the national flood to change every green lower toll into. the new x. it is iraq's christian community shrinks 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 bluebirds by u.s. politicians hoping to plant democracy across the world only served to plant doubts over their expertise in global affairs what's. going to the north sea where significant number of populations over the just sixty five to find out how here are coping with everyday problems a look at the heavy burden of old age and russia's provinces in our g.'s close up series.

it's three pm in moscow this is our team coming to you live on the news and now i thanks for being with us first up this hour violence and intimidation has forced hundreds of thousands of iraqi christians to flee their homeland experts knew them as one of the biggest victims of the two thousand and three u.s. led invasion with a minority group continued target of extremists sebastian my are reports now from iraq that 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 for lack i went out with my just to buy some chocolates 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 on the ground 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 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. 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 in live in peace but in the evening 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 to 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 light 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 iraq. a fresh wave of anti-government rage is sweeping across egypt as the labor unions and state media during the popular rebellion the country's embattled regime in response has threatened to protestors with direct military involvement if they persist the government also last out of the u.s. expressing its anger and frustration with washington's betrayal of its longtime ally president hosni mubarak it comes amid allegations that america turned a blind eye on rampant corruption and human rights abuses for decades and in exclusive interview our troops our team spoke to secretary general of the arab league amr moussa who says that the un rest in egypt is just the beginning of region wide. 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 that would change but i bet the end of the day does a change at their bodies you can affect. the most nations as i said because he went into 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 in some countries before but not with this intensity. still ahead this hour here on our t.v. people leaving a different country for entirely different reason. if you or anyone has one of the highest levels of emigrate should it be you 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 brain drain that's coming up in

a few minutes. u.s. politicians aren't shy when it comes to offering opinions on foreign affairs even when it's obvious they haven't done their homework over as may be commonplace on capitol hill but as our day is going it's to can reports if the american people have become a part of the joke. devising 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 lease or any air i also want to thank the president the way group of our members of congress visited with her. great leader we also had the opportunity meet with members of the opposition many of whom have fellow countrymen residing in prison have been. tortured.

we had a chance of meeting during the same conference the former presidential candidate down one of the most influential republican senators referred to russia as the soviet union we all know that our missile defense rather modest or. your more. we are proceeding with it because of the threat we face from iran not from the soviet union. but senator mccain is gaffes don't stop there i'm afraid that it's a very hard struggle. 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 is quick to share their expertise in world affairs without checking some facts george w. bush won our prize in south on having pushed democracy in egypt during his presidency thought africa was a nation africa's a nation or suffers from the incredible disease the winner of hearts and minds of

millions of americans sarah pailin to 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 pale and 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 bound to create by trees are worried 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 and 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 audiences can't catch the inconsistences well it's very easy to manipulate people when they don't know anything so generally americans. indifferent they don't pay

attention to world events and you can easily manipulate them curse of their public ignorance or guess what after waging wars in iraq and afghanistan for years figures show most americans still have difficulties finding the countries on the map the wonder. if the public is not able to notice the ignorance of their politicians they won't be able to hold them accountable for their the social something that is one of the biggest threat to democracy in america and. our reporting from washington our team . more on that and many other stories on our web site dot com here's a look at what's online for you right now abandoned bloodthirsty wolves and terrifying a remote town in russia attacking livestock at will leaving more than thirty forces dead in just four days find out how the locals are fighting back to stop the beasts . and discover how russians tired of choking on summer smog and freezing in better

winter are making very little more eco friendly with a little help art all the details at our chain dot com. with a growing number of people leaving lithuania to head west for work this small nation is in danger of getting even smaller as the government from paris to carry out a major census fears are that the population has plummeted by half a million in the last decade peter all over reports on lithuania losing its best

and brightest. young educated and unemployed the rhenish to choose a twenty four year old computer science graduate she can't find work in her native beyond this 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 have already made the switch i have finished university here and i couldn't find a chop because of their economic. situation in the country. and my parents and they're living in ireland for six years whole already and i decided. 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 crippling recession in countries like ireland means that the move abroad

doesn't always provide the opportunities it once did its always so risky but. it's now a days it's better to go to ireland. to find a job there. is job then sitting just here and doing nothing in this lithuania 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 lithuania 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 native 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 if you were 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 fall 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 too. but it's excellence. in the year two thousand and. five million new creating ounce 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 but how social security the second is to provide health security was before and maybe is to provide conditions for people to study which now it's really difficult because it

is becoming expensive for people spend money on something i mean after money i can do. about i think we have to rearrange to access them access some sort of people for especially for young people any changes come too late for arena she has already made her move to pastures new and the search for employment in western europe these are all other artsy b.-list. that no economic troubles escape the clutches of our financial guru max kaiser enjoy a bit of global thinking in his cell coming up in about fifteen minutes from now. 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 model 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 bus from callers in just over

a month when the new season starts president motors nicholai says he's proud of his team's achievements. when it was you were supposed to. we managed to build here in times conditions a new modern and technically advanced on going to a production line we started working for formula one and succeeded in some of our undertakings but it means that everything is possible sure we deserve to be respected for what i do and what we do by and for whatever quarter past the hour let's take a look at some other major headlines from around the world today a suicide bomber has killed thirty one people and wounded forty two others at a military training center in northwestern pakistan the boy is said to have detonated his vest as army recruits were going through a new drills according to earlier reports the attacker who was about fourteen was wearing a school uniform no one has claimed responsibility but the taliban had earlier of south 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 the man was reunited with his family after more than a year in captivity the move has sparked hopes that the government and rebel groups could hold off on time to end 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. and natural gas explosion in the u.s. city allentown of. has leveled two houses triggered fires and prompted a mass evacuation the blaze quickly spread to nearby buildings destroying an entire row of houses more than seven hundred people have been evacuated from the neighborhood wall emergency services search for six missing persons official said efforts to battle the fires were being complicated by bad weather and ice. are close up team continues to discover the western europe's area as they get to

explore their own mercy republic and its capital city. this time there are two team learns how 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 health care 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 arena 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 wanted morsi aware significant number of populations over the

age of 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 well she'd much rather do without it but then she'd have no water because 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 with water tap 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 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 healthcare make the lives of russia's elderly all but

unbearable but many say the way the elderly are pursue. even the country is even more lamentable that you. between russia and the west is that are not a country old age is considered to be a time of loss and remain 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 service is already doing her part the idea 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. 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 realise you doing something important you unfortunately these village women cannot afford to live in a home like millions of russians they're forced to rely on their own strength in

good spirits while they still have them for more in their shoes which rushes elderly are facing today we are here joined by to have as 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 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 and yet it's about sixteen percent only goes for the grants through the end job

providing assistance to the elderly well stay for more of the close up coverage as we continue to cover the events and we'll cover other issues in our future programs as well. argy 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 of the caucuses nature reserve this world heritage site can only be reached by helicopter but it's an experience you'll never forget. discovering. just become. what nature can give you. business news is next here on r t with kareena.

hello and welcome to our business update thanks for joining me well i wasn't even all fully watchdog has opened a formal investigation into three of the country's top oil producers top price fixing that's after prime minister putin questioned why prices for jet fuel and diesel set by ross have gas from a local have risen faster than the prices of crude oil two years ago the watchdog impose fines for nearly a billion dollars against the likes of cross nafta local and tainted b.p. for fixing prices but doesn't see when the general director of the national energy security fund believes fines are not the right way to assure competition. the problem is that we cover knowing the refrain that is the rush all serious or foreign or is there the part of this we have to integrate into companies and in my opinion if we really want to struggle for law with all prices across the wall we we

mustn't talk about fines we must think about structural reform of our industry we must have in the plan them before and there is and only i assume this is the only one way to struggle with high oil prices if we want to have a lower price on perth or we must have a real completion of our market if we'll have no independent for the news there will be no competition. gazprom has poses a third quarter net profit of five point four billion dollars down nine percent from the previous year the figure where and 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 its market share has dropped in the last two years due to inflow of alternative energy sources. let's look at the markets now european stock markets a lower led by heavyweight banking stocks shares of pretty sweet spell two point

six percent off the back reported a six percent rise in full quarter net profit fell short of full costs other banks are also down the ages b.c. forming a one in a healthy percent and lloyds banking group shedding point nine percent shares of air space for a rolls royce group slipped one percent up to posting at seventy six percent in two thousand and ten net profit. and russian stocks declined for a third day investors are shifting their assets out of developing countries concerned that inflation will hurt growth in emerging markets the r.c.s. is losing two percent of the my xix is down one and a half percent energy majors are the main drag as oil drops to eighty six dollars fifty three cents a barrel its sixth day of decline lukoil the country's second biggest producer is down point seven percent gas problem is dropping two point three percent investors are worried the refinery will suffer most if the russian anti monopoly was dark horses fuel prices lower noise may kill is also shedding over two percent all the

articles. and all in north america is recovering from yesterday's losses spog by an unexpectedly strong inventory's report in the us through ports showed that the gasoline supply was at its strongest and twenty one years brant crude for delivery in march is extending gains and is trading about the one hundred dollars a barrel benchmark. well the ruble has climbed five percent against the dollar over the past three months the best performer among the twenty five emerging market currencies currencies appreciation is helping to keep inflation in check as it reduces the cost of imported goods but as alexandra fifty about from the city capital explains the russian central bank needs to balance its concern over rising prices against attracting on wanted speculative capital. for the central bank the tradeoff is really they need to they need some

appreciation to curb inflation by the same time. they can't allow it to thaw us because otherwise they will trigger kept telling flows and it will make the problem of fighting flesh and 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 no credit much stronger against the basket. so we in total for this year we're seeing just we see seven percent who appreciate the bust. at buying at this hour swedish furniture giant i kid has its top selling stores worldwide in russia courting to the company's chief in this country still the aggies investment plans this year for russia focused on preservation robin expansion and investment loans are mainly investing in what we hope. will be refreshing our centers. this is mainly was the story we call it in shape is new so we're going to look at

the houses that we have make sure that there are up to date and the same for the commercials of what we do this year i think we're talking about fifty two hundred million viewers. and that's it for this hour but join us in about fifteen minutes from now for more on business art.

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wealthy british scientists i. asked my time to put this. market why not it's going to find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cons or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on our. download the official t. application to i phone or my pod touch from the i choose our story. to life on the go. video on demand ati's and live broadcasts and says feeds now in the palm of your.