disturbing. while it is clear that police play a crucial role in maintaining order during public demonstrations the indiscriminate rounding up of media and bringing charges against them goes well beyond what's necessary to keep the peace but the u.s. state department which is usually quick to condemn freedom of speech violations in other countries has remained surprisingly tight lipped about its own kind of shaken r.t. washington d.c. . so just how much freedom should journalists have while covering events like protests artie's lori huff an ist also known as the resident took to the streets of

the big apple to find out what people in new york think about that that's coming your way next hour here on r.t. but here's a quick preview. we need to be more thoughtful about how we allow the press to capture what's happening so we can get a legitimate true view without encouraging people to do to things that they wouldn't otherwise but the fact is if you're going to go someplace to protest to get that really hot story you've got to be repaired for the fact that life is going to sometimes intercede at about a lot of force but if they intercede if the people are being unruly oh hell yeah what about if the press are being unruly the press is being unruly same things apply you break the rules that's what happens if you're not willing to accept the consequences for your actions don't take the actions. twenty six suspected terrorists with alleged links to al qaeda were arrested in europe this week eleven of them spector of being part of a chechen islamised network planning to commit attacks in belgium the group is also

thought to be raising money for terrorism in russia's volatile north caucasus region others were detained in connection with a separate probe targeting an extremist group recruiting jihadi fighters for iraq and afghanistan british security analyst peter powers says one sits at last clear that russia on the west fighting a common enemy the potential for cooperation is vast. let's not fool ourselves al qaida is somehow great regiments of uniformed soldiers marching over the horizon it is in fact much more of a franchise yes there's a strong power base in the foothills between afghanistan and pakistan and there's clearly a sort of strong kabul now operating in yemen but we're now seeing this creeping out under this broad term of al-qaeda but it doesn't necessarily mean it's got the official stamp on it but we are now seeing of a commonality that we haven't seen before whether it vindicates totally all that

russia has been saying for many years that terrorists are terrorists you could be you get killed by the ira or chechen terrorists all al qaeda you're just as dead we are now seeing something which i've never seen before i'm president of cooperation security analyst peter past peking well russian president dmitri medvedev urged the country's political system to be shaken up in its latest video blog he said there are signs that the country's stability is threatening to stagnate. or. if the opposition has no chance at all of winning a fair fight it degrades and becomes marginal if the ruling party never loses a single election it is just coasting ultimately it too degrades just like any living organism which remains static for these reasons it's become necessary to raise the degree of political competition but our main task the task of any democracy is to improve the quality of popular representation make sure that the

political maturity is not just static or rather that it does not become the majority consisting of actors and dummies but dr of political science and united russia party member dimitri pollack an off says the opposition should draw a conclusion from the message as well. i think he was trying to say is that actually at the top this should develop with relates both to united russia and to opposition parties in united russia that have already started a lot of innovations such as primaries. the development of the interparty of discussion the size of the dissipation the open public debates and so on and so forth i think the same should be done by. then says well and it will be very important because as we all know the flawless your decision is taken by the authorities depends on the quality of greek this is a value so they need to have very good feedback and both united russia and up of

three parties to provide this kind of feedback in order for systems to be sustainable. and that was dmitri pollack of the united russia party well you are with and still to come here on the program as russia pledges more help for nato campaign in afghanistan. the war there can be wonderful. but i don't understand what you're going to use for heating. your nuclear power what are you going to use. energy efficiency advice coming from vladimir putin during a business visit to germany to stay with us for details on that. the people of switzerland have approved a proposed law to expel foreign criminals from the country the nationwide ballot was initiated by a right wing party the measures have raised questions rather over whether the swiss

are discriminating against immigrants last year the swiss to voted to ban the construction of new minarets. today reports from. this time its relation to the mandatory expulsion of foreign criminals who have committed serious offenses such as murder or rape the proposal for this law was put forward by the a swiss people's party people with a. heavy criminal courier there is no place for them. to idea they're getting a lot of support actually from the people according to initial surveys because of all these stories of swiss nationals being attacked by foreigners who may fallow fight trying to get to. keep other people whose whose didn't do anything and have no respect for the one that switzerland has the highest per capita rate of immigrants that that twenty percent of their population are actually foreigners so it's a very sensitive topic here in switzerland so. you can keep them all out we need

immigrants period now where we have a backlash from the european union and the wider world the government has put forth a counterproposal they amended the list of crimes it's different from a proposed by b.s.p. pete and also they are saying that it has to comply with international and swiss laws humanitarian laws it also states that expulsion must be limited to convictions of a year or more so it's kind of a softer version of the esmie peace proposal if the s.t.b. is insisting that a hard line is necessary now critics of this proposal are saying that this is very unfair that in the eyes of the law everyone should be treated equal can you make a difference between a drug dealer who was from judio from russia from india or resist who is is a drug dealer a drug dealer a better woman so i don't make a difference between someone who is doing something wrong the law should not look

where the he's white bra and black or what the there are also questions of the separation of families should a prisoner convicted be sent out of switzerland what happens his family if they've been living here for more than four generations for example but don't have the papers what is going to happen to that. saucily she was following the vote count in zurich when the go between the e.u. finance ministers and the irish government on a multi billion euro rescue deal are now concluding in brussels the country's economy went into meltdown this week under the weight of its banking debt and there's been public outrage at the government's handling of the crisis about fifty thousand people marched through dublin on saturday protesting against harsh austerity measures being introduced to cut the country's huge budget deficit demonstrators say ordinary working people are taking the hit for the rich and the banks meantime elsewhere in the eurozone there are fears portugal and spain may be next in line for a bailout german economist marcus told r.t.

that europe's biggest economies one be able to pay off their debts of others forever. the german taxpayer is no longer willing to lease is very very becoming very reluctant to bail out countries like greece where there is an example of very bad governance and we are no longer willing is neither to bail out ireland to fuel the ailing banking sector i think this is a general incentive this umbrella which the. heads of government have created in may under the menace of the president of the european central bank this is so large that everybody wants to be protected and the more it's raining cats and dogs the more they want to be protected and the portuguese. prime minister and the finance minister pushed island to put themselves under the umbrella to be under the umbrella themselves as quickly as possible this is an inflation of claims to be bailout which will ruin the eurozone sooner or later and germany is economically

nor the able to. bailout. the german taxpayer who has a word to say in all that is no longer willing to do saying something like that. currency union between russia and the european union is a possibility russian prime minister vladimir putin and german chancellor angela merkel have now admitted the statement was made during putin's visit to germany on friday the russian premier said the euro is much more reliable than the dollar despite current difficulties in the region putin also said he no longer sees any obstacles to russia's accession to the world trade organization russia and germany agreed to clear the path to increase business links and to develop science and technology together and in a meeting with german businessmen the russian prime minister managed to lighten the serious mood over energy supply. so the german community doesn't know nuclear power i do want to make any comments i.

don't understand what you're going to use for heating. he don't develop new nuclear power what are you going to use he would. have to get them to. thank for you all with r.t. it's good to have you with us today still ahead for you this hour from the basin of life to the hotbed. after decades of mismanagement the water is in one of the world largest landlocked fees went away and. guaranteed fishing industry but now coming back and when the french join me in the air all see central asia. this week russia decided to give more help to nato struggling campaign in afghanistan it agreed to allow the airlines to transport armored vehicles through its territory the transit deal was confirmed by russia's foreign minister during

talks with his afghan counterpart in moscow it will allow nato to reduce its reliance on volatile pakistan sort of also pledge to russia. continue to provide the tools to battle the drugs flow from afghanistan last month russia and the us destroyed one ton of heroin in a combined anti drug operation in the country well despite successes like that many experts still believe the americans are yet to learn that this war cannot be won. my basic view is that the war is completely unwinnable russia may be making friendly noises towards nato now because of that as we know there's a rapprochement between the alliance and russia but in my view it's basically formal in other words these are gestures but they. meant well i don't think russia is playing a double game i'm not trying to say that i'm simply saying that the war cannot be won the soviet union learned that lesson in the one nine hundred eighty s.

the british learnt it in the nineteenth century and the americans are in the process of learning it although it seems that they haven't learned yet so i don't believe that a military solution could in other words the shipment of arms could pacify afghanistan no and meanwhile the latest pentagon report shows that violence in afghanistan has increased and the insurgency is strong and expanding u.s. military chiefs also admit progress is uneven with just modest gains against the taliban. has been watching troops in iraq gearing up for their move to afghanistan to boost american led forces there but many worry that more troops means more violence. i will try what she's trying to do is coming to an end he's part of the american forces who stayed behind to train assist and equip iraqi security forces sure their own wants to go home that's for sure no one knows whether once they hear the genesis not just movement of troops and equipment since world war two the u.s.

army is moving its supplies from iraq to afghanistan certain equipment such as are in rap. mine resistant vehicles are humvees or those types of equipment a lot of are 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. when people see us forces inside their country it brings in paganism and makes them turn to terrorism and al qaeda so is more american troops come here from iraq it will just make things worse i don't believe the americans will leave for another fifty years so that they have to have their main military bases here and then building the americans leaving iraq also sends the wrong message to insurgents the

afghans seeing the americans withdrawing from iraq and they think themselves ok they're going to withdraw in a year or two we had a hold on things will take control in a year or two it doesn't matter i will 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 so the terrain is a lot more heavier and the mound this region is 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 it's still unclear the guys didn't just come back from a patrol everything went to the next one. will be discussing the american effort with afghanistan's foreign minister the interview is coming your way in just over an hour's time. there are two three issues that has

created tension and it was the shoe of detainees the issue of civilian casualties and liberation the issue of the night raids in the house moving more afghan forces will be in charge of the combat lesson this would be discussing the problems. to central asia now home of the are all sea once the world's fourth largest lake it is almost gone due to ambitious irrigation projects from the soviet era but some locals say that in the past the sea disappeared and has returned again artie's investigated what was behind this mystery. it starts with sun up these men fish in one of the worst manmade environmental disaster areas ever know. the same just right out and then a true turn brought to see back to us. when central asia became the center of the soviet union's plan for cotton cultivation had 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 around dam was constructed to trap what little water still flows into the lesser see from the series river locked safely inside the water is growing to witness the results you must drive hours over rough sea that. then there it is bright blue the fishing villages might be ghost towns now but groups of men and numbers of about twenty to thirty camped out at the newly rehabilitated beaches and catch the day's about one hundred kilo's a day until they've earned enough money to survive and they go back home. they live

in dugout hearts even in the coldest of winter but this new career means food on the table for young omar he was born long after commercial fishing had ceased. by been fishing for two years my grandfather was a fisherman pretty dire right now we all work for a month straight living at the shore then have a week off that's when i go home to our ask we don't get a salary we have 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 up the net once again. bring him hike cap fish he'll move your fisherman are returning to their home or foreigner overseas providing us with work and profit again they even say it will come back to our desk in around the silent still stands the locals know waves no boats yet there's been one address 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 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 positive it's impossible to restore the entire erroll sea or to make it the way to 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 can all be restored in full. it will once again become until. 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 that's enough when de france r.t. kazakstan. next hour we look at what danger has been uncovered by the receding waters of the are all sea. now in other news from this past week china is seeking

to ease tensions on the korean peninsula by proposing an emergency meeting of the six nations involved in north korea disarmament talks a high level envoy were sent to seoul to speak with the south korean president but the south has said it was not interested in formally resuming talks on nuclear disarmament tension remains high on the peninsula with the u.s. down south korea having begun a four day joint military exercise in the yellow sea john yang has reportedly deployed surface to surface missiles in response just days after a fired artillery on an island belonging to the south that killed four people. director of korean studies at the institute of economics at the russian academy of sciences says the drills in the yellow sea can only serve to heat up tensions in the region. the u.s. carry a cruise in the yellow sea water with south korean ship i think that's not

a major would could lead to reduction of tension in korean peninsula rather or increase of them of course nobody is really are we to have a full scale war conflict but any incident but what if the korean ship or the american ship would he underwater my. after we had american side this is a north korean attack and would routinely it would probably lead to an unpredictable consequences so i think that this is not a reaction that is now. if u.s. wants to exercise what it's called strategic patience that's mean in having no dialogue and increase the sanctions that you know way hold that north korean regime would collapse it can only lead to more incidents and to more appropriations and more attention. the reactor i don't nuclear power plant in iran's bush era began operating on saturday after decades of waiting the russian built facility is

expected to start pumping electricity into iranian homes next year the country's atomic energy agency says the reactor is fully loaded with fuel and there are just a few final tests to be completed the construction of the plant began some forty years ago but was halted after the islamic revolution of nine hundred seventy nine then russia took up the project and completed it iran is currently under un sanctions over its nuclear program let me it all off from the center for policy studies says it's russia's role to ensure that the plant runs safely. we widely well know all of that of that will be a russian engineers present. the facility of that of the facility is quite well controlled by russia and iran will give both electricity and experience from the safety and security viewpoint russia provides some may think there may be a proliferation concern there is none opposite it opens

a new avenues for mental for iran in talks about peaceful uses of nuclear energy and transparency on that. he is coming to you live from moscow let's go to some other international stories now in brief for you this hour and in brazil hundreds of police and soldiers have claimed victory after invading a drug gang stronghold in one of rio de janeiro's most dangerous slums the head of rio police says they encountered less resistance than expected from the heavily armed gang members heavy fighting has left thirty five dead and because hundreds to flee your barricade themselves in brazil is trying to bring rampant crime under control before it hosts the two thousand and fourteen football world cup and the two thousand and sixteen olympics. in turkey firefighters are tackling a blaze that has engulfed one of europe's busiest train stations. country's central

rail terminal in istanbul caught on fire early on sunday officials say the fire started on a roof during repair work and it's not yet known whether anyone has been injured or killed. we'll take another look at the week's top stories in just a few minutes stay with us.

well it's now. running down the top stories of today for the past week now the arrest of a crew covering a peaceful protest in the u.s. is criticized by organizations as a crackdown on media freedom is ignored by the american mainstream news outlets. switzerland has approved a referendum proposal to expel foreigners charged with serious crimes it's a measure of the discussion over whether nationalistic. democracy should not stagnate the russian president is calling on the opposition in his video. stay awake at the wheel.