stronger the no holds barred look at the global financial headlines. is a report on. russia and the u.k. team opposite oil giants ross nafta and b.p. swap stocks in a multi-billion dollar deal. that teaming up to explore the untapped natural reserves on the arctic seabed have moved from london in just a moment. federal employees at the heart of the u.s. capitol live the high life new figures show they are taking home double the money of their colleagues in the private sector struggling to make ends meet across the crisis gripped country. and schools and in the end run kashmir choose education over separatism in defiance of violent warnings to cancel classes .

which you are he coming to you live from moscow one pm here on marina joshie welcome to the program our two of the largest oil companies in the world russia's ross nafta and b.p. are joining forces they have sealed a stock swap and agreed to extract the tab riches of the arctic sea bed together well it's now cross live to our correspondent laura was in london following the developments for us there. what are the details you can give us about disagreement and how big is it and what exactly is at stake. well this is a very big deal and i saw the various participants last night from both sides and they seemed carried away really with the euphoria of having finally put pen to paper this is a deal they've been discussing for months rosneft and b.p. are calling this a groundbreaking strategic global alliance and it's the first major equity linked partnership between a national oil company rosneft and an international oil company like b.p. and what's happened is that they've done

a share swar process has got five percent of the p. in exchange for nine and a half percent. so that means that b.p. will now own eleven percent of ross after all together together with a one and a half percent that they already owned around about now as with any deal that involves national parties in this way the british sides and the russian side it's very important that the governments are on side as well and in fact a meeting was held with prime minister putin before this deal was signed let's hear what he had to say about the support that he's going to give this particular deal which. i would like to let you know that the government of the russian federation supports this joint operation this is a project called become global and have a significant influence on the world's oil and gas industry russians are to reserves are estimated to be five billion tons of morning and ten trillion cubic

meters of. such a project may require tens of billions of dollars of investment and state of the art technology and we are fully aware of the risks and. so there is an awful lot at stake in this in this deal off a lot of money as prime minister putin mentioned and it's also a huge area that it covers they've agreed to together to develop and explore three separate areas on the russian arctic shelf and that covers an area of one hundred twenty five thousand square kilometers of these these reserves that prime minister putin mentioned or as yet unproven but i just thought that the first thing that they're going to do is just see how much oil and gas is down there. well laura what's interesting of this point is that why is russia chosen to ally with b.p. on such a grand venture and what made the company the number one choice well that is the question on everyone's lips so why be particularly following this environmental disaster that we saw following the oil spill in the mexican gulf last year but

nevertheless b.p. has been working in russia for twenty years it was really the natural choice of course the c.e.o. of b.p. now bob dudley was formerly the c.e.o. of the tie up between t. and k. the russian oil company and now he's moved to be the c.e.o. of all of the entirety of b.p. and there's a strong belief in russia in the competency of b.p. to carry out a project like this in spite of the disaster that we saw in the gulf of mexico last year i spoke to. him who's the chairman of ross nafta and one of russia's deputy prime ministers here's what he had to say about why they chose b pay for this. is working on a new strategy aimed to transforming the company into an international energy holding our deal with b.p. is of course part of the strategy they've gained a great deal of experience including the gulf of mexico oil spill cleanup operation

b.p. has learned from this experience and our joint venture will be carried out with the greatest level of measures aimed at protecting the environment we've been working with b.p. for many years they are competent and have strong experience of russian companies. so there is a strong relationship already in place between b.p. and rosneft before this deal's even been signed and of course this is a large area this hundred twenty five thousand square kilometers is going to benefit both sides and the extra expertise technology and of course will be needed to be to be brought in says that's where b.p. comes in really. well or despite the gulf of mexico oil disaster of course russian officials seem confident in b.p.'s abilities but how is b.p. prepared to guarantee the safety of its operations in russian waters. the piece incredibly control it's now about the gulf of mexico oil spill the new c.e.o.

bob dudley was brought into specifically to. rehabilitate the reputation of the company if you like following that disaster and he's certainly going a long way towards doing that he talks a lot about it talks about how much they've learned and the chairman of ross sniffed actually said to me expression which basically translates as once bitten twice shy he thinks that specifically because b.p. suffered this disaster and was blamed for it particularly by the americans they will think twice about what they're doing next time so a company like that will have been versed in what to do when an environmental disaster like this happens so they know they're not green in any way dudley again talks about how contrite they were and what they're going to do so make sure that another disaster doesn't happen let's hear what he had to say. it's been working with ross now for twelve years now and we've been working on the york to for us

since two thousand and five was raw stuff working with sokal and they know our capabilities our explosion capabilities and i think to be honest we learned a lot about what happened in the gulf of mexico shaken the company to the core we're going to renewed focus on safety risk management and the technology of this new for the environmental care of what we do. so new technology new safety measures and of course the arctic is an extremely delicate environment so they will need to be careful when they go in there but another thing that book book dudley said was that this is a project that they're looking looking at over a term of about fifty is so these reserves are still unproven the oil and gas reserves in the arctic so one of the first things that they'll be doing doing is looking to see just how much oil and gas is down there. it's not clear when we're going to see them actually drilling a hole in the ground and bringing out so oil and gas so we'll just have to wait and see. and it laura thanks very much indeed for bringing us the very latest from london on this deal and now experts are calling the deal

a huge boost for both companies and countries international trade consultant philip do you own says b.p. has plenty riding on russian potential. b.p. has invested so much in russia they cannot step away. and russia still needs the expertise of western oil companies in its tool interest and it's interesting because you know they have to sell a lot of has its oil spill in the gulf of mexico to put money aside for the recovery for well they are saving their money for russia other than so in this thing and they are investing more so it means that b.p. is there for the long term the potential of russia is so huge if it's not them it's going to be somebody else so it's really a question of who gets in first and they were world position and the put aside their difficulties from the inside to move forward and get more on this story in our business bulletin later in the program here on r.t.

in the meantime government workers in washington d.c. are taking hold on average double the wages of their private sector colleagues according to the newly revised u.s. census meaning the very people in charge of getting the nation out of its financial hole are living the high life are just looks out whether they're really working twice as hard. across the united states unemployment lines and lines at food pantries and homeless shelters has marked what's been called one of the worst recessions in u.s. history but there is one special place that remains untouched welcome to washington d.c. the city full of power players pundits and politicians outpace nearly every other city in the country when it came to job growth this past year one thing is sure about this recession is that the public sector employees have been relatively sheltered compared to the private sector so just how well are federal employees doing according to the latest census numbers the average federal employee made a whopping one hundred twenty three thousand dollars last year in compensation and

benefits a private sector employee cashed in that almost half that sixty one thousand dollars public employees i mean are. powerful. voter base for pro-government vision so of course they're they're very unlikely to go after them wait a second wasn't on wall street that you saw greedy fat cats sucking away america's cash at the expense of everyone else remember what president obama said about those guys i did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of you know fat cat bankers on wall street while politicians in the media seemed obsessive lee focused on the lavish payouts on wall street who knew that at the peak of the recession last year federal workers in washington got an average raise of four percent more than double the national average they have more vacation they have job security lots of things that the private sector doesn't have in the

first year and a half of the recession private sector jobs shrank by almost seven percent however here in washington federal civilian employment grew by almost ten percent the divide between washington and the rest of america is even more evident if you take a ride to the sprawling suburbs just outside the city home to d.c.'s influential lobbyists and lawyers with the potomac fairfax virginia if there is one man who knows the montra location location location it's eric stewart one of d.c.'s luxury realtors seven and a half million dollars over ten thousand square feet it's in one of the best locations in all of potomac from it's a great school district very desirable for the average american consumer stuart isn't worried about sales we're sucking jobs into the washington d.c. area which is causing prices to actually have stability and it's not just stylish digs that d.c.'s fat cats can afford. this upscale restaurant in georgetown the

reservation list for a weekday dinner is fall into lisa right side of the same table mrs clinton you know who is now secretary of state came many times just a lot of people. come from the hero and big big law firms while one in seven americans rely on food stamps at me shelvey shard citron now an average couple isn't shy to shell out what most couples make in a month on a meal or the types of attributes of a six hundred dollars range or whatever it may be and some nights we do as many as forty fifty. people over at a time when most are struggling to survive it seems like the lucky in washington are living it up preassure there are t. washington d.c. and a little later this hour we'll show you how one inventive russian is rewriting the rules of winter travel. the spawn skater can spice up the cold season for you with speeds of up to one hundred

fifty kilometers per hour through land ice snow and even involved. and russia has not taken out an invitation to tour iran's nuclear facilities it follows the insistence of russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov that such visits shouldn't be substitutes for official u.n. inspections seven international and boys are currently looking around two nuclear sites other key powers china and the e.u. also refuse the offer iran extent of the invites to a number of nations but not the u.s. western powers say wasn't tam to divide them and there was ever national concern over iran's nuclear ambitions but they were on insist its program is peaceful and the offer was merely a goodwill gesture but experts believe any such attempts are doomed to failure. they do so from ever there has been a start in negotiations or talks or whatever and it never worked out certainly there may be some people who thought that they could create the fish are already if

but. they never managed to really break up. five plus one formula. the behavior of russia and china just shows once again that it doesn't work i think it's half expected such and such a reaction however the iranians wanted to show two things to their own domestic public that this we are ready to negotiate you have to see it with a second step the iranians did it again to which their own public namely to boost. the blast about their own new newly achieved technological progress which is not true but again it sends a message to do also of course inside iran who are highly critical of any engagement with the international community that both things iran can be solved comfort them and it wants to negotiate are important let's now take a look at some other stories from around the world it's now were security tightened

into tunisia a capital with troops patrolling the streets day after the president was forced to concede power president ben ali fled to saudi arabia on friday after weeks of unrest and violence the country's prime minister has taken over as interim leader demonstrators have been calling for more political freedom and economic conditions human rights groups claim around sixty people were killed in the clashes. crash rains are hampering ongoing rescue efforts in southeastern brazil following the worst floods ever seen in the country at least five hundred people have died in the natural disaster thousands have been left homeless mountain villages have been swallowed up by landslides and seychelles say the death toll is likely to rise. stories in india say over one hundred pill. rims have been crushed to death during a stampede at a religious festival in the southern state of carola scores more were injured and the worshipers were on their way back from visiting a hindu shrine when the accident happens reports say the stampede was triggered by

a car driving into the crowd sparking panic. to indian administered kashmir now where schools have decided to do without the traditional four month winter break that's an defiance of separatist demands they close in support of calls for independence pupils will and instead make up the academic desean lost over the last year due to massive protests against indian rule artie's car and seeing marijuana of the young victims of the latest separatists attack in the area. in srinagar this is all that it means for the school bus it was good by a walk in forcing a general strike called by separatists in the capital of immunity minister meet luckily the only child of the six year old. was rescued to die first they poured petrol under the bus then they smashed the windows the bus driver picked me up and took me out of the bus then those people so far that this attack

was meant as a warning to schools which would mean the frequent strikes school just one independence afternoon spread of the bus attack many schools shut down for the day but not the issue of school i wanted to show. those miscreants maybe ever feel if you. had to live difficult to survive separatist leaders have condemned the attack which is at the center of a public backlash separatist independence focus we need which has been administered by india since british rule in india with most parents ignoring this rankles any separatists we considering that it should not be counterproductive i mean we are giving a strike call because we believe that we do present apartment present people in it and i think if people are giving you a response that you need to think something else you need to have an order that means other for than just strikes you need to come out with something else that's

where we need to sit together and farm out a threat of during the widespread violence of children what i need. for four months and last year i know you are just getting a lot of got to wonder then that with the violence easing you know better that you do it in school with the militants like it or not we should be proud of one thing that the people in kashmir. any serious about educating the. and especially the girl children the girl child. has four children all of the affected by the. fifteen year old sue who spends most of her day locked at last in extra tuition trying to cover her civil suit. polities meanwhile have decided to keep school during the harsh media so that students can recover the last. one is happy with this decision but infrastructure and government

is so poor and it's all so pathetic that schools that they were don't have windows and doors how can you help you know how can you hit them how can you want them it's going to be freezing cold and it's not i mean it's sad. to have a window this hard i mean they wanted as the you know when they had to keep but then why are we suffering and we had nothing to do with the as i believe you were doesn't give you. the go next meet issues clearly affecting people going about their lives with these children now being caught up in the political tussle if it's called. whether or not the academic future of governing people back to life entirely in the hands of the little button saying party. and as a season for getting your skis and skates out but if you are looking for a faster way to get around you my want to check out the winner hovercraft inventor by russian m.e.h. an engineer is it lives over the snow at speeds of over one hundred kilometers per

hour. went to try it out. rushes snow drifts in the winter oh impossible slash in the screen can make life hard for many but on this one can go just about everywhere this. was. was was was. was was. was. the russian ponce kate to can travel at speeds of up to one hundred fifty kilometers per hour making it ideal as a snappy runaround or a had turning hobby emotion courts a siberian man board one his house is on one side of the linda river his body out on the other he said i'm so lazy to travel over with care is it so easy. yes issue

one man called me and asked whether we can add a trailer with two beds and a hatch inside the cockpit for fishing on the ice. garry's was designed in the town of to cough ski ham to russia's annual international asho and by former avocation engineers not surprising that it has a lot in common with its wing brothers some of them it's patented features a great handling and improve safety is going to very strong rollcage even if you capsize are you going to get is lots of adrenaline with thinking about installing an airbag another bit of know how is the propeller that's mounted up front or it's covered so there's no chance of a scarf getting into it and dragging its owner into the blades besides it's warm and dry in there. there are currently only four gary says in the world but soon its creators say it could become mass common as scooters of bicycles. there are plans

to start mass production next year now we're looking for sponsors and facilities as for those who want one they're doing already so there's no problems with demand. today it may only be two seats floating in a question of add but if he floated up great idea past the engine years they're more than happy to listen that is of course if his stump up the twenty thousand bucks price tag if that gary's floats your boat. or if an ocean r.t. moscow region. and later this hour we're report on the antiwar movement within the ranks of the u.s. military during the vietnam war but before that we'll take a look at what's happening in the world of business with. is that so much for you to be sitting on the mark with. increased violence and radical steering pakistan can a country be so polarized. i.

know you want your business out is going to have your company b.p. and rosneft have indeed agreed to jointly develop a number of projects on russia's arctic shelf the fuel potential capacity is around three percent three and a half percent of the world's proven oil reserves and roughly five percent of the world's gas reserves the all majors have also agreed to swap shares b.p. will provide five percent of its shares worth around eight billion dollars in exchange for nine and a half percent of rosneft now for more profound analysis we're joined in the studio because they didn't see one of the head of the national energy security fund thank you very much concerned you for being with us so what exactly nation what exactly are the companies getting from this deal i think is an excellent deal for both companies and not only for companies we can also mention the interests of russian federation us speaking about b.p. a company of course we know where will the story in mexico and gulf and after this be the easing the serious need in the good news if it's possible to say it's all so

bad is why for b.p. of course it's an excellent news because. during the last couple of the year b.p. was sane or insane and cillian its assets and now with very serious increase in possible increase of the role of b.p. in the russian business for those nifty it's also good news why because. now it was found the really serious partner in the west and we know that is preparing for. we can say pretty zation of this campaign if you simply our government said the song in the few years it's possible to sell more than fifty percent of the private investors and i was in december in jan and there were a lot of questions as possible which is. these companies who buy some shares most of us now for us if it's possible to say that you see b.p. now is a serious shareholder so you must pay more and more for us now and you were speaking about russian federation it's also good news because. it was not

a good year you were speaking about russian relations. in the west as you were speaking about the investment in russian upstream business conoco phillips sold twenty percent of my decision to sell twenty percent in the look well company there was no f i d it was speaking about stockman project and that is why now we must show before the company is that it's not true to say that russia is a close country that russia is on speaking about resource nationalism and so on but what about the other side of this share swap agreement you know russia is getting five percent of b p how will investors react to the fact that in fact the russian government because it's a major stakeholder in rows now is getting five percent in will major oil company below that at the end of last year the beginning of this year of course. you can see the increase of the number of politician which began to speak about corruption in russia and so on from one end of it all the first reaction of some american

politician to this deal once in a to say that we must and we see gate. made it possible corruption change to speak about corruption because we and listening to you strangers change ass and so we were very difficult to find some corruption in this deal but of course all serious deals between the russian companies use on the series of this edition because sample it is from the united kingdom also and in the united states they want to find something they want to find these black at the in the very back room but that is why of course there will be some speeches but you know b.p. is a private company and so b.p. made this decision i think it's very difficult to speak that it's dangerous to the russian state to be the part of the d.p. company b. you have to say that look of approximately one hundred percent free flow if you can buy. it's up to you because we're open private companies or why it's dangerous china for example is appropriate to more than one percent of the i mean cheney's company so i don't think it's a problem so you think for the russian business climate having such a such a deal is is

a good idea absolutely because you know that i said about last year because russian government during all two thousand and seven soon we will have the realization of. weeks of tax regime the british of our world war you were speaking about for us and because. we made themselves an eight hour president signed the floor about foreign investment it was two things you go in the serious and there were huge discussion that now we see the closing of russian market now we want to stall with because and portal said yesterday that there will be special taxes them all these are the project because of course we know that the price of production would be were you serious and first of all we know that there is a special tax if we forge it i think that maybe there will be a special tax issue for stockmen project that there will be a special tax regime for b.p. of this new joint when she no. projects so i think it's a good useful that is why now russia will show that the really we want to change our tax and the reason for the west. welcome to the us what do you think the most

immediate investor reaction on the stock market on monday will be saying that the price on the. scalp in good company will be increasing and so very very very very very easy to focus of this because i've seen similar thank you very much for being with my head of the national energy security fund with us in the studio on business . and that's all we have time for selby back in fifty minutes time with more see that. i got out of the military in ninety sixty six i got over because the things i saw

the things i was doing and this reason said we were given for doing it was a personal protest. during the vietnam war an antiwar movement emerged that altered the course of history this movement didn't take place on college campuses but in berets and on ships to penetrated elite military colleges like west point and it spread throughout the battlefields of vietnam. today few people know about the g.i. movement against the war in vietnam. ask the army we always said free the army or fun travel and adventure but it really meant to be armed. in india in the movie joint the hotels. the gateway hotel the grand imperial tried to talk western coast coral until you can.