it. all.

fits. the e.u. credit rating agencies. portugal's. foreign minister described. the last of the boats headed to the. top story in business the european central bank increases. twenty five basis points to inflation what could help the europe's strong economies avoid overheating could be a double edged sword for peripheral countries join me for more on this and other stories in our business.

warm welcome to you this is. unjustified. but with the power to determine the fate of entire countries the verdict of germany's finance minister on the world's big three credit rating agencies the portugal debt downgraded to junk status the move is having a disastrous effect on the e.u. ripping apart the relative calm brought by the greek bailout the panic is proving contagious with fresh fears emerging that ireland may also need another cash injection it comes as germany the biggest economy debate the very legality of the bailouts but according to one the financial analyst of the strong response from the european union was the first attempt to offload responsibility for the current

crisis. we have to face the situation where there is an actor. which is raising action scene which is really is it bad news to the markets and to investors today at the end who tries to find responsibilities and maybe to say to the public opinion we've got a problem here and european commission has tried to for instance it's a different work on the european debt and each time the conclusion was the same rating the rating is correct the only problem that we've got that's maybe on the agenda of the don't grade some of the european officials are trying to ask rating agencies to stop really there are different problems to see in european countries we are going to see our president and we've got a real real big issue considering the cash in which there's not going to be fine and didn't like the refinance since that these three countries because of that

legal groups have been he's coming from the lake of the group since these countries and their bad economic news and if you're again it's a question of grading it's only we can see the. real greek mess. well the cash strapped u.s. giving christine legarde much to think about first days in charge of the i.m.f. she told reporters that she's picking up the baton from her previous asset to deal with the problems on reforms that began under dominique strauss kahn but it's christina reports that still more interesting muckraking than money matters. was from violence on the streets of the middle east i wasn't. there to protest in north africa to europe. or portugal's credit rating has been deemed junk. and in greece the owner unemployment hovers at about sixteen percent and the debt crisis has sparked anger nearly all of this anger

stemming from poverty and failed economic policies in the us as well high unemployment sits atop a mountain of problems like a housing crisis and slow financial growth. this is the world christine legarde inherits as she begins at her new post as managing director of the international monetary fund in her first formal meeting with the press at the i.m.f. headquarters in washington she seemed optimistic in her hopes the international monetary fund is here to serve and to provide services to its hundred and eighty seven members it's not the sexiest of news stories but still the inaugural press conference for the new managing director of the i.m.f. did garner quite a bit of media attention most likely it had less to do with christine lagarde herself and more to do with the reason why she's here. campbell what lessons do you think ought to be drawn from the way the u.s.

legal system handled this case we did be any reforms in the human rights and human resources policies here do you plan any changes in them in light of the controversy over mr strauss kahn the controversy of course with dominique strauss kahn accused of raping a hotel maid in new york that case now starting to crumble after it turned out the maid had credibility problems but back to the i.m.f. or lagarde will take over let me ask you about a couple of issues what worries you the most guarded her best to stay on message we cannot be only driven by the hope to reduce fiscal deficits and organize fiscal consolidation in a big way whether you look at advanced economies or whether you look at emerging markets all income countries the issue of employment. is a critical one the one hundred eighty seven nation organization has already lent

one hundred sixty billion dollars to cash strapped nations many of which have little hope for paying it back. so the real questions are manifested here on the streets of some of the nation suffering the most are accepting aid from the i.m.f. has been presented at times as the only option as austerity measures are now being put into place the questions too are in the dollar and how its value may or may not change under her watch for managing the debt crisis around the world will fall at the top of her agenda as the rest of the world watches with hope first ability in an unstable world in washington christine for south r.t. . still ahead for you this hour here on r t why seeing the light could be to. pilot to play a passenger ally now arriving from a stumble work dazzled by paul pilgrim live aimed at the aircraft by someone on the

ground lucky nothing went wrong but it's something that much time before that deadly accident occurs. with all to you live from moscow now russia's foreign minister has nato for its cynical actions in libya during an interview with russian television so he left off so the alliance his tactic of bombing the country until colonel gadhafi steps down has inflicted too many unjustified civilian deaths has been following what laugh it off had to say. hi peter so russia is sticking firmly to a start isn't it with its criticism that nato keeps breaching the u.n. resolution on libya. well indeed we heard from a very vocal surrogate lover of today really criticizing what he sees as the essential mission creep of the ongoing outside intervention into the libyan situation now he drew comparisons between what's happening in libya under the

bombing of the former yugoslavia and fight saying that the bombing campaign by nato against colonel gadhafi has actually gone on far longer than the bombing campaign that was conducted against parts of the former yugoslavia. it's obvious that politics is a cynical matter we hear from the western capitals that the bombing should go on until gadhafi backs off but the human cost of these political statements is very high on the political used to be. well it wasn't just libya that was on the agenda for of to speak about and he also brought up syria now in syria he was saying wealth drew what the conclusion was he sees us the. as somewhat lack of continuity when it comes to the western powers deciding who they're going to intervene on behalf of. of course we're looking at a situation too in syria where there is that opinion that people should be involved

foreign country should be involved and yemen which seems to go without notice in syria and he did say that he was concerned that the focus seems to be wholly on the the assad government and how to dispute rebel theb. you that this isn't acceptable that the opposition should resort to violence provoking peaceful protesters to join acts of violence and therefore making them a target for police or security forces. so again if they're speaking about the ongoing situation in the arab world. this week the russian city of sochi was hosting nato's leader. officials wear a tie and so once again discuss the issue of the missile defense project in europe didn't bring either side any closer though so what i have to say about that today. well the situation to be ongoing for years now sergey lavrov hunt to say that. the

well as it sounds at the moment if if the west was in nato were willing to allow russia to be part of developing this this on t missile defense shield then she was willing to lend his help however it seems that the powers that be that are wanting to implement this on to missile defense shield willing to provide russia with any any legal anything written down on paper essentially they will say that it won't be used against russia now this is where russia really gets into its negotiating a negotiating partner as it were with the the main players behind this on t missile defense shield which is the united states and mr lavrov went on to say in this interview that he gave to russian television the. east or that there was too much reliance upon dealing with the united states. you do some of the idea of a european missile shield belongs to washington and right now there is a pros

a sound a way nato to join this u.s. around global progress europe can only make a minor contribution adding some second tier details therefore are a key partner in the negotiations is washington. old busy day for lover of the russian foreign minister a triple header as you will of issues that he brought up today in an interview with russian television all right i live in central moscow thank you. in a couple of minutes here on arceo we report on how some people in russia are coping with the age old problem of growing up. while in the west people are apprehensive about a need because of the associated health problems and here in russia india is willing to cooperate see the loss of dignity and long is. now a top minutes past the hour here in moscow a french ship bound for gaza with aid has been stopped in crete it comes as the

u.n. is due to report on last year's israeli raid on a humanitarian float which killed nine turkish activists the reporters being held because of the route between israel and turkey which followed the. can now or join us live and give us details on that. so what exactly is it that the two countries can't agree on and i'm one of the wider implications. one of the heart of the dispute is the whole question of an apology and here is simple is insisting that tel aviv apologize for its role in the greens so far these raids have refused to do this the israeli foreign minister in particular i would believe him insisting that israel will not apologize presumably because the israelis are fearful that it will open the floodgates for a whole host of legal claims to be made against the jewish state instead israel says it will express its with grit for the loss of life now for the last few days almost round the clock israeli and turkish we've presented just happy meeting in

new york to try and hammer out some kind of agreement that is acceptable to both sides we understand that the sticking point is over the looting of the document now no doubt both sides want to reach some kind of agreement quiet to begin issuing this report because it won't help in terms of the conciliation it will be much harder for that we can see a shoe to be made after the report is issued but we do understand at this stage is that the u.n. report says that the blockade is not illegal but it does criticize israel for existing use of force. and you need to remember that that excessive use of force left nine turkish citizens on board the largest ship the money mamma did. a poll about what are the latest on this year's flotilla i mean it's been seriously hurt hasn't. it so he has been seriously hampered most of the ships on school for the coast of greece where athens has imposed a blanket ban preventing any ship from sitting sail if it plans to sail to gaza

what we do know is that one of the ships the french boat which is called the dignity that has some eighty twelve people on board it's a sail used to date wednesday but today when it stopped to refueling crete there it was stopped by the greek will follow seas and now the ship known as the audacity of hope its american captain was detained the charges were that he was in danger and the safety of passengers he has been released but that is not necessarily a good sign at all because another ship the canadian ship that is known as the to heena that ship did see it sail it seems to be in full steam and turned to greece and made all the passengers and all the crew on board have been detained at the same time there is something happening that's being called a flight and that is an expectation of some six hundred activists from fifty eight european destinations flying into israel's largest airport been going on tomorrow friday night as many authorities as you can well imagine are on high alert the israeli press is reporting that they have the names of some three hundred people

who plan to fly in the israeli police are not confirming that but no doubt they will be a lot of attention tomorrow on the airport where people plan to show the support not only for the tiller but for the people of gaza and palestinians in general all right off the reporting live from tel aviv thank you. well liners are at the most vulnerable during takeoff and landing but now there's an increasing threat from the ground with a beam of light the current retrofit reports on the police hunt for the hooligans with the laser pointers which blind pilots at the worst possible moment. they really become clear proof that the dazzle of a laser in the eye can be a major distraction for food bill or christian right now do it mount and you shall see the consequences could be catastrophic if someone is stronger today while flying an aircraft with hundreds of passengers on board and blinding powerless by laser beams has become an increasing musa's in russia over fifty attacks registered

since the beginning of the year. the latest incident was that the small port when the pilots of a tupolev passenger airline a riving from istanbul were does old buy popple green light aimed at the aircraft by someone on the ground just minutes later and now that probably. but i think what but yet it's only a matter of time before that that accident occurs to me we were going to during landing just one hundred meters above the ground when we were only a kilometer away from the runway as a result we were in danger of losing control the crew was dazzled in a catastrophe could have happened. in the worst case scenario hylas can land automatically but not full aircraft can land on autopilot and even if they do those in the cold feet need to remain in control and be able to see. the effect

of a laser beam on a pilot can be compared to that of lightning a blind you. potentially lethal laser guns imported from china can be bought in russia for as little as a hundred dollars firing a laser beam as far as five kilometers they can burn through paper and even plastic . in the u.s. sales of such devices are banned russian legislators are also considering outlawing them and toughening punishment for this offense though some are shining a spotlight on the police calling for more action the question is in court of everyone's waiting for new laws there's no excuse for peace and action in the grounds of our current legislation is good enough is allows for the arrest and imprisonment of such fools for up to ten years in prison as of now there has been only one arrest in russia for intentionally targeting an aircraft with a laser with this suspect still under investigation attempting to down

a plane by other means would be classed as terrorism public concern in russia is rising about the potentially equally serious waste from laser allowed and their high tech hooliganism it's been a great show for our team still. four people have been arrested in georgia suspected of spying among them high profile photographers including their personal snap to the country's president the country's opposition has described the arrests as a publicist a stunt follows the heavy sentences handed out there for spying earlier this week to a group of russians on georgians but of course live to what is you've got a place going off more details on this. they got high what we know about today's arrest a at this point well these arrests started late on wednesday and went on until early thursday and we're talking about some maybe high profile photographers in georgia including the personal photographer of president mikhail saakashvili the

official photographer of the foreign ministry off georgia that man actually went on a hunger strike of warning to his lawyer important to this arrest and also some employees off some of the well known international media and news agencies like the associated press and the european press agency although it is reported. the a.p. photographer has been released already after questioning according to reports coming even from some of the family members of the taint the could be tried they could be charged with espionage there are holes were searched and there are cameras and computers were seized and apparently now they're still being questioned now several human rights groups in georgia have already called this a direct violation off the freedom of speech and have demanded the immediate release of these photographers corridor you go to

a moment what about the other case we mentioned about a group of russians and georgians getting some pretty stiff sentence for espionage and what's been the reaction to the. well five georgian citizens and four russian citizens who were giving quite heavy a lengthy we jail sentences on a wednesday by georgian authorities after the were found guilty of forming a spy ring and supplying secret information to would be a russian intelligence service we're talking about some really heavy jail sentences from eleven years to fourteen years of imprisonment actually the longest term was given to a russian citizen. screen to go who is believed according to the georgian authorities that they believe that he was the head off the squiring and also the connection between the ring and the russian intelligence service now the lawyer see that all of them have pleaded not guilty in fact a good screen gives all lawyer says that his client is grieving the deal is really

heavy serious medical condition and also the lawyer say that they're not they're not able to. to talk about this case so a lot they're not able they are banned from disclosing any details about this case the only thing they say is that the authority. some sim cards for. classified information on them and used this. as proof during this case according to the georgian opposition they say that this is the stunt conducted by the authorities in order to divert the public's attention from real political and economic problems in the country. who's going to live in central moscow thank you. well let's check out some other headlines from around the world for you this hour in india at least thirty five people were killed thirty nine

injured after a train crash into a bus at a railway crossing and dragged. along for over five hundred meters by the bus was carrying guests from a wedding party but had stopped at the crossing due to a broken axle the injured were taken to a nearby hospital with the help of local people who rushed to the scene. parts of southwest china suffering from continued to heavy flooding with rain triggered mudslides cutting off access to a pivotal highway in the province. state media reports at least twenty five people have been killed across the country over the past week of downpours seasonal floods have already taken the lives of around two hundred sixty people in china over the last month. all right so now in our regular russia series our crew takes you to the gateway of siberia.

russia has occurred again that regionalised south of the mighty ural mountains and is bisected by the famous trans siberian a railway the area is one of russia's main food suppliers giving it a rich agricultural heritage with one of siberia's oldest cities as its capital it also has an aging population but as artichokes on a boy found out it's found a way to give them a helping hand. she may be eighty nine but the xander avon a man doesn't have too many happy memories to dwell on a loveless childhood a work colored youth a hard working adult life at twenty five she married an older man and devoted her time to caring for him they do have children so she always knew eventually she'd be alone most people used to ask me why i worked so much they would say you don't have kids why do you need money and i would respond if i had kids they'd help me when

i'm old and since i don't have children i needed to work hard at least they would accept me in a retirement home yet her faith you could turn she could never have expected when alexander could no longer care for herself and was about to move into a nursing home a local family offered to adopt her overnight she received two grown up kids and a granddaughter who seemed to need her just as much as she needed them my mother passed away and we just couldn't come to terms with it we were really longing to how grandmother in the house for advice accompany an elder process around this family's part of the senior adoption program pioneered indic are going to region six years ago the local authorities say it's a win win for all involved senior citizens receiving family care and their adopted family getting benefit payments in return. one. hundred dollars a month may not seem like a lot but in remote russian villages where jobs are scarce any source of income is

valuable. if you place a sunni or citizen in a nursing home it costs the local budget between four hundred and five hundred dollars per month but they live with family it is down to about one hundred dollars per person the economic effect is obvious but the most important thing is that elderly people enjoy the comforts of family life yet despite its apparent all round appeal the program is still small involving only around fifty passionate and there's a cultural reason for it traditionally in russia elder care has been seen as a responsibility of family members being placed in a nursing home with still associated with shame and stigma and it seems that the ideal for living with strangers is not the easiest sell either one dispassion or joint believing that her mother their arrangement was it would be only for a year or so not be seventy two and has no children no close relatives and she's

deeply concerned her deteriorating health will be a burden for others. and like it here we haven't heard a single fight for them why should they care for me when they can barely move around i don't want to burden anyone while saying that doesn't feel there is a lot to celebrate about being all that helps her remaining time will be brief she says at least now she has somebody to to talk. getting older is one of the biggest fears in the russian society on par with wars over terrorism natural disasters and crime and while in the west people are perhaps if about ageing maybe because of the associated health problems here in russia aging is linked to poverty loss of dignity and loneliness. but at least put these two pensioners it's no longer the same old story. artsy called on the region. now time to say hello to

kareena with the latest. on the. little pellets the international sanctions are to take place in paris on july nineteenth. this living collections by russian designers in the most beautiful just city of central russia. this is a little children's function slippers like your desire to go to. sleep. this is. how welcome to business the south europe is tightening belts the central bank has decided to increase its cancerous traits by twenty five basis points in order to cool inflation the move could help europe strong economies to avoid overheating but

could be a double edged sword for profile countries. lisi beach decision to tighten monetary policy means higher interest rates across the whole of the euro area and forty that doesn't apply uniformly so what russia is saying is that words in the pre-crisis period for a given level e.c.b. interest rates businesses and households across the euro area would face who would be comparable interest rates to go also where they are situated why now we have a position whereby interest rates and say germany are far lower businesses and households when they are in the periphery say for greece or portugal so although we do both raise interest rate increase does mean higher rates across the whole of the euro area unfortunately is the areas that need least tightest movement because it actually may have the most tightening as a result of this decision. let's look at the markets european indices extend their rise up to the european central bank raise the main interest rate to want to have percent the bank of england has kept its key interest rate unchanged as worries.