exodus iraq's christian community shrinks as thousands are displaced in the face of growing violence and the willingness of security forces to protect them. we are proceeding with our missile defense because of the threat we face from iran not from the soviet union frequent bloopers by u.s. politicians hoping to democracy across the world only served one doubts over their expertise and global affairs costs. are going to move to where significant number of population is over these just sixty five to find out how pensioners here are coping with everyday problems a look at the heavy burden of old age and russia's provinces in artie's close-up series.

eight am here in moscow you're watching r t welcome to the program the violence and intimidation has forced hundreds of thousands of iraqi christians to flee their home what experts view them as one of the biggest victims of the two thousand and three u.s. led invasion with a minority group they continue to target of extremists sebastian my reports. every night miriam gets ready for bed with her family but it's not her bed it's not even her house miriam and her family are christian iraqis who have been forced to flee from baghdad to the semi autonomous kurdish region because they become targets of extremist groups in the country in two thousand and seven miriam was hit by a bomb that was planted outside her house the lack i went out with my arm just to buy some chocolate and come back i went out i didn't see anything i just heard the bomb and i fell to the ground. miriam was lying in the street with her foot

dangling from her leg her father i had rushed outside. i saw my daughter lying like it was a live and my my daughter was lying in the growing and people were running shouting everything was covered in dust and shards of glass so i picked up my daughter with her leg dangling i almost lost it i was shaking my daughter's date she's been hit by a bomb but. luckily i had was able to get her to a doctor who could repair her leg but others have not been so lucky in october last year fifty six people were killed by militants when they attacked the our lady of salvation church in baghdad in the following weeks dozens more were killed in attacks across the country many fear that eventually christians will be driven out of iraq completely of the eight hundred thousand christians in the country before two thousand and three almost half of fled in the past month alone four thousand

have moved to the comparative safety of the northern kurdish region here they can worship and live in peace but in living their homes they've lost absolutely everything many like miriam's father and are forced to make a living cleaning toilets in bars and restaurants hegemony i served first seven years in the military under saddam hussein i'm an iraqi christian and i don't have a square stretch of land to my name why what's my crime many in the church feel that countries in the west are responsible. some opinion americans are liars we don't trust them their reputation is terrible because everywhere they've been they have like the us train the sunni and shia and they just watch while they kill it is impossible not to see all these murders but they don't get involved. it's the end of a long day and time for the family to go to bed. everyone gets ready and eventually the lights are switched off in the darkness and uncertainty miriam and the rest of

her family are left to dream about and hope for a better tomorrow sebastian meyer r t so i'm in the iraq. and still ahead for you this hour people leaving a different country for an entirely different reason. if you wait he has one of the highest levels of immigration in the e.u. many of the young people who i've spoken to here say they see their future employment going beyond the borders over that they to a country. we explore why the baltics are facing a dramatic brain drain that's if a few minutes time. a fresh wave of anti-government rage is sweeping across egypt as labor unions and state media join the popular rebellion well the country's embattled regime has responded with threats and an ultimatum warning to protesters of dire consequences state run television and newspapers change size ritually overnight siding with the demonstrators the government also lashed out at the u.s.

expressing its anger and frustration with washington as betrayal of its longtime ally president hosni mubarak well it comes amid allegations that the americans start a blind eye of rampant corruption and human rights abuses for decades sara flounders from the international action center says that there was little the u.s. would not tolerate in return for mubarak's loyalty. well it's hardly surprising that it's coming out now but this is thirty years of absolute corruption and every u.s. corporation that did business in egypt and of course the u.s. military the cia they all knew that mubarak was their man and other words for payoffs he was willing to be a traitor to his own people who have ended up impoverished egypt underdeveloped in infrastructure in educational standards in employment for its young people and yet

mubarak one of the richest men in the world and not only mubarak his whole regime is corrupt this goes for silly monaco's for the generals the security apparatus every one of the. are in on the take and it's a well known fact it's known very well by the people of egypt just how corrupt it is and how much they have lost it's also true of poor and working people here in the us need to know what it means when u.s. corporations and the u.s. government supports a dictator like this giving billions of dollars in aid again and again and it's money that goes both to mubarak and it goes to military contractors right here and never to the people of egypt. well in an exclusive interview i spoke to the secretary general of the arab league where mohamed most who says that the unrest in egypt is just the beginning of a region wide upheaval the arab world is in a state of change in a mood to change in

a mood of change with different degrees of change and different interpretations of the would change but in general the end of the day is a change everyone has to be affected. as a as it can be reduced event in the history perhaps not only. history of nations but it is an uprising of the people and by the people. it is new in this part of the world it happened and some countries before but. and you can always find more analysis on the developing egyptian crisis on our website that's r t v dot com and let's look at what's on line for you right now trouble in egypt is likely to bring horrible consequences for the u.s. we'll find out why and one of our blogs from american expert and religious conflicts jake villa barito keep track of the latest developments of this and other top stories just log on to our t. dot com.

he was politicians are not shy when it comes to offering opinions on foreign affairs and that's even when it's obvious they haven't done their homework bloopers may be commonplace on capitol hill but as our. reports it's the american people who have become the butt of the joke. advising other countries on democracy seems to be a must for any u.s. politician and some of them get so carried away that they confuse what countries exactly they're talking about commenting on democracy in belarus john mccain for some reason called it leads to any air i also want to thank the president with the

way you know group of our members of congress visited with her yesterday and choose a great leader we also had the opportunity meet with members of the opposition many of whom have countrymen residing in prison have been beaten and tortured are. we had a chance of meeting during the same conference the former presidential candidate don't one of the most influential republican senators refer to russia as the soviet union we all know that our missile defense brother modest or. earmarked and. we are proceeding with it because of the threat we face from iran not from the soviet union and that senator mccain is gaffes don't stop there i'm afraid that it's a very hard struggle particularly given the situation on the iraq pakistan border

probably only in mccain's mind did pakistan share a border with iraq but he's not the only u.s. politician who's quick to share their expertise in world affairs without checking some facts george w. bush will not prides himself on having pushed democracy in egypt during his presidency thought africa was a nation africa's a nation has suffered from incredible disease the winner of hearts and minds of millions of americans sarah palin thought africa was a country some two years ago but now nothing seems to stop her from handing out advice on how to deal with egypt because this pale in has further contributed to her credibility in foreign affairs when commenting on the u.s. stance with regards to north korea obviously got to stand with our north korean allies were. down to create by trees i worry about by well the paradox is is that politicians who really know nothing about these things have to appear to know something they have to speak out on all of these issues to be considered credible figures so sarah palin you know who could see russia from her door in her window

you know is now an expert on russia or whatever else the reason why us politicians feel free to make bloopers on your national issues could be that many of their audience is can't catch the inconsistences well it's very easy to manipulate people when they don't know anything so on foreign policy generally americans are in different they don't pay attention to world events and you can easily manipulate them crusted of their public ignorance are ghastly after waging wars in iraq and afghanistan for years figures show most americans still have difficulties finding the countries on the map in the ne. if the public is not able to notice the ignorance of their politicians they won't be able to hold them accountable for their decisions some say that is one of the biggest threats to democracy in america i'm going to check our reporting from

washington are two. with a growing number of people leaving lithuania to head west for work the small nation is in danger of getting even smaller and as the government prepares to carry out a major census fears are the population has plummeted by half a million and the last decade archies peter all of our reports on with winning at losing its best and brightest. young educated and unemployed the rhenish david she's a twenty four year old computer science graduates she can't find work in her native bilis so is headed to another country in search of a job she's one of the lucky ones she'll be reunited with her mother and father who've already made the speech i have finished university here and i couldn't find . up because of their economic. situation in the country. and my parents and they are living in ireland for six years whole already and i decided to move to ireland to live with them and to find

a job there more and more lithuanians are falling victim to the baltic brain drain young people finish their studies at home and then look for a job in western europe where salaries are much higher however the global financial crisis and killing recession in countries like ireland means that the move abroad doesn't always provide the opportunity to once did its always so risky but. it's now a days it's better to go to ireland and to find a job their. way to his job then sitting just here and doing nothing this. is carrying out a census in march to determine the current population demographic preliminary government statistics for twenty ten show that last year alone an estimated eighty three thousand people left the country many in search of work elsewhere if you or anyone has one of the highest levels of emigration in the e.u.

many of the young people who i've spoken to here say they see their future employment beyond the borders of their dative country this is one of the reasons that the twenty eleven census that will take place here will be the most comprehensive in the nation's history. with questionnaires in english russian polish as well as a few in the department of social statistics are desperate to find out how many people are living in the country their expect to see the two thousand and one population of three point four million for by almost five hundred thousand with no apparent end in sight to the exodus the long term estimates paint a bleak picture for the next forty years here to. in the year two thousand and fifty. it's the task of bill this is to try and keep the best and brightest from being

lost to the brain drain to safeguard the future of social security the second is to provide health security is the third maybe it is to provide conditions for people to study which now it's. difficult because it is becoming expensive for people spend money on something i mean after money and when i can do it. i think we have to rearrange tax system that system for people for especially for young people any changes come too late for arena she's already made her move to pastures new and the search for employment in western europe these are all of the bills. and no economic troubles escape the clutches of our financial guru max cars are where you can enjoy bit of global thinking in a show coming up later in the day. the russian flag will be flying high in formula one racing this season as

a brand new car hits the track for its first test drive the car called out was revealed to the public at a packed media last launch in london earlier this week the team is gearing up to drive it under the russian callers in just over a month when the new season starts a president of the new c.e.o. motors nikolai flamencos says he's proud of his team's achievements. we managed to build here in terms of conditions for a new modern and technically it would not want it but we started working for formula one and succeeded them some over a hundred but it means that everything responsible they're good at it we're just going to. be presented originals and even before for you we want to go so far we've fulfilled we have can we. create a car and we do it with. performance when we want to and we do so at least we deserve to be respected for what i do and what was to blame for that now for

a brief look at some other major headlines from around the world middle level talks aimed at easing tension between north and south korea have broken down the two sides were attempting to negotiate conditions for higher level dialogue but officials at the meeting reportedly failed to reach a consensus neither side willing to make concessions beyond seoul broke late last year when the north responded to artillery fire near their territory by shelling a south korean island. prosecutors in italy have filed a request for the immediate trial of prime minister silvio berlusconi on charges of sex crimes and abuse of power he's alleged to have paid for sex with a seventeen year old girl and uses influence to secure her release from custody after charges. strongly denies any wrongdoing and says prosecutors are trying to destroy his career the italian premier already faces the resumption of three trials for corruption and talks fraud next month. a leftist colombian rebel group has

set a thirty five year old councilman the first of five hostages it has promised to release this week the man was reunited with his family after more than a year in captivity the move has sparked hopes that the government and the rebel group could hold talks and have attempt to end decades of conflict but the country's per. that and said that there was little chance of peace unless the guerilla faction released all hostages and halted its drug operations. that were close of team continues to discover the western europe as area as they get to explore the republic and its capital city. well this time they are team learns our russia's elderly struggle to survive in the far urals villages where they make up the majority of the population with small

pensions and poor healthcare the older generation is in desperate need of support food and medical assistance but in most cases they have to rely on their own strength and determination artie's idina go to listen to their stories. for many of russia's elderly their golden years it seems to be anything but that a lot of them feel abandoned by their children who do not seem to pay enough attention to their parents they also feel abandoned by their government which they say does not supply enough aid in order for the pensioners to make it in their day to day lives so we want to move the aware significant number of populations over the just sixty five to find out help pensioners here are coping with everyday problems. already peculiar gets her daily exercise by breaking the ice in the world should much rather do without it but then should have no water to seventy seven year old lives in her native village on her own. obvious that no no we don't mind living like this we don't want to die but we do have a huge problem we have water tap water seems to be the main concern for these women

but once they start talking more problems come to surface afghani but we can't get an ambulance out here probably because we're old and they think we're not important . how did thirty people in this village twenty are over the age of sixty we have no access to running water medical help or food. so for them it's not so much about enjoying life as it is about survival the main problem of these women is their age miniscule pensions and poor health care make the lives of russia's elderly all but unbearable but many say the way the elderly are perceived in the country is even more. but you. difference between russia and the west is that are not a country considered to be a time of loss and remain there whereas in the west that's the time for. good nobody believes russia is in a dire need of more social programs to provide care for the elderly one woman in is

already doing her part the eighty for a private retirement home came to natalya when her mother died and she was looking for someone to look after her father ben's and her high status job effectively and started her own business and when you see that you're good at what you do it's incredibly satisfying both people come in frightened at first and then they start considering your family member it's especially satisfying when you realize you're doing something important and new unfortunately these village women cannot afford to live in a tiger's home like millions of russia's elderly they're forced to rely on their own strength in good spirits while they still have them from more nations which russia's elderly are facing today we are here joined by it is having a doctor who is the director of a charity foundation united way at the time to thank you very much for coming to meet with us today to tell us which issues the pensioners in russia are facing at the moment. thank you very much for inviting me i would like to say that this is

a common package of the problems the elderly people are facing in russian federation this is not only the financial issues which are extremely important but this is also their social isolation the lack of social support there of medical and other possibility for the elderly people frankly speaking it's very difficult in russia to get for. and didn't to find out the money for the programs focus on the interest of the elderly people and from all the cool of the money raised anger that it's about sixteen percent only goes for the grants so they enjoy providing assistance to the elderly well stay for more of the close up coverage as we continue to cover the events in a democracy and we'll cover other issues in our future programs as well all our tea will guide you further through the beauties of russia later today you'll have a chance to visit one of the oldest and largest protected areas in russia the caucasus nation reserve well this world heritage site can only be reached by

helicopter but it's an experience you'll never forget. and discoveries to be. communicated with while. still south and become free. see what nature can give you on the. i'll be back with the headlines but first this a business update with kareena. and i welcome to our business bulletin and there will has climbed five percent against the dollar over the past three months the best form of lung twenty four twenty five emerging market currencies because his appreciation is helping keep inflation in check as the cost of imported goods but it alexandra if teva from b. to b.

capital explains the russian central baghdad to balance its concern of a rising prices against attracting unwanted speculative capital. for the central bank the tradeoff is really the need to they need some appreciation to curb inflation by the same time. they can't allow it to cause because otherwise they will trigger kept telling flows and it will make the problem of fighting inflation even more difficult so we're seeing the ruble against the dollar at twenty nine by the year end which is not far from from where we are no credit much stronger against the bust. so we in total for this year we're seeing just we see seven percent. bust. and now let's have a look at the markets stocks up pointing downwards japanese technical stocks are helping lead the broader market today with leslie leaders among chip makers has are

extending their losses after losing ground in the three previous sessions that's on the backdrop of fears of china's tightening policies keeping property developers under pressure. here in russia markets finished yesterday he says in the read from isaac lost around half a percent pushing the in this is dour energy may just suffering from a fall and oil prices. we see you russian stocks declining slow if you want to. grow some correlate to the will produce which is most likely to. for the record russian state so what if you are to go over a think that. things are being. played by the. real very r.g.p. bigots who keep inflation circle thirty percent is expected for this year the market is expected to go strengthening it's hurting exporters but it's.

the mystic. and more oil prices in north america are traded on a bogus trend recovering from yesterday's losses caused by an unexpectedly strong report states reports gasoline supply was at its strongest for twenty one years brant crude for delivery in march is extending its gains and it's trading above one hundred dollars a pound bank's mark. and here in russia the prime minister has called on the government to speed up work on tax breaks for new fields but it has also or may just to maintain a record level of roughly five hundred five million metric tons in the coming years alex a call came from wall street believes the government will have an important role to play make it possible. that would expect at least some relatively minor but important changes such as a redistribution of the tax burden between the upstream and downstream probably

there will be some sort of pact the same place that agreement between the government and the sector that in exchange for this. modest but sizable amount of free cash will not be paid out to individuals but mostly not entirely but the same mostly reinvested that's also now doing way less that want more business.

well when one deals with water it has to realize that this tremendous amounts of damage that are done not just human damage but damage to the physical environment in which the battlefield takes place tremendous amounts of damage done by aerial bombs by napalm boy chemicals that whether it's sonic boom six tractor marine mammals or it's the burning oil fields here in iraq or story corps reserves in the pacific for planning purposes the list just goes on and on the geneva conventions of nineteen forty nine states that they are shall be taken in the war to protect involved against widespread long term and severe damage the united states although it is accepted almost all of the provisions

political one has taken exception to that. hunger for the full story we've got it first hand the biggest issues get the human voice face to face with the news makers. who will. bring you the latest in science and technology meet. from around russia. the future covered wealthy british style sign. on. the. market. find out what's really happening to the.