every green lower told. new exodus iraq's christian community shrinks as thousands are displaced in the face of growing violence and the unwillingness 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 by u.s. politicians hoping to plant democracy across the world only served to doubts over their expertise in global affairs plus. we're going to move to where significant number of population is already just sixty five to find out how pensioners here are coping with everyday problems a look at the heavy burden of old age in russia's provinces in our series.

one pm here in moscow this is our thanks for joining us well we begin in iraq where violence and intimidation have forced hundreds of thousands of iraqi christians to flee their homeland experts view them as one of the biggest victims of the two thousand and three u.s. led invasion with a minority group a continued target of extremists. reports from iraq. 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 arms just to buy some chocolate and come back and went out and didn't see anything i just had 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 really groans it was a live in 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 shouting 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 leaving 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. i served for seven years in the military under saddam hussein i'm an iraqi christian and i don't have a square foot of land in my name why what's my crime many in the church feel that countries in the west are responsible. americans are liars we don't trust them their reputation is terrible because everywhere they've been they have lied the us trained the sunni and shia and they just watch while they kill us 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 women in iraq. a fresh wave of anti-government rage is sweeping across egypt as labor unions and state media joined the popular rebellion where the country's embattled regime has responded with threats and an ultimatum warning the protestors of daraa consequences state run television and newspapers change sides virtually overnight backing the demonstrators of various industries and transport services also launched rocks nationwide demanding greater transparency and less government intervention both ortiz in turn vowed a tougher response and went so far as to threaten military involvement in the event of a coup in an exclusive interview r.t. spoke to the secretary general of the arab league. 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 of change in a mood of change with different degrees of change and different interpretation of the word change but in general i did the end of the day is a change everyone is fighting for the. demonstrations as i tell you it is illegal 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 not to this intensity. well still ahead for you this hour people leaving a different country for an entirely different reason. the u.a.e. has one of the highest levels of immigration in the u. many of the young people who i've spoken to here say they see their future employment beyond the borders of country we explore why one baltic nation is in the

grip of a dangerous braintree that's in a few minutes time. now u.s. politicians aren't shy when it comes to offering opinions on foreign affairs even what it's all this 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 now a group of our members of congress visited with her yesterday and choose a great leader a but we also had the opportunity to meet with members of the opposition many of whom have countrymen residing in prison have been beaten and tortured hard about what. we had

a chance of meeting during the same conference the former presidential candidate known one of the most influential republican senators referred to russia as the soviet union we all know that our missile defense were rather modest. 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 or suffers from incredible disease the winner of hearts and minds of

millions of americans sarah pailin two 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 this is paling has further contributed to her credibility in foreign affairs when commenting on the u.s. stance with regards to north career obviously got to stand with our north korean allies. we're down to 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 international 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 they generally americans. indifferent they don't pay attention to

world events and you can easily manipulate them krus of their public ignorance or ghastly after waging wars in iraq and afghanistan for years figures show most americans still have difficulties finding the countries on the map to get in the real. world. 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 r.t. . don't forget you can find more on this and a lot of other stories on our website that's our team dot com and here's what's on life for you right now and band of blood thirsty waltz is terrifying with both russia attacking livestock it will bring more than thirty horses dead in just four days we'll find out how the locals are fighting back at this to stop the beasts.

and discover how russians tired of choking all summer smog freezing and bitter winters are making their capital more eco friendly with the help of art a lot of the details that are. used. with a growing number of people leaving lithuania to head west for work this small nation is in danger of getting even smaller and as a government prepares to carry out a major census fears are that the population has plummeted by half a million in the last decade peter all of our reports on lithuania losing its best

and brightest young educated and unemployed the rhenish cave which is a twenty four year old computer science graduate she can't find work in her native bilis so is headed to another e.u. country in search of a job she's one of the lucky ones she'll be reunited with her mother and father who have already made the switch i have finished university here and i couldn't find a job because of their economic. situation in the country so my parents and they are living in ireland for a six year solar day and i decided to move to ireland today 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 crippling recession in countries like ireland means that the move abroad

doesn't always provide the opportunity to once did it's always so brazen but. it's now a days it's better to go to ireland and to find a job there even. as job then sitting just here and doing. 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 immigration 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 native country and 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 they 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 till it's not so bright. but exact science. in the year two thousand and fifty will be on local. five million pounds the task of building is to try and keep the best and brightest from being lost to the brain drain to safeguard the future but how social security the second is to provide health security to the third maybe it is to provide conditions for people to study first now it's really difficult because it is becoming expensive for people spend money on something i mean after money and when

i can do that. then i think we have to rearrange tax system taxes some sort of 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 vilest. and no economic troubles escape the clutches of our financial guru max cars are well enjoy a bit of global thinking in his show coming up later in the day. well 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 moto seo was revealed to the public at a packed media launch in london earlier this week the team is gearing up to drive it under the russian colors in just over a month with a new season starts well the president of the use of voters nikolai flamencos says

he's proud of his team's achievements. we managed to build here in times conditions a new modern and technically advanced automobile production i started working for formula one and succeeded in some of our undertakings but it means that everything is possible so at least we deserve to be respected. by him for that and after a brief look at some other major headlines from around the world teenage suicide bomber has killed thirty one people and wounded forty others at a military training center in northwestern pakistan where the boy is said to have detonated his vest as ought to be recruits were going through morning drills according to early reports the attacker who was about fourteen was wearing a school uniform no one has claimed responsibility but the taliban had earlier valve to target the region. a leftist colombian rebel group has set free

a thirty five year old town councilman the first of five hostages it has promised to release this week well the man was reunited with his family after more than a year in captivity the move a spark of hope that the government and the rebel group could hold talks in that attempt to add four decades of conflict but the country's president said that there was little chance of peace unless the guerrilla faction released all hostages and halted its drug operations. a natural gas explosion in the u.s. city of allentown has leveled two houses triggered fires and prompted a bass evacuation the blaze quickly spread to nearby buildings destroyed an entire row of houses well more than seven hundred people had been evacuated from the neighborhood while the version says services search for two missing persons officials said efforts to battle the fires were being complicated by bad weather and ice. well our close of team continues to discover the western europe area as they get to explore the republic and its capital city.

this time the r.t. team learns how russia's elderly struggle to survive in the four year old's 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 hardy's it will listen to their stories. for many of russia's elderly their golden years seem 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 wanted morsi aware significant number of populations over the

age of sixty five to find out how pensioners here are coping with everyday problems . already a patroller gets her daily exercise by breaking the ice in the well she'd much rather do without it but then she'd have no water the seventy seven year old lives in her native village on her own. obvious that self no no we don't mind living like this we don't want to die but we do have a huge problem with water. water seems to be the main concern for these women but once they start talking more problems come to surface ask what if we can't get an ambulance out here probably because we're older and they think we're not important . out of 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 lamentable but you. difference between russia and the west is that are not country old age is considered to be a time of loss and remain years whereas in the west it's a time for new possibilities. good nobody believes russia is in a dire need of more social programs to provide care for the elderly one woman in the jeffs 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 head of state his job affect would. terri 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 doing something important new unfortunately these village women cannot afford to live in the tiger's home like millions of russians elderly they're forced

to rely on their own strength in good spirits while they still have them for more on the issues which russia's elderly are facing today we are here joined by it is she has 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 funding to find out the money for the programs focus on the interest of the elderly people and from all our the pull of the money raised annually it's about sixteen percent only goes for the grants through the engine of

providing assistance to the elderly well stay for more of the close up coverage as we continue to cover the events of morsy and will cover other issues in our future programs as well laura he will guide you further through the beauties of russia and about ten minutes time you'll have a chance to visit one of the oldest and largest protected areas in russia the caucasus nature reserve well this world heritage site can only be reached by helicopter but it's an experience you'll never forget. discovery. communicate with the wind. and become. see what nature can give you. and kareena is here now with all the latest in business legal here that three of

the country's top oil producers are being investigated for price fixing have the companies responded to that yet well test some have already lowered prices for fuel and the investigation is carried out by russia's watchdog now that's after prime minister gordon questioned why prizes for jet fuel and diesel set by well sniff gas from a local have risen so much faster than the price of crude oil at the meeting with the industry leading up with and also urged all producers to maintain order at the post soviet record level of five hundred seventy five million metric tons in the coming years analysts believe the government will play an important role in making this possible. you would expect at least some relatively minor but important changes such as redistribution of the tax burden between the upstream and downstream probably there will be some sort of pact to say in place that agreement

between the government and the sector in exchange for this. modest but sizable amount of free cash will not be paid out in dividends but mostly not entirely but the same mostly reinvested. now gazprom has poses of third quarter net profit of five point four billion dollars down nine percent from the previous year the figures were in line with analyst expectations russia's biggest company attributed the decline to long term debt interest payments and a decrease in demand from supplies around a quarter of europe's gas needs though its market share has dropped in the last two years due to the inflow of alternative energy sources. european stocks drop dragging europe's benchmark index lower for a third day the pussy is down just down under half a percent and germany's dax is trading a quarter of a percent lower shares of alcatel lucent job as much as twelve percent after the telecom equipment group said profit soared in the fourth quarter on rising demand

for networks across the globe. here in russia stocks declined for a third day as well the best of the shifting their assets out of developing countries concerned that inflation will hurt growth in emerging markets the r.t.s. is losing over one and a half percent in the miser is down point eight percent energy mages are the main drag as russia's main export drops to eighty six dollars fifty cents a barrel its sixth day of decline to call the country's second biggest producers down point eight percent and gazprom is shedding one point seven percent so as gas that's dropped two and a half percent suffering from the diesel price to crease following the initial case against oil majors by russian monopoly watchdog. and all in north america is recovering from yesterday's losses sparked by an unexpectedly strong inventories report in the u.s. through ports showed that the gasoline supply was at its strongest in twenty one years brant crude for delivery in march is extending gains and is trading above the

one hundred dollars a barrel benchmark. the ruble has climbed five percent against the dollar over the past three months the best performer among twenty five emerging market currencies come. these appreciation is helping keep inflation in check as it uses the cost of imported goods but as alexandra you have to if you go from b. to b. capital explains the russian central bank needs to balance its concern about rising prices against attracting unwanted speculative topic. for the central bank the tradeoff is really they need to they need some appreciation to curb inflation by the same time they are 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 thirty by the year end which is not far from from where we are now but much stronger

against the bust get. so we in total for this year we're seeing just we see seven percent. against a bust. and swedish. as have well documented problems with its operations in russia it's complained about the levels of red tape and corruption by an exclusive interview with business the head of ikea and vice explains the company has been well rewarded for keeping faith with. what's amazing we have about two hundred twenty million people visiting. and we can you know that's an increase of sixteen seventeen percent that's an amazing figure and we have also saved the increase in the same in the same way sixteen seventeen percent certainty which which is which is growing much much faster than the rest of the. russia is actually very very important for us and there's one interesting thing is that the

two top selling. tour russians do so from a volume wise russia is really do well. that's your update for this hour join me in about fifteen minutes from now.

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