a visit putting the past behind and starting over russia's foreign minister is in the u.k. after years of diplomatic tension between the two countries. foreign ministers. troubled northern caucasus region security at the forefront of national concerns as the government looks for more efficient ways to tackle child. migrants from egypt seeking a refuge in europe some countries fear the e.u. is in danger of losing control of its border adding fuel to

a fierce debate over multiculturalism on the continent. and business is looking at potentially one of the biggest deals in russia's banking sector that's the acquiring the bank of moscow the russian capital chances of becoming a global financial center find out in twenty minutes time. worldwide news live from moscow this is art well both sides hope to cement the trend towards more positive relations as a foreign minister sort of visits the british capital this is the first high level visit since ties deteriorated following the killing of former federal security service agent alexander litvinenko in london in two thousand and six. he was a. high low or so a broad range of subjects were discussed we were watching the press conference just

a short while ago. talk to us about the steps that have been agreed upon which will help improve bilateral relations. well this was a media briefing that said caleb rauf and william hague counterparts in russia and the u.k. gave together and they gave it together wasn't a coincidence it was really a very united sort of briefing they obviously took took great care to present a united front william hague talked about the narrowing differences between russia and the u.k. he said when we disagree we can talk about it and that our disagreement shouldn't stop us from cooperating he did warn though that in this working relationship there will be no big step there will be no big pity where we so everything's ok now it will take it will be a measured improvement a slow improvement where they take measured small but practical steps and william hague talked about some of the practical steps that will be taken including installing a new hot line that joins downing street in london and the kremlin in moscow let's

hear what he had to say. countries continue to see a patient steady improvement in relations it will take time there will be no giant leaps it is a very measured practical steps and this welcome visit is an important part of the steady improvement in relations which we initiated on our side when the coalition government came into office. working practical relationship bilateral issues and on global issues it is undoubtedly on improving the trend. and in terms of the concrete things that are being done the two sides issued a joint statement on afghanistan which covered the transition of power in afghanistan and also covered the fight against drugs in the country and they also talk quite extensively about iran and its nuclear program which of course russia has let negotiations on in the past they talked about applying peaceful and

legitimate pressure on iran. to gods to its new to its nuclear program and in fact intensifying those efforts they didn't talk directly about sanctions although the question that they are was did refer to them but mr lovell often specific said that they need to plan which involved actions and consequences so that iran knew exactly where it stood if it took action a then consequence b. would apply and again they seemed very united in their approach to that they also talked about the middle east peace process in which russia of course has of course also played an important role particularly in reference to what's going on in egypt to the moment they said that. it's rated the urgency of the peace process and they also seem to have a common view on that but they were both very careful to say that they won't be getting involved in what's going on in egypt directly they won't be advising anyone to do anything or or sticking their noses in essentially where they're not wanted but they will be monitoring the situation and seeing what's happening. rights was

also a topic as was the fight against terror and organized crime they talked quite extensively about that and love made sure to say that the u.k. was an important partner of russia in all these issues let's hear him. don't us look at britain as our partner in the russia nato council and in our relations with the european union we also work together within the framework of the organization for security and cooperation in europe we pay a great deal of attention to the idea of european security as you know president to get it has put forward an initiative to sign a treaty on security in the year of atlanta that we are confident that it's necessary to create a solid legal foundation for providing equally guaranteed security for all countries on the whole i'm pleased with today's negotiations and expecting an interesting discussion on a number of other regional and international issues. and although this hasn't always been an easy diplomatic and political relationship it's always been

a good business relationship and the two sides seem keen to build on that of course we saw the deal between b.p. and sniffed and that was mentioned in a speech that mr left made earlier today and he outlined some areas in which he thinks that russia in the u.k. can cooperate to develop russia's economy he's talking about things like finance the financial sector this to be built up in moscow the nano tech industry and the g. efficiency working together to promote small and medium sized businesses and also improving the business environment in russia so again small steps taken to wards making this on the whole a better relationship as you say small steps being taken but a broad range of cooperation agreements are being laid out there we saw an impressive shot of the between circular often is a british kind of william hague's there was a very positive showing there with some members of the british parliament had called for the cancelling of love ross trip over the recent incident involving a reporter from the guardian newspaper so tell us more of

a difficult to use the two countries have to overcome. their own various stumbling blocks most notably i suppose is that was the murder of alexander litvinenko the former russian security officer in london in two thousand and six and this is a relationship that hasn't been the same since then the main suspect of the u.k. police force is a man called under the look of war who's now a duma deputy in russia and russia's constitution prevents his extradition so all the repeated extradition requests have been made they haven't been granted and you mentioned to the guardian correspondent luke harding who was refused entry to russia recently russia says that he was trying to travel on an invalid viz that the he says that it was in connection with his work with the wiki leaks cables that said some compromising things about russia there are always these these little things that looks like this relationship is going to get better and then something else happens we've also got forty people. even here in the u.k. who are wanted by russian crime in force and they are they are men and women in

russia essentially the most notable of them bodies that is old ski and chechen akhmed zakayev. again their extradition has been requested by russia and britain has refused but i think what's happening more and more now and possibly what will happen also during david cameron's coming visit to russia is that the diplomats and the politicians involved will try to focus as much as they count on the positive because it will very there are these difficulties in the relationship economically in a business sense and also in terms of international cooperation it's an important relationship and it's a relationship which i think both sides believe. our answer laura and i live from london thank you. well russia is taking a new measures in its fight against terrorism in the latest special operation the five militants were killed in the northern caucasus region three policemen died and three were injured in the ensuing gun battle. correspondent catherine i was out of

my house the latest on this story here. that it's starting a widespread special operation targeting militants can you bring us up to date house non-hostile going. full force this operation has been going for a while and the most recent update that we have from the security forces in the country is that. a gun battle took place in this region which is of course bordering the caucuses there a number of terrorists were surrounded by a local law enforcement a gun battle ensued in which five militants were killed one is supposedly on the run and is being sought after as we speak in the gun battle not only militants suffered losses however there was also members of law enforcement who suffered deaths and injuries as well we know that a new. amber of them have been injured and are being treated by local medics and

also three police officers were killed in the gun battle that followed the militants being surrounded by a local law enforcement they of course put up a fight refused to give themselves up or surrender their weapons and this of course is just the latest installment in the on go away battle against terrorism in russia specifically in the volatile caucasus region our know your country let's turn our attention from the whole region over to. the recent violence there with the leaders of russia you have on that one. we still of course are receiving information from the security sources as they are continuing their investigation the latest that we do know right now is that one of the a suicide blast that was a detonated in a village in the republic of the guest on. had over thirty kilograms worth of t.n.t. that is of course a pullin nary a report so far but security sources do say that is the amount they believe was

used in the detonation of course that was a car that was detonated by a suicide bomber he himself was in the car of course and died on location another suicide bomb that also took place in that same village in the a woman who walked up to a military outpost and detonated a suicide belt with a bomb of course killing herself killing one. security officer and injuring many others but the security forces do say that because of the work of that one security officer who behaved in accordance with his regulations and also very bravely he stopped that woman from entering the military base any further and also of course prevented further injuries however lives were lost in both of those explosions of course the situ. in that region is still very unstable now and so

a militant strikes in the stubborn whole region in dagestan are bring us back to moscow here. you have the latest information regarding the investigation concerning last month's terror attack at domodedovo airport. of course the investigation into moscow's airport bombing is still ongoing but we do know that authorities have now managed to confirm the identity of the suicide bomber that was completed by a d.n.a. result his identity has now been confirmed there have been of course a doubt so earlier many people suggested there were a number of young men who fit the description and the type of the images of course that were in possession of security forces ball and that identity his identity has now been established there were also been numerous reports some suggest that the man spent less than an hour in the airport itself of course once again highlighting the weakness of security measures in russia's main transport hub we also have heard

that it is possible that this man actually served in the russian interior forces in the police force that service according to some. in the security forces themselves was not very long just over a just over three months now and then the man was a discharged due to an injury and ongoing and medical problem basically but facts are coming out as soon as the identity of the suicide bomber was established the authorities of course are now gathering more and more information not only about the man himself but also about all of his accomplices who helped him put together the detonating device who actually made and made sure that he got to the airport that he detonated that device everyone and anyone of course who came into contact with the so side bomber is now under even further scrutiny from the security forces when you when you talk about the deadly terror attack last. and you know what about the main hall of the russian capital what's what's being done to prevent further

terrorist types are you noticing any new security measures are being implemented. well of course the russian authorities specifically the russian president dmitry medvedev has ordered security forces to be stepped up a lot not just a notch but a lot on all major transport hubs in russia that's of course including airports train stations metro stations some of my colleagues and myself have noticed more police presence in the underground system but still not perhaps on every single station we do also know that the russian president himself actually paid a surprise visit to one of russia's main train station the key of sky a train station and was not pleased with what he found there he said there were absolutely no security personnel monitoring the exits or the entrances or the train tracks themselves basically there was no police presence there were no metal detectors basically no security implemented at all the president of course very

displeased with what he saw ordering immediate ramification of that ordering of course of heavier police presence and a lot more devices such as metal detectors to be implemented on train stations for control to be doubled at airports and that of course is being implemented as we speak bought the full effect of those measures is of course yet to take place as it is quite a serious amount of work for the security forces all right when i was out of other reporting thank you. we've got lots more coming your way here on our let's take a little preview right know. what the recent arrest in egypt is causing a domino effect in the middle east to find out which countries are in the crossfire and what washington. have to do with the violence. the controversial debate over multiculturalism in europe has now taken

a new twist as more migrants flee their troubled countries in search of stability and security europe is giving them the cold shoulder more than five thousand arrived in italy in this past week and its interior minister warns they could jeopardize the institutional and social structures of the continent it comes on the back of harsh criticism of multiculturalism by some western european leaders a free speech activist in austria who described as a failure has gone on trial for speaking out against religious groups but the charges of inciting hatred and violence were dropped she was found guilty of denigrating religious symbols elizabeth suppositional is appealing the case claim she should not be prosecuted for speaking out. over looks at why some are free to speak out while others are not. just a night of a european citizen peacefully debating islam with a muslim is nothing unusual in a multicultural country like all stream but it's

a tall peak not always discussed in such gentle fashion i advise you not to burn the koran about your reading. about studying what islam so we'll be learning how to . know your enemy elizabeth supper teaching world has been on trial and a vienna court on charges of making what is described as a hate speech against islam a left wing all strand magazine recorded and published a speech at one of his seminars lending who are in court i have nothing against people who want to practice their faith. but i would like them to do this in the privacy of their own homes your ideas she says are nothing new and when europe's political elite express them they are not prosecuted for the same views multiculturalism has failed this is nothing new and my group and i have been saying this for years now. all of a sudden. and others come out of hiding and agree with us i don't know why but

elizabeth subjects wolf opponents say she crossed the line here a speech is upgrade not only the muslim community but also made. it's not a matter of free speech that i can spread hatred about large groups of society now we have to respect individuals in our society and we have to ask them to integrate and we have to help them to integrate yet european leaders such as german chancellor angela merkel french president nicolas sarkozy and british prime minister david cameron say mostly culturalism in europe isn't working there are huge muslim communities but frequently such as in all strata they leave in their own areas a physical sign of non integration there is this should sit in vienna is known as the little people here speak their native language they prepare their national

dishes and wear the clothes which they are used to and this is exactly was elizabeth subaverage wall found here a fellow like sounds taking a stance against self segregation at top which was once taboo is now at the top of the european political agenda with multiculturalism now open to multi criticism from some of the continent's most influential political leaders we've yet to see how their views might fully influence debate on the ground and the future shape of europe exiting the church over our team from vienna. now in the wake of the gyptian revolution activists in the middle east are turning up the heat on their governments riots have broken out all across the region to demonstrators were killed in the rain just on monday and after an activist was also shot dead by police in the iranian capital the protest in tehran six place just a day after the u.s. state department began inspiring iran's opposition with twitter messages it's the

first such riot in the country for over a year on tuesday iranian and the opposition leaders to be tried and executed u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says washington clearly and directly supports the protesters. wayne madsen thinks the americans stance on iran is actually harming the opposition. the regime in iran can always point to that and say this is the united states behind this whether we're we are behind some of the groups but legitimate opposition is suppressed because of that mantra that's put over all the opposition by the iranian government iran is under economic embargo from the u.s. and u.n. it's also facing u.s. troops in afghanistan in iraq so the regime there can point to the fact that they're under siege and also under the threat of a military attack by politicians in israel the united states they can point to that

and say you can't be you can oppose the regime or under siege that's because we have basically frozen iran out there was probably a mistake on our part to by doing that were suppressing the legitimate democratic opposition in iran. and that was that was investigative journalist and author contributor wayne madsen speaking right now let's check out some other world news stories now making the headlines this hour and an italian judge has given the go ahead for the trial of prime minister silvio berlusconi he's facing charges he paid for sex with a significant number of young women including a seventeen year old girl and he used his influence to cover it up and he strongly deny the allegations. three years in prison if found guilty of paying minors for sex son from six to twelve years for abuse of power the child is able to begin in early april and will be heard by a panel of three judges all of them are women. trafficking

submarine has been discovered by authorities in colombia it's believed the vessel is able to travel from colombia to the coast of mexico and the submarine was found in a river in the state of about four hundred kilometers southwest of the capital of qatar authorities found weapons in there by but said no one was arrested and no drugs were found when they made the discovery. and the nasa spacecraft stardust has started beaming back the first pictures of a comet swept past the encounter will give scientists a unique information on how these great balls of ice and dust change over time the craft more than seventy high resolution images would reveal the extent of the impact crater and its surroundings it's the first time a comet has been viewed by two different spacecraft six years ago another nasa probe unleashed a couple of bullet that carved a crater on the comet. well the winter olympics in the russian resort of sochi may

be years away but the city is already gearing up for the grand event training runs for the alpine skiing european cup now kicked off on a brand new slope which will host the course of the games in two thousand and fourteen denise polaski has more. the resort is situated in the cross napoli on the mountain range about forty kilometers away from the central part of the city and it will be connected with the olympic village near the coast by high speed rail way and highway now what we see here today is one of the first field tests of the sporting facilities before the actual games to see how they perform under live conditions even though the olympics are three years away russian and european athletes already are getting a chance to test some of this key piece now during the two thousand and eleven alpine european cup and also domestic competitions while the mountains are covered in snow now there were plenty of nerves beforehand organizers were very concerned about the weather since just a few weeks ago it was raining here in the mountains and everyone was waiting

anxiously for the snow to fall and as you can see their prayers were heard and the steep mountain slopes are now in excellent condition for ski but if the weather fails to deliver enough snow there is always a plan b. in the form of recently installed snow making machines to ensure there's plenty for competition what we see here today is the initial stage of the l. point european man's cup the skiers are having a training day this tuesday and the main part of the competition will be held during the coming days a total of seventy four test events will be held in sochi before the two thousand and fourteen winter games twenty nine of them international competitions it's the start of serious testing of the olympic infrastructure not just the venues but also roads bridges tunnels and power lines the construction of most venues is still underway although the organizers say it's answering the final stages and it's over

the most difficult initial phase the organizers among them members of the russian government sports industry pros and construction companies will use feedback from these events to fine tune preparations for the olympics themselves. the news political reporting that our time now for the business news with dmitri. welcome to business. rates in russia is showing signs of job resurgence having gone down by one percentage point in the past year to seven point two percent despite his downward trend present better still sees it as one of the country's top problems data compiled by the international labor organization says the number of russians without a job and looking for one has fallen to five point four million people in twenty eleven from six point two million a year ago as it stands as currently around seventy five million in russia's labor force present a vet of the government to shift from anti crisis measures to more long term

actions when tackling unemployment to go at manpower russia and c.i.s. insists that in order to do this talent needs to be having that. there is a lot of resurgence was previously reported on one hand on the other hand. the unique situation where be sickly if somebody wishes to find the response to work or one of the biggest issues is that russia has been for some time quickly emerging you can. be quick piece that it was a merger he was teaching talent with the style and to not what we knew to understand fully is that we are seeing a change from capitalism to talent and talent is what will drive the economies forward and small you'll be identification of that on the proper grooming of talent is a truly important. moscow's chances of becoming global financial sense or could be

hampered if the bank acquires bank of moscow without attend that's according to president carter you've got a coach there to be wants to buy out one hundred percent of one of russia's top five banks in the first half of this year the bank of moscow's biggest shareholder the moscow city government estimates the bank to be worth something like six billion dollars decided to sell its stake in the bank in late twenty ten after the previous mayor of moscow give you lost his position some minority shareholders say the bag could be worth up to nine and a half billion. let's take a look at the markets now starting with europe of course and they're up on the heels for monday's game the euro zone g.d.p. figures showed growth in the fourth quarter along with economic sentiment data from germany also climbing marginally but also banks are driving the markets we're seeing reports the results from barclays coming in stronger than expected barclays up four point seven five percent at the moment other banks are also gaining credit

agricole is up one point six percent boys about one point four percent in group two point six percent this. supposed to russia now and the markets are also marginally up point three percent taking in no from more europe and the united states the previous day the r.t.s. and the my six are up point three percent this hour the gas companies are the talk again is on the my stocks on rising oil prices we've seen brant crude close to one hundred four dollars on continued unrest in the middle east and the chinese demand circulated some the stock figures come as is leading the game to sub seven point two percent on the my sex of technology corp suggested the russian truck makers should unite with fellow russian rival into one company. as often i'll be back in one hour's time headlines and to do so. that was.

the.